Wind Map Art

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Marine Quest Up Close

Ask a fourth grader to tell you all about it.  And consider going back tomorrow for the open house.  We  experienced 6 of the 30 presentations.  

Marine Quest Trip Friday

All fourth graders are going to  Marine Quest from 11:30 to 2:15 this Friday.  Lunch will be eaten early in the room.  Regular school uniforms are to be worn for this Friday only.

Tomorrow is just for school groups.  The public open house is Saturday. 

How Frogs Help Explain Electrical Circuits

Yesterday's science lesson included making switches.  We also learned about the invention of the battery.   We first read about two Italian scientists, Volta and Galvani.  Then we enjoyed a video in which actors playing these two scientists demonstrated their discoveries.

What Writers Do

Writers rewrite.  Caitlyn volunteered her short poem about her collie, which was projected on our screen, for a group editing exercise.  

One of the challenges in writing short poems is to remove unnecessary words.  Another is getting the flow and rhythm right.  Writers read and reread aloud their poems to evaluate how they "sound."

Channing & Carson Pitch, Bat and Score Against Each Other

Channing pitches to Carson

Channing (the blur) scoring

Great game....Pirates (Channing) vs. Yankees (Carson) last night.  I was there.  I switched sides and rooted for each team.  

Pinellas County Sheriff's General Counsel Explains Her Job

Beth Lastinger described her job as one of the best a lawyer could have.  Being the chief legal advisor to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department was full of variety and intellectually challenging.  She said she uses the skills she learned in school every day.  

Mac and his Mom 

The Lastingers are adventurous eaters and travelers.  Here's a sampler from an Ethiopian restaurant they shared with the class.  The spongy tef bread was a bit sour and delicious. 

Planting Rice: part 2

Several students from Mrs. Cameron/Mrs. Davis' class helped plant the rice.

First they put rocks on the bottom, then six inches of soil.

We're planting in an old cooler (thanks Ross family) so that we can roll it indoors during days in which it will be cooler than 70 degrees.  

Our rolling "rice paddy" has four inches of water above the soil line.

We sprinkled in the seeds and they sank to the soil.  They're supposed to take root.  Thanks to Mrs. Legakis for taking up the challenge of how we might grown rice here at Shorecrest.  Rice, after all, was grown in Colonial America and is one of the main food staples for the world's peoples. 

More Fourth Graders Get Involved in the Colonial Food Project

My class each shared something about how we planted the garden with members of Mrs. Cameron/Mrs.Davis class

Planting potatoes.....yes you plant a potato to grow a potato.  It's just a really big seed.

Poetry: Our Next Writer's Workshop Unit Begins

Oliver listens to Kyle read the first of his short poems on a single theme.

Students are working from a check list and guidelines for completing the poetry project.

We looked at several books of published short poems all on single themes.  I also showed them poems students wrote last year as well as my own poems composed while kayaking. 

All Pepped Up from Friday's Rally

Friday's Pep Rally re-charged our school spirit. 

Poetry in the Park is Coming. Poetry in the Park is Coming.

We've been studying this famous poem as part of our preparations for "Poetry in the Park" (November 8th from 8:30 to 10:30) in which  the entire fourth grade recites it.  All classes say in unison the first and last stanzas.  Each class takes two other stanzas to perform.  Due next Friday for our class is the  part that begins with "Then he said...." and ends with "Marching down to...."  So far so good.  

Examining Seed Potato Sprouts

Before planting our seed potatoes, Julia noticed some critters had invaded some of the sprouts on one of the potatoes.  We took turns observing them and we're  still trying to identify them.   

Over the weekend, Julia and her Mom identified the critters infesting our potato sprouts as one of over 275 species of mealybugs.  Here's Julia's photo using her "Zoomy" camera microscope.

Learn more about mealybugs: <www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/inter/inmine/Mbugs.html>

How I Vote in New Mexico by Absentee Ballot

I explained to the class that as a legal resident of New Mexico working in Florida I have to vote using an absentee voting system.  Here are the mailer and instructions.  New Mexico is an unofficially bi-lingual state due to our heritage as, first a colony of Spain, then later a part of Mexico.  Notice the instructions are in the yellow and red state flag colors.  The ballot included places to vote for a  president/vice president, US and state senators and representatives, judges, country officials and a lot of tax/bond issues.  Of course, everyone's vote is private, so I filled in the ballot at home and mailed it back in time to be counted.  I've encouraged everyone to discuss the coming election at home and not in class.   

Colonial Food Project: Measuring Weekly Growth

We've started journals to keep track of what we've planted and how's it growing.  Once a week we jot down changes in the appearance and size of each plant.  After two weeks the wheat was doing well. 

Colonial Food Project: Rice part 1

Growing rice in Florida is tricky.  First we soaked the rice seed for 24 hours.  Next we dried the seed for another 24 hours. 

Our Tobacco Presentation

Monday was our turn to host Town Meeting.  Mario and Louise greeted everyone.  Mac led the pledge.  Channing started the motto and Shannon introduced the singing of "America the Beautiful."  Then we shared what we've been learning about the role of tobacco in saving Jamestown, the first English speaking settlement in America.  We finished with some information on the dangers of using tobacco products and how people can learn more about a project called "Tobacco Free Florida."

Belgian Surrealist Artist Magritte Visits Class

Mac's Dad kicked off the year's "Picture Person" art appreciation program with a memorable performance  as Rene Magritte.  Here he poses with one of his most puzzling works.  The English title is "This is Not a Pipe."

How Many Batteries Does It Take...

....to light a 40 watt bulb?  That was the team investigation  today in Science. 

We first tested the amount of  energy (power) in each battery.  We next  took measurements of 13 and then 20 batteries linked together.  We got a pretty strong glow when everyone did their part.  

USA.....What?!

Souce: tumblr_mbacfiYGSD1qjyxt5o1_500.png

Planting Wheat & The Three Sisters (Corn, Squash and Beans)

Colonial America Gardening Project

Today I briefly introduced our year long foods of Colonial America project by talking about the Three Sisters Planting  that Native Americans passed on to European settlers.  This companion planting system allowed the beans to grow up the corn stalks and squash vines to spread over the ground blocking out weeds.   All fourth grade classes will have the opportunity to participate. This year long project based learning will  add to what we learn from our textbook and research lessons.   Thanks to the Legakis and Hess families for taking the lead in making this happen.

Image source and more information about Three Sister Planting here.