Science Investigation: Build a Straw Model

Here's the challenge: take 16 flexible drinking straws, 30 paper clips and 30 cm of tape.  Work closely with your group members to plan and construct a model of a building.  Sound easy?  Think again!

Today in Science class we did just such an activity.  The students worked with the other kids at their tables.  They were given the supplies and told to work together on a plan.  They needed to think about how to assemble the pieces in such a way that would be structurally strong and yet not use up all the straws, tape and paper clips before they were done.  The big thing is that they needed to WORK TOGETHER!

As the pictures show, the kids had a great time collaborating with their classmates on this activity.  I was very impressed with the way they talked things through and worked cooperatively toward a common goal.  Talk about real-world skills!

We haven't talked about it yet, so they don't know, but next week we'll see just how strong their straw buildings are.  We're doing another activity where they'll be predicting how many pennies their structure can hold up before crumbling to the ground.

Anybody got change for a dollar?

(Watch the Slide Show.  Please give it a moment to load.)

Meet the Students in Room 148

We put together this little video over the past week or so.  The students all needed to think of a word that describes them.  Some found it difficult to choose just one word!  Then they had to make a little sign, using the computer and other media.  Then they had to introduce themselves, say the word that describes them and then explain why.

Meet the students in Room 148!!

Student Council

I am SO glad that I am not a student in Room 148!!  Why?  If I were a student in Room 148 then I would have had to vote in yesterday's Student Council election.  That would have been nearly impossible!

We had an unprecedented number of students interested in representing our class this year.  Ten brave young leaders stepped up to the challenge.  Ten!  That's half of the class!  They all wrote fabulous speeches, and overcame their nervousness to get up in front of the class and explain why they would make a great Student Council representative.  They were all well-prepared. They were all convincing.  I would be thrilled and proud to have any of them represent my classroom.

Thank you to Olivia, Daniel, Ashlee, MacKenzie, Janessa, Paige, Mackenzey, Carly, Ruby and Mayanna!  You have all taken a huge risk, and I really appreciate it!  It's a sad and unfortunate fact of life that sometimes we put our hearts and souls into something, only to be disappointed.  Don't give up!  There will be many more opportunities for you to serve as you progress through your school careers.  Our immediate challenge is to find other ways to be leaders and to make good things happen in Room 148 this year.

Congratulations to Student Council representative Daniel, and alternate Mayanna.  I know you will do a great job!

I'm just glad I didn't have to vote!

Mr. Nelson's June Box

You may have heard your 4th grader come home talking about "Mr. Nelson's June Box."  I'd like to take a moment to explain just exactly what my June Box is.  Whenever students are continuously fidgeting and playing with something instead of listening or doing whatever else they are supposed to be doing, I usually take the offending object away from them.  I usually give them a gentle reminder and then a stern warning, but if the problem persists, then it's right into the June Box it goes.

I call it my June Box, because anything that goes into it stays there until the last day of school, June 6th...with ONE exception.  Students can retrieve an item from the June Box if they have a note from a parent saying that it's OK for me to give it back to them.  Most of the stuff I take away is junk that the kids don't want back in the first place, or at least they don't want it so bad that they'll tell their parents that it was taken away!  Occasionally I'll collect something a little more meaningful or precious or that belongs to someone else, forcing the kids to 'fess up to their parents and bring in a note.

Mostly, the June Box is a good deterrent that keeps 4th graders from messing around when they should be listening, plus it's also a lot of fun going through it on the last day of school and reminiscing about all of the junk in there!

The Oaklawn Acorn Dash

The 2nd Annual Oaklawn Acorn Dash will take place on Saturday, October 15th.  The 5K run starts at 9:00am, followed by the 1 Mile Fun Run at 10:00 am.  There will be all kinds of fun things going on that day, including music provided by my band, The Cutaways!  All of the action takes place right here, at Oaklawn Elementary School.

Here's the thing, though...the students of Oaklawn have a bit of work to do between now and then.  This our main fundraiser for the school year.  The PTO/P.R.I.D.E. folks have been working their (squirrel) tails off making preparations and securing sponsors for this big event.  This is a big deal.  Oaklawn students are asked to raise money by getting pledges from family members and friends.  Please help them and encourage them and explain to them that the money they raise goes right back into the school, where we use it for field trips, technology, playground equipment, and many other things.

The pledge envelopes went home on Friday, September 2nd, and they need to be returned by Friday, September 23rd (hopefully full of money!)  If you need a replacement envelope, let me know and I will send one home.  If you absolutely can't raise any money for the cause, please send your empty envelope back for accountability purposes.  The kids earn raffle tickets for a prize drawing based on the amount of money that they raise and turn it. (See the gold colored sheet in your pledge envelope.) 

