Social Studies Centers

This week we are learning about the Underground Railroad and the Civil War. Students have been really interested in this unit of study and have enjoyed learning in centers. We have learned about Oliver P. Morton, Fact/Opinions about the Civil War, and have learned some new vocabulary words.

Christmas Is Coming!

We have some wonderful Room Parents! Jackson and Hannahs' moms came in this week to help us decorate our class Chrismas tree--it's beautiful!

Turkey Disguises

Each student in our class made a disguise for their Thanksgiving Turkey. Our class read a book about a turkey who decided to come up with a disguise so they wouldn't become a meal for Thanksgiving. Boy, was our class creative! Take a look at all the different disguises we came up with.

Writer's Corner

Our 4th grade classroom has a Writer's corner. This is where we meet to talk about our minilesson ideas for writing. Right now we are working on writing small moment stories. (These are personal narratives.) During Writer's Workshop, it's a "no walk, no talk" time. Mrs. Egli conferences with different students each day to talk about their writing. Everyone has a great start to their small moment stories! We're excited to share them.

Artifacts! Artifacts!

Our class has been working hard in our Writers Journals this past week. We have created lists of ideas for writing and have also brought in artifacts to add to our journals. Artifacts are things that are special to us (or something that represents something special). Our class got creative! One girl brought in spaghetti noodles because that's her favorite food. Someone else brought in a dried flower because she LOVES flowers. These items were taped into our journals so that when we get stuck for an idea, we can go back to our artifacts for some great writing ideas.

Rock Projects

Our 4th grade class completed our rock projects last week. We learned all about rocks and minerals and then were assigned to bring in a rock we found at home. Our class measured the length, width, and heighth and then "dressed up" our rocks as characters. We took our rocks home for the weekend and wrote a journal entry about our adventures with our rocks. Way to go 4th graders!

Mill Creek Elementary 4th Grade

Welcome Mill Creek 4th Graders and Parents! I am excited you have visited our class blog page. This page is designed to include pictures, videos, and information that we are doing in our 4th grade classroom on a weekly basis. I hope that you enjoy a peek into our class!

Music Genre Study

Our class finished up our poetry unit last week in Readers Workshop. Students really enjoyed learning about the art of poetry and relating it to music. This week we have started our Music Genre study. We are focusing on learning on 4 music genres: rap, jazz, classical, country. Students are reviewing the strategies (visualizing, inferring, connections, schema) we have learned all year in 2nd grade and applying these to our music genre. Our class LOVES music!

Butterflies!

In science, we have been observing how caterpillars change into butterflies. Students have been learning about the differenct stages the butterfly goes through and have come into class each morning excited to see the changes!

Junie B. Jones Play

We went on our second field trip of the year to the Honeywell Center to see the play, "Junie B. Jones." Students really enjoyed the actors, actresses, and songs!

Listening Walk

Today we took a listening walk around the Fitness Trail. Students were asked to use their 5 senses as we took our walk so that at the end, they could write a poem using sensory details. We heard and saw so much!

How To Catch a Leprechaun!

Fairytale Celebration!

Our class put together a Fairytale Celebration for our families. Students read their fairytale stories, put on fairytale skits, and we had a special fairytale poem that students signed. We had a great turnout. Students did a wonderful job!

Valentine's Party

We had a wonderful time passing out Valentine's to our friends, eating snow cones and cupcakes, and doing the limbo! Thanks to our room mom's for putting our special day together!

All About Board

Our class has a student of the week. Each new week, a different student brings in pictures and information to share with our classroom. Students then present their bulletin board to the entire classroom. Students really enjoy sharing memories and pictures with their classmates.

Oral Presentations

We have started Oral Presentations in our 2nd grade classroom. Students are assigned a day to bring in something special to share with our class. We are working on making clear, informative presentations in front of our classmates. Students have done an excellent job!

Nonfiction Reading

We have started our unit on Nonfiction Reading. Students have enjoyed learning many new facts and information about animals, science, and people. Next week we will be focusing on Biographies and students will be putting together a presentation about their person of interest.

Making our Gingerbread Houses