4th Grade Curriculum Updates

Composting at CLC (Pictures)

2008-05-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

Composting at CLC

2008-05-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

The learners were given a challenge on their overnight to Coloma Outdoor Discovery School (CODS) to go back to their community and take action to help the environment. They chose reducing litter and composting. They came back to school to realize
that due to construction, the previous food waste composting program
that the school was working on through Allied Waste had for all intents
and purposes, had been "scrapped". The fourth grader decided to try to
rally interest and provide education around composting again. In their own
words:
C.H.: Why is it important to compost?
It is important to compost because
soil is the #1 thing that we lose every year and compost turns food
into soil. In an article Susan Lang says, "Around the world, soil is
being swept and washed away 10 to 40 times faster than it is being
replenished, destroying croplands around the size of Indiana every
year." You can make a compost bin at your house. You can't put meat or
dairy in it because animals can get in it. We can compost meat and
dairy here at school because our waste goes straight to Allied Waste
services to make compost. The upper graders had already brought
composting to our school, but then when the construction started, we
stopped using the compost bins.
A.K. and E.M.: Announcements
The fourth graders took on composting as a project. We had many different elements. One of them was to announce what we were doing. We announced in pairs right before
lunch to tell everyone about the composting. We did that for a week.
Our announcement basically reminded people to compost and gave tips
like to reduce waste by having a reusable lunchbox. The announcements
really helped.
C.V.: Composting Skits
The fourth graders at the SCCLC have been composting and wanted a fun way to show the younger kids at our school how to use the compost bins. We thought of different ways,
and in the end decided that we would make up skits. So we got into
groups and started making skits, one for each of the three K/1
classrooms. We practiced and tried toincorporate fun into our skits. Two of the groups had superheroes in their skits. We used props like trash cans and biodegradable bags
that we would use for the K/1 bins. We hope that after our skits the
K/1s will know and understand composting better. The more people that
compost, the more quickly the effects will show.
A.F. and C.H.: Monitoring
During lunch we have monitors standing by the compost bins and helping people decide where to put their food scraps. Before we did this, the trash cans were always full and the compost bins only had one or two things in them. Now the trash cans barely have anything in them and the compost bins are full! There is a huge difference and we are really helping the environment. We are also trying to reduce waste by reusing plastic bags. We are planning on doing this the rest of the year.
Our next step is to lower the food waste because we are lucky we have this
much food. Kids all over the world need food, and it's wasteful to get
rid of it. Now we are going to give away extra food to ourafterschool
program instead of composting it or throwing it away, so they can have
some snacks.

It was great to see the learners noticing all the
interconnections between their choices and environmental impact, both
good and bad. Many have concluded through this process that composting is a
wonderful way to help the earth, but waste and consumption are really part of a
larger complex problem. They continue to meet at least once a week to
check in with the progress and think about ways to continue to help the
environment and continue a successful program at school. To show
reducing waste in action, Marty, our beloved lower grade PE teacher,
gave a demonstration of his wastefuel powered car. He described the difference between using "regular" gas, biofuel, and wastefuel. He explained the rising food costs in relation to the increased demand of biofuels among other environmental topics.
Learners filtered oil from the local, popular Coyote Cafe, and poured this fuel into Marty's modified gas tank. They were amazed to see the leftover oil from frying tortilla chips being filtered and used to power his car.

It has been a wonderful experience seeing the learners really thinking about environmental issues and exploring ways they can make a difference. I believe this group will continue to work on and tackle these issues once they leave our
classroom and head to the "upper grades" and, hopefully, beyond.

Persona Link

2008-05-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

http://books.google.com/books?id=fDJfjjefKagC&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=Boyhood+Days:+Ygnacio+Villegas'+Reminiscences+of+California+in+the+1850s&source=web&ots=wdXnrpZ5yW&sig=w8J2yJVh0jw0hkMfE7q6TEOm7XQ&hl=en#PPA73,M1

POM OPEN DISCUSSION

2008-04-21T11:20:00.001-07:00

We should be well into our current POM by now. I created this discussion for families that might have questions or ideas about the current problem. Please post them in the comments section here so we can share with one another.

THE LATEST 4TH GRADE NEWS

2008-04-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

CODS (See newly posted photos on previous blog.)

Their experiences continue to be a regular conversation point in our class meetings and lessons. One of the challenges presented at CODS was for learners to come up with a way to help their community as a “Miner of the Future”. Keep your eyes out for more information of how the 4th graders are meeting this challenge. They are planning on wearing their CODS green bandannas on Monday (and/or green shirts if they have them.) to help kick off this project. (A reminder: if you happen to have any of the shirts and dresses from school, we’d love for them to be returned so learners can have them available for next year.)

