Sep
28
I can’t explain it, but the following clues make me think that my sweet (yet sneaky) little students have something up their Palmetto Prep uniformed sleeves….
And then there was Brannon’s note (on the can of Coke he brought to me):
Happy Birthday! It’s your birthday. Drink this can of Coke. Don’t worry about your no-soft drink [...]
Sep
25
Famous Fourth Graders!
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September 25, 2009: Greenville Journal
In today’s edition of the Greenville Journal, you will see a picture of our very own Darby exploring rocks at the Bob Campbell Geology Museum. WOW! Seems like those crazy paparazzi follow us around everywhere!
Sep
23
Middle Ages Webquest
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Today we started our culminating activity for our unit on the Middle Ages. The students began by researching ten facts about Feudalism and the Middle Ages. Once that was finished, they chose a topic about which they would create a special PowerPoint presentation. Each presentation is coming along nicely! Below, you will find links to [...]
Sep
23
Random Acts of Kindness….
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….make me smile! THANK YOU GRAY FOR MY LOVELY FLOWERS! You are so sweet! I have the best class….ever!
Sep
23
A wonderful strategy that Ralph Fletcher uses in teaching writing to children involves creating “mind pictures.” In his book entitled Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8, he writes, “When children write their own stories, so much of the story remains in their heads that even skimpy writing can seem complete when they re-read it.” Storytelling is [...]
Sep
18
And You Thought Belts Were in Fashion…
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The other week, we had a discussion about the uniform. I noticed that many students were forgetting to tuck their shirts in, or wear a belt. As we talked about the uniform policy, I thought I would use this as a teachable moment: if the students felt very strongly about not wearing a belt, then [...]
Sep
15
In Memoriam: Mr. H. Ermit Crab
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Greenville, SC: It is with great sadness that the family and friends of one Mr. H. Ermit Crab announce that he has departed into eternal life. A native of Greenville, SC, Mr. H. Ermit Crab (affectionately referred to as “Hermie”) recently made our fourth grade classroom his home. Hermie is survived by a best-friend, Eli, [...]
Sep
9
Multiplication War
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Congress doesn’t need to approve the declaration of war…..at least in our classroom! We love playing games to reinforce our math skills. Today, students used the card game “War” and adapted it to suit multiplication facts. Each student lays down a card, and the first to call out the CORRECT product wins both cards. If [...]
Sep
9
Yesterday, we took a field trip down to Clemson University where we visited the Bob Campbell Geology Museum. It was AWESOME. It reinforced what we were learning about rocks, minerals, fossils, and the Earth’s crustal plates. The tour guide was impressed with our level of knowledge…she even remarked that she couldn’t believe that FOURTH graders [...]
Sep
9
Mrs. Self & Students Plus Eight
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The TV show might have run its course, but in our classroom, we have adopted eight new hermit crabs. I went to the local store and adpoted one new hermit crab for each student, plus two more (just in case). Here are the names:
Jo’Nae’s hermit crab: Margaret
Darby’s hermit crab: CJ Spiller (although now that he’s no [...]
Sep
1
In our classroom, we like to integrate technology as much as possible. We frequent the National Library of Virtual Math Manipulatives so that we can use manipulatives AND our SMART board at the same time! This is a great, interactive website, and we strongly encourage you to visit it at home! See pictures of students [...]
Sep
1
Tableau: The Rock Cycle
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The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a tableau as: [short for tableau vivant (from French, literally, living picture)] : a depiction of a scene usually presented on a stage by silent and motionless costumed participants.
While we didn’t have costumes to wear, we did practice depicting the rock cycle through a tableau. See pictures below for arts integration [...]
Sep
1
This….is…..JEOPARDY!
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Too bad Alex Trebek couldn’t make it to Palmetto Prep’s Fourth Grade to practice for our Core Knowledge test. He would have been jealous if he had seen the athletic prowess our students demonstrated while they played Jeopardy about Maps & Globes. Here are some pictures below. (Note: the teams were “Boys” versus “Girls”….are you [...]
Sep
1
This year, first and fourth grade students will be pairing up every Friday to celebrate reading. Each first grader will have a fourth grade reading buddy to whom they will practice reading, and from whom they will hear fluency modeled. Our students really love their reading buddies! See some pictures below: