Author Linda Urban

Last week author Linda Urban spoke to the fourth grade about writing. She talked about how and why to write parts of a story with a lot of detail to slow the action and how and why to speed up their writing to get to the good stuff.  We were able to hear an excerpt from her new book and we looked at parts that showed a summary (limited detail) to parts that showed a scene (lots of detail to slow down the story).  Students had a chance to write about a soccer game and then they were given the option to share. The next day we applied what we learned by writing scenes in the realistic fiction narrative.Here are some photos from that day.

Henry's Freedom Box

After reading the book Henry's Freedom Box by Kadir Nelson, students did a Words Come Alive activity. They had to choose one scene from the book and represent that scene with a statue. One partner was the sculptor and one partner was the clay. Students shared their statues and its title. Their statues are pictured below.

Guy in a Box

Sideways in the Box

Pouring the Acid

Upside down in the Box

Family

Playing the Banjo

In the Box

Paralyzed!

Guy Crying

Taken Away in the Wagon

Trapped in a Box

Freedom!

Worried

Upside Down in the Box

Upside Down

Cleaning Water Experiment

On Tuesday we did an experiment where students were given dirty water and they needed to use a variety of materials (sponge, coffee filters, two different kinds of sand, moss, tissues) to try to get the water as clean as possible. We related this to how a wetland cleans up water.  Students worked in groups and designed three different trials.  They recorded their data on a sheet, filled a funnel with their materials, poured the water in the funnel, and timed their result. This experiment is similar to what students will have to do in the spring on a science NECAP test.  You can ask your child what changes they made in their experiment and how successful they were in cleaning up their water. Below are some photos from that day.
The first photos are from doing the experiment:

 The results:

Four Winds-Rocks and Minerals

Today we had Four Winds thanks to Margaret McCoy and Sara Kirby. The topic was Rocks and Minerals.
We learned that there are three different kinds-igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. You can ask your child to explain what they are doing in the photos.

How is a sandwich like a sedimentary rock?

Pass the rock.

Can you find which rock is yours by feeling it?

Identifying rocks by certain characteristics and tests.

Arranging rocks into their stages.

Waterton Planning Commission Play

This week students were presented with a scenario that a local farm has been sold to a development company.  The development company wants to build 14 houses on the farm land. A variance must be approved by the planning commisison. Several residents are coming to the planning commission meeting to give their opinion of what should be done with the land.

     Students were given roles and their position on the variance. A few business men Willy and Wally Variance (otherwise known as Lucas and Damian) were on the board. Students wrote a speech, found some costumes and presented their opinion to the board. The board heard their views and decided to allow some houses to be build along the current road and to leave some of the farm the way it was. The students did a fabulous job of getting into their character. Here are some photos from that day.




Miss Phoebe Byrd, a member of the Audobon Society



Mr. John Appletry who owns apple trees in adjoining property



Mr. Hank Boardman, who logs with horses on the farm

 

Miss Peggy Perc and her sister, investors in the development




Miss Sarah and Susan Breadloaf, local store owners
  

 

Mr. Bill Dozer a representative from the Development Company



Miss Amy Tillage, the person that had to sell the farm

 



The whole crew



Four Winds-Erosion

Today Margaret McCoy and Sara Kirby taught us about erosion.  Below are some of the great activities.

The Fabulous Puppet Show

Adding drops of water to flour to watch what happens

What happens to "soil" when the wind blows?

Shaking two jars with rocks and water. Ask your child what happened.

Investigaion-Students used sticks, rocks, leaves or grasses to secure the soil. Rain was added.

Students watched to see how well their structure kept the bank from eroding

Ask your child which bucket is theirs and how well it worked.