A Winter Break Challenge

Ok students, I know you are getting antsy now that you have been out of school for a while. We still have a whole week left until we go back! I figured you might need something to do...a challenge. Have fun with it and you may earn some Behavior

Bucks too.

As we start the new year we will be learning about a new European country, SPAIN! Here is an activity I think you will enjoy that will also help you learn more about Spain.

Imagine that The President of the United States needs an expert in Spanish culture in his cabinet. You applied for the job and after extensive interviewing and background checks, you were hired! The President is preparing for a trip to Madrid, Spain in two months. Your first assignment on the job is to plan and prepare his travel itinerary.

TASK 1:

You must teach the President at least five phrases that he can use during his stay. Keep in mind that he is meeting with government officials, as well as locals. Research using the sites below and choose 5 phrases that you think he needs to know for his trip. Come back here and post your 5 phrases and what they mean. You will earn a buck for each phrase. Good luck! You have until next week to complete your first task.

Use these websites to help you find information:

Spanish Phrases
More Basic Phrases
Pronunciation and Words

Chet's Trip to California

Remember when Ms.Launey and Chet went to California? Well, it's taken him a while but Chet has made a movie about his trip. I hope you enjoy!

Update from Chet-Italy

Hello Ms. Launey:Chet says Ciao from Italy. He saw The Last Supper painting in Milano, and the Milano Duomo (cathedral). He then traveled by car to Venezia, where he saw many exciting things, including the San Marco cathedral and plaza, the Rialto bridge across the Grand Canal, the Doges Palace, and the island of Murano (where he saw glass being made by hand). He took many boat rides and walked across many bridges, because there are no cars in Venice. Chet also went to a concert in a 400 year old church-Vivaldi's 4 Seasons was played by a string ensemble. Today we saw the High Water (Aqua Alta) in San Marco Piazza, and had to where rubber boots. We are now in the Mestre where we will soon board an overnight train to Salzburg. Goodbye for now.
Sincerly,
The Boyd's and Chet

CHET’S 2008 EUROPE ADVENTURE

Students,
I am so excited to show you the video that Chet made about his trip to California with me. It will be on the blog this week.

I am even more excited to tell you that Chet is on his way right now to.... Europe! He will be there with some good friends of mine, the Boyd's. (Don't worry, he is in very good hands, they are great people.) They took him to the Build-a-Bear and even got him his own "pawport", so he is all ready for some international traveling. He will be visiting some of the places we have learned about so far our virtual trip around Europe. I can't wait to see the pictures. He is one lucky bear! Check out his itinerary below:


CHET’S 2008 EUROPE ADVENTURE WITH THE BOYD’S

(EVERETT, VALORIE, RETT, RANSEY, BABY GIRL BOYD, BLAIR, and CHET)


Dec.6 Depart Tallahassee 12:55 p.m. Delta # 4989
Arrive Atlanta 1: 25 p.m.
Depart Atlanta 5:45 p.m. Delta # 74

Dec.7 Arrive Milano Malpensa Airport, Italia 8:30 a.m.
AutoEurope Car Rental 9:30 a.m.
Visit da Vinci’s Last Supper 11:30 a.m.
Santa Maria delle Grazie
Tour Duomo di Milano 12:00 p.m.; climb to roof and dome
Snack Milano
Depart Milano; Arrive Sirmione (On Lake Garda) 2:30 p.m.
Lunch at Giorgio and Alberto’s
Depart Sirmione for Venezia; Arrive Venezia 5:00 p.m.
Vaporetta on Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco
Hotel shuttle boat to Molino Stuckey Hilton Hotel Giudeca Island
Initial tour of Venezia; Dinner at Osteria ai Carmini, Campo
Santa Margherita Dusodorma

Dec. 8 Tour Basilica di San Marco and Palazzo Ducale
Climb San Marco Camponile
Explore Rick & Steve’s Venezia thru the back door
Custom-made Christmas ornaments by Daniel Stevens Calle delle
Carrozze San Marco
Dinner overlooking Grand Canal

Dec. 9 Vaporetta to Murano; tour of glass factories
Lunch on Murano
Exploring Venezia; vaporetta to Chisea San Giorgio Maggiore and
Camponile
Fancy dinner overlooking Piazza San Marco
Concert: Interpeti Veneziani Chisea San Vidal
Vivaldi, Rossini, Paganini

Dec. 10 Gondola ride through Venezia and Grand Canal
More exploration of Venezia
5:00 p.m. Shuttle train from Venezia Santa Lucia station to Venezia
Mestre station (on mainland)
8:00 p.m. Depart Venzia Mestre train station


Dec. 11 Arrive Salzburg, Austria 4:00 a.m.; walk to Hotel Elefant in the Altstadt
Two hour nap; Exploring Salzburg Altstadt and Hohensalzburg Castle
Christkindlmarkt; Dinner and concert at Hohensalzburg Castle

Dec. 12 Depart Salzburg AutoEurope car rental 9:00 a.m.
Tour Hallein and Salzbergwerk salt mine
Drive through Bavaria to Hohenschwangau, Germany
Hotel Schloss Lisl & Jaegerhaus ; Dinner at fancy restaurant

Dec. 13 Tour Schloss Neuschwantstein (Cinderella’s Castle)
Depart Hohenschwangau on Romantic Road (via Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl)
Arrive Rothenburg ob ter Tabuber Hotel Gastof Goldener Greifen

Dec. 14 Exploring Rothenburg by Rick and Steve’s back door
Reiterlesmarkt (Christmas market); Dinner at fancy restaurant

