What Happened to March?

Alas, March almost got by me without a single post to Mrs. Sullivan's Scoop!  Since the saying is "Better late than never" I thought I would share a few photos of happenings in our classroom before the calendar turns to April tomorrow.

Science

In the beginning of this month we were working to wrap up our study of electrical energy.  Students completed an engineering design challenge in which they needed to apply their knowledge of closed circuits, schematic diagrams, conductors and the engineering design process in order to design an alarm system that alerted them, via light and sound, if the water in their model trough was low.  

Literacy

We ended this month by bidding farewell to one of our classmates who moved out of state, but not before we had our first ever Book Lunch Bunch.  All students who read our picture book of the month were invited to attend.  We had a great showing!  We shared lunch together in the classroom, discussed the book The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg, and shared a special dessert too!  Students seemed to enjoy our book discussion, and later during literacy many dove right into reading our picture book of the month for April, Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg.  Shhhh....don't tell the students that my ploy to get them reading more picture books seems to be working, it'll be our little secret.  

Chris Van Allsburg is one of my favorite picture book authors.  His stories provide many opportunities for students to make inferences.  See if your child can explain to you what an inference is.  We define it as an educated guess which combines what the text says with our own thinking in order to understand what is not explicitly stated in the reading. This is a higher level reading skill that we are trying to develop in all of our fourth grade readers.

Four Winds

We are very lucky to have Four Winds volunteers who come in once a month and provide a hands on science experience for our class.  This year's overall theme is ecosystems.  This month students learned about white-tailed deer and the role they play in our northern woodlands. 

Living Wax Museum

Wednesday we celebrated our learning by holding a Living Wax Museum.  Unlike in most museums, attendees were encouraged to interact with and touch the items on display.  They were able to shake hands with, photograph, and interview prominent people of the past and present.  Thank you to all of our friends and family for joining us in celebration of our learning!

Back Row:  Wayne Gretzky, Helen Keller, Carly Patterson, Gabby Douglas, Theodore Roosevelt, Jane Goodall, Harriet Tubman, Steve Jobs, David Beckham

Middle Row:  Amelia Earhart, Dr. Seuss, Jeff Gordon, Jim Henson, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Elizabeth Blackwell, Tony Hawk

Front Row:  Taylor Swift, Derek Jeter, John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, Neil Armstrong

"Albert Einstein"

"David Beckham"

"Muhammad Ali"

Friday Art

Friday, during art, I found students hard at work on their portraits.  These portraits, along with timelines, reports, and suggested interview questions will be on display during our Living Wax Museum.   We hope you will join us as our students embody these prominent figures of the past and present.  Please join us in the library at 1:00pm on Wednesday, February 18th.  

Science

Students investigated different materials to determine which made good insulators and which would conduct electricity.  Ask your student what kinds of materials make good conductors.  Students will need to apply their learning about conductors when they design a switch for their alarm system.

Week of February 2nd

W.O.W.
Our word of the week is creativity:  the use of imagination or original ideas

Growth Mindset
This week we continue to learn how changing our words can change our mindset.  

Field Trip

Last Wednesday we had the opportunity to visit the fine folks at Vermont Public Radio and Vermont Public Television.  Both tours provided students with an interactive experience that related to our learning about sound and light.  Ask your student about their favorite part of our trip.  It might be hard for them to pick just one.