How many fourth graders fit in the back of a Honda Element? Students pondered that question for awhile until they made predictions ranging from five to seventeen. In Math we call that estimation, and with a range that wide, only one thing remained to do. That's right, pop that hatch and climb in one after another until the car fills up. Now, just to be clear, no actual ride was taken since seat belts were lacking, and a ticket or an unsafe trip with nine and ten year olds was not part of the lesson plan. At least not in their teacher's plan. Some did, in fact, think a trip to McDonalds or Hollywood Beach was in order. We stayed in the Franklin parking lot, however.

We managed to cram ten fourth graders in the back of the Honda when all was said and done. Probably a few more would have fit, but this is fourth grade and not the college days of yesteryear when some scholars thought it a good idea to see how many freshman would fit in a phone booth or Volkswagon Beetle. These students will have to wait awhile for that experience.

A perfect day for a field trip! Our class walked to and from the Vern Burton Center in Port Angeles last Friday to attend the children's show at the Juan de Fuca Festival. Despite our preparations for inclement weather, the sun insisted on shining for the duration of our mile long walk. After the show we took time for a picnic lunch on the manicured grounds outside the city council chambers. Passing motorists on both legs of the journey gave us wide birth to cross streets safely. On another note, Room 17 will keep its goldfish who have inhabited our classroom for at least five or six years!

That's rigtht, it's a cypress tree in the Van Gogh painting in the front of the room over the calendar. The bonus question was answered corretly this morning.This afternoon we'll begin the new Science unit, Life Structures, by making a classroom planter where we'll sprout seeds and learn about plant biology.We're also finishing up our latest art project, 'Landscapes in the Style of Van Gogh."

Fractions, central tendency(averages, medians, modes, ranges, etc.), double digit multiplication, long division, and decimals are parts of the broad Math curriculum in fourth grade this year.

Let's put some prepositional phrases in this week's story about someone who is good at a sport. In fact, try starting a sentence with a phrase, eg. "Under the glare of the cranky referee, Ruth waited anxiously for the inbounds pass from Rebecca who was standing as still as a statue." A simile or two in this piece of writing will add some good detail, too.

Thursday

Winter arrives in Port Angeles. Cold, wet, and rainy. Now here's the bonus question: What does the word "pewter" mean and what does it have to do with Winter in Port Angeles?

The students should be finishing their three interviews this week for the Family History Reports that are due at the end of the month.
They're also finishing the rough draft of another essay in which a character, either fictional or real is described using details about what the character looks like, what he or she says and does. Later this month mid-winter assessments in Reading, Math, and Writing will be given.

Friday

Homework. Fifteen minutes (at least) of reading each day is required. Yes, it's that important because, like learning to play the guitar or any instrument, the skill doesn't develop without a lot of practice.

The other part of homework is finishing assignments from class to turn in the next day. Finally, there are occasional projects like the Family History report that we talked about at Back to School Night and conferences. The kids will learn how to conduct interviews next week when the project assignment is given. The holidays are often a good time to interview relatives. The project isn't due until the end of January (no need for more holiday stress!)

Bonus question: What is the capital of Iowa? Several students came in this morning with the correct answer: Des Moines. Well done!

Tuesday

A library is a special place as 'Thomas and the Library Lady' shows so well. One of the favorite stories in our Reading book for fourth graders tells about the discovering of books for a young boy traveling with his family of migrant farmworkers. A 'library lady' takes Thomas under her wing, showing him the wonders of books about dinosaurs and the exciting world of his imagination.

The library becomes his favorite destination for a short summer before his family must return to their home in Texas. Then he takes over the role as family storyteller from his 'Papa Grande.' Libraries and librarians can be a big influence in students' lives ans shown in the story. For a lark, some of the kids thought it would be fun to dress up as librarians (see photo). So far, no one has come to class with blue or hair like some of the librarians at Suzallo Library used to wear, but it's still early in the year.

Parent/Teacher conferences are underway with more scheduled for this coming Friday and Monday as students are out after tomorrow until next Tuesday, November 16th. Thursday is Veteran's Day.

Idiom of the Week: 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' (Can you find the meaning of this famous expression?

Tuesday

You can find good writing in the form of essays without much trouble. Take a look at this one on tea by George Orwell. He certainly had some strong opinions on the subject. Perhaps you did not know that learning to make a pot of tea was part of the fourth grade curriculum, but it is, at least it is in Room 17 at Franklin Elementary School.

It started out many years ago as a Friday reward for good work during the week and as a warm-up for the Friday Sing Along. Then it became apparent that lots of people not only like and drink tea on a regular basis, but some of them like to write and read about it. Have other famous authors written about tea? Well, hop on that computer and find out.

Invitations for the parent/teacher conferences next month go out this week. Please send them back promptly. Yes, tea will be served!

Wednesday

Students work in teams on our new water unit for Science. As they found out, a penny will hold between ten and twenty drops of water. It's all about surface tension, domes, flows, and slopes. Stay tuned for more photos of Science activities this year.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," is an expression that has meaning for people of all ages, including nine and ten year olds. The kids have been asked to find out what this old saying means. We'll see if anyone comes up with the answer to this bonus question.

