Gifts

One of the greatest gifts, is the reality that I "GET TO" teach every day. It is a career that inspired me when I was a fourth grader, and even nineteen years into my career, I appreciate the opportunity to teach. The BEST part of my job is the time spent IN the classroom, working with students. The politics, paperwork, meetings, and constant change does not impact those magical moments when I have the opportunities to learn and build on all the individual potential. MY KIDS matter.

Today, I shared some holiday gifts with my kids. The reading teacher in me had over 100 books for them to choose from, a pencil, an eraser, and a peppermint candy cane were all offered.

Thank you for sharing your fourth graders. The gifts they individually bring to class is far greater than anything "thing" I can give. I appreciate their talents, interests, stories, and experiences that are not measured on any test. When I count my blessings this season, the students in my class and their families are near the top of my list. Thank you!

Song of Learning

It can be a challenge to have all students interested in the same music. That never seems to be a challenge when it comes to the Grinch song! It is a good thing, because we used the song again!

First, we've been practicing our reading fluency daily. Next, on Tuesday, we reviewed the parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and adjectives and identified them in the song. Today, we learned about:

* similes - comparing two things using "like" or "as"
example: "You're as cuddly as a cactus."

* metaphors - comparing two things, by saying one things IS another thing
example: "You really are a heel."

our work together in class

Students worked with partners to identify the similes and metaphors in the song.

It really is a full week of LEARNING in fourth grade! The BEST part, it is an on-going learning EXTRAVAGANZA, and our students are enjoying the many different aspects of the Grinch and "lost" (engaged) in the activities, building their brains one activity (lesson) at a time!

Elves

Ms. Leom put her "elves" to work at her winter workshop today ... It is top secret!

TOP SECRET!

Mr. Greninger's class wrapped up their top secret mission

Ms. Leom's class wrapped up their top secret mission

There was an actual learning objective and standard related to our elf work today. We were reading and following directions today. Real-world skills!

Just another FUN DAY of learning in fourth grade!

Band

Mr. Garber is bringing his fifth grade band students to the classrooms to share some holiday cheer. It is exciting for fourth grade, because at the end of the school year, our students will try out all the instruments, have an opportunity for professional support in choosing an instrument, and learn more about the Milaca Band Program in anticipation for band class next year!!

Mr. Garber

SO exciting to hear three former alums share their musical talents with this year's students! What an amazing way to start out a school day!

Middle School

We are working on developing the expectations of being a "middle school student". Students in grades kindergarten through third grades are often called "primary students". Students in fourth through sixth grades are considered "middle school students".

When you are a middle school student, the expectations are on a new level. As we compare and contrast, we are spending a lot of time using venn diagrams. Many students are comfortable using venn diagrams. It is a strategy students have practiced for years. In fourth grade, we took some time to model and practice a deeper level of sharing our thinking. Here was one of discussions.

 Doing our best to prepare students for fifth grade and beyond!

How Many Ways ...

Our current strategy we are developing in Communications, using the Benchmark Literacy curriculum is Compare and Contrast. It is exciting time of year to apply the strategy!

We compared and contrasted:
- media: the Grinch story in the cartoon version and the book version

 - character development: the Grinch at the beginning and end of the story

- different characters in the same story: the Snow and Heat Misers

- the setting: using Arctic Lights and Arctic Nights book (in flex), the setting of the story in Alaska versus our experiences in Minnesota

We are using the graphic organizer of Venn Diagrams to organize our thinking.

Our point and our standard, Students will understand what they read using a variety of strategies. Comparing and Contrasting can help students organize information to develop a deeper meaning to understand what they read.

Grinch Week

It is Grinch Week in Fourth Grade. It is an opportunity to take all the anticipation, energy, and excitement for the season and put it to thoughtful use for learning. In Fourth Grade, we use the Grinch as our topic, and we take this opportunity to review and practice our previous learning as it relates to the Grinch.

On Monday, we watched the cartoon version of the Grinch. We talked about character traits and how the traits can change. We practiced our reading fluency by READING the lyrics and singing the Grinch song.

On Tuesday, we created Grinch Folders. It is fun how we all have the same materials and directions and our folders are all unique and individual!! LOVE it!!

Ms. Leom's Class

Then we practiced our fluency again by singing the song once. Ms. Leom reviewed parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Then we underlined the nouns in green, the adjectives in blue, and the verbs in red.

 One of the BEST parts of our learning day is the opportunity to share the fun with another class of students!!

Mr. Greninger's Class

notes on the board from Ms. Leom's class's discussion

notes on the board from Mr. Greninger's class's discussion

We LOVE how engaged students are during class! We appreciate the fabulous questions ... charming has an "-ing" ending which is usually a clue that it is a verb, but it is describing, comparing the Grinch to an eel ... we had to look it up on-line. Learning is not the same. It is different, exciting, and fun!

B-I-N-G-O

Mr. Greninger's class had the opportunity to play BINGO on Monday afternoon to practice and prepare for the Southeast States and Capitals test.

... and the Harry Man

Last Thursday, we went to the play, "Wiley and the Harry Man" in Dahlager Theater. In fourth grade, the refrain, "... and the hairy man" seems to be on a continual repeat.

It is always a thrill to see former students shine! It was fun to share their talents with our current students!