Today we attended another special activity for STEM week…Star Lab. Star Lab is an inflatable planetarium. We had the opportunity to view some constellations and then try to find them in the night sky without lines connecting the stars. We also viewed the Milky Way and the planets in relation to the sun. Our little minds were spinning with curiosity about space!
This afternoon we ended our day with a Dino-mite reward. We filled our dinosaur jar and voted to celebrate by bringing toys to play with. The kids had lots of fun….although they had a hard time playing quietly! They enjoyed remote control cars, stuffed animals, Legos, and a variety of other fun toys.
Today was the 14th annual Day of Service in memory of former Brecknock teacher Mrs. Lisa Horning. Each year we remember her service to others and creation of the slogan “Because Brecknock Cares” by joining together to do something special. This year our focus was on the Water Crisis. The fourth graders read a book that opened their eyes to the challenge that many people in the world have of no access to clean water or sanitation. They were inspired to do something on World Water Day. Our school has participated in a coin drive for the past few weeks. I’m excited to see the final total which is over $500. All money collected will be donated to www.water.org. Today every student made a blue beaded bracelet to remind them of the Water Crisis.
This is STEM week at Brecknock. Today our class got to visit the Ag Lab. This is a mobile trailer that we visited for a lesson from an agriculture teacher. She talked about what plants need: water, sun, carbon dioxide, and minerals from the soil (phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium). We learned the shocking fact that only 3% of the Earth’s soil is suitable for growing crops. With the world’s population growing, scientists are looking at alternative ways for growing crops. Today’s experiment was about hydroponics. We worked through the scientific process to answer the question: Can you grow plants without soil? Learners worked with a partner to set up a hydroponic growth station and choose pea or bean seeds. We will observe these seeds for a few weeks in our classroom to see if we can grow plants without soil. Stay tuned for our results!
Our current inquiry unit is Earth and Space Science. We are learning about soil and how it forms. On Monday we did a soil exploration where learners could investigate a bag of soil they brought from home to discover how it looks up close with a magnifying glass, how it feels, how it smells, and predict if it would be good for growing plants. Finished with a soil walk where learners could check out the bags of soil brought in by others to compare. Next week we will talk about rocks and minerals.
After weeks of brainstorming, planning, writing, conferencing, revising, and publishing we have finished our Historical Fiction writing! Historical fiction takes place at a specific time and place in history. It includes fictional characters that deal with problems that could have really happened. Today our proud authors had the opportunity to read their finished book to classmates. We will save these writing pieces to share and send home at the parent/teacher/student conference in March.
During Inquiry we have been learning about careers. Each learner researched a job or career that interested them. We made Google Slides to share the information with others. This week learners have been presenting their Career Research to the class. Ask your third grader to present to you at home!
Today we had a fun afternoon! We did some Valentine themed math with little candy hearts. Partners estimated how many hearts were in their boxes, used them to measure, sorted hearts, graphed by color and more. We passed out Valentines, enjoyed some refreshments, and played Candy Heart Bingo. Miss Grace enjoyed us for the festivities too.
Read Across America Week is coming up Feb. 27-March 3.
Join us for some fun Spirit Days. Each day students will listen to a story that corresponds to the theme of the day.
-24- “Hair Love Day”- Wear it fancy, silly, beautiful or crazy!
-25- “Llama, Llama, Red Pajama” Day- Wear pj’s and bring a stuffed friend to read to.
-26- “Hat Day”- Wear your favorite hat.
-27- “Reading Day”- Wear clothing with letters or words for others to read.
-28- “Show Your Knowledge Day”- Wear a Brecknock shirt or blue and gray colors. We are all experts in something! You will write what you are in expert in at school (could be anything!)
On Friday, 2/3 we had Fort Day. This was a class reward for filling our dinosaur jar because we had “Dino-mite” behavior. Learners brought blankets, beach towels, pillows and stuffed animals. During indoor recess the building began. There was lots of planning, problem solving, engineering, and laughter while groups of learners built forts around the room.
After lunch we put the finishing touches on the forts.
Our first afternoon activity was reading inside our forts.
Next we did our flashcard practice and math racers.
Finally we did our math independent work in our computers. We were finishing up our IXL graph skills.
At the end of the day there was lots of teamwork to get the classroom back to normal.