Ms. Bredman is in full swing of things! :)

We had PLENTY of assemblys:

Tuesday: Fourth grade Informance

Wednesday: Old Creamery Theatre did "Count Me In!"

Friday: Jazz band and show choir came

In Reading we had our Unit tests and then worked on our Mothers day projects. Which consisted of doing our hand prints, coming up with ideas of things that create a good mom, and then we wrote our recipes that made our mom so special!

In Language we started writing our Diaries of a..... stories. Last week we read "The Diary of a Worm, Spider, and Fly". This week the students got the opportunity to write their own diary with their own character. They first created a storyboard to come up with ideas of what they wanted on each page. Then the wrote their rough drafts and had partners edit them. This next week they will be finishing up their final drafts.

In Math we worked on counting and anticipating color patterns. While the students have looked at patterns before they have not had to predict the color of a cube they have not seen. This week they had to look at a pattern of twelve cubes and then decide what a cube farther down the line would be, such as: What would be the color of cube number 50? The students used ways of reasoning having to do with multiples to decide the color of the particular cube they were looking for.

In Science we finished out Rocks and Minerals Unit and had our test.

Finally, We started reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Thanks,

Tiffany Bredman

Hi! 
I am including a list of updated upcoming dates. Please take a look at the attached letter to the email about the sack lunch needed for June 2nd, our track and field day. 

 

Upcoming dates:

Tuesday, May 13th- Bike Assembly and Rodeo  

Wednesday, May 14th- A day on wheels (too bad I will not be there to help and tumble off a scooter this time!) 

1:15 Dismissal

Monday, May 26th- No School- Memorial Day  

 Wednesday, May 28th- Walk to Marion Library 1:00 

Monday, June 2nd- Normal day of school (3rd grade track day)  

Tuesday, June 3rd- Normal day of school (4th grade track day)  

Wednesday, June 4th- Mrs. Yuska is planning on being back for the day! :) 
 

Summer birthdays:   

Monday, June 30th- Happy Birthday Seth!   

Wednesday, July 9th- Happy Birthday Nick!  

Monday, July 14th- Happy Birthday Riley!   

Friday, July 18th- Happy Birthday Mason!  

Sunday, August 10th- Happy Birthday Addy! 

Have a great rest of your week!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Meet Nolan John Yuska

Well, this week started with a special delivery. :)

After having contractions on and off during the school day, and presenting math curriculum to the school board I finally arrived home around 10 pm. Around 11:30 contractions picked up, by 1:30 I woke Brandon, had my sister come over to watch the girls and headed for the hospital. We arrived around 2 am, at 3:29 am on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, we were blessed with a 7 pound 14.6 ounce baby boy.

I am pleased to announce Nolan John Yuska:

His sisters are in love! I think he is a keeper! :)

Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes. I am missing my class like crazy already!

Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Rain, Rain, Rain....

After a round of severe weather today, it looks like it will be a very rainy week. Please remind your child to be extra careful getting to and from school, as well as just walking to a car waiting for them as the gloomy weather can make it difficult to see. 

Math- In math we worked on pictographs and bar graphs this week. I also gave the students a graphing quiz as I have been working really hard on them remembering to label their graphs and what the labels mean. We will be continuing our graphing unit with our Investigations books and taking a look at a bunch of graphs involving weather and patterns.

Reading- This week we read Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves by James Rumford.

 When the Hawaiian islands were first being discovered, we are taken on an adventure where we meet five Polynesian brothers. After a long journey to Hawaii, the youngest brother, Manu, soon discovers what appears to be a wounded dog on the beach. But it is like no dog he or his brothers has ever seen before—it has flippers for legs, a fish’s tail, and the body of a dolphin!
Gentle Manu, a boy who loves animals, nurses the seal back to health, and forms a bond of friendship. Both Manu and Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves have a chance to embrace their friendship and protects their friend when danger comes.

This was another difficult story which asked for accounts and specific information located on specific pages of the text. For this reason, all third graders were allowed to use their book on this quiz. Some students embraced this and made the most of how we learned to go back over the text to discover and locate our answers. Other students chose to leave their books on their desks, but did not glance back at the story once. Even when they were unsure of the answer.  

Writing- We finished up our poetry unit this week. The students' poetry packet should be arriving home this week.

On Monday, the class created "I am" poems where they wrote similes about themselves. We also introduced how they can be anything they put their mind to. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday we worked on creating rhyming poems. We went back to some of our Kindergarten lessons on changing up the beginning sounds to recreate rhyming words. 

