Mystery Skype #4, #5, and reconnecting with a class for #6, drafting our Realistic Fiction stories, YWP, and identifying minerals!

This month is almost done and we have done so many fun things!  Let's back up and start from the top.  Earlier in the month we connected with a class in Michigan!  During this Mystery Skype we each had our jobs!  Almost everyone was in a new job, but some of us repeated the jobs we have had to help train others.  During this Skype, we discussed the GRA-The 14th Goldfish! We asked questions about the characters, made predictions together and shared our favorite parts so far.  This week, or today, we actually had 2 Skypes.  Our first Skype was a Mystery Skype without any jobs, we gathered in front of the camera and gave clues about our state while listening to clues about the other class's state!  It turned out that we were Skyping with a class from Delaware.  We learned that Delaware was the 1st state and their town Lewis, was the first town in Delaware!  Delaware is a peninsula which means they are almost completely surrounded by water on all sides except one!  We guessed where they were calling from before they guessed where we were!  We are getting efficient with our mapping skills and our clues narrow us down to VT, but don't give it away!  At the end of this skype we also discusses The 14th Goldfish!  Our 2nd Skype was a reconnect with a 3rd Grade class in Chicago!  Together we discussed The 14th Goldfish and our Guest Scientists, Albert Einstein (Abbie and Logan) and Marie Curie (Tess) shared their history and successes with all of us!

Now, for the rest of the happenings in Endeavor 4th Grade!  

Today we learned about UNICEF!  We watched these two videos and talked together about how we can help children all over the world!

Video about Nirmala

Video about the need for clean water!

In math class we are working on multiplication and using arrays and quick sketches to accurately and efficiently solve 2 digit by 1 digit multiplication problems!  We also took a Number Corner Check up and persevered in doing some really hard math!  We took our math fluency quiz and most of us improved our score by 3 to 4 facts, one of us even got 8 more facts in the minute!  Our data shows that studying our facts at school and at night will help us become fluent and will lead them to be part of our long term memory!  Way to go Endeavor!  

In Writing, we have been working on our realistic fiction stories, making our characters come alive and writing to show what's happening, not just telling!

In Reading we have been buried in Nonfiction about Geology!  We have been focused on finding the structure of text and using graphic organizers to record our new learning about the types of rocks, the rock cycle, minerals, rocks and mineral uses and more!  We also used BrainPop to listen closely to information about mountains and plate tectonics while filling in graphic organizers to keep track of our notes!  Ask your child about Pangea!  Lastly, we read 2 short pieces about the Mantis Shrimp and practiced taking notes based on one question "How does the Mantis Shrimp protect itself!  We then used our notes to draft a quick and messy paragraph answering the question. 

Oh yeah!  Here are some pictures form our Mix It Up time with Ms. Elias's class of Kindergarteners!

We hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!  On Monday we welcome Kylee to our class!   

Written by Albert Einstein 1 and 2, Marie Curie and Vasanthi

Information about Scientists...from the 14th Goldfish!

Galileo:   BrainPop
Salk: Discovery Education
Oppenheimer: Discovery Education
Marie Curie: BrainPop
Louis Pasteur/pasteurization:  BrainPop

Duke is Free!

Change over time field trip...

Butterflies

Over of the past two weeks we have released 5 butterflies!  Each one was sent off with well wishes!  Jameela's and Jack's was first to go.  Next was Abbie and Nora's and then Chompers (Emma,Chloe, Robbie's).  Harrison, Chris and Trey's fragile winged butterfly was released yesterday!  And today Polly was set free, Logan and Tess'.  We sadly said goodbye to Lizaly, too!  One more chrysalis to hatch!  

Ian is babysitting Duke over the weekend!

Unified Arts Night

Please join the K-8 Unified Arts' Teachers for their Curriculum Night on Tuesday, October 21st, from 6:30-7:30PM.
Please meet in the cafeteria prior to going to the classrooms.
The evening will include hand's on activities, demonstrations and performances.  Looking forward to seeing both parents and students!

We started the Global Read Aloud

Yestersay on the 6 of October we read The 14th Goldfish for the global read aloud.  We read chapters 1 and 2  And we are gonna read 2 more chapter today! Now we are gonna tell you a little bit about that. First we will tell you about the main character! First her name is Ellie. Second she likes puzzles and third she likes putting things together and that's all we know about Ellie so these are some other characters. Ellie's mom is a drama teacher and is divorced from Ellie's dad. Ellie's dad is an actor and lives in a different house.

By Jameela and Kate

One week later....

We have zoomed ahead in The 14th Goldfish.  We are on chapter 10!  We have learned a lot about our main characters Ellie and Melvin!  We've learned about the fountain of youth, jellyfish that reverse aging, drama/acting, scientists and more!  There are so many layers to this book!  To connect with other classes reading this book, we've read blog posts on their kid blogs and today we chatted with a class in Arlington, Illinois and heard what they thought of the story so far!  

Mystery Skype #2

Last Tuesday we had a mystery skype.  We all had different jobs, a few of the jobs were Runner, Mappers, Logical reasoners, Questioners, Back channelers and more! The other kids that where skyping us were from Illinois, how we found out where they were they were from was by
the mappers!  They had a question and gave it to the runner then we asked the question and we found out!

Pesto

Two weeks ago some of us from Endeavor worked on a pesto making project.  First, we had to pick Basil.  We had to make sure to get it without getting dirt on  he leaves.  We had to then put the basil in buckets of water.  We then delivered the basil to the cafeteria.  This was all on a Friday afternoon. The following Tuesday we started turning the basil into pesto. We gave the basil a haircut, cutting of the roots and the flowers.  Then we gave the basil a bath.  Lastly, we blended the basil with oil and parmesan cheese.  We tasted a free sample.  The pesto will be used in soups and sauces in the cafeteria!

What is the Global Read Aloud?

This is from Pernille Ripp's Blog- The amazing woman behind this project!

What is the Global Read Aloud?

The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. Now with four years under our belt and more than 200,000 connections made, we realize we are on to something larger than us so we look forward to continuing the global connections.

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. In the past we have used Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, our wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, and any other tools we can think of to make these connections. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year. 

 
Click HERE to read more at her website!