A Big Bite

Vagmi and Claudia create a tessellation at recess

What a great week!  We started right off on Monday with tons of energy and excitement, it was a great week to learn!  We continued to work on long division in math and everyone did great on the quiz.  We have started to learn about weather in science .  In reader's workshop, we are working on non fiction reading and this ties in great with our study of Canada in Social Studies. Those of us who participated in the Cinderella story study read the Brothers Grimm version on Thursday which was the 200th anniversary of the publication of their first fairy tale collection.  It was a bit gross, but exciting to read.  We worked on narrative essays and rhyming poems in writer's workshop.  We worked on following directions and practicing patience with each other and ourselves this week.  The project we made required plenty of practice with those skills.  The holiday speeches were great.  Check out the videos of Will and Leah giving their speeches, they did a great job!  Everyone is really excited for the holidays and vacation and to deal with potential stress, we did a quick yoga set on Friday morning with Mrs. Merten's class.  Ask your child to show you some of the poses.  Thanks for all of the charitable donations that you have made on my behalf and for the Christmas treats, they are greatly appreciated.  I am touched by your kindness of spirit and generosity.  Have a great holiday and a relaxing vacation.  See you in 2013!

Juicy Nibble

Thanks Matt W. :):):) I needed that today! Hugs to all of you!  See you on Monday!
 Love, Mrs. W

Juicy Nibble

Here is a copy of the email that Ms. Lynch sent to Mrs. Merten about our food drive for the Franklin Food pantry.  As a grade, we collected 321.4 pounds of food.  Way to go!!!  Take a bow  :)




Hi Katie - 
From all of us here at the Franklin Food Pantry, THANK YOU!!
We really appreciate all your hard work organizing the Kennedy food drive. It was a great pleasure for me to be able to speak to your students and hear all their fantastic questions!
Congratulations to you all on a job well done - you collected 321.4 pounds of food!  This will go a long way towards helping our neighbors in need during these hard winter months.
I look forward to working with you again. Please contact me any time with questions.

Best regards,
Erin

-- 
Erin Lynch
Director of Development
Franklin Food Pantry
508-528-3115
www.franklinfoodpantry.org

A Big Bite

It was a good week in room 23.  We finished The Family Under the Bridge and collected donations for the Franklin Food Pantry (see video below).  We also created Family Crests and mottoes which are in the post below.  Some of us are participating in a Cinderella story study and it is very interesting to read some of the many versions of Cinderella that have been written.  We can't WAIT to read the Grimm version :).We are almost finished with our favorite holiday narratives and will begin rhyming poems next week. In technology we finished our glogs.  Mrs. Merten wants us to show you the glogs we have created by logging in to Glogster with our user names and passwords.  In poetry workshop we learned about Robert Louis Stevenson.  We also learned about the painter Robert Singer Sargent because he painted a few portraits of Stevenson.  We have started "low stress," division in math by using easy multiples.  Mrs. Williams says that it is just ;like learning how to ride a bike, once we know how to do it we will be all set.  Be prepared for a division quiz next week.  Also, we have to present our speeches on Thursday.  We finished our study of Mexico and will begin Canada.  We also completed a "KWL," chart about weather and are excited to start the Weather unit in Science. Mrs. Williams says next week will be "loads of fun," and that we will all need to be flexible as she has a lot of fun activities planned for us before we leave for the holiday break.  Don't forget supplies for the craft on Monday!
By,
Nate, Ava and Jeffrey

Juicy Nibble

We have created family crests as part of our study of The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson.  Each student created a family motto to go along with the family crest.  Below is a list of the mottos:

Bower-You can't beat us
Brown-Never give up
Caporizzo-Try new things
Deverdits-Never give up
Dowling-Treat others the way you want to be treated
Fallon-Never give up
Garrett-To have it and not need it is better to need it and not have it-be prepared
Henrichon-Always honest
Honor-Never stop
Johnston-Never stop improving
Kane-Never quit
Kantheti-Practice makes perfect
Matthews-Move around the U.S.A
Parrella-We are great only if we have faith
Redwine-Don't be scared to be different
Roberts-Always having fun
Walker-Failure is not an option
Weidman-Think before you do
Whitmore-Never stop our travels
Wood-Don't think the past, think the future
Xiang-Keep on going

