Week of August 25

Here's what's ahead for us this week:

Reading- 
We will continue “Choose Kind” bullying PBL this week by talking about what bullying is and reading nonfiction articles about types of bullying. We will also be  reading and analyzing books related to the topic of bullying, and we will continue our novel study on the book Wonder!

Language/Writing- 
We will be reading a variety of memoirs and discussing their characteristics. We will then begin writing our own memoirs incorporating these characteristics. We will also be looking at how authors use figurative language and transitions in their writing. 

Math-
In math this week we will be continue practicing our basic multiplication facts/strategies, but we will also begin discussing place value.

 Science-
In our Inquiry unit, we will continue with qualitative and quantitative observations and predictions. We will also discuss inferring in science.

Social Studies-
In social studies we will be discussing the locations and characteristics of different Native American regions: Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and the Great Basin region. We will discuss their culture, food, homes, clothing, and government.

Important Dates/Reminders:
-NO SCHOOL- Monday, August 4th- Labor Day Holiday!

-Goodies with Grandparents- Friday, September 12- Look for a note to go home Monday to sign up!

-PTA Open House- Tuesday, September 16 at 6:30

100 BC Goals:
Good- 22 steps
Better- 40 steps

Upcoming Assessments/Projects due:

-Science process skills test- Next Wednesday

-SS test on Native Americans- NEXT Friday

Gummy Bear Experiment

This week we have been doing a lot of science experiments to use the science process skills of observations and predictions. On Tuesday we may quantitative observations about gummy bears. We measured the lengths of the gummy bears, and then we placed each gummy beer in a different type of liquid: vinegar, plain water, salt water, and water with baking soda. Students may predictions about what they thought would happen to each gummy bear after sitting in each liquid for 24 hours.

The next day we made qualitative and quantitative observations about the results. Students measured the length of the gummy bears again and found the difference in lengths between the two days. Then students made qualitative observations and found that some gummies grew in their liquid, some shrank, some changed colors, and some even disintegrated. 

Being a scientist sure is fun!

Milk Fireworks

Today we did a science experiment called "Milk Fireworks".  Students put a few drops of four different colors of food coloring in a plate of milk. Then, in the middle of the food coloring, they dipped a Q-tip with Dawn dish soap on it. See what happened below:

Prior to the experiment, students made a prediction about what they thought would happen when we added the soap. Then, during the experiment students made qualitative and quantitative observations. Here are some predictions and observations the students made:

Building a Land Bridge

To help understand how the first people migrated to our continent, today we built our own model of the Land Bridge Theory. First we made salt dough by measuring out and mixing together flour, salt, and water. Then we molded the dough into two continents, North America and Asia, with a land bridge connecting them in between. We poured in water so that the Land Bridge was still exposed, like it was during the Ice Age, and added ice cubes to represent our glaciers. Throughout the day we watched as the glaciers melted like they did when the Ice Age ended. As the glaciers melted, the water level rose and covered the Land Bridge so that it was no longer exposed and Native Americans could no longer cross it. 

This project was messy, but it sure was fun!!

Before the glaciers melted. 

After the glaciers melted. The Ice Age is over- hooray!

Sailing in to Fourth Grade!

 

 
Wow, what a GREAT first couple of days we have had!! We have had a lot of fun and learned a lot so far!
 

 

We have started our "Choose Kind" bullying PBL by discussing the meaning of the word 'kindness'. With the help of the rest of fourth grade, we have decided that kindness means:

 

Keep others first
Include others

Notice nice things about others

Dependable
Never criticize

Eliminate bullying

Share

Smile often

 

We made a KINDNESS banner for our hallway, signed it, and put our thumb prints to represent "Thumbs up for kindness!"

 

 
We then made a kindness keychain. Each color represents a different letter of the word kindness and what we think it means. This keychain will serve as a constant reminder for us to be kind to others.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
In math, we started looking at different multiplication strategies. Today we focused on arrays. We even got to make our own arrays with counters!

 
 

 

In science, we started talking about the importance of process skills that real scientists use. Students had to depend on each others' observations and communication to recreate "The Thing."



 

We are looking forward to another fun day tomorrow!

 

Week of August 18

Here's what we will be focusing on this week...

