Just Keep Learning!: End-of-Week Update, 2/7

Fourth grade Olympic mathletes are ready for the games to begin!

What we've been up to:
"Ahahahhaha!" everyone screamed as we read Bug Butts by Dawn Cusick. If you're wondering if this is REALLY about bug butts, it is! We are studying nonfiction in reading and (very soon) in writing! We have been discussing how nonfiction books are organized (text structures) and what tools the author uses to teach us new information (text features). We've been creating posters while listening to James and the Giant Peach. We have been collecting quotes from the book and explaining what the quotes tell us about each character. We've been working in groups collecting quotes about Centipede, Earthworm, Old Green Grasshopper, Ladybug, and James.

In social studies, we have concluded our study of the Southwest and we brought home our study guide / study packet. We learned about Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico. We learned about its geography, varied climate, and the Navajo people. One interesting fact that we didn't know before this week is that the Navajo people had to walk 300 miles to get to Fort Canby.

In math, we kicked off the Grade 4 Measurement Olympics. There are four groups and 22 countries represented. Each team is a different country. Today, we designed our passports with the country's flag. Each day next week we will be going to a different fourth grade classroom with different teachers for math and on Friday next week we will be hosting the pentathlon - a five event competition. Stay tuned for photos and videos! We also took our fractions test on Friday. Everyone worked so hard! This week in math, we also took a group challenge on fraction questions. A group challenge is when we get with our table groups and work together on a set of questions.

In health, we learned how important our faces can be and that we can tell where they were from just by looking at their faces. On Tuesday (P.E.) we started "Jump Rope for Heart" to help kids in need of money for their heart disease. On Wednesday, we sat by a fire with our feet up for a snow day! Thursday was a very exciting day for Team 20! We performed our orange belt song called "Merrily We Roll Along" for Mrs. MacMurray in recorder karate. Some people were even brave enough to go for the green belt song called "Who Has Seen the Wind?" Congratulations to Cormac, Caroline, Stephen, Leo, and Jared! Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Mac are so proud of all the belts earned this week! On Friday, Mrs. Hess helped us design our own medals for the Math Olympics next week!

What's coming up / notes from Mrs. Adams:

Our Measurement Olympics will be next Friday, 2/14! If you have sent in any shoeboxes, THANK YOU! If you have any other shoeboxes at home, we'd really love them! They do not need to have lids.
Students have been given an optional Winter Olympics scavenger hunt! They will be due after vacation at the conclusion of the Winter Olympics.
Our Southwest quiz will be on Thursday, 2/13. Study packets went home on Thursday and student have made study plans in their assignment notebooks.
The Barnes & Noble book fair is being held on 2/13 at the Bellingham Barnes & Noble. I will be reading at some point between 6:00 and 7:00 PM. Please come on down for good books and a fun time!