ROPES/PLPs

We know that learners are working very hard on their ROPES projects. We did a check-in on Monday and most reported good progress and a few butterflies. We’ll continue to be available to chat with learners about questions and feelings they have. We’ll schedule some in class sharing time in late May early June, so that everyone can showcase their hard work. Thank you for your facilitation and support of your learner during this big undertaking. We hope that it has been a rewarding experience for all, and welcome your feedback about the process.

LANGUAGE ARTS

We jumped right into focused work, by committing a large portion of the beginning of the week to the District Writing Assessments. All learners will have time to complete the assessments, which focus on one type of writing genre (summary of informational text). We’ll be putting our finishing touches on our in class summaries in the next week or so as well. We continue to work on word work with Kim Holl, as well as editing tips on conventions such as proper use of commas, capitalization, etc., and other topics through mini-lessons and writing conferences. Our last round of book groups will start in a couple of weeks. We’ll be reading some great novels and picture books that tie into important events surrounding many different Californians in the late 19th and early 20th century.

SCIENCE
(See “Science Rocks!” blog below.)

MATH

Math has been filled with the study of fractions, decimals, and percents. Learners have been discovering ways to add fractions with the use of a clock face. We have learned several new games to support these concepts. Many of these games are in the learners homework folders, so please encourage them to play some of them at home in the next few weeks. We also created posters that compared different sized fractions. The learners have learned a lot the past several weeks (pictures to follow). We will be moving into division next! We’re also continuing math studies in geometry and other areas. We plotted coordinates (x,y) on a coordinate grid to copy a design and then made our own designs using blank grids. We then explored this concept in SS using longitude and latitude to find ports of call in 1849. We also solved some math problems involving the number of people using the Panama Route vs. the Golden Horn Route, and then used that information to draw conclusions about those routes.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We’re slowly tying up the Gold Rush unit of study and moving forward in time. We don’t want to forget to thank Christian, Carmen’s dad for preparing and presenting an interesting lesson about the Gold Rush and it’s effect on California. The learners were able to use their new information from their visit to Coloma to address the interesting questions that Christian posed. In the next few weeks, learners will be choosing important people in history to focus on as part of a larger project that will hopefully synthesize much of the information we have learned this year. We will also begin to learn about SF after the gold rush in order to support the milestone in June.

FAB & SEL

We are using our Wednesday FAB time to focus on some important things. Christina, our beloved instructional assistant, is running a six-week unit on Social Emotional Learning. Although, classroom meetings and SEL language are used in the classroom, we’re sure these SEL related activities will be enriching for the learners and the classroom culture. Lucia is continuing to share her interest and talent in music and history. She’ll be focusing on preparing our merry group of sailors as they prepare for the Age of Sail through song, dance, and sailing lore and skills. We hope to have some other experts help us get us “ship shape” come June.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please send us an email at clc4@gmail.com. Thanks again for all of your support, from helping in the classroom and other school activities, to supporting field trips, to being your child’s cheerleader for ROPES and at least one thousand and two other things!

Warm regards,

Lale & Elysha

Science Rocks!

2008-04-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our class has been studying rocks and minerals for the past couple of weeks. Stacy came by one day with bags full of her family's collection of rocks. She shared the collection of metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks with the class. The children had very good observations that led them to note certain characteristics of these different types of rocks.

On another day the class used crayons to demonstrate the rock cycle. The learners each started with their single color igneous rocks (no grains, layers, or streaks). They made shavings of their "rocks" which represented erosion and combined and pressed different pieced together to create a layered, grainy sedimentary rock. They exposed these rocks to some more pressure and to heat which created metamorphic rock. They seemed to have a lot of fun creating pressure on their individual samples. It's not everyday that you get to stomp up and down on your work. You may seen their metamorphic rocks when they brought them home last week. The learners will continue to explore rocks and minerals in the upcoming weeks.

CODS: A Miner's Life

2008-04-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

As you have heard and seen from your children, as well as from the parent chaperones, this trip was an amazing experience. It was so impressive to watch the children explore so many different facets of learning on so many levels. They should feel very proud of their accomplishments over the three days. Thank you so much to Vivian, Denise, Neil and Ross for being chaperones; to Amy for being backup; and to Pam, Sonya, and Amy for driving "stagecoaches". Thanks again to each and every one of you for supporting this trip. Watching them read your creative letters on the second day was very moving. They absolutely loved them! I witnessed many special moments like this throughout our time in Coloma.
From the moment the learners stepped beyond the "School in Session" sign, they were transported to 1849. They tackled many challenges and enjoyed many experiences similar to miners California searching for riches years ago. Making a shelter that can withstand the elements, bartering and buying supplies, making cornbread, singing, and learning about the hardships of mining towns Dry Diggin's or Humbug were just some of the fun to be had the first day.

