Digging Into Our Learning

  Yesterday we were digging up all kinds of fun! Take a look at this blog post written by Alex and Phillip to find out more about our class field trip:

  The Douglas Road fourth grade classes went to a place called Fossil park. We were on the bus for about twenty minutes. We split up the students. One half went to Olander park and the other half went to Fossil park. We went to fossil park first. We started breaking rocks with bigger rocks. It was hard work ,but we got some fossils. We found quite a bit. We found bryozoan, horn coral, gastropad, aulopora, crinoid,  and brachiopods. We were there for an hour  and then we switched. First we did a scavenger park around the lake. Then we played for a bit on their playground. Then we ate lunch and played some more. In the middle of playing we had delicious popsicles. Then we all gathered up and went on the bus for another twenty minutes. When we got back we showed our fossils to each other. It was definitely enjoyable. I can’t wait to go there again!

Take a look at what the rest of the class had to say about our field trip at  http://kidblog.org/Powell4thgrade2011/ .
You can also learn more about Fossil Park at http://www.olanderpark.com/pages/Fossil.htm

Are You Ready for the Science Quiz?

Just a reminder to practice your vocabulary words tonight for our science quiz.  You can practice your terms with these online flashcards!

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards

We Have New Friends in Pennsylvania and Connecticut

We would like to thank Miss Bamberger's class in Pennsylvania and Mr. Sapia's Class in Connecticut for teaching us many interesting facts about their states.  It is so much fun to play Mystery Skype with other 4th grade classrooms! 

Personalize your own slideshow design Would you like to learn more about the clues from each state?  Take a look at the posts created by the Mystery Skype bloggers for Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Singing About Geometric Lines

  Today we had the opportunity to discuss and sing about geometric lines.  Study Jams has a great song that helps you understand the difference between horizontal, vertical, parallel, intersecting and perpendicular lines.  We even created arm movements to go with the song!  It is definitely something you need to check out!  http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/math/geometry/types-of-lines.htm

Happy Mother's Day 2012

What is the one word that each student would choose to describe their mom?  Watch this video and find out!
 

Mobile Learning

    As our days pass by quickly in the classroom, one thing that I hope will not stop on our last day of school is mobile learning.  The past month we have been using our iPad quite often in the classroom to learn together with the help of the new Appletv for all to see.  We have found so many apps that integrate into our classroom curriculum, and provides another great learning opportunity for them to use at home on their own mobile device.
   Right now we are busy researching our animals for our science unit.  Students have used apps such as World Book's World of Animals and Amazing Creatures to get more information about their particular animal.  This week we have been learning about adaptations of animals.  Students will be working on Animal Creator to create their own animals on this app and share the adaptations that this animal uses in order to survive in a designated habitat.
  During our math time,  students take turns each day reinforcing their skills in fractions by playing  Oh No! Fractions, Fraction Monkey,  and Fractions.Smart Pirate.   Students are also sharing how they have downloaded the apps at home on their mobile devices to continue practicing their math skills.
   We have also used the iPad in other areas of our curriculum throughout the year.  Some of the student favorites this year have been Stack the States , Edmodo, and Word Sort by Grammaropolis.
   I hope by the end of the year students will have a variety of applications that they will continue to use over the summer to learn and grow!