Geography is Worlds of Fun!

Our last Social Studies Unit was all about Geography! Below are two videos that we showed in class that are a lot of fun!

Tour the United States:

Tour the World:

Happy Halloween!

On Friday, October 31st, Mrs. Osinski had a fun, social studies Halloween project for everyone! The students were each given a pumpkin and had to free hand draw the continents. After they were painted and dry, the students used glue dots to stick on the names. What a fun way to review continents during our Grography unit!

The Daily 5 in Action!

We have implemented the Daily 5 as our way of delivering language arts instruction. I am pleased to report that every day, students are doing Read to Self (independent reading), Work on Writing (journaling, fiction, and nonfiction writing), and Word Work (integrating spelling and math) with 20 minutes of stamina in each area. Below are pictures of students during our round of "Choice" today. You'll notice that some students are working at their desks and others on the floor. It may seem unconventional, but the students are highly motivated and excited about learning! 

Our State House Field Trip

After studying government since the beginning of the year, it was finally time for our first field trip! We went to Concord to visit the New Hampshire Historical Society and State House in order to learn about New Hampshire and see government in action! Although we were unable to see the governor on our trip, it was a beautiful and fun day!

The New Hampshire Historical Society:

The New Hampshire House of Representatives:

The New Hampshire State Senate:

The Governor's Office:

The State House:

Getting Into the Groove

It has certainly been a busy first few weeks of school. We are getting into our routine, and really taking off with the Daily 5! Today we worked towards 16 minutes of Read to Self stamina, and are well on our way to our 20 minute goal! More pictures and information about our class is to come. Until then, let's celebrate the 20 kids making the start to this year a great one!

Introducing the Daily 5!

This year at Mt. Pleasant, the whole school is changing the way we teach literacy. We are following the Daily 5 model, and I am very excited about it! This model allows for the students to apply learned skills to reading materials of their choice, while I get more time to meet with small groups and individual students. Check out this video for more information!

Here are a few pictures as I start to rearrange the classroom to be more conducive to learning the Daily 5 way!

Above: Binders where every student will track their daily reading.

Below: Each student will have their own book bin with 3-5 "just right" books to read and practice skills with during Language Arts.

Welcome Back!

In mid to late August, you will receive Back to School letters from the fourth grade team. Included with the letter is a suggested supply list. All necessary supplies will be provided by Mt. Pleasant, however I know that students often like to pick out their own things. The following items are used throughout the school year:

• pencil box
• sharpened pencils
• scissors (child sized)
• ruler (with inches and centimeters)
• dry erase markers
• 2 yellow highlighters
• 2 red correcting pens
• box of crayons
• box of colored pencils
• box of markers
• bookmark
• post-it notes

I also appreciate any items that you would like to donate to our classroom. We are often in need of:

• boxes of tissues
• hand sanitizer
• disinfecting wipes

Thanks so much!