The kids really haven't been talking much about this.  This past Thursday, our principal Mrs. Smith stopped by with our school mascot Lucky the Lion to remind the kids about the Acorn Dash, and to hopefully drum up a little enthusiasm for the event.

Please consider supporting our great school by helping to raise money and by coming out on the day of the race.  Even if you're not a runner or a walker, there's still plenty of fun stuff to do!  The race organizers are also looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the race.  Anything you do to help will be much appreciated! 

I'm running in the 5K again this year, so I better get out and start training!

Aluminum Foil Art

In Art Class this week, Mrs. Roberts was teaching the kids about balance, through the works of Frank Stella and Piet Mondrian.  (I'd never heard of them either!)  They were putting to good use all of the aluminum foil that you parents donated to the Art room on the first day of school.  Then they take some rulers and some markers and start creating a unique, balanced design.  Here are a few photos of some of the children working on their masterpieces.

Spelling

Hopefully, your 4th grader brought home a Spelling list today.  You may have been surprised to only see ten words (or fewer) on the list.  Let me explain...

We are using an Individualized Spelling program.  Here's how it works: On Monday, we take our pre-test.  That test consists of thirty words, focused around a particular spelling skill or strategy.  This week's list was made up of words with the long "a" or short "a" vowel sound.  The students correct their own pre-test, until they find the first ten words that they spelled incorrectly.  Those ten words are their Spelling words for the week.  If they had fewer than ten words wrong, then they have fewer than ten words for the week.  In general, the farther down the list the kids get, the more challenging and difficult their words are.  So, as it works out, each student has a potentially unique list of Spelling words, but still based on a common skill or strategy.  Get it?

The two most common questions I get are, "Isn't it a lot of work making up each of their individual lists?" and, "How do you test them on Friday if they all have different lists?"  Great questions...I'm glad you asked.  First, I developed a handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet that makes the lists for me.  All I need to do is punch in the numbers of the words they spelled wrong on the pre-test, and the computer does the rest.  As far as testing goes, the students work in pairs and test each other.  Then they correct their tests.  It's actually less work for me!

Meanwhile, we spend a little time each day doing activities that reinforce the Spelling skill that the kids are working on that week.  As mentioned, the post-test comes on Friday.  This system has worked well for me, and I like that it provides students a list of words that they don't already know, and challenges them to master them.

Multiplication!

Today the students in Room 148 did their first timed multiplication exam.  We did a sheet of 80 random multiplication problems.  It is recommended that they be timed for two minutes.  In order to reduce some of the "time test" anxiety, I gave them six minutes and ten seconds.  These are the results:

 Score           Students With Score in That Range

0 - 10                               1

11 - 20                              3

21 - 30                              6

31 - 40                              3

41 - 50                              6

51 - 60                              0

61 - 70                              1

(By the way, here is the test they took in printable, PDF format, for practice, hint...hint...)

It is the second day of school, and our brains are a little rusty, but overall it shows me that we have a ways to go until we can say, "We know our multiplication facts."  I feel like the kids should know their 0's, 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's.  A student only knowing those would have scored a 40 on today's time test.  It seemed that whether I gave them two minutes or six minutes or ten minutes, they knew what they knew, and their scores wouldn't have changed much.  In general, we feel that when a 4th grader can answer around 60 random multiplication facts in two minutes, that student has "mastered" the facts.  That's our goal for every 4th grader!

We will be hitting it pretty hard now, with working on learning our multiplication (and division) facts.  For the next two or three weeks, it's basically all we will do in Math.  We call it "Unit 0", or our "Fluency Unit".  Everything that follows (Units 1 - 12) will require students to have a good grasp on their Math facts.  

"What can I do to help?"

Hopefully, you are asking yourself this question!  There is no magic formula for learning multiplication facts.  Flash cards for a few minutes every night is a great way to develop fluency.  Another good way to learn and practice them is through playing Math games on the computer or other electronic device.  Here are three links to sites that will help your 4th grader learn the facts:

Multiplication.com - One of our favorites here at school.  Most of the games can be customized to your child's level.  If your 4th grader can't find a fun game here, they're not really looking!
Multiplication Madness! - Great for studying, learning and practicing.
Math Magician Games - Awesome for practicing individual fact groups

One cautionary word: don't let kids just play the games on the "lower" levels (0's, 1's and 2's).  Challenge them to play harder levels that require them to know harder Math facts.  That's the only way they'll learn them!

Together, I'm expecting that we can make the 4th graders feel confident in their mastery of the basic multiplication and division facts.  It will make their 4th grade Math experience that much better!

Thanks for your help!