CODS: Monroe Ridge Hike

2008-04-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

Our second day included a hike that featured a lot of environmental education, including a professor walk, where the children learned facts about many native plants and then had the chance to teach that fact four times. The naturalists showed evidence of the positive and negative impacts of the Gold Rush on the original inhabitants and on the natural landscape. A silent solo hike and eating an apple, core, stem and all, was also a part of the adventure. This wonderful day culminated in an evening talk under a large tree by the river. A local Native American culture keeper, Kimberly Shiningstar, held the learners captive with powerful stories, songs, drumming, and facts about her life and her people.

CODS: KP, Gold Panning, Play Photos

2008-04-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

A Visitor From the Russian American Company

2008-03-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, we decided to go against logic and send a "message in a bottle" to one of the Commandants of the Russian American Company which was settled in the 1800's. There was a rumor that this has been the way CLC learners have reached people from history that are lost in time. Lo and behold, on Monday morning Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel, an Estonian admiral, husband, and leader at Fort Ross appeared in Room 11! Baron von Wrangel is noted for helping foster good relations with the Alaskans, Coast Miwok, other local tribes and the Russians, as well as helping with conservation measures for a quickly disappearing otter population. He told us of his history, explained how his lineage is connected to Inga's (hence the strong familial resemblance), and described his life at Colony Ross. The learners, having studied his bio earlier, had interview questions for him as well. He took the time to write everyone's name in Cyrillic alphabet, but then he was off, back to sea to try to find a way back to his family and life 1800's. We are so grateful to have visitors like the Baron visit us and help us get a taste of what life was in the past. Later, Christine and Lale spent PE time with the learners learning the troika, a celebratory Russian dance. The learners reprised the dance with Christing the next day, with many learners dressed in clothing of the time period. Alas, Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter after a period of just about thirty years, and not to soon after, John Sutter's name would be famous for something else. Next week we'll continue to look to the sea to study how "Argonauts" sailed from places all over the world upon the news of gold in California. The Gold Rush is on!

February Update

2008-02-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful President’s Week.

DATES TO NOTE:
Thursday, February 28 6:00 pm Community Meeting Math Information Night
Elysha will be presenting with Fran about POM and problem solving at the CLC. We hope you can make it. Learners are welcome to attend.

Tuesday, March 4 STAR Writing Test
Please make sure that your learner is on time for school that day. It’s only a one day assessment.

Monday, March 24 – Wednesday, March 26, CODS Gold Rush Overnight

UPDATE:
Here’s a peek at what we’ve been working on and what’s coming up in our classroom.

LA
We ended a round of book groups facilitated by Patti, Sandee, Jacqui, Laurel and Emma right before our break. Thanks, ladies! The learners had weekly assignments and meetings and after the books were finished, each group worked together to create an informational poster that included historical background, vocabulary discussed during the reading, a description of the narrator and his/her point of view in the story, and other literary elements. We are working on informational writing in Writer’s Workshop. Minilessons have included finding important facts and phrases and avoiding copying words and organizing work chronologically. We’ve critiqued sample student summaries and we’re currently using an article on Fort Ross to practice writing summaries in groups and independently. Learners will be choosing articles and writing summaries in the next couple of weeks.
Kim Holl, our school Reading Specialist, will be running a word work/reading seminar with the fourth graders. Learners will work with Kim in small groups on Tuesday mornings. In Kim’s words, “Students at this level need to learn to visually take words apart and put them back together quickly. We will be starting with single syllables and moving very quickly into longer multisyllabic words. This process is about pronunciation, not word meanings. We will be working on these skills in isolation first,. Later they will have the opportunities to put it together in context.” Learners continue to work on word roots and affixes meanings and other skills that dovetail with this work.

Math
Learners have been working on problem solving through practice MARS tasks. We are helping them to prepare for the MARS testing that will be taking place next week. We have also been working on decimals, percents, and fractions and their relationship to one another. We’ve used 100 grids to create designs and then label the percent and fraction shaded. In the next few weeks we will begin to order and compare fractions on a number line. We will look at how to reduce and simplify fractions through “peanut buttering” (stay tuned for more details about exactly what this is) and will explore equivalent fractions. We be concurrently introducing and working on geometry as we continue work on decimals and fractions.

Social Studies
We have been exploring settlers in the 1800’s. Californios, the Donnor Party, the Russians, Alaskans, Kashaya, and Coast Miwok of Fort Ross, are some of the people we have looked at through discussions, informational articles and reading historical fiction as book groups and as read alouds We are sending a message in a bottle, hoping for the bottle to time travel and reach a very special Commandant at a certain Russian settlement. We hope he can make it so that we can interview him about life at Fort Ross. We are moving into the Bear Flag Revolt and the Gold Rush as we prepare to be miners of the past.

