Thursday, March 31st

We had a wonderful day on The Ave!

Students continued to prepare for student-led conferences throughout the day.  They worked to select pieces and develop the information that they would like to share.

Students began working on their reflections of their end of the term math assessment.  They are assessing their own performance and setting goals for the future.

We continued working on our UOI summative billboards.  Students are excitedly finishing their products!

We had some success with our Rube Goldberg Machines!  The kids have been working so hard to make modifications and adjustments.  We have one more day to make them work!

Rube Goldberg in action!

Have a wonderful evening!!

Wednesday, April 30th

Hooray for Wednesday!

We put in a lot of prep work for our student-led conferences today.  Students are working to select their pieces and prepare to demonstrate their learning for the term.  You can sign up here!

Student-led Conference Sign-up

Students began working on their UOI Summative task.  They have been tasked to create a billboard related to our central idea.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We are looking forward to a great rest of the week!
Have a great night!

Tuesday, March 29th

We had a wonderful day!

Students took their end of module math assessment this morning.  Most were able to complete their assessment this morning.  If time ran out, some time will be given tomorrow morning.

Then it was Rube Goldberg Machine time!  I loved the excitement and planning that occurred during this activity.  The process of making predictions and theories, and assessing those theories was in full swing!  Check out a sneak peek into our time today!

Rube Goldberg Machines....in progress.

We began reflections and planning for our student-led conferences.  Each student is working through reflections to share with you on April 14th.  Sign-up below!

Don't forget to check out the e-blasts from F.AVE for the latest updates on yearbook orders, movie night, and the Variety Show.  Many dates have been changed!

Have a wonderful evening!

Monday, March 28th

Happy Monday!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

This morning, we celebrated that our school collected more than $5,000.00 to donate to Pennies for Patients!!  We enjoyed celebrating all of the top classes who contributed.  Our class was the top contributor for the school and has earned a pizza party!! It was an exciting way to start our morning!
And the winner is....

We hit the ground running with exploration sign-up.  Students signed up for College and Career Explorations coming up this Friday.  Ask your child which one they chose!

We will be taking our end of the term math assessment tomorrow.  There are three word problems for homework tonight.

We will begin our Rube Goldberg machines tomorrow.  Students can bring in materials to use in their process and planning.

We completed our Westward Expansion assessment this afternoon and are looking forward to our UOI summative piece for the end of term.

Important Information is in your child's red folder:
You will find information about student-led conferences, picture day, movie night, drop off and more!

Please sign-up for student-led conferences!!  This is an important night for you and your child.  Thank you!
Student-led Conference Sign-UP

Friday, March 25th

Happy Friday!!

We had a busy and productive day of learning!  Students worked to utilize monetary comparisons with adding and subtracting decimal fractions.  They applied their knowledge and understanding to extend the lesson by adding decimals.

We inquired into Rube Goldberg Machines.  After watching the video below, and noticing the simple machines throughout the video, students began planning and designing a Rube Goldberg Machine of their own.  We will be working next week to build and test our machines.  Students are able to bring in materials from home to use, but they should be directly related to their machine and of reasonable size.

OK Go - Rube Goldberg Video

We inquired into the driving forces behind inventions.  Students generated and organized their ideas of inventions that have impacted them.  We were able to determine some driving forces behind inventions, such as making life easier, solving a problem, wanting a new way to do something, and becoming rich and famous.  Students then explored inventions from westward expansion and their impact on people, land, and development.

Thank you so much for a great week!  Student-led conference sign-up is below.  Have a wonderful weekend!
Student-Led Conference Sign Up

Wednesday, March 23rd

What a beautiful day!

We continued our inquiry into the driving forces behind Westward Expansion by taking a closer look at the California Gold Rush.  Students were asked to decide what they were willing to do, give up, or change to head west and have a chance to "strike it rich."  Their answers were surprising!  Ask your child to tell you more about their decision and opportunity cost!

Students continue to draft, revise, and edit their informative and opinion pieces.  We worked diligently to complete many tasks this afternoon that were in progress.  I know students are excited to have that work completed!  We will begin reviewing our fictional narrative strategies, as we start our fourth and final chapter of our informative books.

