Holiday Plates

Over the last two weeks we have been spending some time working on a very special holiday project.  Thanks to our wonderful PTO, we were able to purchase white plates and a large variety of Sharpie markers for the students to use.  The students worked very hard on designing beautiful plates to give as gifts.  

 The students created many beautiful plates.  Here are just a few examples.

Once all the plates were finished, we spent time wrapping them.  Everyone was able to choose which wrapping paper they wanted and added yarn and bows.  They attached cards they had made as well, and were very excited to take them home to give them as gifts.

Thank you again to our PTO and the parents who provided the supplies we needed to complete this special project!

Christmas Assembly

What a wonderful Friday we had!  The day before winter break is always very busy and this year was no different.

We started the day by opening up our Prize Box.  Students were able to use their soccer tokens which they earn for a variety of positive reasons throughout the school year to "buy" a wide assortment of items.  Thank you to our great PTO who allowed us to use a portion of our mini-grant money to buy items for our prize box!

The students then spent some time wrapping the gifts they made earlier in the week.  They worked hard to wrap their gifts and added yarn and bows to really make them look special!

The last thing we had time for before lunch was to watch the movie "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."  We read the book together in class on Monday and Wednesday and the students enjoyed seeing the differences and similarities between the book and the movie.

In the afternoon we had our annual Christmas Assembly.  This year we did something a little different and students from each grade performed for the school.  Since fourth and fifth grade had just celebrated Grinch Day on Thursday, they recited "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" together.  They had been practicing all week and wore the Grinch masks that they made.

All of the students in every grade level did an excellent job performing!

We finished the day by celebrating at our Christmas party.  Thank you to the parents who helped put it together.  The students had a wonderful time and it was the perfect way to end the day!

Grinch Day

On Thursday, December 17th the fourth graders celebrated Grinch Day.

The students started the day by creating Grinch masks to be worn at the whole-school Christmas assembly during which they will recite How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss with the help of our fifth grade friends.

Our next activity was to describe "A Gift Money Can't Buy." Students wrote a paragraph about a gift of special meaning to them that they could give to a family member or friend.

After lunch, students enjoyed some Grinch punch and a candy cane (thanks to all of you who sent them in!) while watching an afternoon matinee of How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey.

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. 

Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more."

~Dr. Seuss.

November Book It Participants

This year the fourth grade is again participating in the Book It Program sponsored by Pizza Hut.  Each month from October through March the students are encouraged to read at home each day.  We set a goal for the number of minutes students are required to read.  At the end of the month they turn in their calendar showing how many days they met their reading goal.

When the goal is met the students receive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza!  We keep track on our bulletin board with the posters Book It sent us.

Congratulations to this month's participants.  Thank you for reading at home and thank you to the parents who have encouraged them.  I hope your enjoyed you pizza!

 

Jim Basketball Jones Anti-bullying Assembly

On Monday, December 7 students in grades 4-6 attended an anti-bullying assembly starring Jim Basketball Jones. Using a combination of humor and basketball tricks, Jones explained to the students that life is about the choices we make and living with the consequences of those choices. He challenged the students to be the one person to make a difference in our community.

When asked what they learned, here's what students had to say:

"I learned that if you work hard you can accomplish many things."

"I learned that it doesn't matter what other people think about you, it's what you think about yourself and it's ok to be who you are, not anybody else."

"One thing I learned is to never give up."

 "I learned that helping is good and everyone can help no matter what."

"One thing I learned is that no one is perfect. Just be yourself."

"The one thing that I learned was that we have to say kind words to people."

We leave you with this thought: 

"Don't live your life to prove yourself. Live your life to IMprove yourself!"

St. Nick Visits Fourth Grade

Yesterday morning when the students arrived at school they found a surprise on their desks.  Over the weekend St. Nick had stopped by all of the fourth grade classrooms!

Each student received a candy cane and a brand new book.  St. Nick must have wanted to get all of them in the holiday spirit because he left them The Dog Who Saved Christmas and Other True Animal Tales. 

Since the students had not left their shoes at school over the weekend, St. Nick even left them a little poem so they would know he was the one who had stopped by.  They were all very excited and enjoyed eating their candy canes right away.  We are looking forward to seeing them reading their new books over the next two weeks!

Reading Centers

Almost every week in Reading class, we have been completing centers.  The students really seem to enjoy the two days each week where they are working in small groups, with a partner, or independently on a variety of tasks.

We begin centers on Wednesday after having been instructed on each of the skills for the week on Monday and Tuesday.  The students have the majority of class Wednesday and Thursday to move through their four centers.  Each student receives a Centers Checklist that lists the directions for each center.  We go over this together and then they have it with them to refer to while they are working.

Over the last few weeks I've been able to collaborate with Mrs. Fedor and have one center that had the students working on both reading and science skills.  This last week we collaborated again and had the students completing a social studies skill.  With a partner, they were reading a map of Ohio and then created a poster listing some of the important features of their state.

Overall the students did a great job working on this center and learned a lot about their state and how to read a map.

A Girls Only and a Boys Only Day

On Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, the fourth and fifth grade teachers collaborated and did something a little different.

The boys worked in the fifth grade area throughout the day.  They did a variety of team building activities which emphasized leadership, communication, and encouragement. They also completed a math and science activity, then had some time to work on a Christmas project.

The girls began their day by getting to know each other in small groups.  They then each created their own compliment bag.  They put their names on a bag and decorated it however they wanted.  Throughout the day, they each put compliments in each others bags.  At the end of the day, they went home with some great compliments from old and new friends!

Their other activity allowed the girls to work together in a small group, be creative, and reflect a little about who they are.  They used magazines that were sent in by parents (thank you!) and cut out words or pictures that they felt told something about them.

They used the magazine clippings to create a collage.  The teachers traced their silhouettes onto the back of the collage and then the girls cut them out and mounted it on black paper.  The projects ended up looking great and the girls had such a great time working together to complete them.

Each group ended their day with a presentation from the Cleveland Clinic on Hygiene.  It was a great talk and we appreciate the presenter coming to speak with our students.  They learned a lot and even left with a personal hand sanitizer!

Simile Writing

This past week in Reading, we learned about similes and metaphors.  We did some practice with them in class and for homework using our textbook and workbook.  When I was planning our centers for the week, I wanted to do something a little creative while having the students write their own similes.  After doing a little bit of searching on Pinterest and talking with Mrs. Rini, she helped me come up with two fun activities for the students to complete.  Not only did they write a few similes on their own, they also helped me to get a bulletin board ready for the Christmas season!

Some of the students completed an activity we called Color Similes.  They wrote three similes about the color green or the color red.  I started by giving them a few examples using other colors.

The students then wrote their three similes on paint sample chips that were shaped like Christmas trees and ornaments.

Other students completed an activity we called Grinch Similes.  They wrote a minimum of four similes about the Grinch.  I started by discussing adjectives that described the Grinch.  This helped the students come up with some great similes describing the Grinch.  They wrote their final copies on papers with a picture of the Grinch in the middle.

     

All of the work looks great and I cannot wait to get it hung up for the holidays!