email: thompson_d@cneschools.org

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

What's up next?

With our last OAT test tomorrow, we are busy planning our lessons for the end of the year.

In Science, we will begin our final unit. We we be learning about plants. Students will work towards completion of a contract which will require each student to do the following: 1 plant brochure, 5 inquiry stations (aka experiments), 5 information stations, 3 versatiles, and 2 AR books by May 23. The Ohio 4th grade indicators are:
1. Compare the life cycles of different plants including germination, maturity, reproduction and death. (ORC Resources)
2. Relate plant structures to their specific functions (e.g., growth, survival and reproduction). (ORC Resources)
3. Classify common plants according to their characteristics (e.g., tree leaves, flowers, seeds, roots, stems). (ORC Resources)
4. Observe and explore that fossils provide evidence about plants that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time. (ORC Resources)
5. Describe how organisms interact with one another in various ways (e.g., many plants depend on animals for carrying pollen or dispersing seeds). (ORC Resources)

In reading, we will begin a novel unit on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Students will work towards completing a contract for that as well. You can find the contract by clicking here. Check out the fun chocolate links found to the right.

Don't forget literature projects are due Friday. Students were given their presentation books this week.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Testing Week

This week is testing week. We will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday this week. Attendance is SO important! There will be no homework this week!

We could use some snacks to help us get through the week. Please let me know if you can send anything in.

Monday, April 14, 2008

April 14th

We are currently deciding when to go to see Nim's Island this weekend. It looks like Friday afternoon is when we will be going. Check back later this week for further details.

We will be extending the due date for the erosion contract to next week. We want to give the students a few more days to work on their projects and present them.

Washington D.C. t shirt orders are due Friday. The order forms went home last week. Please let me know if you still need to order.

Carnival is Saturday. You still have time to turn in items for our Candy, Crafts, and C.N.E Basket.

Friday, April 11, 2008

2 weeks and counting!

We have 2 weeks left to prepare for the OAT. Attendance is VERY important these next few weeks. We will be reviewing lots of valuable information to help us do well on the state tests.

I have moved my date for literature projects to May 2nd. Students are making flip books and received their directions this week. They are more than welcome to complete an additional project to go with their flip book for extra credit.

We have started learning about erosion and weathering in science class. Students just finished making presentations to the class about a different erosion topic. Students are now working on completing a contract which includes a webquest activity. You can find a link to the webquest on the right.

Make sure and vote for when you would like to see Nim's Island next weekend!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Welcome back!

Sorry for the delayed post. I am still recovering from my trip the the National Science Teachers Conference over spring break. I learned so many great things to use in class that my brain hurts. And I got to meet Bill Nye, which is WAY COOL!

We are working a little harder on preparing for the OAT tests coming at the end of the month. Good attendance is very important during this time.

We are began our weathering and erosion unit in science this week. We took time yesterday to break down the standards so we could see what we need to know when we are done. The standards are:

Earth Science B8: Describe how wind, water and ice shape and reshape Earth's land surface by eroding rock and soil in some areas and depositing them in other areas producing characteristic landforms (e.g., dunes, deltas and glacial moraines).

Earth Science B9: Identify and describe how freezing, thawing and plant growth reshape the land surface by causing the weathering of rock.

Earth Science B10: Describe evidence of changes on Earth's surface in terms of slow processes (e.g., erosion, weathering, mountain building and deposition) and rapid processes (e.g. volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides).


Since our trip to the movies to see The Spiderwick Chronicles was so well attended and everyone seemed to have a good time, our class thought that we would like to see another movie together. We are reading Nim's Island as a class right now, and it comes to movie theaters soon. If you like the idea, please vote in the survey on the right of this page.

Walk A Thon kicked off yesterday. All students are working to raise at least $25 to meet our goal. Money earned in the Walk A Thon will be used for technology upgrades in the classrooms. Our class wants to be #1 in the grade level so Mrs. Thompson can throw a pie in Mr. Smith's face! :)