Coloma Overnight
We will be ready to go by 7am, Monday, March 24. We will be returning sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 (est.) on Wednesday, March 26. Please read over your yellow handbooks with your learners, if you haven’t already done so. Remember that there is a DVD available to borrow that shows every detail of the trip if you are interested or think that your child may be feeling nervous and may feel more secure seeing what will happen. A question that came up in class more than once when going over the handbook was in regards to bringing a stuffed animal or blanket. Toys are not allowed, but if you know that your learner will be comforted and is very used to a sleeping “item”, they can bring it. Please remind them that these items should be for sleeping and not playing purposes during the trip. There is limited car space for packing, so please keep that in mind. This field trip does require a detailed medical form. It should have come home with the handbook. Please return them as soon as you can. You can return them in the envelope in my folder, or your child can return it to me directly. (I will have some school approved first aid items with me for scrapes btw.) Direct all questions about this trip to Lale.

FAB
This is the last week of some “FAB”ulous enrichment classes. We want to thank Emma (again), Lucia Sanchez, Sonya Sigler, and Sharon Collier, for providing these experiences for this round. After next week’s LAB break, the learners will switch groups and experience different activities.

LAB
Our scientists will be exploring rocks and minerals starting next week. We will make connections to Social Studies as we explore the Gold Rush. More information will come shortly.

Learner Updates
Don’t hear it only from us! We regularly post updates from learners about fourth grade happenings. You can check it out on our website. Here’s the direct link

http://v3.scclc.net/class_4/default.aspx

It can also be accessed through our class homepage if you click on learner updates.

Thanks for reading!

Lale and Elysha

2008-02-25T21:37:00.001-08:00

Dear Families,

This year we are trying to gather feedback in a different way. We have created an online survey for you to answer questions specific to the fourth grade. At the end of that survey, you will automatically be redirected to a short individual survey for both Elysha and then Lale. Please take a moment to complete this survey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=3pcw2gfxa1zkw0y395557

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions. I will also add this link to our class website (on the educators page).

Best,
Elysha and Lale

Valentine Candy Sort With Our Little Buddies

2008-02-13T12:51:00.001-08:00

Pictures from FAB today

2008-02-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from two of our FAB classes today. The learners cooked cactus and sang songs and did a dance from the Californio Rancho Period in the early 1800's. I was surprised at how tasty the cactus was, it had a lot of flavor!

2008-01-23T12:19:00.000-08:00

2008 Has Been Busy so Far...

Hello, Families!

We hope that your 2008 has gotten off to a great start. We have all been very busy in the room since school resumed just a couple of weeks ago. Here's the latest...

ROPES
Many of you went to the ROPES informational meeting on last Thursday. If you didn't,no worries, there is plenty of information in the packets, from the educators, and from the plethora of ROPES veterans at the CLC. Those who have read/seen information regarding ROPES probably noticed that it dovetails nicely with the philosophy behind the Personalized Learning Projects (PLP). The packets are very informative. One of the few changes we impose is that we ask that learners do not work with partners in the fourth grade; their first year attempting ROPES. In many projects in class, learners have opportunities to work with others, so that isn't an experience from which they are lacking. Learners can pick similar ROPES and work together if activities happen to coincide, but the projects should ultimately be solo. In order to save paper, we will be sending home packets with learners who tell us they do not have one. If you do not see a ROPES packet by the end of the week, and do not already have one at home, please let us know. The ROPES takes the place of the annual Personalized Learning Project (PLP). If your child (or family) decides that he/she (they) will not participating in the district ROPES project, we can have a discussion about how to do an alternate PLP that is based on the ROPES, yet modified as needed. Please note that you are responsible for turning in a form to participate in ROPES. The form is in the ROPES packet. It is due to the district office on February 15. We will be turning in all forms to the district as a group, so please put your form in Elysha's family folder once you have completed it. There will be an envelope inside the folder to put it in. We will send out more information about ROPES shortly. Spending some time looking over the packet with your child and having them brainstorm some of their personal interests would be a good idea this week.

Instructional Assistant

As you know, Emma made the decision to focus on her role as a librarian and her graduate work earlier in the school year. We have finally found a new Instructional Assistant who can fulfill the twenty hours of aiding allotted for the fourth grade classroom. Christina Harris, our new IA, will be introducing herself to the classroom and it's routines this week. She's a recent Sociology graduate from San Jose State with a strong interest in working with children, and experience as a volunteer student aide and peer mentor. She will be working in our classrooms in the mornings and in Educare some afternoons. Luckily, the learners will still have the opportunity to connect with Emma during our regularly scheduled library hours, and the many fun library events Emma schedules.

