The Set Game

Have you heard of this game before? Check out the link under "Looking for Links" on the right sidebar to play! The website has a new puzzle each day. 
This game is also available as a card game and can usually be found in the toy or game department of a store. 
Games that improve logical thinking are fun to play and make you smarter at the same time! 
What games have you played this winter break? 

Holiday Reading

Just before the winter break, Mrs. Alaniz and her students set reading goals for themselves.  We discussed the number of books we would read over the long winter break, as well as which books we would read.  Everyone made sure to get the books they needed from the library or each other!  It was nice to see everyone sharing books.
It is important to set goals when it comes to reading.  If you set a goal, you are more likely to reach it! 
Mrs. Alaniz has read several books so far, including the following three titles:

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari




School of Fear reminded Mrs. Alaniz of the Lemony Snicket series.  There is also a second book in this series called School of Fear 2: Class Is Not Dismissed. 

Everything for A Dog by Ann M. Martin



We read A Dog's Life (also by Ann M. Martin) in class. Everything for A Dog is several stories tied into one, and Bone is a character in this book. 

NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue and Defense Society by Michael Buckley

The NERDS sequel is also on Mrs. Alaniz's reading list.  She has a stack of books to get through this winter break. 

The holidays are a great time to read! You can read on the plane, in the backseat of your car as your family rides to Grandma's, or during the day in between holiday activities. 

Have you set reading goals for yourself this winter break? 

Skyping with 4A at CCE

On Thursday, we Skyped with our new buddies in 4A at CCE .  It was our first time "Skyping" as a class, and we LOVE it!

Mrs. Pryor helped set up our Skype session and introduced us to our Skyping Buddies!  Thank you, Mrs. Pryor!

The name of our project was GINGERBREAD SKYPE!


First, each of the 4th graders in both classes designed their own gingerbread house. Then we each wrote a description of our house and sent it to our partners in 4A at Cottonwood Creek through GMail on Google Apps.

When they received our e-mail, they had to draw the house we described.  We did the same thing.  It took a few days to send all of the e-mails and draw the houses.  Here are some examples:

On Thursday, we got together on Skype to compare our gingerbread houses. We learned we had to use really good descriptive details to get similar houses. Most of the time, we were right!

When we were done comparing, we asked each other questions to find similarities and differences between our schools and classes.

SIMILARITIES:

We have the same number of students in our classes (Alaniz-21/Augustine-21). 

We have the same classes for specials.

We also play the same games at recess.

Both classes blog!

DIFFERENCES:

We have recess at different times.  

Mrs. Alaniz is a Longhorn, while Mrs. Augustine is a Red Raider.

We also used TodaysMeet to comment on our experience.
Here is a transcript of our session.

Both teachers are already planning the next Skype project!  

What did you like about Skyping with other 4th graders?

What did you learn about using details in writing?

Winter Holiday Party!

Today we celebrated with our  Winter Holiday Party. 
Everyone was excited to eat, play, and participate in our book exchange.
First, we played a great cooperation game.  Our groups had to wrap a box using these materials.

The winner was the first one to wrap a box completely. The catch was that each member of the group had to hold one hand behind their back.

This is what the boxes looked like before they were wrapped. 

This is what they looked like afterward. 

After this, we were very exhausted.  So we had some holiday snacks.



Afterwards, we had our book exchange.  Everyone walked away with a great book for the long winter break.

What part of the holiday party did you like the best? 



December is Family Blogging Month!

Mrs. Alaniz and her students love to share what they are learning.  To include family members and build our online community, we are declaring the following:

December is Family Blogging Month!

We are inviting everyone to comment:  moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers!

Many families will be together throughout the holiday break, so we hope you will read our blog and comment!

Barnes and Noble Fundraising Day!

Today, our school had a fundraiser at Barnes and Noble.  Part of the sales were donated to our school.  Parents and teachers wrapped gifts and greeted at the door, and students sang carols. Also, Mrs. Alaniz volunteered to read aloud to encourage people to participate in the fundraiser.

Mrs. Alaniz chose to read two holiday books.  The first one was Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry.  It is about a man named Mr. Willowby who gives the gift of Christmas to many forest creatures when he has to chop off the top of his tree. 

Next, Mrs. Alaniz read The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow.  This book is about a man who sees beauty in places others do not.  With love and care, he turns a little tree into a grand one, and provides much joy for other creatures.

Did you enjoy the reading?

Thanks to our wonderful PTO for organizing this event, and thanks to all who attended this day!  Happy reading and happy holidays!

Building Circuits

This week we built circuits in class!

Using only a battery and wires, we lit a bulb! We created circuits (pathways) and used lots of trial and error to get it right.  Sometimes it was frustrating because the bulb didn't light up, but Mrs. Alaniz said this is how scientists feel sometimes.  We didn't give up, and we discovered it on our own! We made sure to help each other!

Next we made a motor run using two D-Cells, four wires, and a D-cell holder.  We controlled the energy with a switch and we made the light bulb at the same time!  Everyone had fun in science! 
Scientists keep records of their learning and experiments so we made sure to draw diagrams in our science notebooks. 

What circuits do you see in your home? What did you like about this experiment?



Polygons, Polygons!

In math, we are learning about polygons. ("poly" means many and "gon" means sides.

These are polygons:

These are NOT polygons:

Can you tell the difference?

Today in 4D we learned about these polygons:

DECAGON---10 sides

DODECAGON--12 sides

SEPTAGON--7 sides

HENDECAGON--11 sides

DODECAGON--12 sides



Super Teacher

Mrs. Alaniz won a Super Teacher Award.  She was happy to get a plaque from Dr. Turner, the superintendent for our school district.  Mrs. Alaniz and the other Super Teachers had lunch with Dr. Turner.  They shared ideas and this made Mrs. Alaniz very ELATED because she loves to learn! It was a nice day for Mrs. Alaniz.  We are proud of her and she is proud of us! 

We all wanted to see the plaque.  It is really very nice! 

40-Book Challenge Update

This week we counted the total number of books read by students in our class.  So far, our class has read 618 books since the first day of school. Everyone is trying to read at least 40 books until the end of the school year.We call it the "40 book challenge". Some people have read over 40 books, and some people have not.  So, keep on reading for the rest of your life! Find something you enjoy and try reading it. Read a page or two of a book. If you don't like it, try another book.
SO KEEP READING!!!!!!!! (especially when you're out of school like during the winter break that is coming up).

Our Tree

In Texas, trees do change!
Evergreen trees have leaves all seasons.  Deciduous trees lose their foliage during the winter. 

Here at DCE, we have an Outdoor Learning Center.  Since we are scientists, we are very observant.  We began to observe a tree near our bench.

These are the photos we took to compare. 

This is what our tree looked like on November 16th.

This is what our tree looked like on Nov. 29th. 

What changes do you see? 

Do you know what kind of tree this is?