4th Grade

Instructor: Ms. Kathryn Bonzo
Terms: 2018-2019 School Year

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Course Description

4th Grade Year ---Ready for Action---that is a 4th grader is a nutshell!

From start to finish, this year is about integrating the pre K/K years to 3rd Grade. The kids have been part of a school environment to understand the concept of school, responsibilities, consequences and learning. This year is really cooperative--that means growth personally, socially, and academically. From the kids sitting with different classmates each day at their tables to having Home Base Bins for their things, 4th grade is learning about being flexible learners and stretching their thinking on what they can do and what we can do together. Through meta-cognition (the term means to think about what and how you are thinking, learning, behaving), the kids reflect and grow in deep meaningful ways. 9 and 10 year olds are curious, inventive, and aware.

The concept of time becomes more real. I help the kids realize that we learn in quarters and each one has certain concepts that we focus on. Our weekly schedule is packed with Social Science, Readers and Writers Workshop, Physical, Earth, Biological Science, Chinese, Music, Art, P.E., Cursive and Grammar,Technology, Keyboarding, and Math. We go on plenty of field trips to support their curriculum and many guests or experts come to our class to teach. Many of you may be part of our learning! :) 4th Graders want to see how things relate to each other.

The flow of the day is up on the white board in our room. We go over it every morning in our Morning Meeting. The MM has a format that they learn and will begin to lead in January. The structure has 4 parts- Greeting, Sharing or Reading, Activity, and Announcements. It gives us a chance to get to know each other, set the tone for the day, and learn how to discuss ideas. At the end of the day, we have TBaA. Those letters stand for Think Back and About. During this last half hour, we review what we learned and what we did to learn the material. It is very important to reflect because it helps wire information to long term memory.

The kids all have class jobs and work in partners. These jobs rotate weekly. Learning how to talk to each other and work with a partner is very important in life. Negotiating and Compromising are things I do with them if there is a problem. They have to learn the skills of conversation and listening, problem solving and building relationships of all types.

The main tool for communication, besides our website, is through the Planner. It is a calendar type of tool that really helps kids learn to organize themselves. It is very useful for Parents to write to me or messages to their kids. When you notice their learning-- they love it! It is in the Planner that we write the TBaA. It gives you a way, parents, to talk about what is happening each day.

Homework means reading. It has been proven through research that doing that one thing each day after school makes a huge difference in learning. Please have your child read every day/night for 40 minutes. They have reading logs to keep up with this and 3 are required to be filled out each quarter. There are 15 lines on each-- so you get the idea-- it adds up to good habits and increased stamina for focus. They can read or be read to. The goal is an sustained 40 minutes. Other homework is usually work that isn't completed. That happens on occasion, but there is plenty of time to come in at lunch-- 15 minutes or before school to do those things. The kids are very tuned in to if they have puttered or progressed through an assignment or project. :)

Assessments or tests are integrated in each day. I let the kids know that how they behave, how they work, what they get done, how well they work with a partner, how work gets done, and what they have learned is measured. The goal is to have them take ownership of their learning, get them to ask questions, and for us to create a dynamic and interesting space.There are many ways to check in on how they are doing- through verbal or written communication, or projects, or having them reflect with a partner. Even doing 'thumbs up or down' with a few questions helps the whole class tune in. Cooperation for all to learn is key. That is why the kids remember to do Job #1 Learn, and Job #2 Let Others Learn.

Student Teacher Parent Conferences are a very essential piece of finishing up the first quarter. Each student will lead their parent(s) through several academic areas and discuss with their parents and me what they learned, and how they learned it. It is a wonderful time for the kids to see us all together. I love these conferences because I get to see how proud each child is telling about their work and how interested and amazed the parents are seeing through this conversation where their child is academically.

Parents are always welcome to visit our class and if you want to make an appointment to have some sit down time together, that is great! My goal is to have 4th grade be a wonderful stimulating year.:)

Birthdays-- we Love them. If your child wants to share a treat, that is great. We sing Happy Birthday and share the treats at 2:30.

4th Graders are very capable and the more they find out what they can do, the more they will do.

