2013 school year

The school year is officially underway. Today was back to school night & I finally put the finishing touches on my room. Finally. Check it out!

Beautiful Earth Day

I am working on celebrating holidays with my class. Since we are 4th graders I explain the historical significance of an upcoming holiday and then we do an activity. This month there is Earth Day.

I found this idea on one of the many pinterest boards that I follow. They are recycled water bottle "chandeliers." The students color the outside of plastic bottles with sharpie and cut a spiral around it. Then, I tied them together and hung them up. I have to say they are quite stunning.

Murder and Literature

Have you read this book? The Westing Game is such a fun class read (as long as nobody spoils the ending). In this unit we learned all about the elements of a mystery. We wrote our own mystery stories. We worked on inquiry and predicting based on textual cues. Best of all, the students get WAY into it and soon everyone is reading Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys!

Math Facts

Something missing last year was a math bulletin board. This year the problem was solved. I love this little board and it shows that math is important too.  Next year I hope to integrate math stations from an idea I saw online (yes, on pinterest). SO excited.