On Thursday, we created a "bio poem" where students wrote about things they were, they are, and they will be. For example, 

I was a baby, I am a child, I will be an adult.

Science- Sorry I didn't take more pictures this week. Science was a little fast paced from time to time. :) 
 

On Monday we discussed the hardness of different minerals and performed a scratch test. Students attempted to scratch the minerals with their fingernail, a paperclip, and a penny.  The more it scratched, the softer the mineral, the less it scratched, the harder the mineral. 

On Tuesday, we had guidance. 

On Wednesday through Friday, we worked on a lesson called Calcite Quest. We took different rocks and tested to see if they contained the mineral calcite. This was performed through a series of vinegar tests. The kids enjoyed seeing all the crystals form in the evaporation dishes, even if this caused our room to smell like vinegar for the majority of the week. 

This week we will be filling out an orange study guide for the Earth Materials test. I have the test currently scheduled for May 7th. Please take the time to go over these questions with your child as this is probably the most challenging science test we will take all year. 

Upcoming dates:

Saturday, May 3rd- Happy Birthday Hailee!   
Sunday, May 4th- Happy Birthday Katie!   
Tuesday, May 6th- 4th grade Informance

Wednesday, May 7th- My due date 

Tuesday, May 13th- Bike Assembly and Rodeo  

Wednesday, May 14th- 1:15 Dismissal

Monday, May 26th- No School- Memorial Day  

 Wednesday, May 28th- Walk to Marion Library 1:00 

Monday, June 2nd- Normal day of school (3rd grade track day)  

Tuesday, June 3rd- Normal day of school (4th grade track day)  

Wednesday, June 4th- Mrs. Yuska is planning on being back for the day! :) 
 

Summer birthdays:   

Monday, June 30th- Happy Birthday Seth!   

Wednesday, July 9th- Happy Birthday Nick!  

Monday, July 14th- Happy Birthday Riley!   

Friday, July 18th- Happy Birthday Mason!  

Sunday, August 10th- Happy Birthday Addy! 

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Enjoy the weekend!

The weather is supposed to get nice again! I hope you can find the time to enjoy the weekend! :)

Math- In math we have started our graphing unit. This week we have taken a look at coordinate graphs, tally tables, line plots and pictographs. We even had some time to survey the students in our class and turn the information into a tally table and line plot. Next week we will continue to look at pictographs, as well as take a look at bar graphs and how to interpret our data.

Reading- This week we read Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison.

 

 Tameka has invited her Uncle Ray, who lives in South Carolina, to visit her in California. Unable to get away, he builds a life-sized wooden man and sends it in his place. A note in Oliver's pouch asks people to help him get to his destination and to send Ray a note if they do. Their letters and postcards form the basis of this story as Oliver travels in a truck with a Brahman bull, a station wagon, and a moving van. The boldly colored, textured illustrations were made with oils over an acrylic under-painting on boards, and the unframed panoramic spreads portray the countryside and the assorted colorful characters who assist Oliver at various legs of his cross-country trek. 

 

This story was a difficult one as we discussed the differences between the letters making up the story. Are they a formal letter to Ray to keep him in touch with Oliver's whereabouts or is it an informal letter which if friendly and silly? 

Writing- We are continuing our poetry unit by writing different kind of poetry. Below you will see the different forms we have written along with an example. 

 

Diamante: 

Cinquain: 

Haiku: 

Limerick: 

 Science- Monday we finished breaking apart our mock rocks. We placed some of our rock into a vial and added 25 ml of water. Then we gave it a good shake and let it sit over night.

 On Tuesday, we took a look at our vials and observed the changes which took place over night. This helped us create a chart of evidence we could find in our mock rocks. So far we noticed red and green gravel, pebbles, sand, flour, and shells. We carefully poured some our water  into an evaporation dish to see if there would be anything which had dissolved into the water.

On Wednesday, no science. :)

On Thursday,  we took a look at the salt crystals which formed in our evaporation dishes. 

