Escape Room Time

Escape Room Activity
by Leah and Piper

It was "escape room" time in Mrs. Randall's fourth grade classroom at the end of October. We the kids used our prior knowledge about the three branches of the government: the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive branches. We had to solve five series of tricky puzzles to escape the room. Including clue #1, clue #2, clue #3, and clue #4. We had to find the different information we got from each clue.  For clue #4 we put all of our information together. After that, we had successfully escaped our escape room. The goal was to find the president. We got to separate into groups of four and work together as teammates. This was a fantastic activity and was so exciting! The theme of just escaping really kept us working and motivated. It was like a real escape room! We are so thankful that our teachers could spare their time to pull together this enthralling event. We got put with five clues and one hour to solve our puzzles, but some groups didn't fully finish. We are so glad that our amazing, awesome, smart, cool, and epic teachers gave us time to finish during our indoor recess. It was an awesome idea and a fun way to keep us kids on our feet.

Storytelling by the Fire...

by Leah and Piper 

The kids have been working on their published pieces, and as you know got to share them with a group of fellow peers. While enjoying a lovely campfire on a chilly autumn day and a taste bud popping treat (mini marshmallows, Golden Grahams cereal, and miniature chocolate chips) the kids got to finally share their awesome stories. It worked out fantastic. This was an amazing way to start out our epic fourth grade year!

Remind App

An important paper went home last Friday (9/6) about the "Remind App". This app will  allow you to stay up to date on what is happening in the classroom. It can be directly linked to your phone. The paper that went home explained how to sign up with a specific code. If you are in need of another paper, please email one of us. Thank you!

Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year!

Students had a great first day! We read some great books together. Here are the titles if you would like to ask your child about them tonight: 
Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
Charlie the Ranch Dog by Lee Drummond
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

Tonight, we are asking students to find the title and author of a great book they read this summer and to be ready to share it tomorrow for a special project. 

Silent Civil Rights March

Students on our team have been studying the southeast region. On the last stop of our "tour" we visited Montgomery, Alabama. Students learned about the civil rights movement and peaceful protests.

Students learned that African Americans were still be segregated against during the 1950s. Students picked a topic/area where segregation occurred: water fountains, schools, amusement parks, beaches, etc. They came up with their own slogans and created protest signs.

On February 28th, our team participated in a silent march through the hallways. 

After the march, students read the following poem:

           In the 1950s, Americans wondered when everyone would be truly equal.

          Americans heard the strong voices of those who wanted equal rights. 

          Americans saw Martin Luther King Jr. take a stand against segregation.

          Americans wanted the bus protest to be successful.

          Americans felt sad when others were treated unfairly.

          In the 1950s, the United States was a place where people wanted a better 

          future for all children.

Then students were asked to complete the bolded statements about civil rights today.

Their beautiful, poetic responses are in italics.

          Today, Americans wonder...

          if we will ever have peace
          will it ever happen again?
          what will it be like later?
          how to help others

          

          Americans hear...

          voices that used to sound so sad
          strong voices that wanted equal rights
          Martin Luther King's speech
         

          Americans see...

          what we used to be is so wrong
           people with fair rights
           a healthy safe land among themselves
           black and white people at school
           that it was wrong

         Americans want....

         to be truly free from segregations grasp
         money
         another chance
         this time to stay
         a better world

          Americans feel...

           happier
           pride
           different when people are separated
           great again
           loved and special

          Today, the United States is a place where...
           freedom is so close, we can feel it's love
           we are safe
           people enjoy life
           everyone is equal
           everyone is allowed

 

            

Flat Stanley Visits the Northeast!

Thank you to all the family and friends that participated in our Flat Stanley adventures! Stanley traveled A LOT! We got to see great places in this region that we live in. Next week we will start touring the southeast. We look forward to see other regions he has traveled to as we learn about them!

Coding

Students have been using programs like code.org and Blockly to learn effective and efficient coding strategies. This week, teams got to put their learning into practice with "Dash".