Dec. 15 Depart Rothenburg; drive through Black Forest
Tour and lunch in Baden-Baden, Germany
Drive across Rhine River to Hotel del Europe- Strasbourg, France
Christkindelsmarik (oldest in Europe) and climb Strasbourg Cathedral

Dec. 16 Depart Strasbourg; visit Meuse-Argonne American WWI Cemetery
Romagne-Gesnes, Meuse, France (near Verdun)
Lunch in Reims, Reims Cathedral (Notre Dame de Reims) climb tower
Arrive Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
Walk under Arc de Triomphe
Dinner at Restaurant La Litau, Rue Washington
Visit Arc de Triomphe and Tour Eiffel at midnight

Dec. 17 Saint Chapel and Notre Dame Cathedral
Exploring Paris by Rick & Steve’s back door
Boat ride on Seine River; dinner at fancy restaurant

Dec. 18 Visit Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay
Lunch at Rue Cler; visit Musee Rodin
Exploring Paris and Montmartre; dinner at fancy restaurant

Dec. 19 Climb to top of Tour Eiffel
Explore Paris; dinner at Fancy restaurant
Taxi to Hyatt Hotel at Charles de Gaulle airport

Dec. 20 Depart Paris 9:20 a.m. Delta # 29
Arrive Atlanta 1:30 p.m.
Depart Atlanta 5:15 p.m. Delta # 4937
Arrive Tallahassee 6:24 p.m. Finish!

Tips for Raising Your Current Math Average

Progress Reports went home today. How are you feeling about your current average in math?

Are you interested in raising your average for this nine weeks now that we are at the halfway point? What can you do THIS WEEK to get started?

Well, we have two math assessments this week, as well as a Fraction Design project that was just assigned- these will be three upcoming important math grades toward this nine week's math average. There will also be a math homework assessment next Friday, based on Week 13 (last week), Week 14 (this week), and Week 15 (next week) topics.

So, here are some tips on RAISING that math average, or KEEPING it right where you want it!

TIP #1- Quiz yourself or have a family member quiz you. For tomorrow's EDC quiz, review your EDC purple folder tonight - the month of November elements. The assessment will be based directly in alignment with the notes and skills that you practiced all month each day (if you have an overall grasp of each element and how we approached the math content each day, you should be just fine on tomorrow's quiz). Can you explain the Calendar for November to a family member? Can you identify all four quadrilaterals? Do you know which have right angles, and which have acute/obtuse angles? Do you know which are parallelograms (all opposite sides parallel)? Skim over each element for the month and ask yourself general questions like the ones I just shared with you. Also, check to see that your notes are accurate and thorough. Any mistakes should be corrected from when we discussed the work as a whole group in class. If you have incorrect or incomplete work, you should really reflect on how well you are engaging and spending your time in class applying yourself as an ACTIVE LISTENER! Hopefully, you will be pleased in looking at your work knowing that you put forth your best effort each and every day!

TIP #2- Review your notes and study guides. There will be another assessment this Thursday on our current unit of focus, Different Shapes, Equal Pieces. We will work through a review/study guide in class on Wednesday. In addition to reviewing that, we will also give you a "Comparing Fractions' reference sheet in class tomorrow. You will need to study these Tuesday and Wednesday night to review for this important test.

By the way, can you answer the following?

Fractions are instructions to do what?
What is half of one-half? half of one-third? half of one-fourth?

When the denominator doubles, what happens to the area/size/value of the fraction?

Which is larger, two-fifths or two-thirds?

TIP #3- Start Planning Now! Fraction Project guidelines were passed out today on a yellow sheet. You were encouraged to take notes on an example that was given in class (using Fruit Loops). How thorough are your notes? Are you going to plan ahead now for this project, or might you wait until the night before this project is due to begin working on it? (Remember, it will be due on Tuesday, December 16th). Start planning NOW! Also, don't forget to have FUN! This is an exciting and creative project, so enjoy it!

TIP #4- Complete homework INDEPENDENTLY and USE PREVIOUS NOTES to help you when you get stuck! With the week 14 homework, look back at last week's notes and see how successfully you completed that work. Don't ask for much help on this week's homework; rather, use your class notes from last week to complete this week's homework when you need a reference. Then, after you are finished, you can ask a family member to go back and check over your work to give you feedback. Remenber, this is YOUR homework!

Four great tips on how to achieve your very best on the next four assigned grades in Math for this nine weeks. :-)

Put forth your best effort in all that you do! We are proud of you!

Love,

Ms. Phillips

Thanksgiving Book of the Month

This month, our book of the month was called "A Plump and Perky Turkey" by Teresa Bateman.

It is set in a town called Squawk Valley where Thanksgiving turkeys have become way to smart! (They don't just jump into pots anymore.) The townspeople hatch a clever plan and host a turkey-themed arts and crafts fair to lure a turkey into town by advertising a need for a turkey model. This model needed to be the perfect specimen, plump and perky. Peter the Turkey, a proud and conceited turkey takes the bait, but turns out to be smarter than the townspeople bargained for.

This was a fun read for this time of year. After being challenged by Principal Phillips to use technology when responding to this book of the month, the 4 corners team E.L.A. classes worked very hard to be creative and tech-savvy. The students created posters inviting Pete the Turkey to Chets Creek. They had to find a way to lure the turkey to Chet's Creek Elementary without him being wise about his purpose...becoming our Thanksgiving Feast. We then created flickr slideshows to display our very creative posters. Check out our posters below:

Also:

Two risk taking students went above and beyond when they wrote and performed a "Perky Turkey" Rap. Check out their rap below:

We hope you enjoyed our technology inspired responses to the book of the month!