Upcoming dates:

Monday, April 21st-Thursday, April 24th- Last book club of the year Wednesday, April 23rd- I will be gone in the morning for a doctor's appointment. I am currently planning to be at school in the afternoon.
Saturday, May 3rd- Happy Birthday Hailee!  Sunday, May 4th- Happy Birthday Katie!  Tuesday, May 6th- 4th grade Informance

Wednesday, May 7th- My due date 
Tuesday, May 13th- Bike Assembly and Rodeo Wednesday, May 14th- 1:15 Dismissal
Monday, May 26th- No School- Memorial Day Tuesday, May 27th or Wednesday, May 28th- Walk to Marion Library
Monday, June 2nd- Normal day of school (3rd grade track day) Tuesday, June 3rd- Normal day of school (4th grade track day) Wednesday, June 4th- Mrs. Yuska may be back for the day! :) 
Summer birthdays:  Monday, June 30th- Happy Birthday Seth!  Wednesday, July 9th- Happy Birthday Nick!  Monday, July 14th- Happy Birthday Riley!  Friday, July 18th- Happy Birthday Mason!  Sunday, August 10th- Happy Birthday Addy! 

After my doctor's appointments this week. She mentioned I could have this baby at anytime. Oh my! We are trying to keep this baby cooking for as long as possible. I will try to keep you as updated as possible when this happens as well as what is happening in our classroom after the baby arrives. :)

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Iowa Assessment Week

Your children are AMAZING! Not only did they test like rock stars last week. They were terrific with all of our schedule changes and various things that made for a very crazy schedule last week. I am so proud of each and everyone of them!

Math- In math we have been reviewing how to tell time. We are working on using phrases like quarter till, quarter past, half past, etc. We have also worked on telling time to the nearest minute on an analog clock. This week we continued to practice these skill as well as covered the concept of elapsed time. Elapsed time is difficult for many students. We start with skills like "tell me what time it will be in 20 minutes" or "The clock starts at 10:15 am and ends at 10:45 am, How much time has past?" However, we have been working our way up to how much time has passed with various hours and minutes as well as changing over from am to pm or pm back to am. This is a multi-step process and can throw many kids off. This is a skill we will continue to practice and they will continue to practice in the future.

Reading- Due to testing, we did not have a Basal story this week. In Guided Reading/ Daily 5 we took a chance between books to review various comprehension strategies.

Writing- We are continuing our poetry unit by discussing metaphors, poetry in music, and acrostic poems this week. At the beginning of the week we used metaphors to describe our feelings and moods in colors. We also used colors to make rainbows of items of each color. In the middle of the week we took a look at some songs popular in music today and discussed the metaphors and poetry in each song. At the end of the week, students had a chance to create an acrostic poem about themselves using their names. 

 Science- Monday ended our Kitchen Chemistry adventure. Thank you again to Mason's grandparents for the wonderful donation to our classroom which provided the chance to purchase many of the supplies we used! :) The class absolutely loved this two week unit. It was exactly what we all needed to get a jump start back to school after spring break! At the end you will find some of the pictures and videos, which I had troubles uploading last week. Thank you for your patience.

On Monday- We observed the results from our Peeps lab experiments. We concluded the apple juice and pop created less of an effect on our Peep because it already contained a high amount of sugar. The water, our base took the sugar off and disolved some of our marshmallow. However, the vingear, an acid made our Peep almost nonexisitant. 

 On Tuesday, we transffered our brains over from being a chemist to being a geologist. 

On Wednesday, no science. :)

On Thursday, students were introduced to their mock rocks (fake rocks) and started to identify some of their properties.

On Friday, We finished looking at the properties of our mock rocks and started to break them apart to get a better "look" at what they are made out of. We will continue this process on Monday. 

Pictures and videos which had troubles uploading last week: 
Gummy Bear Lab: 

videos: 

Liquid Acidity Tests

Upcoming dates:

Friday, April 4th- Happy Belated Birthday Anna! 

Wednesday, April 15th- TAX DAY! This is a BIG deal in my house! :) 
Thursday, April 16th- I will be gone on a personal day. Hopefully Brandon and I can finalize everything for our upcoming addition to our family. 

Monday, April 21st-Thursday, April 24th- Last book club of the year
Wednesday, April 23rd- I will be gone in the morning for a doctor's appointment. 

Saturday, May 3rd- Happy Birthday Hailee! 
Sunday, May 4th- Happy Birthday Katie! 
Tuesday, May 6th- 4th grade Informance

Wednesday, May 7th- My due date 

Tuesday, May 13th- Bike Assembly and Rodeo
Wednesday, May 14th- 1:15 Dismissal

Monday, May 26th- No School- Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 27th or Wednesday, May 28th- Walk to Marion Library

Monday, June 2nd- Normal day of school (3rd grade track day)
Tuesday, June 3rd- Normal day of school (4th grade track day)
Wednesday, June 4th- Mrs. Yuska may be back for the day! :) 

Summer birthdays: 
Monday, June 30th- Happy Birthday Seth! 
Wednesday, July 9th- Happy Birthday Nick! 
Monday, July 14th- Happy Birthday Riley! 
Friday, July 18th- Happy Birthday Mason! 
Sunday, August 10th- Happy Birthday Addy! 