Reader's Workshop
We have begun a new round of literature circles based on the genre of Historical Fiction The books all take place in California during the 1800's and connect with what we're focusing on in Social Studies. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Patty Reed's Doll , and The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung are the books that the learners chose from. They are being facilitated by some wonderful volunteers: Emma Moore, Patti Miller, Jacqui Inglis, Laurel Skillman, and Sandee Althouse. Some of the children are learning about the Gold Rush through the eyes of a girl from the East Coast and a boy from China. Some are learning more about Native American life through a book based on a true survival story that took place during that time. Lastly, some are learning about the fateful Donner Party (rated G version) and westward expansion from the eyes of well, a wooden doll. You may see them carrying their book home if they haven't finished it during the Reader's Workshop times we have scheduled almost daily. Ask your child about what they're reading!

Writer's Workshop
We're finally publishing our personal narratives. Learners had conferences during the writing process and continue to refine their essays, even in the publishing stage. Mini-lessons on items like correct punctuation of quotation marks, using juicier words than "said" in dialogue, and indenting and spacing of dialogue are examples of skills and techniques being reviewed and taught while working on the final piece. We are looking forward to sharing them with the K/1 buddies. If you are looking for home hours and would like to format the already typed pieces of the learners so that they can make a small picture book, please let me (Lale) know.

FAB
Art, Drama, and the extra Library Research groups running on Wednesdays ended today! Irene reported that she loved hearing the conversations about color as they explored color in various ways this session. Drama has been filled with lots of laughter and some silly plays. The library research project has given the learners some new exposure and skills for researching. Thanks to Irene for teaching Art, Sharon Collier for teaching Drama, and Emma for teaching Library Research Skills. We'll let you know about our next exciting round of FAB soon!

Math
The last couple weeks have been filled with review. We reviewed addition and subtraction as well as multiplication of larger numbers. Before the break we looked at decimals and percents and their relationships to one another. We will now take that a step further and start to look at fractions. Last week learners divided crazy cakes into two halves and then had to prove that their cake was divided fairly. In the upcoming weeks we will use geoboards to look at fourths, eigths, etc. We will also begin to compare and order fractions. One thing you can do at home is cook together. What if you double the recipe or cut it in half? How does this change the fractional parts?

Social Studies
We are almost finished with our mission brochures and all of our mission drawings are finished. I have attached some photos below. They have really turned out great. The mission brochures will be available shortly.
One of the groups of settlers we'll be studying in class are the Russians. If you would like to be a part of providing some cultural experiences from the day. (ie cooking, art, dance, storytelling) please let Lale know. She has lots of resources and ideas if you're interested. She's hoping these will happen sometime in early February. We are also beginning to look at the California Ranchos. We recently read about the closing of the missions and what happened to the land in California. We made diseno's (handmade maps that were created for land grants). We will continue to learn about ranchos, and will participate in a variety of hands on activities at our next field trip to the Adobe House on Feb 1.

2008-01-23T12:17:00.001-08:00

A Beautiful Day in San Juan Buatista

2007-11-28T22:40:00.001-08:00

San Juan Buatista

2007-11-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

This week in 4th Grade...

2007-11-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Families,

This week has been filled with excitement, lots of stimulation and fun! The Halloween carnival was a huge success. The learners loved dressing up in their costumes. They were also responsible for escorting their k/1 buddies to the event. They were very responsible and helped their buddies feel more comfortable in an often over stimulating environment. It was very impressive. Here are some photos from the day:

In Social Studies, we finished our group explorer presentations and posters. Learners have been working hard on these over the past few weeks. Each group was assigned a specific explorer. Then they researched their explorer and created a timeline based on their voyages, watercolored portraits, mapped their routes, and wrote a short report about their explorer and their significance in California history. The posters are up in the classroom. Please stop by and take a look at them. We were really impressed with how hard they worked on them. This was their first big group project, and they really did a fantastic job!

In math, learners began to experiment with double digit multiplication through the exploration of base ten blocks. Stacy taught a lesson on Thursday about the power of ten in multiplication. It was interesting to have the learners really think about what it meant to multiply by tens, instead of "you just add a zero". They were challenged to really think about this statement by looking at patterns and building equations with cubes, rods, and flats. Next week learners will continue to explore this concept looking at areas of rectangles and will continue their work on basic multiplication facts.

Please remind your learners to work on their spelling and keyboarding homework that is due at the beginning of next week.

Have a terrific sunny weekend!