Ms.Launey and Mrs. Lopez-Sinclair

Series and Parallel Circuits

In Science we have been learning about electrical circuits. We built series and parallel circuits in a recent lab and explored removing a bulb from each to observe what would happen. We learned that in a series circuit, if one bulb burns out or is missing, then the circuit will open and none of the lights will remain lit. This is because there is only one path for electric current to flow with this kind of circuit. We also learned that any bulb in the path of a series circuit receives the same amount of electrical current. With parallel circuits, on the other hand, there is more than one path for electrical current to flow. Therefore, if one bulb burns out, the other bulbs will still remain lit. Check out our slideshow to see more pictures of this lab (in the right-hand column of our blog).

Building Fluency with the Basic Multiplication Facts

Ok, boys and girls.
If you have the extra time to be visiting your classroom blog, then you have a few spare minutes to visit this site to practice your multiplication facts. Start at Level 1 and if you find that it is "too easy" (meaning you have more than enough time to answer each problem), then move to Level 2, and so on, until you find the level that is right for you!

Think about it. Through Every Day Counts, we have spent the last several months focusing on multiples of 2, 3, and 4. You should be gaining fluency with these because of all of the work we have done with them, but if you need the extra practice, here it is!

Enjoy the challenge. Post a comment to share how far you were able to get while completing this challenge. This might actually spur a friendly challenge between you and another classmate. It's all in good fun. Behavior Bucks to the first ten students to take this challenge AND make a post on it.

Let the games begin!

Love,

Mrs. Phillips

Here is your link to begin the challenge:

http://www.multiplication.com/interactive/quickflash/flash/index.html

Comparing and Contrasting

Today in E.L.A. classes we started our comparing and contrasting study. We were introduced to the topic through a fun, interactive game on a website called Comprehension Upgrade. In the game, we used a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast:

• volleyball and basketball


• wolves and dogs
  
• The U.S. Flag and The United Kingdom Flag


• coniferous trees and deciduous trees

We hope you liked your introduction to studying how things are alike and different. Later this week, we will be incorporating European Literature into our study as we compare and contrast the American version of Cinderella to the British version of the story, Cap O' Rushes.

Want to play some more comparing and contrasting games? Try out the interactive web activity: Help Lee Decide.

You can use the skills you have learned to help Lee. He is a high school student trying to make a decision about a summer job. Come back and leave a comment and tell us what you learned.

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

P.S. Have no fear, The Weekly News Broadcasts will start back up again when Ms.Launey is fully recovered. We will make sure you are still updated with classroom happenings through our blog posts.

Fractions are Fun!

Our current math unit, Different Shapes, Equal Pieces, concentrates on the use of an area model for fractions less than one whole. In this unit, we are also studying fractions in terms of "families". For example, one-half, one-fourth, and one-eighth are all in the same family. This is due to the doubling and halving relationship between these fractions. When the denominator doubles, the area of the fraction (in the area model) cuts in half. Look at the visual.

One-half of 16 is 8 square units.
One-fourth of 16 is 4 square units.
One-eighth of 16 is 2 square units.

Through the use of this area model, we are also recognizing equivalent fractions as well as combinations of fractions and their sums.

One-half is equal to two-fourths and is equal to four-eighths.
One-fourth + one-fourth has the sum of one-half.
One-eighth + one-eighth has the sum of one-fourth.


The next "family" we will work with is one-third, one-sixth, and one-twelfth.
Can you determine, using doubling and halving, what the NEXT fraction in this family is?

REMEMBER THIS?

Watch the video segment below of one of our experiences while visiting the Museum of Science and History back in September.

How does this "hands-on" experience relate to what we are beginning to explore more deeply in science this week? Post a comment to share your thoughts. Be specific as to which science concept is showcased in the video segment and share what you learned from the MOSH experience!

Meet Matt!

Matt is another college student studying our blog from the University of Regina in Canada. Watch his video below and then leave a comment for him. Ask him a question or tell him something about you or our class. 

Election Day!

This Tuesday is a very important day in history. Your parents will be voting in the 2008 Presidential Election. Our vocabulary words this week (inspired by our Book of the Month- Grace for President) will teach you about some of the words you will be hearing on the news and maybe at the dinner table during the election. 

We have found a video from Nickelodeon to inspire some discussions (and comments). The video introduces the presidential candidates with a fun song and gives a lot of information about the upcoming election. Nickelodeon actually had an election on their TV station and website just for kids. Kids around America voted on the candidate they thought would be the best candidate for President of the United States. The candidate the kids chose was Barack Obama.

Watch the video below and leave a comment about your thoughts on the Presidential Election of 2008. 

(There are pauses between each clip...keep watching until the end!)

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

Meet Nicole!

Have you been wondering why we have had so many visits on our blog from Canada? Well, I am so excited to tell you why! A college class from the University of Regina in Canada is  studying our blog. They are going to college to learn how to become awesome teachers. The class that they are taking is teaching them how to use technology to teach and communicate with students. We should feel really special that some of the college students chose our blog to study for their college project. Nicole is one of  those students!  We will see her commenting and asking questions so that she can learn from our blog. Here is a short video to introduce Nicole to you. Have a question about Nicole? about college?about Canada? ask away. Leave your question in the comment section and she will reply to you there. 

Love,

Ms.Launey

P.S. I'm sorry I have been out so long. I'm still sick! I will be back to see all of you next week. I miss you!!!

It's All Greek to Me!

Congratulations to all of our students for winning "Best Overall" in the category for the intermediate grades for our literary pumpkin display!

A special thank you to Ms. Lopez-Sinclair, Ms. Launey, and Ms. Gattoni for all of their hard work and efforts in organizing this huge endeavour.