Thank you for continuing to sign up for student-led conferences!
Student-led Conference Sign-up

The F.AVE online auction has opened!  Head over to the PTO Auction Site to bid on fun prizes from now through April 15th.
PTO Auction Site

Ms. Ehmer and I truly appreciate all of the collections and donations to Pennies for Patients.  Our class has raise more than $800 for LLS.  The final totals will be announced on Monday!

Have a great afternoon!

Tuesday, March 22nd

We had a productive day!
Students explored addition of decimals by converting tenths to hundredths using area number disks.  They were able to make the connection of multiplication by 10 in the numerator and denominator.

We explored some simple machines.  Students inquired into the forces of push and pull used to move simple machines, and their impact on movement.  Utilizing levers and spring scales, students were able to measure the Newtons of force used to lift a weight.  Some students also inquired into pulley systems and worked to create pulley systems to performa a specific task.  We will continue our station work tomorrow.

We are out of tissues, so if you are able to donate a box or two, it would be greatly appreciated!

Here is the link for student-led conferences.  Please sign up for a time as soon as possible.  Time slots are filling quickly.

Monday, March 21st

Happy Monday!
It was a chilly second day of spring on The Ave.

We worked to reflect on our mid-module math assessment this morning.  Students were able to reflect on each question, determining if they were correct in their calculations, or made simple errors.  They also set goals for their performance and improvement.

We explored perspective today by reading Two Bad Ants.  Students worked to compare the perspective of the ants to the perspective of a person.  They were creative in coming up with what a person sees, and how an ant would see it.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Don't forget to sign up for your student-led conference.  Students are excited to share their learning with you, and spots are quickly filling.

Thank you for all that you do!!

Friday, March 18th

Happy Friday!

We had a busy morning using place value strategies to order decimals on a number line.  We then worked to finish our mid-point assessment.

Students are doing an excellent job editing their Forces in Motion videos and completing their Oregon Trail comics.  We will continue with those tasks next week and begin our inquiry into the California Gold Rush.

Students explored a Time For Kids, examining the driving forces behind and impact on people, land, and development of eating bugs.  It's an interesting concept that occurs in other countries, and students were surprised by the many ways that eating bugs can not only help people, but our resources.  Ask your child to tell you more!

Have a spectacular weekend, and don't forget to sign-up for your student-led conference!!
Student-Led Conference Sign-Up

Student-Led Conference Sign-Up

Don't forget to sign-up for a time to have a conference with your child.

Student-Led Conference Sign Up

Wednesday, March 16th

Another beautiful and busy day on The Ave.

We inquired into decimal comparison and ordering decimals today.  Students worked to compare decimals utilizing a place value chart.  They also expressed decimal fraction in expanded form during stations this morning.

We took a trip down The Oregon Trail today, using information gathered during our scavenger hunt last week.  Students had a few minutes to begin working on a story written as a first hand account of a trip to Oregon Territory.  Their story will begin in St. Louis, Missouri and head west.  Tonight, they are challenged to come up with some ideas about events or hardships that they may face on their journey.

Sign-up for Student-Led Conferences will begin today.  Please use the link below to sign-up for ONE time that works with your schedule to meet with your child.  Times slots are available on a first come, first served basis.  More information about what to expect at your conference will be coming your way shortly.  Thank you!

Student-Led Conference Sign Up

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 15th

Happy Tuesday!

We had a busy start to our week!  Students continued to utilize models to provide evidence of fractional equivalence between tenths and hundredths.  They completed a short assessment and will have another short assessment tomorrow.

We continued our inquiry into analyzing first and second hand accounts.  Students utilized checklists to determine important characteristics of each style of writing and created venn diagrams to model similarities and differences between two pieces on the same topic.

Students utilized a check list to reflect on the first two chapters of their informational piece.  The checklists allowed students to determine which components of their writing are completed and which need to be completed.  We are making great progress on our pieces!

Thank you for your continued donations to Pennies for Patience.  This is our last week to collect coins!

Have a great evening!!

Tissues

Good morning!

We are ready for a great day of professional learning.  If you are able to send in tissues, we are down to our last box.  We greatly appreciate it!  Have a wonderful day!

Pie in the face!

Had a great time taking a pie in the face from Riley d.! Thanks to all who were able to come tonight. See you at the race tomorrow!

Friday, March 11th

It's Friday!!

