CONGRATULATIONS...

...to the fourth grade class! We scored at the 82nd percentile on the Terra Nova standardized tests this year, which was PSM's highest average for grades 1-12. In addition, this score represents a 4% increase over last year's third grade scores, which is awesome!

Let's keep up the good work for a strong end to the school year!

Parts of Speech with Fill-in-the-Blank Stories

Hello Fourth Graders!

Jamison, along with some other students, has asked for the link to the website we used to practice parts of speech. I've pasted the link below. Just make sure you fill in words that are correct examples of the required word type (plural nouns, past tense verbs, etc.), or your story won't make sense! Have fun - and use this to review your grammar categories!

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

Readers, keep checking back for some awesome examples of fourth grade poetry that will soon be shared on our website.

Reading Our Fables with Second Grade Buddies

This month, the fourth grade students wrote original fables and typed their final copies in the computer lab. These short stories are intended to teach their readers and listeners a lesson, so we invited the second grade classes to come listen and learn. The second grade students also brought their writing folders to share some of their work, and the kids in both grade levels really liked listening to each other. It was fun for them to get to read their own writing to people other than their own classmates, parents, and teachers. Here are some pictures of the students who were up in the fourth grade room (There were groups reading in both second grade classrooms, too!).

Reflections on History in the Making

I wish you all could have peeked into our classroom this morning when we stood at 8:00 to listen to our morning prayer read over the intercom and say the Pledge of Allegiance and PSM's mission statement. The fourth graders were energized, patriotic, and radiant after last night's presidential election. With feeling and loud, confident voices, these kids enthusiastically said the pledge and mission statement with more feeling and emotion than I have ever heard a group of people display as they recite the familiar words. They truly owned the words they spoke this morning, as they proclaimed that they are "not frightened by the challenges of reality," that their "talent, discipline, and integrity will be their contribution to a NEW world," and that they give their loyalty to a country that is "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The experience of praying with my students this morning, and then reciting the pledge and mission statement together, is one of the most special moments of my teaching career so far.


I gave my students the opportunity to record their thoughts and feelings about this historic election this morning. We talked about being primary sources for future historians, and how their experiences and feelings NOW will be very special for them to look back on and remember years from now. They all began with the same words and then filled in their own thoughts, and the writing they produced was very honest, thoughtful, and profound. With their permission, I have chosen a few of these pieces of writing to share with all of you. I hope you enjoy reading our students' own words about what this election has meant to them!

Jadelyn: "Today is November 5, 2008. I am 8 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel proud because he is the 1st black president! He will do great things. He got kids excited about learning and voting. He is the best president."

Nakeya: "Today is November 5, 2008. I am 9 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel so happy, because I believe that Obama will make a change. There are some people that don't agree with Obama, but I want to say, "People who do not believe in Obama, believe that the world will be a better place and believe that your life will be better, because I believe in Obama and I believe that you can too. But if you still don't believe in him, I will pray for you."

Kameron: OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT! Today is November 5, I am 9 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel great because the 44th president is black. It seems he's going to be a great president. God made the best man win and I agree. Hopeful[ly]he will be the best we have. God please make Sen. OBAMA be safe and his family. OBAMA please help the people in Africa. Everyone voted for you and please don't let us down! Please make the police stay on task. OBAMA, we [chose] you for a reason.

David: Today is November 5, 2008. I'm 10 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the USA. I feel excited about hav[ing] the first black president. He has made good changes to our country. We could have had our first woman. I'll someday become president, too.

Serenity: Today is November 5, 2008. I am 9 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel very excited because this is the first time we have had a black president. My other thoughts are that you will help the United States and become the GREATEST PRESIDENT. I have some questions. Will you change gas prices? My other question is, will you change tax prices? P.S. I wonder do you remember me because Sasha and Mali were in my ballet class. My mom also knew Michelle. Do you remember me and my mom?

Joshua: Today is November 5, 2008. I am 8 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel great about this. Barack Obama is African American like me. This historic day makes me feel like I can do anything. I never thought that a[n] African-American would run for president until now. I hope I become president in 2035.

Jerusalem: Today is November 5, 2008. I am 10 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel just in shock, in a good way. Ever since my dad got me into politics at 7 years old I thought every president would be white. On this same day God has proved probably every [person who thought that] wrong. My mom was so excited and so was my dad. If Obama serves two terms I'll be 18 at the end. I hope I can even look back on this at 79 years old.

Natalia: Today is November 5, 2008. I am 9 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel so happy about it because all the people who said we can't do it, we did it! It was so fun to stay up and go to Grant Park!

Imani: Today is November 5, 2008. I am 9 years old. Yesterday, our country elected Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States. I feel great because he is the first African American, person from Chicago, and black president in the history of [American] presidents. I feel so joyful because of yesterday. I'm just so happy because of today. Even though John McCain was a good candidate, Barack Obama won the election.

Math Practice and Game Websites

I've had requests from a couple of students to post some math practice websites, and I found a few good ones today. Jamison also posted a comment about a math website he liked. Get on and practice, especially with your multiplication and division facts!

In addition, I wanted to let everyone know that the podcast recordings of our Underground Railroad presentations should be available sometime during the next week. Going through the technology involved with this project will take a little time the first time through. I'll keep you updated!

http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/ - This is a math dictionary for kids, so you can look up words that you have questions about.

http://www.mathplayground.com/ - "Welcome to Math Playground, an action-packed site for elementary and middle school students. Practice your math skills, play a logic game and have some fun!"

http://www.coolmath4kids.com/index.html - This website looks really exciting. Look aound and see what it has to offer!

http://www.mathcats.com/explore/reallybignumbers.html - Can you say really big numbers? Type some in and try!

See you on Monday!

Some geography practice sites

Here are some websites that have online practice games to quiz yourself for our exams:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm - This website has practice games for the oceans and continents. Just choose which level you want to play at (you could do the "expert" level, fourth graders!).
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm - This one has lots of different map games for the U.S.A.
http://www.eduplace.com/geonet/ - This has lots of map games, both for the world and for the U.S.A.

http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/index.html - Lots of grammar games with the "Grammar Gorillas"! Just choose beginner or advanced and get going!
http://www.netrover.com/~mary3384/noun/noun.html - Naming nouns, verbs, and adjectives to defeat an evil robot - what could be better?

If any of my students are reading this, I want to remind you to STUDY, especially for Social Studies, Science, and other classes where you have lots of vocabulary words to know and understand. Use your study guides, online games, books, notes, and any other materials you have. See you tomorrow!

Exam and Project Presentation Week

A reminder for fourth grade students: Bring all the materials from your research/conversation project (library research notes, project sheet, and written script) to class on Monday, and prepare yourself this weekend for a smooth presentation by rehearsing your lines and practicing clear, confident speaking.

I also invite you to comment on this blog with any review questions or problems for other students to solve and discuss. You can post an answer to a question someone else wrote (use their name in the post) or ask a new question. Come back and visit several times to see if there are any more questions you can answer! Here are two to get you started, one for reading and one for math:

Reading: Make a list of all the characters from our risks and consequences stories. Write a poem that describes one of them and his or her personality and actions! Share your poem on the blog.

Math: Concert tickets are on sale. Front-row tickets cost $35, center stage $25, balcony $15, T-shirts $10, and posters $8. John bought 2 front-row tickets for himself and his brother, 2 T-shirts, and 2 posters. How much did John spend? When you think you've got the answer, post it as a comment!

Also, remember that if you have a poll you'd like to give the class, write down the question and all your options and bring it to school for me.