Tuesday

We just started a new read-aloud titled, Frindle, and the kids are liking it so far. Today we read the chapter called Mrs. Granger. Mrs. Granger is a white-haired teacher who wears her hair in a bun, nevers comes to school in pants, and loves the dictionary. Wouldn't it be great if we could get one of the women teachers here at Franklin to dress up as Mrs. Granger for Halloween or one of the spirit days?

Tuesday

Most days here in Room 17 include a weather report and forecast for the next several days as part of our current events discussion. While we haven't had much snow in our "neck of the woods" other parts of the country are still digging their ways out of the white stuff. Snow makes a good topic for stories and essays and gives a chance to work on good endings for our writing. We've worked on strong beginnings and middles with lots of detail and examples, and now it's time to learn how to make stronger endings for essays and stories. We'll look at some good examples of good endings as we finish the oral presentations of the Family History Reports, some of which contain excellent finishes. Nice work!

Wednesday

High school looms in the not-so-distant future, in case anyone needs a reminder, or in my case, a memory jog. About ten years ago one of my guitar students stated that she didn't see the point of high school. So many "points" come to mind, and most of them involve life after school and the development of productive, responsible citizens--take a look at "A Very Important Day" in the Reading book. The story fits so well with our report project on Family Histories. And, since Friday is a teacher workday and the kids won't be here, we will make Monday, February 1st, the official due date for the report project. I'm looking forward to reading anecdotes about relatives and ancestors. Have a good (and productive) weekend!

Friday

The kids have been working hard on their Family History Reports, and rough drafts of the interviews are nearly done for most. Next week we'll work on the final drafts and do the remaining components, including a bibliography and pictures/drawings before the project is due a week from today. I have report covers but students are welcome to make their own if a fancier design is desired.

Lots of current events came in this week, and bonus questions challenged several students. Did you know soap and water beats hand sanitizer for killing germs? We're reading a story about immigrants in New York City becoming United States citizens and one family has the name Dionetti which led to another bonus question: From what country did this immigrant come from? Several students correctly found the answer-Italy. Way to go!

Thursday

After finishing the second essay project, "How I Spend My Free Time," the kids are showing marked improvement in the organization of their Writing. They really stepped up to the plate when told the second essay needed to be "ten times" better than the first (which itself was pretty good for a start.) Most of the kids have become the "boss" of double-digit multiplication after weeks of practice, and they learned how to do an interview for their Familiy History Report project which isn't due until the end of January. I give the assignment before the break so some can choose to interview relatives they might see over the holidays. Some might want to take digital pictures for use in the project, and you might want to take a look at Voicethread.com on your home computer because the kids are learning to use it as a possible component of their Familiy History. I hope all of you have a terrific holiday season. Carry on!

Wednesday

No, those aren't former students doing their fifteen minutes of silent reading homework, but it sure looks like a great way to spend some free time even if the current weather forbids the swimsuits.

Speaking of "free time," that is exactly the topic for our latest Writing assignment. The kids are writing an essay on how they prefer to spend their free time. Today we finished up the prewrite part of the process where the focus is narrowed, a strong opening paragraph is started, and supporting paragraphs are outlined, and tomorrow we'll write the rough draft of the essay. We will work on adding details and examples that support their main idea.

For example, if my main idea is that I like to spend my free time reading at the beach, then I need a paragraph supporting that idea that includes what kinds or books or magazines I take with me to the beach. Maybe a second paragraph talks about or describes a particular beach that is well-suited to reading a favorite book.

Give a listen to "Grammar Girl" over in the right margin. She has an entertaining way of explaining writing tips with a new offering each week.

Thursday

One of "my" parents remarked yesterday that today (Thursday) is the kids' "Friday." Well, that's true in a way since tomorrow is a "Learning Improvement Day" for teachers. We'll be at the high school attending a presentation on motivating all students. It's the second in a series that began days before the start of school this year.

The kids did a great job with Picture Day, and everyone is looking forward to the "results." Without a doubt it was the smoothest photo session in recent memory. And, thank goodness for my observant colleagues. Having left the collar buttons undone, there was nearly a fashion error on my part.

Students are brining in lots of news items for our current events program and all the parent help with these items is greatly appreciated. Practicing reading the articles before presenting them in class is helping our kids learn to read as well as understand some of the events going on in the world. Thanks for your involvement. Now if we could get some of those mushroom and spider pics....

Young Writer's Conference

Franklin students and parent helpers walked to Peninsula College yesterday and participated in sharing sessions, writing workshops, and a book-making project. It was an exciting event, and more than a few students and adults remarked that the day went by very fast. It was a thrill to hear our students read some of their creative writings, and students from across the peninsula learned to listen and comment on the various stories and essays written by their peers. Many thanks to our parent helpers for supporting our efforts to build a student writing community.