This Thursday is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The idea is to tuck a favorite poem into your back pocket to share with classmates, family members, and school staff. Poetry lovers across the country have come up with clever ways to celebrate.

Here in Room 17 we will use Poem In Your Pocket Day to entice students into the world of verse. Most of the fourth-graders have pockets that easily accessible so if someone asks to see an original poem or a copied favorite from one of our students in the hall on the way to recess or lunch, sharing a poem becomes a simple matter of reaching and reading.

Are fourth-graders the only people allowed to carry poems tomorrow? Not hardly. Here's the poem I'll be carrying around with me tomorrow:

The Rainy Day
Longfellow
 
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.
Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

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.

Friday

Name the word that refers to 'floating debris:' Flotsam
After a hint, the bonus question was correctly answered and were off to another round of current events, art projects, and a new Science unit: Life Forms. Spring is a good time for learning about seeds and that's where we'll start next week with a class planter and an assortment of seeds to sprout over the next several weeks.
Long division, fractions, decimals, probability, mean, mode, range, and median(central tendency) are parts of the broad Math curriculum we're working on now in the fourth grade. However, that does not mean it's time to slack off on practicing math facts. Let's keep sharpening those skills that will apply to so much in the future.

Thursday

Words of the Week: Spring Break
One is reminded of the Beach Boy's instrumental, "Let's Go Away For Awhile." Well, that's all fine and good as long as we come back! Read, rest and return safely!

Friday

Fourth graders often like Science because they get to manipulate objects and make things, like a gear mechanism shown at left. We just began a unit on electricity, and the students are learning about receivers, transmitters, and sources while building simple circuits to light bulbs and motors.

Soon the time comes to notice the tell-tale signs of Spring. Already the days are getting longer although it's still pretty cold outside! Snowfall during the last few nights reminds that Winter continues for a few more weeks, and March is typically a wet, windy, and cold month. But, try 'listening' for a tell-tale sign of approaching Spring--those noticed through sight are just too easy for fourth graders. We'll make that a challenging bonus question for the next few weeks

Friday

The correct name is 'Rosie the Riveter' from the famous WWII poster. Chanelle brought in the answer this morning. Good researching!

We are studying magnetism in Science, and the kids are learning about the forces of attraction, repulsion, and induced magnetism. The study of electricity is coming soon to Room 17! Have a good weekend!

What is unusual about Robyn Smith? That question comes up on one of the mid-year assessments here in Room 17. There might be a clue in the picture at left.

Bonus question: What is the name of the young woman raising her fist in the 'We Can Do It' poster from World War II?

Friday

Family History Reports are in, and they look good! Students will give oral presentations starting next week, and we're looking forward to ancecdotes and family picrtures. Nice work!

Here is an example of a mixed number: 1 2/3 (read as one and two thirds.) Now try converting that to an improper fraction.

Thursday

Bibliography

1. Forler, Mary, August 10th, 1989

2. Burnett, Wayne, May 17th, 1990

3. forler, Jim, May 23rd, 1990

A bibliography is a list of all the sources used in writin a research report. It is found at the end of that report. Usually, it is a list of articles and books used as information sources. For our Family Report, the sources are the people we interviewed, as shown in the example above.

Pajama Day followed by Movie Night! What a good way to end the week for our students. See "Sidewalk Wars" by local movie maker, Leo Bidne tonight before the showing of "Dolphin Tale."

Tuesday

Family History Reports are due next week on Tuesday, January 31st. Students should be finishing up their rough drafts and thinking about designing a cover for their reports.

Bonus question: Name the vocabulary word that describes the answer to a division problem.

Let's be safe out there. The sun might be shining, but plenty of ice still clogs the streets and walkways.

Wednesday

Fractions and Division....lots of practice helps! Next time you have a pizza, try talking about the pieces as fractions of the whole pizza. Eggs might not be as popular as pizza, but the cartons work great for talking about fractions, too.

The kids should finish up their interviews, rough drafts (three or more pages from the interviews), and have a good start on the family tree. Then they'll be in good shape to finish up the project by the end of the month for the due date.

Thursday

Our 'Math Club With Jack' continues on Wednesdays this new year as an after school program for extra help with Math Facts and the ever-challenging effort to learn fractions. Jack Foote is a retired teacher from Port Angeles who taught Science and Chemistry at Port Angeles High School for many years.

Work continues on our Family History Reports this week as the kids learned how to turn interview notes into rough drafts on notebook paper. We decided that each family member interviewed (a minumum of three) deserved at least one hand-written page. They also received folders to keep all the report assignments and materials as that volume grows over the following weeks. Remember, the reports are due at the end of this month.

Bonus Question: 'Which is larger, 5/6 or 4/3?'

Friday

And so begins the holiday break after an eventful week at Franklin School ,which will stay open at least another year. Many thanks to the well-spoken parents and Mrs. Chapman for their on-target remarks at last Monday's school board meeting.

The fourth-graders have just learned how to conduct interviews for their family history report projects. The assignment is made the week before the break to accomodate the opportunity many will have to interview relatives during the holiday time. The report itself is not due until the end of January so the kids aren't asked to do massive homework over the next two weeks by any means. If it works to get three interviews done with notes taken on cards, that's great.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and happy holiday break!

Thursday

Check out the new art project: Collage: In the Style of Matisse on our classroom bulletin board. Using cut paper, the fourth graders formed dancers over a collage background of wintry colors. Nice contrast!

