John Muir and More!

Hi there ladies and gents! Today was quite a doozie, but we managed to plow through it and get many things accomplished! First of all: The math chapter test. It was an intense test; there were some misunderstandings on a few problems, but I was able to rectify those misunderstandings, so the students could be more successful in showcasing their knowledge of place value and numeration. If I get a chance to grade all of them in time, you should get the test in your child's white folder. If not, it'll come next week!

We focused a lot on writing today, going over proofreading and how to use proofreading marks.

We talked about reading rough drafts out loud when one is done and utilizing these proofreading marks when catching a mistake. The students were able to take their edited rough drafts of the interview paragraph and turn it into a final draft. Here are a few completed ones:

Don't they look awesome!? I think they do!

We began our Social Studies unit this afternoon. Fourth grade is the grade that's all about California history, so to set things off we began talking about good ol' John Muir and his importance in preserving our great California forests. We watched a few clips about John Muir, and how his childhood shaped who he came to be as an adult. I was surprised by how many kids were interested in John Muir; they were enthralled with the clips and wanted more, so here's the full video for you, courtesy of PBS. Here's another link for you:

"Howdy folks! I'm John Muir! Click on me if you want to find out more about me and my quest to save our forests!"

Tomorrow, we're going to get down and learn about the geographic features of California.

That's about it ladies and gents! Cheers!