Target

4th Grade- Resumption of Classes

 

After a long hiatus from our scheduled classes due to our yearly testing, the 4th grade classes will resume tomorrow.  We will be starting a new unit about Anurans.  The timing is especially good as on the warmer days last week the frogs were busy calling in the wetland area behind Nicholson.  Please be sure that your child is prepared for class with their binder and all supplies to ensure a successful day.  I will be providing new composition books for their interactive Target journals.

Remember to review the Target Tally each week to see what the students learned about and any assignments that may be given. 

Clipart from:http://allaboutfrogs.org/gallery/animations/anim3.html

January News

The annual mid-year assessments are continuing for new students to our ALP program at Nicholson.  The 4th grade class will resume on January 31st, Tuesday. Please be sure to have the binders reorganized with the previous Science Inquiry materials removed.  We will be studying Anurans for the reminder of the school year.

We will not know if 3rd grade classes will resume next week or the following until Monday.  Please check the blog for more information next week.

January Schedule 3rd/4th Grades

The students will not have Target during the first few weeks of this month.  This is the time that our department does the annual assessment for qualifying new students.  The first possible day returning to our scheduled classes will be January 26 for the third grade and the following Tuesday, January 31st for the 4th graders.  I know that some of the children had forgotten and were ready with their binders- with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays and the break it was easy to forget that we have a schedule change.  I will let you and the students know as soon as our testing comes to a close with the dates to return to the Target schedule.

3rd Grade Students:  I need the t-shirt size that your child wears.  Cobb County Watershed Stewardship will be giving each of our students a t-shirt with a water stewardship message for the students to wear to class on Thursdays.  A form will be sent home next week for this information.  If you would like to send the size in an email, that would work as well.

This office supports our River unit with materials and biological samples that allow the students to learn about the macro invertebrates in our stream before going out to sample. The staff also visit the class and provides educational activities for both the River Unit and our next 4th grade unit, Anurans.  They sponsor a Stewardship Fair in February that allows the river monitoring groups throughout the county, including schools, citizen groups, and private citizens to showcase the work they have done during the past year.  Our class has been invited to attend this.  You will have the opportunity to tour the water testing facililty that services our water system and see what other groups are doing around the county.  This will be held on February 16th in the evening.  More information will follow when I receive the details.  The students will have the opportunity to tell what they have been doing and learning.

Teamwork/ 4th Grade

In the time between the first sharing of the science projects and the second hour, while the students were in specials, I was able to hear a sound I have been listening for during the past few weeks- one of the many reasons why I enjoy having a "cottage" classroom.  The sound was the calling of the sand hill cranes as they were flying overhead on their way to warmer climates.  It is a magical sound, and one that always tells me that we are in the firm grip of the winter season.  But it also puts me in mind of the team approach that cranes and other water birds take in their migratory journey.  This group of cranes was fairly small, they are usually in large groups and up fairly high in the sky; but this group was small and  low in the sky.  They had broken into two groups, one in the V formation and the rest flying in a staggered line, working hard to catch up.  As I watched them, I saw the first group, circle around and the second group merged and became part of the V with a bit of shuffling.   If you are not familiar with the theory behind this, click over to this blog and it has a nice explanation: http://theleadership.wordpress.com/2006/06/10/synergy-why-do-geese-fly-in-a-v-formation/   The basic idea is that the flock flies together to make an efficient flying team, honking all the while to give support to each other, and fly in close formation so they can keep up with all the members of the flock.

 I thought the timing was perfect, as it reinforces the team approach that our community of teachers and parents have at Nicholson.  The projects that the students were sharing today, could not have been done without the support of the parents of my wonderful fourth grade students.  Each time we do this, I am impressed with all that they discover and can share.  Many thanks go out to the parents for supporting our ALP program and the opportunities that the students are given to make discoveries- projects like our mini Science Fair- and the process of higher order thinking.  It is very evident that you devoted a great deal of time and help with the experiments.  Thank you!!  The projects are well done and the students are now ready for the Science Fair in Middle School!!!!