Mrs. Perry joined us and said that the Perry motto is "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.
The Williams family motto is "Always on the move"

A Big Bite

Food Pantry Notes

Genoworm activity

Ojo De Dios

Ms. Lynch

Menorahs

Super Snack , Stuffed Animal Day

We have had a great two weeks since Thanksgiving!  We did some cool experiments in Science and everyone did great on the heredity test.  We have learned all about Mexico and made a craft, Ojo de Dios!
The Mexico test will be next Wednesday.  We are almost finished with The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson.  Ms. Lynch, from the Franklin food Pantry, came to talk to us about the hunger crisis in the world and right here in Franklin!  Did you know that 600 families in Franklin can't afford enough food to eat, and 38% of those families have children?  4th graders will be holding a food drive during the upcoming week to support the Franklin Food Pantry.  In writer's workshop, we are almost done writing our favorite holiday essays.  We will be learning about Robert Louis Stevenson in Poetry workshop next week.  In technology, Mrs. Merten has had us making Glogsters about the Native Americans of the Northeast.  It has been so much fun.  Our super snack, stuffed animal day was cool.  We finished off our day by making stained glass Menorah's to kick off the Hanukkah holiday tomorrow.  Report Card conferences are next week and Mrs. Williams said that we have done a great job so far this year!  Only two more weeks until the holiday and Mrs. Williams promises us that they will be action packed!
By,
Emily and Mrs. W

Poetry Please

Things to do if you are an eraser

By Abi

Go to school

get unpacked

get put on desks

erase kids mistakes

get dropped on the floor

get found by someone

make life much easier

have a lot of siblings

love pink

be colorful

watch kids work

sit on kids' pencils

have a short life

A Big Bite

The last week and half has flown by!  We finished the multiplication unit and took our test.  We will be working o decimals and division next week.  We are learning about Mexico and finishing the unit on heredity in Science.  In Social Studies we had a presentation on Native Americans of the Northeast, presented by Mrs. Silvia of the Haffenreffer Museum from Brown University.  Mrs. Silvia is our Anthropologist in Residence.  We will have four "in school field trips with her this year as a result of a PCC Grant that was written by the 4th grade teachers.  Thanks PCC!  Pictures to follow!

We created "Thankful wreaths," in writer's workshop and created a "Thankful Tree," as part of Open Circle.  The Thanksgiving speeches were well done and everyone did a great job.  Chris and Anna were the first boy and girl to give their speeches and you can see the video of the speech below.

Black and White Day was a success!  Everyone was dressed in black and white!  Students brought in a variety of black and white snacks, stuffed animals and created Polar art projects.  We beat Mrs. Merten's class in Win, lose, or draw. :)  We enjoyed March of the Penguins and did great on the book test.

Have a wonderful holiday and Happy Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Williams

Juicy Nibble

I have been getting many questions about the Ski NH program.  It looks like the 4th grade program will be changing this year and the new information hasn't been released yet.  When it is, I will make sure that I let you know the details.  Until then, please click here for information about the 4th and 5th grade program.

A Big Bite

The students in room 23 have been working very hard during the past two weeks.  We had our first snow day as a result of Hurricane Sandy, we celebrated Halloween, voted in two elections (Presidential and Student Council), saw the first snowfall of the season and did much more!
In reader's workshop we have continued reading Mr. Popper's Penguins.  Mr. Whitmore was a guest speaker on Friday and showed us pictures and videos from his trip to Antarctica.  Next Friday will be black and white day.  A notice about this special day should be in folders this weekend.  As a class we have read 241 books this year and are on our way to achieving our goal of 1,250 books!  We are finishing personal narratives in writer's workshop and have begun acrostic poems.  We made Day of the Dead masks to start our study of Mexico.  We have been learning some basic Spanish so please ask your child to say, "My name is____," in Spanish.  Next week we will be starting the heredity unit in science and it should be interesting! Many students had great speeches prepared for the student council election.  Meg D. will be representing Room 23 this year!  Pictures will be posted soon.
Here is the quiz that Mr. Whitmore created for his presentation to the students about penguins.  Take it with your child.

