Sudoku and Snowball

Today we did two Sudoku puzzles. 

Some of the fourth graders were challenged by the 6 x 6 Sudoku!

To review "rounding" we had a snowball fight! :) 

Ask your favorite fourth grader about our snowball fight!

Wimps and Changers

Today we talked about ROUNDING and how important it is that we learn this skill because we are going to need it when we are adults! In third grade the students learned about "wimps and changers". Ask your favorite fourth grader what "wimps and changers" are. 

We drew pictures and made notes about rounding in our Math notebooks for future reference. I love fourth grade writing and drawings! :)

A Good Start

We've had a very good start to the 2015-2016 school year! This first week of school we have been busy going over rules, routines and procedures. We've also started our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) program at Mediapolis Elementary. The students have earned BARK tickets by following our four principles: Be Responsible; Achieve Success; Respect Your Environment; Kindness Toward Others. BARK tickets are used for drawing of prizes.

Today in my math class we played a multiplication game with dice. The fourth graders had to roll the dice, then multiply the numbers. They played the game with a partner and tried to fill in more squares on the game board than their partner. It was a great way to practice those multiplication facts that some of the kiddos have forgotten over the summer!

Candy Heart Estimating

Estimating is a skill that we use on a daily basis. Sometimes we don't even realize we are using that skill. Children need plenty of practice with estimating so that they will be able to use it as adults. A fun way to practice estimating is with food or candy. So, yesterday during math class we did some estimating...with candy hearts in baby food jars. We spent time discussing what a good "guess" would be and how to adjust our estimations based on previous guesses and actual amounts. 

This is an activity that I used for many years when I taught first grade. The fourth graders did an excellent job of explaining (in writing) what they learned or discovered from this activity. We even took the math a step further and did some long division to figure out how many candy hearts each student would get to eat at the end of the class period. One kiddo even wanted to divide the remaining candy hearts into fractions! :)

Estimating candy hearts

What We Love

The fourth graders in my homeroom completed a little project to go along with Valentine's day. Using the website imagechef.com, we made word clouds in the shape of a heart. The kids typed what they love, chose the font and colors and the website created a heart shaped word cloud.

Here's my Valentine's day word cloud. :)

Our Classroom Door decorated with our 
Valentine's day word clouds.

Spelling Word Clouds

We were able to practice our spelling words last week in a very fun way! We used the mini-laptops to type the words and then made "word clouds" on www.abcya.com . This is an activity that I used many times when I taught first grade, so I knew the fourth graders would do great with this. They had so much fun! After checking their spelling, they had fun changing the fonts, color and layout of their word clouds. 

http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm

Christmas Grid Pictures

Today we had a Math test. The fourth graders did very well on the test which was over multiplication. Many of them still need to work on quicker recall of basic multiplication facts.

After the kiddos completed their test, they worked on mystery grid pictures. They used the clue sheets to create the pictures.

We spent some inside recess, time earlier this week, making these gigantic snowflakes to decorate our classroom.

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas! I sure am looking forward to some rest and relaxation!!!!