Another special thank you to ALL of our wonderful parents and guardians for their gifts of materials, ideas, and volunteer time in helping to put this huge project together!

What a HUGE success!

Four Corners Weekly Wrap Up

Enjoy our Weekly Review News Show. We are very proud of our anchors and reporters!

This week in Math Workshop we have been using our understanding of 100 to build on larger numbers that are multiples of 100. In addition to relating these landmark numbers, we are also concentrating on how well we communicate our mathematical understanding to others. Below are responses from two of our students that were discussed during our Closing Meeting this past Monday with our morning class. The students in this class analyzed the work of these two students and many students either asked clarifying questions or connected this work in some way with their own work.

Ryan’s Work:

20 as a factor of 100:
In 100, there are 5 groups of 20.
In 200, there are 10 groups of 20.
In 300, there are 15 groups of 20.
In 400, there are 20 groups of 20.
and so on……….

After completing a table which reflects the information shown above, Ryan made the following statement regarding the number of groups of 20 in 300. He determined that there are 15 groups of 20 in 300.

“I know there are 15 groups of 20 in 300 because there are 5 groups of 20 in 100 so 300 ÷ 20 = 15. Because 100 ÷ 20 = 5 and 5 x 3 = 15. The 3 represents 300 and the five represents the groups of 20 in 100.”

We can make a connection to Ryan's written work by relating what he is saying back to our earlier work with multiplication clusters.

5 x 20 = 100
5 x 20 = 100
+ 5 x 20 = 100
15 x 20 = 300
(15 "groups of 20" is 300.)

Min’s Work:

10 as a factor of 100:
In 100, there are 10 groups of 10.
In 200, there are 20 groups of 10.
In 300, there are 30 groups of 10.
In 400, there are 40 groups of 10.
and so on……….

After completing a table which reflects the information shown above, he made the following statement regarding the number of groups of 10 in 300. He determined that there are 30 groups of 10 in 300.

“I know there are 30 groups of 10 in 300 because I know that 10 10’s are equal to 100 so you do 10 x 3 which equals 30 because 300 is the triple of 100 so to find how many 10’s are in 300 is to multiply 10 x 3.”

We can also make a connection to Min's written work by relating what he is saying back to our earlier work with multiplication clusters.

10 x 10 = 100
10 x 10 = 100
+10 x 10 = 100
30 x 10 = 300
(30 "groups of 10" is 300.)

Min and Ryan did a very nice job in communicating their mathematical understanding using words, numbers, and symbols. We will continue to focus on how well we communicate our mathematical understanding to others as the year progresses.

Grace for President!

Today we read our book of the month, "Grace for President" by Kelly Dipucchio. This book was a fun way to start a discussion about what we know (and want to know) about the presidential election. I know you still have many more questions after todays read aloud. Have no fear! I found the perfect site to fill you in on more about this very important topic. 

Brain POP Election Site

Watch the fun videos and come back and share what you learned! 

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

3-D Florida Map Project

Florida's Geography: A 3-D Map Project

Here is an updated post on this project as two of our proactive students have turned in their project already, which is over one week early! Way to go, Andy and Jake, for producing fabulous projects and providing us with additional examples to benefit from!

Jake creatively used cardboard to create his Florida elevation. (His project is shown above on the right.) The Florida Uplands are distinguished from the East Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coastal Plains by being given a higher elevation (more cardboard). He also added paint and marker. Dental floss was used to create the latitudinal and longitudinal lines.

Andy made his Florida elevation with clay and then added his detail with paint, computer images text, and glitter to make the ocean and gulf sparkle. (His project is shown above on the left.)Andy even thought to include Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldog labels. Andy, you forgot to add the Florida Gator logo and location though! I am sure that was just an oversight! :-)

Our students were assigned this three-dimensional map project on Monday of last week. Guidelines and a rubric for this project are in each student's Passport. We hope that all of our students enjoy this opportunity to think creatively and artistically about the geography of the beautiful and unique state we live in, as a way of culminating our six week study of Florida Geography! Projects are due in class by Tuesday, October 21st!

Here is another example of a clay created project from a former 4th grade student who is now in 5th grade.

The 4 Corners Weekly News Broadcast

Stay tuned each week for an in-depth look at what is going on in our classroom. We welcome any parent comments and questions in the comment section!

Goodbye to Greece, Hello to Germany!

Our E.L.A. classes did a wonderful job studying Greece. We learned so much about the country of Greece through our "video vacations" with Samantha Brown, the Adventures in Ancient Greece book study, and our group research projects (displayed outside of Ms.Launey's and Mrs.Lopez's classrooms). We even met a Greek girl named Amarandi, who taught us many things about her country through her website. We were super excited when she came and visited us on our blog! We will remember everything we experienced as we pack our bags and begin our journey through Germany. 

Our first German activity is a web field trip over to the Germany for Kids site. There you will meet a cool cartoon character named Philipp. His site has lots of information about cities, the Berlin Wall, food, music, school, and lots of other fun stuff about Germany. 

Your bonus assignment this week is to travel to the site and learn all you can about Germany. Then come back here and comment about what you learned. (Give at least 2 facts that you learned to earn a Behavior Buck.) Have a great trip!

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

A Message from the Sky

Hi Students! Ms.Launey here. If I look tired it's because I am. I have been in this plane now for 3 hours. (I used my webcam to take this picture.) I am on my way to Las Vegas. That is my layover stop before I get back on the plane and head to California. I am typing my post on the plane but I have to wait to post it on the blog until I arrive at the Las Vegas Airport and can get online. Chet and I are so excited to be going to California. (I had to pack him in my checked bag, so he is relaxing in the baggage section of the plane. I promised him I would find a way to keep him in my purse on the way back so he could see some slot machines in the Las Vegas Airport.) Neither of us have been to California before so this is going to be an exciting adventure. 

