State Fair Movie Trailers

     As I mentioned at the state fair this morning, some of the kids were able to create an iMovie for their state if they finished their research early.  I am attaching the link for the iMovies.  Enjoy!

http://farleycomputerlab.weebly.com/4th-grade-state-commercials.html

Amazing State Fair Day!

     I am so proud of how well the kids did today at Success Day....their State Fair!  Each student put a lot of hard work and effort into their projects.  They did a great deal of research about the state that they were most interested in.  They really have a good understanding of their state.
     We hope you were able to see (and hear) all of the great learning that went into this fair.  I have attached some pictures from the state fair.  Enjoy!

Field Trip Permission Slip Reminder!

End of Year

Walk Across the US
Wednesday, June 10th

 

          As part of the fourth grade math/social studies curriculum, we will be visiting the Hudson Public Library and Wood Park in downtown Hudson to have a bagged lunch. We will be walking to the library to have students sign-up for the Summer Reading Program, getting a library card if they need it and possibly selecting a book to begin their Summer Reading.

         

Shark Tank Update

     It came to my attention this morning that you might not be able to access the Shark Tank commercials with the link from my previous post.  I have attached a new link that should work!  Enjoy!


http://vimeo.com/search?q=farley+infomercials


**  If the link doesn't work, you can go to www.vimeo.com and search Farley Infomercials.

Shark Tank Stars!

     As I have mentioned in past blog posts, the kids had a TON of fun creating commercials for their own product.  They were able to use what they learned about commercials and persuasion to create commercials for their UNIQUE products.  Hud-Tv came in and taped our commercials and added some special effects. 

     We had a special showing of our commercials last week on Shark Tank!!!  Mrs. MacDonald and Ms. Mann came into our class as the "sharks" looking to buy a new product.  We were able to watch each commercial and then the inventors were asked questions by the Sharks.  The kids did an awesome job under pressure answering questions about their product. 

     Since the kids worked so hard on these commercials, I feel as though you shouldn't miss out on these awesome pieces of work. 

     I have attached a link.  All of the commercials are on one link.  Mrs. Leger's class created commercials as well so their class is on the video as well.

     You won't want to miss this!  Enjoy!


https://vimeo.com/95312254

Becoming Experts

     The kids are really starting to become experts on their state.  Each student has chosen a state that they want to learn more about.  They have been hard at work this week working on researching their topics.  They have also been working on "teaching" their topic to a classmate to help them figure out what they need to find more information on based on their partner's questions.  This has helped them to focus their research as well. 
     During writing, the students have been taking their notes from their state research and using it in their informational writing.  It is not easy to create informational writing that sounds like a "book" rather than a list of facts.  Fourth graders tend to list facts when writing informational texts, so it is great to see the kids pushing themselves to write so that their text is more interesting by adding in their ideas. 
     Late in the week, we got our Persuasive Infomercials that we taped before vacation back on video.  The kids were so excited to watch their infomercials on the big screen in front of their peers.  There was a lot of evidence of persuasive writing techniques in the infomercials, but it is also clear that the kids were having a blast!
     It has been a busy but great week in fourth grade.  Just a reminder, next week we have a half day on Wednesday.  Our Memorial Day program will also be held on Wednesday this year as well. We look forward to seeing you there!
     Enjoy the weekend!
~Mrs. Lewis 

State Journalists...

It was great to see that the kids had fun over April vacation!  They seemed rested and ready to come back (even though they probably wouldn't have admitted it!). 

As part of our state research, we started to notice and observe how a Scholastic News article is written.  We read articles in the magazine first "like a reader" and then "like a writer."  When we read it as a writer, we took notice of the structure of a newspaper article.  The kids then started to write an article about their state's geography and climate based on the research they have done so far. 

In social studies the kids performed their Rosa Parks play for the class.  They were well prepared for this and had fun acting out different parts of the Rosa Parks story.  We have had a lot of class discussions around equality.  The kids are very passionate about their feelings towards treating everyone equally. 

Just a reminder...we have the math MCAS next Tuesday, May 6 and Thursday, May 8.

Enjoy the weekend!

~ Mrs. Lewis