Bookworm Buzz

I have been continuing to read as many of the latest and greatest books that have been published in children's literature and want to share my Goodreads reviews with all of you.

 In addition, I have exciting news to share from the world of Graphic Novels, one of my favorite genres; I am going to be participating in a special internet reading program for teachers this October called the #GNCelebration.  It is similar to the #Picturebook10for10 program that I participate in during August, but this one will be all about Graphic Novels!  My friends, Mrs. Landrigan and Mrs. Mulligan will be co-hosting the event and I am so excited to join them.  Be looking for my posts on Thursdays in October.  But until then, enjoy these latest reviews!


Hilo Book 1: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fans of Amulet will love this new series. Can't wait for the next one. Loved the Art.


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Digby O'Day and the Great Diamond Robbery by Shirley Hughes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved book one and I love book two. Students are lining up to get their hands on this book. Excited for the thir book. 

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Felix Stands Tall by Rosemary Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great for character education in all grades.

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Piper Green and the Fairy Tree by Ellen Potter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fall 4th graders will enjoy this story of Piper Green and will look forward to the second book in the series.

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Eva's Treetop Festival by Rebecca Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you like Owls, this is just the book for you! Written in diary entries by a young owl, this story introduces the reader to a great character, Eva. Students will be lining up to read this one. Loved the illustrations!

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Some Things I've Lost by Cybèle Young

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely beautiful! Very creative and will readers to explore everyday objects with curiosity and imagination. I loved the surprise at the end! Masterful art. 

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My Cousin Momo by Zachariah OHora

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I laughed out loud! Who doesn't look forward to visits with cousins, even the difficult ones? Readers will be able to make some great connections with this picture book. I loved the illustrations.

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Ally-saurus & the First Day of School by Richard Torrey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice story about the first day of school, fitting in and imagination.

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Punk Farm on Tour by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just for fun! Great characters!

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The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun twist on a princess story that is empowering! I love the full color illustrations. A great way to introduce Shannon Hale to 3rd and 4th graders.

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Poppy the Pirate Dog's New Shipmate by Liz Kessler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A great way to introduce readers to the work of Liz Kessler. Dog lovers will enjoy this book, cat lovers too!

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A Big Bite

What a week!  We have been working on so much and learning a great deal.  We are working on addition and subtraction in math and have continued our STEM project, Puffmobiles!  Understanding roles in cooperative groups continues to be a focus not just on the Puffmobile project, but across all areas.  It is great to see everyone working hard and contributing equally.  We have continued our study of the water cycle in Science and are looking forward to creating terrariums next week as part of non fiction writing (how to write a science lab) and by studying the life cycle more closely by creating a mini ecosystem in a jar.  In social studies we are continuing to work on map and globe skills and will be focusing on latitude, longitude and how to find exact locations on a map by using coordinate grid points AND degree coordinates.  We will become our own GPS systems! :)

We are still working on launching Reader's workshop and focusing on the skills that make us feel strong as readers.  We are examining questions readers have in order to improve comprehension and to begin talk worthy discussions about books.  Choosing just right books is still a focus for many of us, and reading for meaning as opposed to reading for speed is a goal too. As part of word study, we are learning about prefixes, suffixes and using context clues to understand the meaning of unknown words.  This is a great reading strategy and one that we will start to use across the curriculum.  In writer's workshop, we have been focusing on writing complete sentences with varying sentence structure to convey hopes, dreams and goals for fourth grade.  We even used the Chrome books to take "Selfies," and then insert them into our document.  A shout out to Peter for helping us with this skill.  We can't wait to show them to you at Open House on Thursday!  In poetry workshop, we finished writing bio poems which are now hanging in the Poet's Corner and will be the first poem in our poetry journals.  We will learn about Walt Whitman next week and begin writing list poems.  We are very busy in 4th grade! We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Open House on Thursday night at 6:30!

T-shirt of the Day

So true!

T-shirt of the day

Interesting, very interesting. :)

A Big Bite

Another week of 4th grade is done and the time is flying by.  We had a fun week with some very special activities.  Len Cabral, storyteller, told us stories from around the world to celebrate our summer reading program.  It was wonderful, thank you PCC.

We have been working hard on establishing routines in reader's workshop and though we aren't done, we are making great progress.  We are setting goals for reading this year and are monitoring our progress on these goals.

We are connecting our word study skills and writing skills with reading!  We are working hard to realize that we "read like writers and write like readers."  Using this philosophy helps to connect all subject areas across the curriculum.  We are writing biopoems in poetry workshop and creating a list of our goals, hopes and dreams for 4th grade in writer's workshop.  We are using the Chrome Books throughout the day for a variety of tasks and LOVE technology workshop with Mrs. Merten.
In math workshop, we finished our unit on place value, participated in math centers and took a test on these skills.  Everyone did a great job!  We will be changing groups next week and focusing on addition.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) was a focus for Friday.  Mr. Adams, our resident engineer, gave us a presentation on Friday about the engineering process and presented our first engineering project, Puffmobiles.  One of the goals of this project is to learn how to work in cooperative groups.  We spent time on Friday learning about the different roles in a cooperative group and choosing these roles.  We did a good job learning our roles but quickly realized that listening is an important skill for everyone in a group, especially to directions.  Each group set a goal for Monday for the next step in the process.  Learning how to work in a group is not easy and we will have plenty of practice this year to work on these skills.  Once we have read ALL of the directions and brainstormed ideas for our Puffmobiles, the construction will begin.  Students will be creating a wind powered car using beads, straws, paper and straight pins.  It is going to be fun and a great learning experience in many ways!
We began science and social studies this week with focus on the scientific method and basic map skills.  More to come this week!  Thursday was Constitution Day and we participated in a few activities with Mrs. Merten's class that gave us an introduction to the US Constitution.  Click on the video to learn about the Constitution.

We had picture day this week and we had some fun with Mrs. Merten's selfie stick.  Check out her blog for some fun pictures that we were able to take with her camera.

It was great to see so many parents at orientation this week.  If you were unable to make it, the agenda and handbook was sent home.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  No survey this weekend, enjoy the waning days of summer!
Mrs. Williams

Juicy Nibble

Mrs. Merten found some fun games to play that are all about place value!  We will play these games in centers tomorrow, but you can get started tonight if you like!

Base Ten Fun

Raceway Number Values (Comparing Numbers)

Guess the Number

Soccer Math (Rounding)

Have Fun!

A Big Bite

Welcome to Grade 4, Mrs. Williams 4th grade and The Shiny Red Apple Blog!  We have had a great opening and an exciting first two weeks full of friends, fundamentals and fun.  We are establishing routines in reader's, writer's and math workshops.  We have been getting to know one another and have been creating a learning environment that is ripe for success, independence, academic risk taking, positive relationships, teamwork and joy.  We are looking forward to a wonderful year together.  Stay tuned to our blog for the latest updates and happenings in room 23.  Sign up to be a follower!  We are excited to get this year started!  Students please click here to complete a survey about 4th grade.

T-shirt of the day

Many students are glad that ALL of the Patriots are back on the field tonight! Do you see the photo bombers?

T-shirt of the day

So true, you just have to believe! These students do! :)

Juicy Nibble

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Can you guess where Mr. Williams and I are? Leave a comment with your guess. See you Tuesday. :)

Juicy Nibble

First day smiles! A great group off to a great start. :)