10+2 Weekly Update

Fourth Grade Classroom Happenings

Important Dates and Updates

May 16th - Prairie Fork Field Trip

A note with trip details is included in the Friday folder.

May 22nd - Fifth Grade Graduation

May 25th - Last Day of School - Dismissal at 12:50PM

- There will be no more homework this year. Please continue to encourage your child to read and practice math facts at home.

- Yearbooks have arrived! We will have a signing celebration soon. If your child ordered a yearbook and you do not want peers to sign it, please let me know.

- If your child is planning to apply for safety patrol, an application is included in this week's Friday folder. It is due on May 16th.

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Fidget Spinner Madness

So, as a teacher I am not bothered by a student using a fidget tool unless it is a distraction to them or others. This week fidget spinners have flooded into Shepard at record numbers. In our classroom many of these spinners have gone missing, been broken, or stolen. I will not spend instructional time searching for missing spinners or investigating their disappearance. If your child has a spinner I would encourage them to keep it at home - It is safer there.

Hurricane Study - Reading and Writing

This week we continued reading our Katrina historical fiction books. We will continue to meet in small groups to discuss how our characters are handling the tragedy and compare their experiences. We also spent time working on some creative writing pieces. Students were told they could write in any form or style they wished, but their writing had to be set during Hurricane Katrina. The outcomes were diverse and entertaining. We have newscasts, picture books, comic strips, and more. Students are writing from a variety of points of view and considering their audience every step of the way.

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Stories Galore

So many ideas in action...

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Informational Newscast

Small groups decided to write scripts and share important forecasts and hurricane preparation information with their audience. Once the scripts were drafted, they used iMovie to record their newscasts.

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Picture Books

Some groups combined their drawing and storytelling skills to create picture books. They placed a few words on each page and used pictures to support their reader. Their story is told from the point of view of Humpty Dumpty caught in Hurricane Katrina!

Hurricane Study - Fine Arts

This week we also investigated how people express themselves and tell their stories after such tragic events. We discussed different pieces of art and listened to a wide array of musical selections. We explored how people showed their point of view and embedded emotions through the use of fine arts. We witnessed anger, desperation, hope, and fear.

On Thursday, we were lucky to have a jazz quartet visit our school and share their passion for rhyme and melody with us. It was a blast!