I look forward to being with your child this year and getting to know you too.

Thanks, Ms. Bonzo

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Sunjay supports MCS's efforts to recycle plastics

Sunjay's letter is a great example of taking action. When he came to me to want to write a letter, he just knew exactly what he wanted to say and has been very excited to know that words by one can inspire others. I hope that he creates more action!!

At the Document Camera Sharing Thinking and Work Several times a week, the kids share what they are working on. It is a way to think together, critique what has been done, and offer compliments to what has been done by the criteria or expected level of skill that is being worked on. They LOVE coming up to share. The kids are super respectful of each other's feelings and how to make sure that the conversations about our academics help everyone improve.

Interacting with the doc cam takes practice-- fun to watch the kids learn how to orient and speak up so everyone can hear what they are sharing.

Claire and Gracelyn explaining their thinking to organize the paragraphs that will be the body or main part of the essay.

Brainstorming together! Hard at work to remember the main parts of planting a sapling at a wetland restoration site. These three students, Brooklyn, Sophia, and Gracelyn, worked well together to figure out how to capture their ideas.

The step of thinking in the Writing Process after the one pictures was where morning a 1/2 dozen kids came to the document camera and shared their notes and thinking. They all did a lot of work to get information put together. We will write a rough draft on Monday.

"Here's my house!" Every single student working with their Job Partner said that-- at least once.

Using the class set of the City of Moscow Map, they all found parks, our school, realized the direction their front door faces, and which kids live near each other.

It was fun to hear how loud the room got! The reason for using a local map to connect to maps in Social Science or other subjects is because then the kids connect that each map has a certain or particular purpose. Maps can hold historical or present-day information that is important to someone. Our stories are told many ways.

StoryTelling through Maps We did such good work planting trees and now we thought about erosion on a global scale today. How does the earth's surface change and where does it occur? They figured out everywhere.

We looked into the composition of soil today too as we begin to take on the rock cycle.

The layers of maps are some of the best graphics to figure out. There are full of great vocabulary and mystery. If you have some around, take time to look at them together. Retell of a favorite trip or memory.

Going through these gems of Science, Math, and Social Studies, not to mention all the art involved in making and how the Technical engineering of how they are produced truly STEAM!

Plus--They can count a reading and have your kids put them on the Reading Logs.:)

The Power of Hardworking 4th Graders at the PCEI Restoration Site on the Palouse River! The kids planted all types of second-tier trees for the recreated wetland. They planted about 100 trees in an hour and a half. This picture of the class I took when they were all done! It was a great way to get ready for Thanksgiving Break!

For this important service to our community task, they were given very specific directions on how to get the trees out of the pots, breaking up the rootball gently, planting to the tree collar and making sure that that the roots were all covered in the soil so that the newly planted 1 and 2-year-old maples and alders would thrive. We hope to come back to the site with David and Claire (PCEI's teachers and planners for the $80,000 wetland restoration). The whole site will have 2500 pieces of vegetation planted and hopefully, more than 50% will live.

We did a lot of math and thinking about landforms and erosion-- 4th grade standards to the max!

Hope you all have had a wonderful break and your family is healthy and, of course, keeping up with Reading Logs. ;)

The Whipping Boy-- Our Class Literature Circle Book

The kids are learning all about similes-- They are loving them like cats love a window seat by a sunny window. :) And, learning about the whole fiction story arc, and character development. This book by Sid Fleischman has a Newbery Award and exceptional illustrations by Peter Sis that are in the technique of Pointillism that we have studied. If you see your child trying to make pictures with small dots--that's a good sign that they are thinking about 4th grade content.

Balloon Designs-The science of hot air and trying to capture it!

Each randomly selected pair worked together to figure out a hypothesis about how long their balloon (made of a plastic shopping bag-- we have tons because of the Treks collection boxes!) would stay aloft. After the first go around, they were able to revise and make conclusions about their design.

We had a great working day on Friday and today, I had the kids review the video for more clarification on the ratio of the opening of the hole to the basket. They made great changes and just about everyone had their balloon at least float up. The first day, it took a while for them to realize that all the hot air was going in and then out of their bags. Very fun to watch them learn this. It was when Jack and Anabelle had their bag puff into a balloon that they realized what was going on.