What a beautiful day to spend making force in motion videos outside.  Students worked diligently to complete their task, and many have finished.  We will have some additional work time on Tuesday.

After taking a portion of their Westward Expansion Assessment, students worked to complete their Texas Annexation Advertisements and their Oregon Trail scavenger Hunt.

We took a closer look at the types of primary and secondary sources.  Students inquired into news media, and reports as primary or secondary sources.

I hope to see you tonight at the Tour Decatur Expo or tomorrow at the Tour Decatur.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, March 10th

Happy Thursday!

Sorry for the late post.  We had a wonderful and busy day!

We are very excited to complete our forces in motion videos tomorrow.  Students are able to bring in items from home to use when completing their videos.  They will be a great opportunity for team work and application of our knowledge and unit of inquiry.

As we continue our journey across the United States, students are inquiring into the life on The Oregon Trail.  They worked to complete an Oregon Trail scavenger hunt this afternoon, looking for specific details about the journey.

Our writing pieces continue to progress.  We began the planning phase of the opinion portion of our pieces today.  Students worked to create a thesis that connects to the first their previously drafted informative sections.

Thank you so much for all of your contributions and collections for Pennies for Patients!  Ms. Ehmer and I are always overwhelmed by your generosity.  We are collecting for one more week, so keep it coming!  We are getting closer everyday to our school goal of $3,000!

I hope to see many of you at the Tour Decatur Expo tomorrow!  Arrive at 6:30 to have your name put in the drawing for a chance to throw a pie in my face, or another amazing F.AVE teacher!

See you in the morning!

Wednesday, March 9th

Happy Wednesday!

Students continued their inquiry into decimals today.  They worked to create area models that represent their decimals, and plot their decimals on a number line.  They were then able to match the unit form to the decimal and fraction form.

We began an inquiry into first and second hand accounts.  We played the game telephone using a phrase.  Students passed the phrase and discovered that as the account moved along, it changed.  We then examined first hand accounts from Columbus and other explorers, noting things that we notice/characteristics.

We were introduced to our candidates for F.AVE Student Council.  The candidates went to each room for a Town Hall Meeting.  They were given time to explain their platform to each class.  We also watched each candidates campaign video.  Our election will occur at school tomorrow, and the winner will be announced on Friday!

A message about Tour Decatur Expo:

Hey F.AVE Runners!

We wanted to be sure you knew that the awesome teachers listed below will be at the Tour Expo this Friday night and some lucky students will get to throw a whipped cream "pie" in their face - what fun!  

The Expo will be at Ebster Gym (105 Electric Ave, Decatur, GA) from 4-7:30pm. Come pick up your race numbers/shirts and be entered for a chance to throw a whipped cream pie at a teacher at 7:00pm!

Number pick-up will last from 4-7:30pm - Plan to arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled F.AVE Pie time (7:00pm) to be sure you are entered for a chance to throw a pie.

There will be pizza and pie (as long as they last) for sale to benefit the Booster Club and the Band Parents Association which support great student programs.  

Here is the list of awesome teachers willing to take a pie in the face:

• Amy Evans
• Colleen Dunbar
• Callie Sanders
• Sarah Guest
• Michael Holliday
• Juliana Souki
• Tiffany Neimeyer
• Aaron Luke
• Kaitlin Clark

Have a wonderful evening!

Tuesday, March 8th

What a busy and successful day of learning!

Students inquired into the differences between speed, velocity, and acceleration.  They worked in the Discovery Education app to complete and exploration.  Speed = distance/time!

We worked in reading stations today.  Students inquired into spelling patterns, verbs, Compass Learning activities, drafting of their writing pieces, main idea, and independent daily reading!  We will complete our station rotations on Thursday.

Students have been working to draft the first two informational section of the writing piece for this term.  These are informative pieces that will encompass many genres of writing.  Some students have taken their writing journals home to work on their drafts this evening.

Several of you have mentioned student-led conferences.  They were originally on the calendar for tomorrow, but have been move to April 14th.  More information will come home soon regarding signing up to have your conference with your child.

Thanks for a great day!

Monday, March 7th

Welcome back!

I hope you had a restful weekend and were able to enjoy the beautiful weather.
Congratulations to Gracie! She is our class elected Superstar of the Month for February! We are so proud of you!