Here's a bonus problem to do at home: Mother bought a bag of cookies. There were 36 cookies in it. The children found the bag after school, and when Mother interfered there were 21 cookies left. How many cookies were gone? (Try writing a number sentence before solving.)

Next week we'll learn how to conduct interviews for the Family History Report Project.

Thursday

Disco Day at Franklin turned up some great and colorful costumes. Trying to explain the difference between the 'Disco Days' and the 'Hippie Days' and that they were not one and the same, proved a little difficult. The Family History Report project is on the way so stay tuned. The kids will learn how to interview relatives before the Winter Break so they are ready in case the extended family gets together. Of course, interviews can be conducted over the phone, by email, or by letter, too. The reports won't be due until the end of January so this is not an attempt to ruin the break from school by any means. Nursery rhymes are rich with word play and literary images so one of our bonus questions asked the fourth-graders to find the ending to a few that are not so easy to remember. 'What is the line after "To bed, to bed, said sleep head?" See below for the answer and a few other rhymes. This week's bonus question asked for the neame of the famous toy store in New York City. The kids are reading a selection called "Me and Uncle Romie," about a boy who travels to New York from North Carolina to stay with his aunt and uncle. Good story with lots of place names and geography and interesting food references than include grits and pepper jelly.

Nursery Rhymes:

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a big spider who sat next beside her and frightened Miss Muffet away.



“To Bed to Bed” said Sleepy Head

“To bed to bed” said Sleepy Head. “No tarry awhile” said Slow. “Put on the pot” said Greedy Gut. “We’ll sup before we go!”

Thursday

A little research goes a long way when it comes to bonus questions! Let's see how many fourth graders find the answer to today's bounus question: Where in the United States Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America?

One of our Math problems yesterday described resident ants which reminds that this is the season for resident spiders and mushrooms. Bathrooms and backyards are favored locations!

Next time we'll take a look at a good example of a current event/news item summary. Stay tuned.

Answer to the Bonus Question

This was a more difficult bonus question and there were some close answers, such as "the Emeraly City." But, we were looking for the nickname for a street made famous in early Seattle. Here is the explanation:

Seattle's historic Skid Road district (now better known as Pioneer Square) centers on Yesler Way. This road is often said to have been the original "Skid Road" in the literal sense serving a saw mill owned by Henry Yesler. Yesler acquired land from Doc Maynard at a small point of land at what is today near the intersection of 1st Ave and Yesler Way. He also acquired a swath of land 450 feet wide from his property up First Hill to a box of land about 10 acres in size full of timber spanning what is today 20th to 30th Avenues. His mill was built on the point of land that looked south towards a small island (Denny's Island, part of his land purchase from Doc Maynard) that has since been filled in around and is the heart of today's Pioneer Square.

The Skid Road was built on that 450 foot wide slice of land from the top of First Hill to the mill on the point. Since the building of the mill much of what is today's Seattle is the result of extensive terra forming by the local people to make the hilly landscape of Seattle habitable. At the time of the building of the mill it was some of the only flat land available. The Skid Road became the demarcation line between the affluent members of Seattle and the mill workers and more rowdy portion of the population.[9]

Thursday

Maybe we're not quite ready for a workshop on making cappucinos, but today was Tea Workshop #2--loose tea preparation. Tomorrow will tell how effective that was.

Learning to write essays and letters is not easy, but this year's fourth graders are showing early skill as they learn to make paragraphs, revise, proofread, draft, and spell correctly. Reasons for optimism are apparent. Today they worked on a friendly letter to me that is to explain and summarize a book they have read this year for Silent Reading. They also had their first shot at Accelerated Reader this year, a computer program that has quizzes for library books read in and out of school.

Today, after several alternative and good answers, the one I was looking for in answer to why Chum salmon are nicknamed 'Dog' salmon was given. Local Native Americans fed this species of Pacific Salmon to their dogs since they arrive in the rivers and streams well after plenty of salmon had been caught and smoked for the humans. Nice work!

Essay

My Favorite Dessert


My favorite dessert is blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream. The cold ice cream slides down my throat while the berries crunch beneath my teeth. If the crust is just right you can taste a hint of cinnamon at the tail end. The joy lasts a long time.

The first time I tasted blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream was at my grandmother’s house a very long time ago. It must have been my birthday or some other special occasion. Otherwise, there probably would not have been any form of dessert after dinner. Dessert is uncommon in my family.

Besides the cold of the ice cream, the crunch of the berries, and the final hint of cinnamon, the appearance of this fine dessert is a thing to behold. It looks a bit like Mount Rainier if the light and the mood are just right. With the vanilla ice cream on top of jagged pie crust and blackberries, you can imagine the majestic mountain right before devouring it.

Much more could be said in praise of blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream, but the experience of eating it should not be delayed any longer. Don’t spend too much time deciding which brand of ice cream to use. Instead get down to the business and joy of actually eating this fine dessert.

Mr. Burnett

Thursday

Lunch in the classroom! It's been about twenty years since we've had lunch in the classroom here in Room 17. That's a long time, but we adapt and move forward. Lunchtime is definitely quieter here than in the gym with smoother transitions to the afternoon's lessons.

What a nice group of fourth-graders! The kids are quickly learning the study habits that will help them throughout their school years and into their working lives. Putting names on papers, turning work in on time, bringing loose notebook paper, and being on time are major lessons of great importance. Let's try to bring in some news items or current events next week that will help us find out what's going on locally, nationally and worldwide. The reading practice is valuable, too. A few minutes practicing math facts at home several times a week goes a long way toward making Math easier, too.