Even though I am so excited about my trip, the feeling is bittersweet because I am sad that I don't get to read the last two chapters of "The Thing About Georgie" with you. I know I am going to miss the best parts! Will you please keep me up to date by commenting with a report of what happened in Chapters 24 and 25? I don't think I can wait until I get back. So many things have happened in the last couple of chapters. I can't believe that Jeannie "the Meanie" is actually not  that mean at all. I would have never predicted that! Well....I have to run, the pilot just told us to "store carry on baggage" and "turn off any electronic devices".  Have a great weekend and a Marvelous Monday and I will see you on Tuesday for our first field trip. I look forward to getting your comments!

Ms.Launey

P.S. Chet keeps bugging me to take him to Hollywood. He wants to see some movie stars. Should I take him?

Multiplication Clusters

The past few weeks we have been working on "building" multiplication clusters during our math workshop. The students learned how they could model clusters using array cards and then transfer their work onto graph paper. If you attend Open House tomorrow night, be sure to take a look at the student work posted on our bulletin board so you can better understand how we use arrays to represent multiplication problems.

Multiplication clusters are a way of decomposing a multiplication problem into simpler facts which can be determined using mental math. The cluster is then recomposed to find the product of the initial problem. Multiplication clusters usually fall into three main categories (addition, subtraction, or doubling).

An example of an addition cluster for 9 x 8 might look like this:

...5 x 8 = 40
+ 4 x 8 = 32
= 9 x 8 = 72 (40 + 32)

In order to solve the more difficult problem of 9 x 8, the 9 can be decomposed into 5 + 4 and two simpler problems are created. In other words, 9 groups of 8 is equal to 5 groups of 8 plus 4 groups of 8. It is important to remember, at this stage, that we are only decomposing one of the two factors.

A subtraction cluster for 9 x 8 could be:

10 x 8 = 80
- 1 x 8 = 8
= 9 x 8 = 72 (80 - 8)

Similar to the addition cluster, 9 x 8 is looked at as a combination of two simpler problems. In this case, 10 groups of 8 minus 1 group of 8 equals 9 groups of 8.

Finally, a doubling cluster for 9 x 8 could be:

9 x 2 = 18
therefore 9 x 4 = 36 (18 doubled)
and 9 x 8 = 72 (36 doubled)

When you double one of the factors in a multiplication equation and keep the other factor constant, the product of the new equation is doubled. If you double the number in each group (9 groups of 2 doubles to 9 groups of 4), the total doubles from 18 to 36.

As we progress into bigger numbers, multiplication clusters will become an invaluable tool for our students.

Our Open House Scavenger Hunt

At 4-Corners, we love to empower our students and instill leadership. We know that the best way to learn something is to teach it. For our Open House this coming Tuesday evening, parents will be going on a scavenger hunt! They will be given a passport and will travel to the classrooms at 4-Corners. As they journey through Mrs. Lopez and Miss Launey's English Language Arts classes and Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Pinchot's Math, Science, and Social Studies room, they will go on a scavenger hunt and locate designated artifacts that are located around the room. Two classroom students will be posted at each artifact to teach the parents about the learning that that particular artifact depicts. The parents will be required to answer a written question on their passport about that artifact, and then get a passport stamp by the students in charge of that artifact. The parents continue to peruse the classroom, looking for artifacts that are listed on their passport, and answer the written questions. Students are in charge of the evening and are the only ones who can answer the parents' questions. Our learners are the experts! At the end of the Open House, the parents will have learned every artifact in their child's classrooms. They will leave with their completed passport full of stamps and will take home this momento that proves that they toured and learned about their child's 4th grade world. Stay tuned for the highlights of this grand event!
Mrs. Lopez, Miss Launey, Mrs. Phillips, and Mr. Pinchot

Traveling Through Ancient Greece

We are getting into our European Literature book this month, Adventures in Ancient Greece by Linda Bailey. Student are invited to visit the website "Adventures in Ancient Greece", by following the link below. Come back and make a comment on what you learned from this site:

Click Here: Adventures in Ancient Greece

This is an educational website aimed at children studying Ancient Greek History. Children will find it both educational and entertaining as they interact and take part in games while learning about the way of life in Ancient Greece.

Have fun in Ancient Greece!

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

Ms.Launey's Donors Choose Project

I wanted to send a BIG thank you to the following donors, who made a donation on my DonorsChoose.org page. We have raised enough money to buy our BATTLE OF THE BOOKS ammunition (two of each of the Sunshine State Readers Books). Because of your generosity, we will be able to start reading our books as soon as they are delivered. I will be sure to post pictures on this site.

Donors Choose Donors:
1. Roger from Jacksonville, FL gave on August 5, 2008

2. Robert from Tallahassee, FL gave on August 14, 2008
"I love back-to-school because...it's a whole new year and a fresh start."

3. Donna from Jacksonville, FL gave on September 2, 2008

4. Naoko gave on September 9, 2008

5. Bob & Johna gave on September 10, 2008

6. Melody gave on September 11, 2008

7. Krisin's parents gave on September 11, 2008
"My favorite back-to-school memory is... learning everyone's name and finding out there personality and stuff they like."

