November 21, 2018

     

     The 4th graders have been focused on gratitude and being thankful. Our Monday morning prayer service preparation gave the students the opportunity to look deeply at his/her blessings. I love Thanksgiving for it's calm focus on family and home. I count you all as blessings in my life! Some of the 4th graders reflected on what has been going on in the classroom and have contributed a writing piece to the blog. Check out these bloggers...

Morning Meeting

     Morning meeting helps us to grow closer to friends. Also it lets us share about our every day lives and exciting news with others. We get to hear what we are going to learn about in our day. Another thing we get to do is learn about the saints and how they dedicated their lives to God, Jesus and Mary. We enjoy getting creative handshakes from the Meeting Manager who passes the hand shake around the carpet. We enjoy Morning Meeting for these reasons. 

     by Elie and Rose

Social Studies

     In class, we have Social Studies every day. We are learning the history of our state, Oregon. The project we just finished was reading a novel about Native Americans life and traditions. It is important to learn about Native Americans because their history is interesting. We use a book called Oregonized to help us find facts. We just started learning about the first explorers who came to Oregon by boat. Social Studies is one of our classes favorite subjects. 

     by Mila and Emma A.

Religion

     Recently in religion, we have been learning about the Ten Commandments. The first three Commandments are about how to follow and respect God. The last seven are about how to respect others. We also learned how important it is to forgive whatever the person has done to you. Now we know how important respect is. 

    by Charles and Liam

   
These photos are from the last couple of weeks. Enjoy all you have planned for this for this weekend. I wish you safe travels and happy family times. Thank you for sharing your lovely children with me!

October 5th, 2018

 This week the students chose a Native American tribe to write a personal narrative as a child of the tribe. Each student worked on writing a beginning to the narrative starting with a hook (interesting first sentence to draw the reader in) and using character description, setting description and laying the foundation for the story. I am amazed by the enthusiasm and interest in researching all aspects of life as a Native American in Oregon. Included in the Friday Folder this weekend is the field trip form for our trip to the Portland Art Museum at the end of this month. We will be touring the art collection of the Native people of Oregon lead by a docent. Please let me you can chaperone and drive.

Researching together

Sharing information

Choosing the best work space

Learning together

In preparation to write the personal narrative, the students have been reading many mentor texts to see how great writers write. As a class, we are reading Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Students are listening to me read and reading silently using comprehension strategies to wonder, connect and ask questions. Then they meet in small book club groups to discuss questions each has written on post-it notes. As I walk around to the groups, I hear deep, thoughtful questions and rich discussions.

 

The Fourth Graders have started this years science studies focusing on Earth's Place in the Universe by first studying the Rock Cycle. Together, we have created a poster explaining the complex process of the creation and breaking down of rocks, visited the science lab and experimented with the concepts of weathering, erosion and rock formation. This next week we will be wrapping up the Rock Cycle study with a final project of creating a comic strip demonstrating detailed knowledge of the Rock Cycle.

Volcano lava lab

How do mountains break down? lab

Recording observations

Sedimentary Rock

Applying pressure to create Sedimentary Rock

Pressure and heat create Metamorphic Rocks

Creating magma

Recording observations

Ms. Yuhas helps create Igneous Rocks

Cooled magma creates Igneous Rocks.

Tuesday this week was day one of the Cardboard Challenge. The Fourth Graders worked in groups in the Library to create arcade games. It was so much fun! Mrs. Chambers and I witnessed the engineering process in real time. Students were trying out ideas, encountering challenges, discussing solutions and then trying something new. The Fourth Graders created a Flipgrid video reflecting on the challenges his/her group faced on Day One of building. Please take a moment to look at the Flipgrid with the login paper your Fourth Grader has in his/her planner. Each group made great progress and will have one more day to put finishing touches on the game. Wednesday morning recess will be the debut of arcade games to first K, 1 & 2, then to 3 & 5.

The entire Madeleine School gathered outside the Parish Hall on Thursday afternoon for the
Blessing of the Pets in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. It was a beautiful day filled with love for our
pets and chocolate chip cookies.

Blessings,
Jenn Langhus 

September 21, 2018

       

     What a great week in Fourth Grade! 

     This past week, we eased into nightly homework starting with a couple of math pages each night. You may have noticed that we are starting the year with a review of math concepts and vocabulary to build upon. Please take a moment to check in with your Fourth Grader and sign his/her planner with your initials in the indicated box. 
     In Social Studies, the students have started learning about the history of our state by learning about the native people of Oregon. Our first official writing unit has started with the students practicing the art of personal narrative. They will be integrating the two subjects this coming week by writing a narrative from the perspective of a Native American tribe. Our science focus has been on rocks and how they are formed. Keep building up reading stamina by encouraging your child to read at least the required 20 minutes each night for homework. Enjoy these photos from the last couple of weeks!

Good Morning with a double fist bump

Pledge of Allegiance

Time for a Brain Break!

Volcano Science

Native Americans of Oregon research

Working in pairs to find information.

Choosing the best spot to work.

Reading and sharing ideas

Pacific NW Native American art with Mrs. Parmeter

 

Visit to the science lab with Ms. Yuhas

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

 

Metamorphic Rocks

Wishing you a blessed weekend, 

Jenn Langhus