Reading-
We will begin our “Choose Kind” bullying PBL this week by talking about the meaning of kindness, working with the grade level to make an acrostic using the word kindness, reading and analyzing books related to the topic of bullying, and toward the end of the week, beginning our novel study on the book Wonder!

Language/Writing-
We will be setting up our writing journals, writing our own “What If” poems about our fears of fourth grade after studying some mentor texts, and then studying and creating noticing charts of memoirs in preparation to write our own memoirs starting next week.

Math-
In math this week we will be learning a variety of ways to multiply basic numbers such as using arrays, skip counting, and the commutative property.

 Science-
In science we will begin our inquiry unit with many fun and interesting experiments where we will make qualitative and quantitative observations and predictions!

Social Studies-
In social studies we will first review the continents, then discuss how the first people came to North America.

Important Dates/Reminders:
-Back to School Bash: Thursday 8/21 5pm-8pm
-Chic-Fil-A Spirit Night: Thursday 8/21
-School Spirit Day: Friday 8/22
-Make sure to look for our rules sheet to sign/return and other paperwork to come home Monday in the homework folders!

100 BC Goals:
Good- 11 steps
Better- 20 steps

Upcoming Assessments/Projects due:
-"Things that Keep Me Sailing" due WEDNESDAY
*Note- there WILL be unannounced assessments throughout the year! These will be simpler and not require studying, just paying attention in class!

Next week I will also announce the Captain of the Week (student of the week) here!!

I’m looking forward to a GREAT first week!!

 

Welcome to Fourth Grade!

Hi! My name is Miss Glay and I am SO excited for this new school year! This will be my sixth year of teaching, all of which have been in fourth grade at Oakland! This will be my first year teaching all boys though, and I could not be more excited! We are going to have so much fun! Here are a few things about me:

• I have the cutest dog in the world and I love her a little too much! Her name is Toby and she is a five-year-old Basset Hound. You will hear my talk about her ALL year long!
  
• I absolutely love to read. My favorite books that I've read this summer are The Fault in our Stars and Wonder. What good books have you read recently? Tell me by commenting below!
• I love traveling too! Some of my recent vacations include: London, Paris, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. I am leaving for Seattle and Hawaii TOMORROW (July 29), which is why I will not be at registration to meet you! I can't wait to tell you all about my trip!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I live in Boiling Springs, but I was born in Florida and grew up in North Carolina
• I went to USC Upstate for my undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Supply List for Miss Glay's Class:

Essential:

• Pencils
• 2 pocket folders
• Notebook paper
• 5 composition notebooks (NO spiral notebooks, please)

**Students will NOT need a 3-Ring binder or dividers this year. Instead of keeping a binder, we will be doing notebooking!

Helpful:

• Scissors
• Glue sticks (we will use these a lot with notebooking)
• Coloring materials (markers, colored pencils, and/or crayons)
• Expo markers
• Highlighters

Appreciated:

• Tissues
• Hand sanitizer
• Clorox wipes
• Post-it notes
• Small prizes/treats

What can I do to be ready for fourth grade?

• Label your two pocket folders with the following labels:
• Class Work
  (Your Name)
• Homework/Take Home
  (Your Name)
• Label your five composition notebooks with the following labels:
• Writing Journal
  (Your Name)
• Reading Notebook
  (Your Name)
• Math Notebook
  (Your Name)
• Science Notebook
  (Your Name)
• Social Studies Notebook
  (Your Name)

Parents- Want to help?
If you would like to help our class, we currently have a grant on Donors Choose for some standing desks and stability balls. I want to give my boys the opportunity to move around the room and get their energy out so that they can learn in the way that is best for them without disrupting the learning of others. These materials will help accomplish that! If you or anyone you know would like to donate even $1.00, the link is below, and please help us spread the word!
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/wiggle-while-we-work-2/1251411/

Also, I love having parent volunteers! On Meet the Teacher Day, you will have an opportunity to sign up to help in our classroom in a variety of ways- room mom, making copies, preparing materials, reading with students, donating supplies, etc. Any help is appreciated!

I cannot wait to meet you all on Meet the Teacher Day! (August 13th) In the meantime, please feel free to email me if you have any questions (Jessica.Glay@spartanburg2.k12.sc.us), and I will respond as quickly as I can. Enjoy the rest of your summer! Feel free to comment below with your thoughts about fourth grade!