8. A donor from New York, NY gave in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Currie from New York, NY on September 12, 2008

We love you all!
Ms.Launey

P.S. If you are in Mrs. Lopez's Class, you can still donate! Her class still needs to raise some more money to meet their goal. If you are in Ms.Launey's class and didn't get a chance to donate, don't feel left out! We will be having a new donation project up in about a month or so.

Learn more about Greece!

This is 8-year old Amarandi Barrett. She created a website about her travels in Greece, just for kids. Her website is http://www.greece4kids.com/. You can read her website like a story, clicking the arrow at the bottom of each page to go to the next page. Travel over to her site and learn all about what it would be like to take a trip to Greece, then come back and comment on what you learned. We can't wait to see what you come back with. This will get you all ready to read "Adventures in Ancient Greece" when we do our Europe study on Wednesday. Happy travels!

Ms.Launey and Mrs.Lopez

SuperStar Bingo Player!

We are participating in a "Reading Bingo" in our E.L.A classes. This program encourages us to read books from all different genres and authors. In order to fill up a row on our Bingo Cards, we read books on the card and complete short responses. The responses are simple activities that allow us to show off our creativity and understanding of the book. One of the 20 activity choices asks you to choose a character or person from the book that you would like to have as a classmate and tell why. Bruce, from Ms.Launey's class, did a super job on this activity when he read a biography about Amelia Earhart. Read below to find out why he thinks "Millie" would be a good classmate to have around!

Character Classmate

By, Bruce

I would like to have Millie Earhart as a classmate because she is a very good friend and she is very fun and active. She is very interested in everything. She is very focused in class and learning. Millie also likes to invent things and do activities such as build things, invent new games, and study flying things. Millie is very interested in roller coasters, so am I. Maybe we could work together on building a small scale model of one. This year we are learning about countries and I'm sure Millie will like to learn as well. All of this relates very well to our 4th grade class.

Help us Battle with Books!

Parents and friends, we need your help. There are 15 Sunshine State Reader Books which have to be read and mastered by our 4th grade team. We are going to compete against other teams in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades in a high stakes reading battle called "The Battle of the Books". This is a positive, highly motivating reading event that takes place all year. Chets Creek started this last year, and the students were "on fire" with reading these highly motivating, award-winning books. We are reading the battle book, The Thing About Georgie, as a class right now. But the students are eager to check out more battle books from our classroom libraries so that they may read them independently. However, we only have a few of these important books! :>(
How can you help? That is the easy part. Follow the links below to either Ms.Launey's or Ms.Lopez's Donor's Choose Website. There you will be able to donate to our cause (2 sets of the Battle Books per class). Once our proposal goal has been met, the books will be boxed up and sent directly to us so that we may begin preparing for battle. You will also receive a tax deduction form from Donor's Choose. Help us go to battle with the proper ammunition....BOOKS!

Ms.Launey's Donor Page: Click Here

Ms.Lopez's Donor Page: Click Here

Thank you for your support!!

Ms.Launey and Ms.Lopez

Did You Know? ATTITUDE is everything!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z can be represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

It's obvious that H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K is 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11=98

and K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E is 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5=96

but A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E is 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5=100.

Hardwork and knowledge gets you close to 100, but ATTITUDE gets you there.
Always have a great attitude in all that you do! :-)
Can you find another way to make 100? :-)
Happy Mathematizing!
Ms. P. and Mr. P.

A Powerful Book

Today in class we read Piggybook by Anthony Browne. It was a great way to start a discussion about everyone doing their part in the classroom so that we will have a productive "Reading Community". We enjoyed hearing your input about cleaning up after yourselves, sharing the work equally in groups, and helping others out when they need it. Piggybook is such a simple book with a very deep meaning.  We noticed many things in the illustrations that add to the meaning of the story.  As you look at the cover of the book, what do you think the illustration means? What does it make you think of?

Ms.Launey and Ms.Lopez 

Every Day Counts!

Today in Math Workshop, these three students shared some awesome math strategies for finding sums using "mental math" while we worked on our Daily Depositor in Every Day Counts.

Student 1 had an easy way to add 29 + 30 + 31. He used compensation to take one away from 31 (30) and add 1 to 29 (30) so that he created a new problem that could easily be solved mentally: "30 + 30 + 30". 29 + 30 + 31 = 90!

Student 2 also used compensation to solve 253 + 90. Here are the steps he used to find the sum:

253 + 100 = 353

353 - 10 = 343.

He knew that by adding 100 and subtracting 10 to 253, that he was adding a net of +90.

253 + 90 = 343

Student 3 used another creative method, decomposition, to solve the same problem: 253 + 90

He decomposed 253 into 250 + 3.

He decomposed 90 into 50 + 40.

His new problem became: 250 + 3 + 50 + 40.

He first combined 250 + 50 to get 300. He then added 40 and 3 to 300 to get his final answer:

300 + 40 + 3 = 343

Wow! These math strategies are spectacular, and it's only the 8th day of 4th grade. Mr. Pinchot and I are so excited to see the other strategies our kids have in their tool belts for solving math problems using number sense and efficiency!

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold To The Highest Bidder!

Friday was finally here! The highly anticipated “Auction” took place with all 90 students. Yes, you read it right…90 students! They were all housed in the large Phillips/Pinchot co-teach room. All 90 students came armed with their Behavior Bucks ready to bid on an item of their choice. Excitement rose as the auctioneer called out, “Who’ll give 2 dollars, 2 dollars, 2 dollars, now 3 dollars, now 4 dollars…sold to the highest bidder for $4.00!” What a thrill to see the winner, money in tote, speed walking with a brimming smile up to the auctioneer to pay for and collect the winning item! Talk about engaged students! The room was bubbling with excitement. After auctioning off many items, the auction ended with 90 students who couldn’t wait to earn more money. But how do they do this?

