Thursday

Yes, there was school today! Check out a site called 'XtraMath' for a fun way to practice multiplication facts (you can also find addition and subtraction facts, too).

Let's do some research and find the answer to the bonus questions (see below). And, if finding out about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln seems too easy, try this one: If a roll of nickels is worth two dollars and fifty cents, how much is a roll of dimes worth?

Furthermore, can you guess what the fourth graders in the picture are doing? Finally, check the Port Angeles School District website for the latest about snow days or late starts during these times of wild weather in Port Angeles.

Friday

So many cupcakes and cookies! Such great treats on Monday with lots of valentines exchanged.
As Presidents' Day approaches (no school Monday) the students are asked to find out what major historical events happened during the lives or presidencies of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Have a good weekend and remember to read for at least fifteen minutes each day!

Thursday

The Family History Reports show a wealth of memories, organization, and respect for the people who came before us and those we live with or who play a role in our students' current lives. This week the fourth graders presented some of the anecdotes and showed pictures from their reports to the rest of the class. For most of our students, a report project, complete with interviews, rough drafts, final drafts, pictures, maps, family tree, family recipe, and bibliography, covers new ground and the organization, thought, and homework required stretches their skills. Many went beyond the minimum requirements by making intricate family trees, for example. Very nice work!
The second round of our classroom's Analytical Reading Inventory shows exceptional Reading growth in many of our students and nearly a year's growth in Reading levels in most of the other fourth graders since the first round of assessments in September. Extra practice reading at home (for at least fifteen minutes) pays off.

Thursday

What do you know about the American Quarter Horse? Soon our fourth graders will know a lot more about them. As soon as they finish learning how to write a business letter, the students will mail their letters to the American Quarter Horse Association in Texas. Within a few weeks, as long as the letters are in the correct form, each student will receive an abundance of information about quarter lessons. Not only is it fun to receive mail and 'stuff,' but learning to write business letters improves writing skill and develops a practical way of formal communication that will help with job applications in the future, for example.

The Family History Reports are in, and oral presentations will start next Monday. Each student will choose an anecdote from their report to read to the class. The presentations are short but always memorable.

Wednesday

The Family History Reports are due on Monday, January 31st. A sample bibliography is shown below. Most won't need to list a book as a source, but there is the format just in case. Tomorrow we'll work on the report covers in class.

No school on Friday...for students, that is.

Bibliography

1. Brown, Joe
December 21, 2010


2. Jones, Gina
January 1, 2011


3. Ireland, Its Land and People, Jones, Bill, pages 1-9

Friday

One of the traditions in Room 17, along with the Family History Report project, is making tea. This year, Wednesdays turn out to be the best time for our class to have a small cup (Mr. Coffee only makes about two liters so the portions are small but refreshing.) Several fourth graders have learned the procedures for making simple tea with tea bags, but next week they will have a chance to participate in our "loose tea workshop." They will learn the proper way to use a tea infuser with loose tea, a more economical and flavorful approach.

Next week we'll also learn how to make a bibliography for the Family History reports and the cover. Students should bring the red folders with all the report materials (cards, rough drafts of interviews, family trees, etc.) to class each day. The reports are due Monday, January 31st.

Thursday

We will sing the famous spiritual, "We Shall Overcome" while Judi Lindberg presents historic and biographical information tomorrow morning over Franklin's intercom so students and staff throughout the school will learn about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement.

Equal rights for all citizens continues as a struggle in today's world, and making our students aware of the past can help them improve not only their own lives but also the lives of others. Those "others" are the people they will live and work with in their future.

Four of our Room 17 students are working on optional essays for the 'Martin Luther King Essay Contest.' Here is the prompt for this project: "Explain why Dr. King was special enough to have his own recognition day."

Interviews for the Family History Report project should be finished, and now the notes from those interviews should be written in sentences and paragraphs for the rough draft. Each of the three interviews should have its own page as a mininum. Maps and family trees come next so stay tuned and have a good weekend.