Our Video

As we prepare for the learning opportunity of the United States Election, we are participating in a state-wide event. Students are learning about the Electoral College and how voting works.

First, each class was assigned a state. Ms. Leom's class was assigned South Carolina. Mr. Greninger's class was assigned Maryland.

Next, we watched videos about the electoral college. Ms. Leom's class watched School House Rock and an EdTed presentation (both videos are linked). Mr. Greninger used a resource from a school subscription (that we are unable to link).

The Presidential Election of 2016 is filled with strong opinions. Our focus was on two authors: Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Mary Pope Osborne, author of Magic Treehouse.

We had some technical difficulties loading information. Ms. Leom put information about Mary Pope Osborne on her big screen. Several students were able to pull up information on Jeff Kinney, and students were invited to move around there room to read about him from the iPads that had the information.

From here, our two classes varied in how and what came next.

There is a vote of the two authors.

Then we tallied our results. Ms. Leom read off the ballots, with two students reading over her shoulder to confirm her results. We added up the ballots for Jeff Kinney and the ballots for Mary Pope Osborne to make sure our tally marks reflected the count.

There is the math of figuring out the percentages. We had three students who had to leave early. This reflects the population who doesn't make it to the polls. This wasn't purposeful. This was the day and time our polls were "open", and some voters weren't able to attend.

We researched our state.

These were the facts our class thought were most interesting.


We made our script for our video and practiced. We made adjustments.

 Then we shot our video.


 I tried to upload it ... it didn't work ...

Personal Narrative

In Writing, we are writing Personal Narratives. This week, in Reading, we are learning more about the Personal Narrative Genre.

Our Personal Narrative Class Notes

Now, we are reading examples of Personal Narratives, and we are taking notes in the margins as we find the features.

Ask your fourth grader to teach you about Personal Narratives, the features, and tell you about what she or he is writing about!!

Acts of Kindness

On Tuesday, we had Random Acts of Kindness day. Someone, placed these inspirational sticky notes on all of our lockers.

It was an inspiring way to start the day! If it was you ... thank you!! It made for many smiles. Several students confided that they removed their note to keep INSIDE of their locker, so they didn't lose it!

LOVE THIS School and Community!!

Hat Day

We had Hat Day on Monday.

Regions

In Social Studies, we are learning more about regions. In fourth grade, after the initial study of terms, our learning is focused on the five regions of the United States.

Our learning goals are clearly stated on the board. We introduce the lesson, going over the learning goals, and what "I" should be able to tell at the end of the learning. We also have the page numbers clearly state on the board, in red, and on the assignment. There is also a clear list (in green) about what students should DO in class.

Ms. Leom selected partners, by pulling sticks from her cup. At each pairing, she makes sure students are not working with someone they sit next to in class, and did not partner with the last time we drew sticks. It is amazing, even when mixing up the sticks, how often some students are paired together! Then students begin working.

At the end of class, we gather as a class, to discuss our learning, using the learning goals on the board to keep us on track. We only have a half hour of Social Studies every other day, so often, we will overflow into the next class period to finish our learning.

Movie Reward

We had a movie reward today.

We started by communicating student grades to parents last Friday. This week, we've been communicating missing work. We've been providing extra copies. We've invited students before Recess to stay inside and get help. We've been organizing missing homework ...

Today, five minutes before the reward, we invited students to turn in their Responsibility Cards. We had a movie reward. Three of the classrooms had movies:
     

Three classrooms were available with licensed teachers to support students who needed a quiet place to work.

Students who were missing their Responsibility Card (they left it at home), were able to work on Odyssey Reading or Read a book.

We want ALL students to attend Rewards. The students who need help and aren't choosing to do their work in the morning when they arrive, at Recess, at the end of the day during Homeroom, or at home have this last chance opportunity to work on missing work with help. Then the grades are turned to zeroes, and we start a new reward period. Ask you fourth grader where they spent their reward.

Progress Reports

On Friday October 14th, Mr. Greninger and Ms. Leom sent home Progress Reports, communicating the current student grades.

With the schedule of our day, we print the reports before school. Often students turn in work after the school day begins. The reports give parents an updated idea of student's learning.

Parents should check ParentVue for the most up-to-date information.

My Routine

On Monday, we started Unit 2 in Reading. Our reading skills we are developing are:
* Sequence of Events
* Determining Important Details in the Text

To start our learning, we talked about when we tell the sequence of events, we tell the big events in the order that they happened. Students were invited to turn and talk with a neighbor, and to choose their after school routine or before bed routine to share.

Kindness in Chalk

As part of National Bully Prevention Month, today was kindness in chalk day. In Media, Mrs. Vickers shared the story of how the national idea got its beginning, here in Minnesota!! Have your child tell you more! In Media today, students experimented with "writing in chalk" from a technology learning opportunity.

Ms. Leom only caught the end of the activity. Our classroom is so quick to follow directions, she could only snap some pictures of the students closest to her.

So many creative students!

Act of Kindness

In the month of October, Milaca Schools recognizes National Bully Prevention month. We have many activities. On Tuesdays, we are encouraged to work on Random Acts of Kindness. This week, Ms. Leom started our latest project.

One of our Milaca Schools graduates, Grant is currently in San Diego, California. He is working the Marine Boot Camp experience. Ms. Leom knew Grant from his kindergarten, through fourth grade, and his high school experience. He was in band, cross country, basketball, and track. After college, he decided to serve his country.

For our kindness this week, we are writing him letters of support and encouragement. It is a great opportunity for us! We learn about letter writing. We are learning about a career possibility in the military. We are supporting someone who is far from home and can benefit from our time and words of encouragement. The marines have very specific rules about the letters they receive (no fancy colors, pictures, or embellishments). We are learning about following rules, even if we don't understand or know the reasons why.

We also talked about how, we aren't writing to Grant for a response. If he has the opportunity to write, we would like him to write to his wife, or his parents. He is busy, receiving the training for his new role. If he writes to us, it would be fun to hear from him, but we have no expectations of a response. This is what makes it an act of kindness, to do something for someone else without an expectation in return.

Class Flag

Ms. Leom's homeroom finished up their class flag recently.

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference. Nelson Mandela.