Happy Thanksgiving!

(Clipart courtesy of Microsoft office.com)

Tomorrow, families will get together and celebrate Thanksgiving.
They will watch football games and parades on television, get reacquainted with relatives, travel to Grandma's house, play football in the backyard, and eat lots of great Thanksgiving dishes.

Here's what was probably on the table during the first Thanksgiving in 1621:

• duck
• venison (A favorite food of the Wampanoag: look up this word if it is new for you!)
• seafood
• onions
• cabbage
• corn
• squash

The meal wasn't just one big sit-down feast; in fact, this celebration took almost a week! Two modern favorites that were NOT on the menu: cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes!

What will YOU be eating this Thanksgiving? 

Farfelles and Gooberlings

In class we have been reading The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. We have been drawing pictures of Whangdoodles (some look like moose, others look like horses, but all look fanciful).

This made Mrs. Alaniz think about more whimsical creatures, such as farfelles and gooberlings (two creatures she came across while reading a book--which Mrs. Alaniz does quite often).

Here's a little problem to solve involving these creatures:

There were 39 creatures in Sam's drawing.  He drew 2-legged Gooberlings and 4-legged Farfelles.  If there were a total of 122 legs in the drawing, how many Gooberlings and Farfelles were in Sam's picture?

Do you know the answer:
(Hint:  Make a table or a chart to find the solution.)

(Source:  Scholastic: Tic Tac Math: Grades 5 & Up)

First Day of Fall Break

By: Mrs. Alaniz
Today, we are all enjoying our first day of a well-deserved fall break. What I really love about a vacation is that it allows me uninterrupted time with a good book! 

I am currently reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (among other books). 



This is Rick Riordan's latest book.  Some students in 4D have already finished it!








As I started reading this book, I found myself getting lost in the plot and setting.  I made several text-to-text connections as I came across the names of familiar characters from other books (I won't be a spoiler and mention them here). 

I hope all the students in 4D have a great book for their fall break.  Carry a good book wherever you go this week and those minutes will add up to lots of great reading time.

What good book are you reading right now?   




Recently this week, we learned about adjectives. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. There are 2 types of adjectives: what kind and how many.

What are some examples of adjectives?

• pesky
• precarious
• two

Here are some ways we used adjectives:

• DCE students are very cooperative.
• Our class is very intelligent because we read books all the time.
• Our teacher is the best teacher in the whole world.

Adjectives are great because:

• They make the noun easier to picture.
• They make our writing more intriguing.
• They make our writing clear.

How do YOU use adjectives?

Surprise for Mrs. Alaniz!!

Last Friday Mrs. Alaniz got a huge surprise!  Dr. Turner, the Superintendent of Coppell ISD, came to give Mrs. Alaniz an award.  Mrs. Alaniz was named SUPER TEACHER.  The prize was for our amazing blog.  Mrs. Alaniz got a Super Teacher t-shirt and a magnet.  She is also going to get a plaque. We have worked hard on the blog, so we were so happy. It's fun to blog! We have had 1180 page views! Keep reading our blog and don't forget to comment!

Our New Read-Aloud

This is the 30th Anniversary Edition cover!  It was first published in 1974.

Our current read-aloud is The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews.  A fellow teacher recommended this book to Mrs. Alaniz.   After reading A Dog's Life, we were really hoping to read another good book. So far, this book is exciting. In the story, three siblings are curious when they meet a mysterious man at the park who tells them all about the famous 'Whangdoodle' creature.   The creature, according to the man, looks like a moose and a horse, and has short horns. . .

Have you ever seen a Whangdoodle?  If you do, send it to our classroom! We're drawing pictures of them and everyone's look so different!

Live Blogging! Virtual Field Trip!

(This post is live from 4D!)

Mrs. Alaniz and her students are on a virtual field trip right now!  We are visiting the Plimouth Plantation. (Plimouth is not misspelled; it is the original spelling.)  The webcast comes from Scholastic, and explains the history of the Pilgrims, and the Wampanoag people.  We are learning all about the clothing, housing, and customs of the Pilgrims, and we are learning from the actors who portray Pilgrims and Wampanoag who currently work on the Plimouth Plantation. 

We will tell more after the field trip!