Alamo Construction

In March, our class was busy building and constructing.
While we were learning our Texas history, we worked in groups to build replicas of "the cradle of Texas liberty":  the Alamo!

We laid out cardboard.
We measured. 

We drew up a grid.  (This was Mrs. Alaniz's way of having us learn more math!)

Then we painted and assembled. 

(Mrs. Alaniz cut the bigger pieces for us.)

Along the way, we learned about topics such as: area, architecture, and teamwork. 

We had to plan our steps to get everything right. 


We were very proud of our work!  Here's what they looked like when we were done!

What did you like about this project? 

Does the sun move across the sky each day?

How long is the shadow?

This week we formed a hypothesis about the sun’s movement across the sky. Then we went outside to test our hypothesis. 

We used sticks to mark our shadow. We measured our shadows in centimeters at around 11:30 A.M. We recorded our observations in our science notebook.

4D scientists keep accurate records in their Science Notebooks! 

Then we remeasured our shadows 45 minutes later (with sticks to mark our shadows once again). We noticed that the measurement at 11:30 cast a longer shadow. This was because the sun was directly overhead when we had measured our shadows at about 12:15. So we had cast a longer shadow at 11:30 a.m.  When the sun is high, shadows are shorter. When the sun is low, shadows are longer. The sun looks low or high depending on the earth's rotation.   The sun's position in the sky changes as the earth rotates on its axis.  
It may seem that the sun is moving, but really the earth is spinning and one side turns away from the sun while the other side faces it.   
Have you ever wondered about this?
Would the results be the same if we conducted the investigation at a different time of day? 

39 Clues Webcast

Today we watched a live webcast with some of the authors of The 39 Clues series (including: Jude Watson, Peter Lerangis, Linda Sue Park, and Gordon Korman).  During the webcast, we submitted responses to polls about questions from some of the books. The authors read an excerpt from their book and asked us our opinions.  We loved hearing the instant result of the polls! 





Jude Watson's writing space











 

The authors also showed us videos of where they write. These authors work in offices or small spaces at home. We learned that we also need a cozy place to write.




We also received helpful writing tips from Ruth Culham:
1.Get your ideas together.
2. Organize your story.
3.Use voice in your writing. ("Voice" means energy.)
4. Use rich enlightening vocabulary.
5. Make sure your sentences flow together.
6. Edit your writing check for your mistakes.
Make sure your end result is presentable.
These tips can really help us improve our writing.

We're missing a couple of the installments!  They are on our class wishlist!

We have most of The 39 Clues in our classroom library.  Some students in 4D decided to try this series for the first time. (This made Mrs. Alaniz VERY happy!)

The students in 4D really enjoyed the webcast! 
Mrs. Alaniz even went straight to Barnes and Noble after school and bought the latest installment of the series (which had just been released that day):  Vespers Rising (Book #11). 


What do you like about The 39 Clues Series? 

Two-Digit by Two-Digit Multiplication

In math this week, we learned how to multiply two-digit numbers. Some of us already knew one way to do this using something Mrs. Alaniz calls an "algorithm".  

But Mrs. Alaniz taught us to multiply two-digit numbers by using an array.  She learned it and could hardly wait to show us!  This is what it looks like:

Have you tried this strategy? Don't forget to break the numbers apart first. It's important to know several strategies to solve a problem.  We love it!  Have you learned this method? 

What Are We Learning in Math?

Here are 16 crayons.  One-fourth of the crayons are in the pencil cup.  How many are flat on the table? 

(Answer:  3/4 or 12.)

1/4 of 16 = 4

3/4 of 16=12

Directions and Instructions

Last week in Reader's Workshop we learned about procedural text.
This includes recipes, instructions, how-to articles, and directions.

Procedural text gives steps in order and might use clue words such as first, next, before, or after.

Sometimes pictures or diagrams are included to make the instructions easy to understand.

Mrs. Alaniz gave the example of how she had to read procedural text to install and play her new Wii game. Now Mrs. Alaniz can have fun with her new game because she read the directions carefully!

How have you used procedural text? 

The City of Ember

Our sixth class read-aloud of the year is The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.  It is a mysterious book.  It is about a town that is dark and gloomy. When kids turn twelve they get a job. The builders of the City of Ember wrote instructions for the citizens and placed them in a box that is going to open many years later.  The citizens of Ember experience blackouts and shortages making life very difficult, tough, and challenging.  The two main characters are Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow.  They are very unique and interesting kids. 

Our class is enjoying this well-written and adventurous novel.  We hope you will go to your library and check out the book for yourself!