More Pics From Field Trip

2007-10-30T16:08:00.001-07:00

Field Trip To Lawrence Hall of Science

2007-10-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

An exciting day was had at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Arrived
overlooking an overcast bay and climbed a life sized whale and an
enlarged DNA model. Walked around the inside and outside of a hands on
museum. Attended two exciting and very informative classes; Volts and
Jolts and ElectricCircuitry. Explored coils, magnets, circuits, wires, current and static electricity
, wires, lamps (light bulbs), batteries, series circuits and parallel
circuits. We drew representations of circuits, created
circuits,mimicked electrons with little green balls, and had a
"shocking" ending to our day atLHS.

Thanks to Susan, Emma, Jacqui, who helped pre-trip;
all of our drivers: Jessica, Jay, Tim, Jacqui(our alternate), Ginger,
Pam , Grace and (last minute add on), Yvonne; to the last 4 drivers
mentioned who problem solved when a car broke down while heading off to
start the trip,to Elisa and Daniel our teachers atLHS, and to all the families who fund and support field trips.

LATEST 4TH GRADE UPDATE

2007-10-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

ARTIFACT MUSEUM
It was nice to see the respect each learner exhibited towards everyones objects during our artifact museum time. In reflection, one learner shared, " I liked how everyone took it seriously." They really seemed to grasp the meaningfulness behind the activity. Learning that their own family has a rich history with a story to tell, as well as their fellow classmates, will hopefully add depth to learning the stories that are connected with California's history. A few photos are enclosed. Please visit our room to see the write ups and photos of each learner with their object displayed.

LAB DAY
It was all about Magnets for this week's Lab Day. After some free exploration with magnets last Friday, the learners continued their lesson with some observing lodestone, seeing what a magnet attracts/doesn't, seeing what a magnet can attract an object through, lines of magnetism (magnet's force field/lines of flux), and poles. We'll be continuing to answer questions in the weeks ahead.

BUDDIES
Robin and I really enjoyed being a part of the first K/1- 4 buddies meeting. The fourth graders really stepped up to the plate in their role as "big buddies". After singing, meeting new buddies, new handshakes, and some activity time, the fourth graders said the experience left them feeling, "proud", "like a teacher", "responsible" and "mature". They really felt good about themselves and their ability to help mentor a younger child.

INVASION

2007-09-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today our classroom was invaded by people from the land of the portables in the middle of math. Karrie and her class invaded our room because they liked our space. They noticed that we had lots of great resources that they could use. If we agreed to become portable people with them we received a sticker or a post it note. Some learners took stickers and others didn't. The learners with stickers were asked to sit on the rug and give up their desk spaces to the people from the land of the portables. Then they were asked to give them their snacks. Some learners obeyed because they were unsure what to do, but one group of learners refused to cooperate with the portable people and actually ended up dividing the learners from room 11. Karrie, the leader, noticed that we had lots of great supplies and asked for all our pencils. I offered the class set to prevent learners from getting their desks ransacked. Upset with the learners that wouldn't cooperate, the people from the land of the portables took three captives with them.

After the experience we reflected on what had happened. Learners talked about their feelings. They shared how they felt angry, invaded, confused, and sad. They also pointed out how much of a mess the portable people left our room in. I then asked them to think about why we did this activity. We made the connection to California history and what we knew about California. Learners connected that they were representing the Native Californian tribes who may have also had similar feelings when they encountered European Explorers. We used these emotions to write in our perspective journals from the perspective of a Native American who felt invaded by explorers. Here are some excerpts from their journals:

Dear Journal,

"When these unknown people came they took a lot. It felt awful and I was sad and scared. They took me to their land. They put me to work. They made me build, I had to nanny for their kids, I had to cook for them, I had to do everything. I felt like I was a slave." - Sam C.

"Today we saw a thing in the water. I learned later they were called boats. People walked off of them and they said that this was their land and I felt bad. I've been in this land for years. They wanted to trade. They messed things up. I felt lost." -Kaia

"They took me hostage. I kept on trying to escape. I succeeded a lot and then they grabbed me again. They held me tight, so tight it hurt."- Jasper

"I was not prepared for what came next. Three of our people were captured. I was confused and upset for I loved all my tribe dearly. I was scared that I might be next. As I said I will never forget the day that I first spotted that dot on the horizon and our lives were changed forever. No more deer roamed the green hills and meadows, no bears frolicked and played in the spring, and never again will life be the same without those three people who never came back." -Carmen

"Today a big group of people in a huge mob came and invaded our tribe. We were working when they invaded. They came in and said something like, "We are from the land of the portables! We like your goods! Let us use your fancy stuff! You are now part of the portables!" Then they made us give them our food. I felt half angry and half annoyed."- Ben