Do you want to know how to positively motivate, encourage, and reward your students for doing the right thing? Here’s what we do at the Lopez, Launey, Phillips, Pinchot 4- Corners. We “catch” our students behaving exceptionally well, committing random acts of kindness, going above and beyond our expectations, giving back to our learning community, etc. When they are “caught”, they are rewarded with a Behavior Buck (a green simulated-looking dollar). Here at 4- Corners, all four teachers believe in Positive Discipline. We would rather mold and build outstanding character by rewarding learners who “do the right thing”, than spend our time focusing on negative behavior. We have found that children want to do what is right. They just need to see it modeled and see that it “pays” to be an honorable and upstanding citizen. So, what do they do with these earned Behavior Bucks? They spend them at our auction when they want to bid on something. What a positive way to motivate students to do the right thing! Where do we get these items to auction? We get donated items from our loving, generous, and supportive parents. Our students clean out their play rooms and with permission from their parents donate “almost new” items. Teachers also contribute things they find on sale. We are always in need of donations because we have an auction every Friday! We would like to personally thank all of the parents who donated to our auction.

-Mrs. Lopez, Ms. Launey, Mrs. Phillips, Mr. Pinchot
The 4 - Corner Team

To Our Students: What to Remember When Making a Post

This is a special message to all of our precious students who are visiting our blog this weekend to vote in both of our polls and leave a message:

Here are a few things you must remember in order for us to accept your post:


1) Please remember to sign your comment with your first name at the end of your comment. Please do not include your last name.

2) Posts that are not signed with a person's first name (anonymous posts) will not be accepted.

3) Remember to add posts to the right section and make sure that your post addresses the topic of the section. For example, if you are leaving a post about the Georgie read-aloud you are currently experiencing in ELA class, please leave your comment in the section on the Georgie post.

We are so pleased that so many of our students are visiting our blog this weekend and showing their participation in what we are learning in class! Please visit often and check for updates!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Ms. Phillips, Ms. Launey, Ms. Lopez, Mr. Pinchot

The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff

Our first chapter book read aloud is The Thing About Georgie by Lisa Graff. We are in the third chapter, and our 4th grade students are loving it! They thoroughly enjoy getting to know the main character, Georgie Washington Bishop, who is a ten year old dwarf. Georgie's parents are accomplished musicians of normal size. In Chapter 3, we learned that Georgie's mom is having a baby, and we are predicting that Georgie is wondering if his sibling will be a dwarf like him or of normal size like his parents. Our students are learning that Georgie cannot do everything that they can do, because of his size. ...but then again, some things he is able to do. For example, Georgie and his best friend, Andy, have a dog walking business, and Georgie walks the smaller dogs like poodles and Andy walks the larger dogs like Great Danes. We know that Georgie has a good heart because he is trying to make money so that he can buy his parents decent presents at Christmas time and still have money left over to buy comics for himself. Our students are very engaged and curious to see how Georgie is going to deal with Jeanie the Meanie, a fellow classmate who constantly pesters him. Already, we are becoming aware of the differences in others, how we perceive others and how they perceive us. Now that you have a little introduction of our read aloud, you might be interested to learn what our readers have to say about this highly entertaining book. Stay tuned! Our students will be posting soon!

Dorry Lopez and Meli Launey

Our Solar System

Wow! Today we asked our students to draw a picture of our solar system before we began our new unit. In their picture they should have included anything they knew about the system around us. We were expecting that a fair amount of students would be able to list the planets in order, understanding the sun was in the center. Maybe a few would know the planets were not all the same size and have some idea of their characteristics. Boy, did we underestimate their knowledge. Here is a list of responses we recieved:

• Saturn and Neptune have rings


• Saturn's rings go around its equator while Neptune's go around its poles


• Pluto is a dwarf planet


• We have 4 inner and 4 or 5 outer planets


• An asteroid belt serparates the inner and outer planets


• Jupiter is the largest planet


• Jupiter's volume is large enough to fit all the other planets inside


• We live in the Milky Way Galaxy


• Pluto is in or near the Kuiper Belt


• Our moon causes our tides


• Planets revole and rotate


• Mercury has a very hot side and a very cold side


• Jupiter is a gas giant

I think we will need to revise our lessons!

Welcome Back!

Today was our first day back after our extended time off due to "Fay". During Science Workshop, as a way to turn that time off into a "learning opportunity", Mr. Pinchot (a degreed Meteorologist!) led a thoughtful conversation with our classes about the different classifications of storms and how "wind speed" constitutes the category of storm we experience. This conversation led to the students reflecting on their own personal experiences over recent days. Many of our students shared the precautions their families took during this inclement weather time period (some students even practiced the "Duck and Cover" response in their homes when we experienced local tornado warnings in our area a few days ago, which is a special drill we had just practiced in school in preparation for this sort of situation). Our discussions also led us to develop a list of the many "do's" and "don'ts" of how to react during a storm to maximize personal safety. Needless to say, it was time very well spent.

If you are a parent of a child in our class reading this entry, ask your child to identify for you the three classifications of "storms" that we discussed in class:

*Identify the type of storm with winds greater than 74 miles per hour.

*Identify the type of storm with winds between 40 and 74 miles per hour.

*Identify the type of storm with dying winds that have fallen below 40 miles per hour.

Finally, ask your child which 2 categories "Fay" fell into, and see if he or she can tell you the significance of this storm beginning with the letter "F"!!!