 We continued our inquiry into decimals by making the connection between tenths and hundredths.  We utilized our prior knowledge of meters and centimeters to represent 1/10 is equal to 10/100.

Students are working to create advertisements both for and against the Annexation of Texas.  Students are utilizing the knowledge gained during their inquiry to represent both sides of the argument and connect it to our lines of inquiry.

We continue to inquire into nonfiction reading strategies.  Students utilized a passage about the Texas Revolution to determine the main idea of the paragraphs, provide evidence for text structure, and respond to questions.

Lice Update
We continue to monitor the lice in our classroom.  We have had some new cases arise in students who had been previously checked and were clear.  Please continue to check and recheck your children every couple of days, and notify me and Ms. Ehmer if you find lice.  The more we work together to check and report, the quicker that we can rid our classroom of the lice.  Thank you so much!

Tour Decatur
Friday night is the Tour Decatur Expo.  Please come and celebrate!!!  At 7:00, many F.AVE teachers (include ME!!) are volunteering to receive a pie in the face.  You could have the chance to throw a pie at me or one of our other amazing teachers!  I hope to see you there!

We will continue to collect Pennies for Patients donations for the next two weeks, so keep collecting!  Thank you so much!!

Thursday, March 3rd

Happy Thursday!

We continued our inquiry into fractions as decimals.  Students worked to express multiplication equations representing decimals greater than one in expanded fraction form and expanded decimal form.

We had a great lesson from Mrs. Craig about force in motion.  One of the most interesting things we discussed was the video below, which demonstrates that everything falls at the same rate.  It is a you tube link, but is incredibly interesting to watch.

Bowling Ball and feather drop

Students inquired into the driving forces behind the annexation of Texas into the United States.  We will explore their grievances with Mexico tomorrow.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to visit another IB school tomorrow with several F.AVE teachers.  We are going to have the opportunity to visit classrooms and experience IB from a new perspective.  I will be back on Monday.

Thank for contributing to Pennies for Patients!  Keep those coins coming!

Wednesday, March 2nd

We started with a great discussion about our student voting and compared the results to the Presidential Primaries from yesterday.  Students asked great questions about delegates and how the primary elections work.

It was then time for some swing dancing!!  We had a great time at our last cultural arts event of the school year!

Swing Dance
We've got moves!!

We inquired into manifest destiny this afternoon.  Students inquired into the movements as a result of the force of manifest destiny and the impact of those movements on the people, land, and development of the US.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We are off to a great start with our collection for Pennies for Patients!  Keep those donations coming!!

Have a wonderful evening!

We got our stickers!!

Lice Prevention

Thank you to one of our parents for passing along this information.

I'm sure many parents are aware of this, but if not, tea tree oil is a natural lice repellent. You can also add a bit of tea tree oil to a water filled spray bottle and have he same effect.

Tuesday, March 1st

How is it possible that it is March!!  We enjoyed the amazing spring weather on the playground today!
Congratulations to Audrey and Grainne!  They have been selected as our classroom representatives for the F.AVE Student Council.  They will begin their campaign tomorrow in hopes of being elected to serve for the entire 4th grade.  I am so proud of everyone who submitted letters.  They were well written and thought out, and it made the decision very difficult.  Way to go, Superstars!

Students were very exited to vote this morning in our Newsela.com Presidential Primary.  We were able to check throughout the day to see how students across the nation were voting.  We are excited to see if the student's choices will align with the polls!  Ask your child to tell you more!

Students took another hands on look at forces in motion!  We inquired into types of force (push or pull), and movements as a result of force.  Here's the set up!  Can you decided what to do?  You can complete one action with the broom to get the egg into the cup.

Now take a look at our videos to see if you made a correct hypothesis!!!

Mrs. Sanders - Egg Drop
Katie Jane and Jack B - Egg Drop
Katherine and Isabella - Egg Drop

We were able to be reflective to determine what worked, what did not, and why.  We also worked to determine all of the forces at work during this experiment.  Ask your child to tell you more!

We set a class goal to collect $300 in coins and donations for our Pennies for Patients campaign.  It is a lofty goal, but we can do it!!

Keep checking and rechecking for lice.

We have had a very busy day!  I hope you have a restful evening!