Winter Break Opportunities

 

Did you know that the longest running Citizen Science Project will be taking place this month?  Since 1900, Audubon Society has sponsored a Christmas Bird Count.  The following links to the article that goes into detail about the project: http://www.audubon.org/newsroom/press-releases/2011/audubon-s-112th-christmas-bird-count-reigns-model-crowd-science .  If you and your family enjoy watching the birds in your back yard and would like to have a project during the winter break- this could be fun for you!  Over 60 million birds were counted last year in North and South America.  It was  a record breaking year.  I am taking part of the Cornell project: Bird Feeder watch here at school.  This takes place over the colder months and we monitor the birds that visit our feeder.  These projects are easy and educate the children about the birds who live in our neighborhoods.  It increases the children's observation skills and offers an opportunity to connect with nature which studies show increase learning skills across all areas. 

The Chattahoochee Nature Center is also offering two sessions at their  Camp Kingfisher over the winter break.  If you are not traveling and your child enjoys time outside with nature visit the following link for more information:

http://chattnaturecenter.org/december-camps.html

Also on Sunday, the 18th the Nature Center will have live reindeer with other activities for the children.  If you have not visited the center lately- there have been many changes and the birds they have are ones,who have been injured and now live at the center, are interesting to see.

 

Clip art: http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/animals/birds/

Science Inquiry Project- 4th Grade

I am hearing about some great things happening!!  I can't wait to see the projects next week!  Tomorrow, the students should have their log books completely filled out with all the information they need to write the final report.  The final report, the log book completed and the display board will be due in class next MONDAY.  It is the day before we usually meet, but I just want to be sure that all the parts are in class and ready to set up for our Science Fair that you are invited to visit.  It will be open to parents from 8:30-9:00.  The other 4th grade students will be invited from 10:00-11:00, if you cannot make it earlier in the morning.  There will be no judging, but you can volunteer to complete response sheets for feedback to the students.  This project will get them ready for a more competitive science fair in middle school or high school.  The county does a Science Fair during the second half of the school year and some of our projects may be entered- if the student is willing and the presentation has all that is required by the county.  I do not have those yet- but will keep the projects in mind and will review them when the rules are sent out.

This has been a large undertaking for both the students and the parents.  I appreciate all of your help with this, as it reinforces the purpose of this unit in Scientific Inquiry.  The students are learning that the scientific process is used in many areas of our lives.  Last week they tested paper towels to see which one does the best for absorbing water.  They also explored some legal cases in which major company's advertising campaigns were questioned as being truthful.  The essential question of the day focused on truth in advertising and how we know if what we are hearing or seeing on the television is in fact true.  There was some great conversation!

I look forward to sharing this learning activity with you next week.  Again, thank you for all of your support and help.

Next Steps/4th grade

 I am posting the guideline sheets that the students will receive tomorrow in class for you to have and be able to access if they should be misplaced.  The students will be receiving them in a folder to use to keep their research papers together.  In class tomorrow we will be reviewing the research they have completed for the background part of the investigation.  We will set up the log books as well as review the guidelines for the research paper and the display board.  We are coming into the busy social season and hopefully these small chunks we are taking will be helpful in completing the project.  Again, please let me know if you have any questions through the email.  The students have some great topics they are investigating!

Save the date: Dec. 13th/ Science Fair.  You will have the opportunity to visit the class and see what the students have learned.  The parent time will be 8:30-9:00 or 10:00-11:00.  During the time after Specials, the 4th grade classrooms will also be invited to visit.

 

Science Fair Log Book

Download Science Fair Log Book

Guidelines for Research Paper

Download Guidelines for the Research Paper

Backboard Display

Download Backboard Display Guidelines



 

Science Fair

The schedule has gone home in three different delivery systems: in the students' binder, on the blog and in emails.  If you did NOT receive an email, please send me a message so that your address is in my directory and I can get back to you quickly.  I wil be sending out more alerts and reminders to help pace the students.

At this point NONE of the experiments should have been conducted.  The students should be researching their topic to get background information to help them with their observation and assist them with making a conclusion.  This will also help them be familiar with the topic at the Science Fair and visitors ask them about the experiment.  The experiment should not be conducted until we review their procedure in class.  The log will be set up and the observations they make each time they conduct the experiment MUST be recorded in the log in the appropriate section.  As we have read in class: scientists do not beleive that something has happened unless it is written down.  Each step of the process is being broken down to ensure it is done correctly. 