"Today a group of unknown people came into my tribe. They did not care for our space. I felt funny when they came in. They gave us stickers to take our resources. That felt unfair. They commanded us to do things. It was a bit confusing. They also took our food. They even took our people!!!" -Jake

"Today people came to our land. They took our things, our food, our land, they even took some of us! When they first arrived I felt scared, confused, and especially mistreated. They had came without asking. We were here first! This is our land!"
- Camille

"They took our stuff and all we got back was post it notes and stickers. They took some or our people captive. It was the worst experience in my life. They trashed our land and left their stuff. Why us?" -Katie

For homework tonight, learners are asked to share this experience with their families and answer some specific questions about their feelings and what this experience meant in relationship to early California exploration.

Running of the Bulls

2007-09-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today has been a busy one. This morning we continued learning subtraction methods for solving problems. So far the learners are becoming familiar with the open number line and the trade first methods (similar to borrowing, but using base ten blocks first to understand what is being traded). Today we learned a new strategy. I was at first puzzled by how this method worked, and some learners left today with questions about how to figure out why. In this method you use some rules:
1. Subtract from left to right, one column at a time
2. Always subtract the smaller number for the larger number.
-If the smaller number is on top, the difference is subtracted from the answer
-If the smaller number is on the bottom, the difference is added to the answer

Example:
846
-363

subtract the hundreds 800- 300= +500
subtract the tens 60-40= -20
subtract the ones 6-3= +3
Find the total 500-20+3= 483

Some learners have a couple more of these problems to complete at home tonight. See if you can figure out why it works?

We also started our problem of the month today in class. We completed Level A of the Wheel Shop today and then created "status posters" to show our thinking and how we approached the problems. It was really exciting to see the learners share and explain their work.

Today we also continued with our gummy bear experiments. Learners created testable questions and then came today with materials to find out what would happen. What do you think will happen to a gummy bear soaked in soy sauce, what about a gummy bear frozen in mineral water? We will observe the results tomorrow and share.

We had our first all school assembly today to read for the record the story of Ferdinand. Learners simulated a running of the bulls before we read the book. It was a lot of fun.

Writer's Workshop Experience

2007-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

There have been many things going on in the classroom the past couple of weeks. Here's just a sample...
Writer's Workshop
We had the most wonderful writing session a few days ago. After reading a book called, I'm in Charge of Celebrations, a story of a Native American who writes about and celebrates things observed in nature, we took off with our Writer's Notebooks to the grove of tall trees at the end of the playground. Learners found a quiet spot and started writing. Later, we came back to the room, we "lifted lines" from our notebooks. We read in popcorn style, where one learner shares and another does right after, with no raising of hands or calling on someone. What transpired sounded like a perfect piece of poetry to hear so many learners volunteering beautiful and diverse writing about what they observed in the grove of trees.
Writer's Workshop usually follows a similar model. A minilesson on craft, this time sharing a good piece of writing, focused writing time, and a time for sharing. We are going to use our "seeds" we are collecting these few weeks, to write a narrative/memoir. We continue where the 2/3 left off, increasing stamina for writing and expectations during the writing process.

First Science Lab Days

2007-09-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

We started the day on Tuesday knowing that a guest scientist would be visiting our classroom. Interesting to note, several learners asked when "he" would be arriving. Some were surprised to find out that not only was the scientist a woman, it was our very own Resource and Curriculum Coordinator, Stacy Emory. She squashed any doubts that a woman can't be a scientist. Stacy gave the children some background on her life as a scientist and facilitated an engaging discussion about what scientists do. Children came up will all sorts of ideas and agreed that all scientists ask questions. The question of day was in regards to covering a gummy bear in room temperature water for 16 hours. I am sure you heard about the results we happened upon the next morning. The children got to practice important data collecting behaviors including measuring with metric rulers and graduated cylinders, weighing the bears on scales, drawing visual observations both before and after, and writing notes about the experiment. It was a great way to kick off Science instruction and exploring the scientific process. Next up, the learners will create their own gummy bear experiment based on the new questions that were created from conducting the experiment. The enthusiasm and learning about science will hopefully carry over to our first unit on Magnets as well as our upcoming field trips to USGS and the Lawrence Hall of Science in October.

Picasso Portraits

2007-09-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples of our Picasso study last week. We used the cubist style to create portraits. Stop by the classroom to see all of the portraits.