Fay Cuts First Week Short

Tropical Storm Fay put an abrupt halt to our first week of school. Just as we were learning students' names and collecting data through our diagnostic, we had to take three days off for Fay to pass. Although much work has been done through email and phone calls, I for one would have rather been at school. We hope everyone is safe and look forward to seeing all of our students once again on Monday.

Our Very Memorable First Day of School

Our first day of school was incredible. In addition to establishing guidelines, organizing supplies, and getting to know each other, we attended a very special assembly aligned with this year's theme at Chets: Around the World in 180 Days! Our very special guest, Mr. Bruce Junek, took our students on a virtual tour of a special trip he took with his wife Tass "around the world" several years ago. It was absolutely amazing. He and his wife traveled to over 25 different countries over a two year period, traveling 14,ooo miles (many of these miles by bicycle!). He led his presentation with a pictorial slideshow, sharing the triumphs and difficulties of their journeys. The most compelling part of the presentation was how he taught our kids to appreciate diversity by sharing the traditions, lifestyles, and beliefs of the many people he and his wife interacted with during their journey. He told stories of his visits to many places, including: Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Nepal, India, Egypt, Jerusalem, Athens, Austria, and Switzerland. As he reflected on his experiences in each country, he taught us so much about the culture and the landscapes, the people and the way their lives compared to or differed from our own. Upon returning to our classroom after this special presentation, our class debriefed the experience and what we gained from it. A lot of what was discussed pertained to appreciating (and not judging) people who are different from us in America. Justin said that we should "Respect the things that we have and respect others for what they have." Many of the children we saw in the pictures had no shoes, or they had to walk with buckets to retrieve water each day for their family from nearby rivers. Other children Mr. Junek spoke about cared for younger siblings and worked to support their family instead of going to school to receive an education. In addition to developing a greater appreciation for others different from us, we also found that we were inspired to follow our dreams. As Ryan reflected, he said: "It doesn't matter what other people say of your dreams- you just do it." Shannon said we should "Try our hardest to accomplish our goals." What important life lessons we learned beginning in the first few hours of our journey together in 4th grade that has just begun! We are looking forward to many more life lessons to come!

First Day

Wow! What an exciting first day. I just wanted to thank our third grade teachers from last year. As always, I turn most conversations to math and today was no different. While taking roll I asked the class if they knew how many students were in the room? I told them we had seven tables with six chairs each and all the tables were full. Noah quickly stated that we had 42 students in the room. When asked how he knew, Noah responded, "I know 7 x 7 is 49, so 6 x 7 is one group of 7 less or 42!" He must of had a great teacher last year!

Chets Creek Families are Amazing!

There has been a severe decrease in supply money this year in all schools in Duval County. After explaining our needs to the parents at Orientation, one parent came through with flying colors! It was Dave Ranney, a father of a student in Ms.Launey's homeroom. The teachers came upstairs after our faculty meeting to discover a massive, overflowing box of white binders (exactly what we had asked for). Mrs.Lopez and Ms.Launey were jumping for joy (you know you are a true teacher when school supplies make you jump and scream!). The binders were supplied by a business that no longer needed them and Mr.Ranney found them the perfect home. We thank the Ranney family so much for their extra help and support in our time of need.

Orientation Day

We all enjoyed meeting our students and their families at Orientation. We were thrilled to have a full house in all of our classrooms. During Orientation, our parents learned about the basics of 4th grade during a powerpoint presentation in their child’s homeroom class. The presentation included information about switching classes, staying connected throughout the year, and tips on how to be a successful "traveler". We also introduced our world traveling bear, who will remain nameless until we hold our official vote. After the homeroom presentations, the parents and children were given the opportunity to "travel" to their other classroom, where they toured the rooms and met their other teachers. The Orientation was a perfect kick-off to a year full of world-class adventure! We are so excited about what lies ahead!

The World Around Us....and Beyond!

Hello 4th grade travelers! I have been very busy preparing for my first day at a new school. I have heard many rumors of the great traditions at Chets and I know I am in store for quite a big celebration on the first day. With all the excitement and buzzing going on in the hallways and classrooms this week, it is hard to think about anything else going on in the world outside of Chets Creek Elementary. Often times, It is easy to become so involved in your own little world, that you lose sight of the big picture. Over the last couple of weeks, many of the other teachers and I have made a habit of not leaving school until the sun has gone down for the day. We have been spending so much time in our own "little world". Today I turned on the news for the first time in several days and saw that I had missed so much! It made me realize how important it is that our students this year understand what life is like outside of their classroom and neighborhoods. There are so many things going on in our city, state, country, and all over the world. Knowing about things going on in the great big world makes you a more successful and productive member of society. (..and also gives you more to think, talk, and write about!) This really gets me excited that I will be teaching my students how to become more globally aware as we take a virtual trip around the world this year. We are about to set forth on a journey that will take us beyond the walls of our classroom. Get your bag packed....for a year of amazing adventures. Watch the video below to see some of the exciting places we may be "traveling" over the next 180 days!


-Ms.Launey

Welcome to the Beginning of a Great Journey Together!

Welcome to 4th Grade with Ms. Launey, Ms. Lopez, Ms. Phillips, and Mr. Pinchot!

This year promises to be an incredible year of growth, reflection, and celebration of our knowledge as we embark on a very busy 180 day journey together and take our learning to new heights! To begin, we are very pleased to introduce you to a very special member of our learning community, our class mascot. Next week our students will help to decide on this very special bear's name! In addition, our mascot will begin having the opportunity to "travel" with our students as they attend special trips to faraway places with their families and friends during the course of the school year. This forum will help us learn about many new and special places in our state, our nation, and other parts of the globe! We are so excited to begin this journey "around the world in 180 days"!