Viewing: April, 2013
April 22, 2013
How will YOU help the earth?
In class last week, we brainstormed a list of 11 things that fourth graders can do to help the earth. The ideas are:
- Pick up litter when you notice it.
- Recycle whenever possible.
- Plant plants (and eat them if they are edible).
- Turn off lights and water when you don’t need them.
- Turn off unused electronics. Unplug electronics when you’re not using them in order to stop vampire power! Don’t let rechargeable devices charge overnight.
- Reuse water bottles (safely) and plasticware when possible.
- Carpool or walk more.
- Layer up instead of turning the heat up.
- Keep using what you already have instead of rushing to replace it.
- Conserve water. (Take shorter showers, turn off the faucet while you brush your “fangs” in the bathroom, etc.)
- Give away unwanted toys, electronics, or clothes to someone else who might want them. This saves them money, gives you more space, saves on manufacturing, might save you or your family money, and you might get something in return!
Some of these ideas are year-round options, while some (like layering up) are specific to a time of year.
Monday’s Assignment: Post a comment for this post. Pick ONE of these 11 strategies that you will COMMIT to trying this week. In your comment, tell us which of these strategies you are going to try out this week and WHY you picked it. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Fair warning: As the week goes on, you’ll need to keep the class up to date on how your efforts are going, so don’t pick something that you won’t be able to stick with!
Wednesday’s Assignment: Find the comment that you posted on Monday. Reply to your original comment and tell us how your efforts have been going. You can tell us:
-Have you been successful so far?
-What has been the hardest part about changing your habits? What might help you?
-Has your family “followed suit?” That means, has your family also tried to develop the earth-friendly habits that you are working on?
Remember, use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation!
Posted in Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
April 19, 2013
Acrostic Poem Builder
Here is the site!
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
April 18, 2013
Homework for 4/18/13
Happy Former Vacation Week! Here are your assignments for tonight:
1. Hop over to Miss Torres’s website. Spend 20 minutes practicing chorus music, please.
A beautiful STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHED shot of nature in the PGS field!
2. Today, we took many impressive photos of the natural beauty around our school. You all are amazing photographers! Tomorrow, we will use the photos to inspire some poetry writing. We also will talk about things we all, as individuals, can do to help the earth. To prepare for that, I want you to think of things YOU, as a FOURTH GRADER can do to help the earth. Remember, things like “Drive electric cars.” aren’t appropriate suggestions because you, as a kid, will not drive a car in the near future. When you post your idea, be sure to explain WHY you think it is a good idea. USE CORRECT GRAMMAR, SPELLING, and PUNCTUATION.
3. Visit the website again a bit later on, if you can, and post a comment in response to someone else’s idea. If there is something you don’t understand about someone’s idea, ask them a question. If you agree or disagree, politely share your opinion, but be sure to back it up. Again, use CORRECT grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and be sure to AVOID USING ALL NAMES.
Posted in Class Updates, Homework Assignments|By Jon Moss
April 4, 2013
Animal Research Project
For homework, please access the “Planning Worksheet” (below). Here are the special directions.
- Open the Planning Worksheet in Microsoft Word and enter your name, teacher, and room number.
- Then, follow the directions on the page and choose your animal to research AFTER looking through several choices on the eNature website. (Have a few backup choices in mind in case your first choice animal isn’t available. We want to have as many different possible animals selected as possible.)
- Make good choices! Don’t just pick an animal without looking on the website. In order to make an INFORMED decision, you need to look at several choices!
- Save the document on your home computer, because you will need to continue working on it another time!
- Print out the first page and bring it to school.
DUE TOMORROW!
Download the Planning Worksheet here: Planning Worksheet
Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss
April 1, 2013
Painting Conundrum
This is not quite what Charlie’s bedroom looks like, but this does show you what a top-down layout map could look like, although it is very detailed (such as the blanket being pulled down a bit, the book on the desk, etc.)
Posted online as promised…
When I went to the paint store to buy paint for Charlie’s new bedroom, I brought the two dimensions for Charlie’s bedroom. (How wide it is and how long it is.) I asked the salesman if one gallon of paint would be enough, but he couldn’t answer me. Instead, he asked me another question. Why couldn’t he answer my question, and what question did he ask me?
All answers must be WRITTEN (or emailed), and both parts of the question MUST be answered. Correct answers to this OPTIONAL enrichment challenge will earn students a HOMEWORK PASS good for skipping one math assignment during this unit!
…aaaaaaaand, GO!
Posted in Class Updates, Learning Resources|By Jon Moss