Math About Us

2007-08-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

This morning we spent some time collecting data about us. We measured our heights, our arm spans and our hand spans. We also figured out who could roll their tongues, which hands were our dominant hands, and if our earlobes were connected. We collected the data and recorded it as a class. As a class we talked about how we could organize the data in a way that made it easy to see. The learners felt that graphs would work best. We talked about lots of different ways to graph data. Tomorrow the learners will be responsible for graphing some of the data, and on Friday they will design class surveys and graphs on their own. We also completed our first number talk today. This was designed for the learners to get comfortable with what a number talk feels like in our classroom.

Here are some pictures:

A SNOWSTORM in August?

2007-08-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Fabulous Fourth Grade Families,

Today was a really great first day of school! The learners were enthusiastic and worked hard all day. It was really great to see them interact as a group. We were quite impressed! It sure did heat up towards the end of the day, but this morning we experienced a snowstorm in class. Please ask your learner to tell you about it, if they haven't already. It was a fun way to get to know more about one another. We have included video so you can see all the excitement. Paula was worried that we might have to call today a snow day!

The learners noticed right away that the biggest change with fourth grade was the number of bodies in the room. We spent part of the day talking about how we work together in groups effectively. We gave them the task of working together with puzzle pieces that created four rectangles. The learners were quite confident that they could accomplish this until we told them they couldn't talk, gesture, point, etc. to communicate with each other. The learners did a fantastic job working together in total silence. After the activity we brainstormed a list of qualities needed to be a successful group member and what the experience was like for them. Here are some pictures of the activity:

We also created a KWL for fourth grade. The learners had some interesting knows, wants and wishes for the year. Some of their thoughts included:
What do you know about fourth grade?
We do ROPES
We learn about the Gold Rush
We go on two overnights
There is more homework
It will be fun
What do you wonder about the fourth grade?
Do we have free choice
When is homework due, daily/weekly
What is PE going to be like
What are the binders for
What are your wishes for the fourth grade?
To do better in school this year
To make new friends
To get to know Emma better

Please remember that tomorrow is a full day. School gets out at 3:00. It was hot today and we didn't have bottled water in the classroom yet, so please send your learner to school with plenty of fluids. Also, please remember to look at our classroom website. There is tons of information about all the field trips and milestones this year, fun things to do with your family, and lots of resources about fourth grade curriculum. We hope you find it useful. The supply list can be downloaded directly from the document library if you need it.

We are looking forward to a fantastic and fun year. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Kindly,
Elysha and Lale

2007-08-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Fourth Families,

The move has created some different needs this year surrounding getting ready for back to school. Tomorrow is the day the movers come to our room. It will be very chaotic and timing hasn't been confirmed. What feedback we've gotten is that the room is left quite dusty and messy. Here's a schedule that, of course, could be changed based on what the moving in situation presents.

Thursday
Any helpful (adults only) willing to help Elysha and I with cleaning surfaces tomorrow from 8-11 am? Bring sponges, rags, cleansers and vacuum cleaner. Email us to confirm if you can.

Friday
We may just need a day holed up in the room by ourselves to organize the classroom. It takes creative planning and concentration to make a pleasant space for thirty learners and three + adults. : ) We also have meetings during the day that we need to attend. Once we find out more about scheduled meetings, we'll try to post good times to stop by to either say hello or help out.

Saturday
Meet and greet at the clean up day. Note: We both will be attending till lunch time and possibly after. We hope to see you there.

Monday
Work day for staff

Thank you for your flexibility and help with this unique situation this year. We are lucky that there are 30 returning families and learners in our class this year. Familiar faces that we are looking forward to reacquainting and or getting to know better this year.

With Appreciation,
Lale and Elysha

2007-08-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Fourth Grade Families,

We hope you are enjoying some final summer fun before school starts next week. We are excited about the upcoming school year and are looking forward to working with you all! We haven't moved back into our classroom yet, but are hoping to find out more information in the next couple days about when that will happen.

We are thrilled to let you know that Emma Moore, the current CLC Librarian, will also be the new fourth grade instructional assistant. Emma will be a fabulous addition to our classroom. We feel lucky to have an assistant who is already familiar with the CLC and many of its learners. She will be an incredible asset. Please join us in welcoming her to the fourth grade!

We wanted to remind everyone to sign up to our class list. The link on the scclc homepage was broken, so if you signed up prior to August, you probably were never added to the list. There are only about four families currently signed up. We will send out an additional email (to follow this one) to the fourth grade list, so if you receive it, you are subscribed. If you don't get it, you will know you need to sign up. Please sign up at your earliest convenience because we will begin using this as our primary mode of communication.

Please stay tuned for more information regarding the campus clean up on Saturday. So much is dependent on our move in date, but we are sure we will need plenty of help! If you can't make it on Saturday we will be sending out some times that both of us will be on campus on Monday for learners that would like to stop by and say hello.

Warmly,
Lale and Elysha