Next week: the rough copy of background information is due on notebook paper.  The proposed steps in the experiment are also due to review with me and revise if needed.  The log book is critical and I have asked for a second composition book.  We will set up the log book in class next week.

Please send me an email with any of your concerns. I know the students are excited, but do not work ahead unless you have made arrangements with me.  The steps are specific and at this point not all of the information has been shared in class.

I appreciate you help with this project!!  It is going to be great!!

River Kids

There is no Target tomorrow due to a meeting that I will be attending to get ready for the annual testing for our program.  I will see the students next week.  This is also their day for the Thanksgiving "Feast"- please be sure to check the times for their lunch as it will change.  They will have lunch with their classes.  The Target schedule will work around those times.

The last few weeks have been focused on watersheds, how they can be determined and why several can be found within one larger one.  Nicholson actually sits in the Etowah River watershed basin.  Our main source of water is river systems that flow into the Etowah watershed.  We created some "landscape", determined where the ridge lines were and had a rain event using an activity from Project WET and man made clouds (spray bottles).  Here are some photos from that activity:
Determining where the ridge lines that divide the watersheds.

Another landscape with ridge lines marked.

Before the rain event, the students could observe soil (cocoa) and pollutants (dry jello) on their landscapes.  With the rain event, it was evident where the runoff would take the soil and pollution.  This is a great visual for understanding how a watershed is determined and the influence of the area around the drainage basin.

Last week we made our monthly monitoring trip to Rube's Creek.  This month visual monitoring of the stream channel and banks were added to the assessment.  The students are beginning to see differences in the water with the seasonal changes, water temperatures are beginning to fall and that effects the Dissolved Oxygen (DO).  The next part of the unit will focus on some of the aquatic organisms that we monitor that gives another piece of the health of the stream.  Please ask your child what we found in the packs of leaf litter in the stream.  This is my favorite part!

Science Fair!!

I am posting the schedule that your child will receive tomorrow in class for the upcoming Science Extravaganza/Fair.  It is broken down for each week for the remainder of this semester.  The Science Fair will be held on December 13th.  All parents are invited to come and see what Scientific Inquiry that the students have conducted and their results.  Their classmates will also be invited to see their work.  Mark your calendars!! 

Please look over the schedule.  I did schedule the actual experiment to be completed around the Thanksgiving Break with time before the break begins.  If this will be difficult for you due to travel plans, please let me know and we will work out a schedule for your child.  The parts of the project will be chunked and reviewed each week in class.  I scheduled each part to be sure that the students do a good job on each part.  We will not meet on Nov. 8th- it is a work day for teachers.  I am also doing an experiment and will be modeling each part for the students.  Mine will involve the biodegradable, take out bowls that Quiznos uses for their salads.  I want to know how they break down in the landfills.  My "landfill" will be my garden at home. 

There are 4 parts to the project.  They may seem a bit redundant, but all of these are included in any science fair format.  If the students have the opportunity to be part of a science fair in Middle or High School, this will prepare them.  #1 A log book must be kept.  The students all know the mantra: "if it is not written down- it did not happen".  All the observations will be initially written in this.  A composition book will be needed for this. We will set this up in class on the 15th.  #2 The experiment: all the materials used in the experiment will become part of the Science Fair display.  #3 Report: all of the information from the log book will be put into the report.  Research is expected to be done on the subject.  For example, I will research the biodegradable materials that is used for the take out bowls.  That will provide me with some information that will help with the procedure of my experiment.  #4 The display board: you can make one or purchase a tri-board.  These are available at Target, Walmart, office supply stores and School Box.  It does need to be a display that can stand on its own- not a flat poster or cardboard.

Please let me know of any questions that you may have now and as we go along with the parts of the project.  This is the big project for this unit which reinforces the overarching concept for the unit.  It will take some family time.  I appreciate all of your support!

Download Science Extravaganza Schedule

clip art from:http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/category/anim.html