The kids also learned to count down from 5 and up to 10 for the blow dryer to heat up the air in the balloon. They learned a lot from each other and enjoyed the collaboration with a partner.

Tomorrow, we will analyze the balloons with a Venn Diagram on what are positive and negative design ideas.

We will help PCEI with Stream Restoration on November 15

Heather and David came to our class yesterday to talk about the work that PCEI is doing to help restore the north fork of the Palouse River bank out on a some property near Robinson Park. This content about erosion and thinking about land and how humans can change landscapes fits perfectly into 4th grade Social Studies, Science, and Math. Plus we get to be of service in our community doing things that have a long impact.

If you would like to see more of the work that PCEI has done over the years, check out the link.

Past and Ongoing PCEI projects

To get us prepared: The kids learned which vegetation needs to be planted at what elevation to help restore the river's ecosystem.

The fieldtrip is after lunch on Thursday. Since we all know this is north central Idaho, we will go no matter the conditions. :) We will be out there a bit over 2 hours. Have your child wear clothes and shoes that can get mucky. If you would like to come or come by-- please do.

Really cool too that we are an elementary group that is helping. So far, they have only had high school and college kids.

We will be able to take a school bus thanks to the P.A.T. for making fund available for field trips.

Thanks! Ms. Bonzo

Student Parent Teacher Conferences

100%! All of the 4th Graders went through their learning with their parents. It is wonderful to have the time to conference and see them share their learning and problem solving progress.

Thank you! Ms. Bonzo

Onward to Quarter 2! :)

Buffet was sooooo goood! The kids were excited to have real food for the reward for raising money for the Fun Run.

Thank you to the P.A.T. for providing such delicious eggs, bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, banana bread, and lots of fruit and fruit juice. The kids were thrilled and at it up. It was a wonderful way to start Oct. 31 with such nutrition.

Discussions on Capacity and Conversion

We are really digging deep into how things are measured, times, and weighed. It has been fun to have the kids bring in containers. Brooklyn, Abby, and Claire all brought in empty containers. We look at the customary and metric numbers for comparison.

Yesterday, I put up pictures from Time Magazine that showed kids from around the world and what they eat. We looked at their portions, found their countries on the map in the Planner, thought about their clothes and customs, and noticed the containers and types of food they eat. The kids noticed that those with more processed food access were heavier than others.

We have been talking about healthy eating too since the containers being brought in list ingredients and sugar amounts. Xien, Anabelle, and Zach sat together yesterday and here shared their thoughts. Each table came up to give a look and discuss what they saw and thought.

The kids are really working well together now and our first quarter has been really interesting.

Have a safe Halloweeen--however you celebrate or not-- and see you all at Converences. We had 100% sign up. Thank You!!

Festival Dance provided another amazing Art Experience for the kids of our District.

Here you can see one of our MCS third Graders and 4th Grader, Gabe, as they helped lead us in dance practice. We were taught how to move in the Baroque Period.

Getting the kids to performances and opportunities in our is such an amazing part of Moscow!

Spirit Week is Monday-Wednesday and lots more!

Here is just a reminder of all the good going on!

Monday is Color Day. The 4th gets to wear blue.

Tuesday is School Pride so wear school colors (royal blue and white) and MCS gear.

Wednesday is Character Day-- from books, history, or imagination. This is the day that Mr. B. will dress up as a Princess riding a unicorn at the All School Morning Meeting.;

Plus on Wednesday, the 4th has Market Day with the 3rd. Also, the most exciting start to Wednesday is that the kids will get a buffet breakfast provided by the PAT because the kids collected the a lot of money for the Fun Run.

It is the end of the quarter and our conferences are Thursday and Friday. The kids have done a great job of getting signed up-- we are almost at 100%. They are being responsible getting the time set up and they will love talking to you about their learning for our 20 minute conference.

Thank You for a wonderful start to this year! I have really enjoyed getting to know and work with your children. Ms. Bonzo