Open publication - Free publishing - More antarctica

Celebrity singers for October, Anna, Ava and Matt.

Day of the Dead masks

Halloween yoga

Halloween Yoga

At the Core

It has been a busy two weeks!  So much going on in the world, the Election, Hurricane Sandy and the recent snowfall.  I want to say thank you so much for all of the emails and messages asking about my family in NY and NJ.  My family in NYC is fine  and recovering.  As some of you know, my in-laws live in Lavallette, NJ during the summer, which is on the barrier island that sustained massive damage during the hurricane.  I run to Seaside Heights and back every morning that I am there, and am familiar with the places that have now been destroyed.  I was on that boardwalk many times this past summer. Our house is on the bay side, and as of yet we have not been able to gain access to assess the damage.  We have seen aerial shots and the house is still standing, but we learned this morning that the water level is still high on the bay side during the tide. Year round residents will be allowed access this weekend and only for a few hours to retrieve documents, take pictures and throw away food.  At this point, we do not know when we will be allowed onto the island to check things out as much needs to be done to restore the infrastructure and basic needs for residents like gas, electric, water and sewer.  What I do know is that we will survive and are thankful that we are all alive.  We will "Restore the Shore."  Brandon D. a former 4th grader and sibling of Meg D came to see me.   He attends college in NJ and had to come home due to the power outages. He witnessed people pushing their cars along the GSP just to get gas.  People are amazing. :)

Poetry, Please

A list poem inspired by a girl's love of shoes, all kinds!

What to do if You're a Pair of Shoes

by Ava

Step in mud

Sit in the closet all day

Get washed

Step in the crunchy leaves

Wait to go outside

Kick a soccer ball

Run a race

Give good luck

get tossed on the floor

Get chewed up by a dog

Get polished

Travel the country

Get donated

Get thrown out

Splash in a puddle

Be fashionable

Get thrown BACK in the closet

Be on every girl's shopping list!

Juicy Nibble

4th grade teachers across Franklin have been working with Dr. Susan Looney, of Looney Consulting, to implement the new changes in the mathematics curriculum according to the Common Core of Standards and Massachusetts Standards.  In class, the students have been working on multi digit multiplication using a variety of methods, strategies and algorithms.  In the photos, the girls used base ten blocks to show the "area model," method of multiplication.

70*90

40*80

 The video shows "window boxes,"  which is what we worked on today as a preview to the partial products method of multiplication.  Click on it if you need help with tonight's homework.

Poetry Please

In poetry workshop, we have started acrostic poems.  We learned about this fun form of poetry from Kenn Nesbitt.  This is the poem we wrote as a class.  We think it describes us well.

Happy to help others
Amazing learners
Read all the time
Don't ever give up

Work harder than anyone
Often get good grades
Really take time to think
Kids who don't stop
Effort is everything
Really focus on their work
Super students!

Juicy Nibble

Here are a few more trick or treaters.  Tommy as a Ninja, Lea as a spider queen , Sophie as a Gothic ballerina and Claudia as a zebra!

Add caption

Juicy Nibble

I told the students on Wednesday that I'd post pictures of them in their Halloween costumes. So far, I have this picture of Matt.  Apparently the green paint wasn't as easy to remove as it was to put on!  Nice job, Matt!

Juicy Nibble

Here are the musicians of room 23 playing "Thriller," by Michael Jackson on Halloween.  Make sure you listen for the Zombies at the end of the performance. Thanks Mrs. Mac!

Juicy Nibble

Hey gang!  I told you that I couldn't run at JFK this morning because I was running in Worcseter this afternoon.  Here are some pictures I thought you might like.  The other Justice League heroines in the pictures were happy to pose with me! I made sure to thank each of them :)  There were other runners dressed as Wonder Woman, but I had the best cape thanks to Mrs. Merten!

Representing Paradise Island and District 12

I met Batgirl!

...and Supergirl!

After the race with Katniss Everdeen and Mr. W!

