It's Electric!

    We recently wrapped up with a short unit on Magnetism.  The students really enjoyed all the hands-on investigations and activities that they participated in to learn more about magnetism; one of their favorites was "Breaking the Force."  We also enjoyed a visit from Ms. Lone yesterday and the class thoroughly loved working with the Snap Circuits she brought along with her, as an introduction to our unit on Electricity.  Below you will find pictures from some of our exploration with magnets and their work with Snap Circuits.  

The Wax Museum was a Success!

  Last Monday, we have another very successful Wax Museum.  Look below for some of the pictures we took last Monday morning.

Wax Museum Presentations

  Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone enjoyed the break and the holiday season and your new year is off to a great start!  Below you will find pictures of our class representing various historical figures, after their Wax Museum presentation.  

Daniel Boone, John Smith, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Eli Whitney, Orville Wright

Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Madame CJ Walker, Annie Oakley, Christopher Columbus 

General Robert E. Lee, King George III, Clara Barton

Paul Revere, Hernando de Soto, Rosa Parks, Lief Ericsson, Sacajawea

Thomas Jefferson, Davy Crockett, Pocohantas

Camden Revolutionary War Park

     Today, we wrapped up with our Colonial Life unit of study and will shift our focus to the American Revolution next week.  Last week, we enjoyed a trip to Camden Revolutionary War Park and the great connection it has with the book we are currently reading in English/Language Arts, The Keeping Room.  Students were able to enjoy trying on Colonial clothing, learning more about the Battle of Camden, seeing the former home of Joseph Kershaw and they were also able to write with a quill pen, among other things.  It's always great when students are able to go on field studies that actually bring what we are studying to life.  Below are some pictures from our trip.  

Astronomy Wizards

    We are starting to wrap up with our first science unit of study and we have enjoyed a host engaging activities during this unit.  One of the last activities was measuring our shadow throughout the course of the day to notice how the Sun's position in the sky changes the length of our shadow.  See your little at work below.  

 

StarLab Planetarium

      On Tuesday, our entire fourth grade class had the pleasure of receiving a visit from StarLab.  Students had an opportunity to learn more about Astronomy via this great "being there experience."  We learned about the phases of the moon, the names and their order, their relative locations in the sky and why each phase occurs, in addition to that, we learned about constellations and how to identify them in the night sky.  Below you will see our class, along with students from Ms. Mayer's class, outside of the StarLab.  Be sure to ask your child what he or she enjoyed the most about the StarLab.  We will continue with our study of Astronomy next week learning more about the Sun and its effects on the Earth, shadow's, tides and seasons.   

The 4th Grade Wax Museum

     If you have been at Bookman Road for any number of years, you have likely seen or heard of the Wax Museum that the 4th Grade class presents every year.  If you are new to Bookman Road, then you are in for a treat!  The 4th Grade class will bring many of the historical figures we learn about throughout the school year to life in this breathe taking presentation.  Tomorrow, I will send home paperwork regarding the Wax Museum that is very important.  Please take some time over the weekend to review this paperwork with your child.  The actual event doesn't take place until January, but there is lots of work do before it all comes to fruition.  Help your child to select his/her top three choices of a person from history that they'd like to represent in the Wax Museum and return the form to me no later than next Tuesday, October 13th.  I will then send a letter of notification home on Thursday, October 23rd informing you and your child what choice he/she received.  There are a lot of options to choose from, so finding a person that he/she is interested in shouldn't be a problem.  We will try our best to honor your child's first choice, however, we often have some groups that are very popular (which we have to limit), so we may to have go with your child's second, and in some instances, third choice.  The sooner your child turns in his/her form, the higher priority he/she receives.  Please send me an e-mail if you have any questions about the Wax Museum or this process and please keep the green information sheet and rubric in a safe place!