Creative Arts Chronicles

Creative Arts Fridays continue to be very popular in Room 23!  Poetry Workshop and Tech Block are rolling right along and everyone is making great progress.  Mrs. MacMurray is working her magic with the chorus and the recorders sound fantastic!  

Mrs. Hess is the guest author this month for the blog.  She has written a great post about all of the art work and art history that has taken place in 4th grade this month!  Also, the concept of "zooming in," is used in writer's workshop as well as Art!  We love when all of our teaching strategies and concepts cross curriculum areas.  It makes the learning more meaningful and authentic for students. Thanks Mrs. Hess!

"Abstraction of a Leaf" 

Students used a view finder to 'Zoom in' and look closely at the veins of a leaf and draw a close up view.

They used  unrealistic colors to turn the drawing into an abstract design.

We looked at paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe since she painted with a close up focus on nature.

We also looked at portraits by Pablo Picasso as an example of abstract artwork.

Students learned that abstract art does not look realistic but can be based on real life things.

"Autumn Still-Life Drawing"

Students looked closely at an arrangement of pumpkins leaves and sunflowers and created a still-life drawing based on what they saw. They looked closely and tried to create a realistic image of the autumn still-life. Students learned that it is easier to create a realistic drawing when you have real objects to look at and draw from, rather then drawing from memory.

Poetry,please!

The poem of the week is a group effort by the students in room 23.  These are haiku poems with a Halloween theme!

Devils in the night

Costumes, costumes everywhere

Werewolves full of blood!

Blood sucking vampires

Chainsaw maniacs

Watch the skeletons!

A Big Bite

It was a weird week because Mrs. W was at conferences for two days!  She is glad to be back with us. :)  We are LOVING Mr. Popper's penguins.  There are many interesting and exciting plot points.  Our narratives are almost done and we have started haiku in poetry workshop.  We finished the unit on basic facts in math and took a test.  We will start multi digit multiplication next week.  We played Ring that Bell in Science and everyone did a great job on the test.  We learned more about latitude and longitude in social studies and will take a test next Tuesday.  In Open Circle, we talked about things we all have in common.  As a special treat, we got an extra recess with Mrs. Merten's class on Mrs. W's birthday.  Many of us are going to the Ladybug 5k on Saturday and will do Mrs. W's yoga stretch for kids before the Fun Run at 9:30 and the 5k at 10:00. Next week is Halloween on Wednesday and Hurricane Sandy at the beginning of the week.  Watch out!!!
By,
Anna, Ava, Emily and Mrs. Williams

A Big Bite

Everyone keeps plugging right along in room 23.  We have started multiplication in math and have learned some fun games.  Ask your child to play multiplication baseball with you.  We will have a test on Friday and everyone should be practicing their math facts every day.  In reader's workshop we have started our first interactive read aloud, Mr. Popper's Penguins.  We will be working on making predictions, character traits, thick and thin questions and open response questions.  Everyone is doing a better job with choosing just right books and independent reading will continue during our read aloud.  In writer's workshop, we have started drafts of a personal narrative and are finishing up list poems.  Scroll down to read Vagmi's poem about her toy box.  We have finished the unit on the water cycle and the scientific method and will take a test on Tuesday.  In social studies we are learning how to locate places on a map using exact coordinate points without using a GPS!  This is a difficult skill but everyone is really putting forth great effort.  Chorus was fun on Friday as Matthew W stepped up to the microphone to solo in front of the entire 4th grade.  Look out American Idol! :)

Poetry, Please

We have been writing list poems and here is Vagmi's.  It made Mrs. Merten cry :)

Inside my Toy Box

by Vagmi

Inside my toy box there is a Barbie Doll

a stuffed bunny

my old nursery books

an entire doll house a purple bouncy ball

an entire kit of 48 colorful crayons

Some blue beads and clear string

a rainbow bag full of chalk

and some old sugar cookie crumbs.

Some Harry Potter movies 

and some yellow sticky notes.

Some flexible blue rubber bunnies

and colorful pencils

a bunch of white paper

some picture books 

and a lot of memories!

Juicy Nibble

It was great seeing everyone tonight, old friends and new!

Yup, tall girl is even TALLER, and finally taller than me!