I hope you had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather on Saturday. Looks like it will be a little while before we see weather like that again! Have a great rest of the week!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska

Science Enthusiasts in the Making!

First of all, thank you for attending your child's conference before Spring Break. I know it meant a lot for each and everyone in our class for you to come in and view the work they were so proud to create. 

Second, I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break. We are now down to the wire and the school year will feel like it goes even faster if that is possible. I can not believe we are already into April. 

Third, I apologize for the delay. I had the blog almost ready to go this weekend, when the stomach flu hit our house. It started with one child and ended up taking them both down over the last few days. Not much fun for any parent, let alone an 8 1/2 month pregnant mom who is nesting. Let's just say, my house is now deep cleaned and sanitized. However, I am very tired! :) 

Math- In math last week we finished up our geometry unit and reviewed the attributes of a 2-D and 3-D shape. We also practiced finding faces, edges, and vertices on 3-D shapes. This week we started our unit on time. So far the kids have been asked to review how to tell time on an analog clock and estimate time. We will continue this unit through this week and next. 

Reading- Last week in reading we read a section from Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. 

 

In the late 19th century a widowed Midwestern farmer with two children, Anna and Caleb, advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay.

This week we are reading  The Journey: Stories of Migraton by Cynthia Rylant. 

 

In this story we follow the majestic migrations of caribou, locusts, gray whales, terns, and more creatures who must travel to survive.

Writing- Last week we started our poetry unit a little early. April is "National Poetry Month" and I like to introduce the class to as many different forms of poetry as I can. Last week we started off talking and practicing alliteration. This week we are working on similes. We will continue to build our poetry knowledge and soon will create our own poetry using a wide variety of formats.

 Science- Last week we started our Kitchen Chemistry adventure. Our class has always liked science, but they are begging for more with this unit and I am loving every minute of it! 

 

On Monday- We started off slow and completed an activity called "Milk Color Lab." The class loved it. I included a little deeper science lesson from one of my favorites: Steve Spangler. Feel free to check it out below.

 On Tuesday, we did not have science due to Mrs. Shield's coming in to teach her guidance lesson. 

On Wednesday we doubled up on science. First we talked about chemical reactions and what causes them to happen. Baking soda and citric acid are not very exciting when they are mixed together by themselves, but what happens when water joins the party? A chemical reaction! Seeing is believing. 

Part 2 of Wednesday included what we had just learned about carbon dioxide and chemical reactions but in high voltage form- Mentos and pop! I wish I had more pictures and/ or video but I was doing well just to try and get out of the way in my current large state. :) I am including a video that may help you get an idea if you have never seen this done before. 

Thursday- We continued the test with acid and baking soda. We now know that baking soda fizzes when it is mixed with something else that has acid in it. Acid is a chemical substance, it is often a corrosive or sour tasting liquid. Corrosive substances will damage other substances that they touch. We tested out some liquids to see if they are acidic or if they had acid in them. If a liquid is mixed with baking soda and it fizzes a lot it is a very strong acid. If the liquid is mixed and doesn't fizz, it is not an acid at all. 

Friday- As we have learned when baking soda comes in contact with an acidic solution, it will fizz up because a chemical reaction is happening and carbon dioxide is being released. It's the same carbon dioxide humans breathe out as they exhale. When something is dense, it means the stuff is made out of is tightly packed together. If something is less dense, the tiny particles are less packed together. That means the particles would be free to float on top of the things that are more dense. First, we conducted a density test. Second, we created a volcanic effect. 

 

 

I am having some issues loading the videos from my phone. I will continue to work on this! :) 

 

Upcoming dates: 

Thursday, April 3rd- Music Informance

Monday, April 7th- Friday, April 11th- Iowa Assessments-
Just a reminder, we are taking Iowa Assessments all week, please talk to your child about trying their best. Ways to help your child get ready for the assessments are 1) to get a good night sleep, 2) eat a nutritious breakfast, 3) dress comfortable (our room does tend to get very warm).  There will not be a reading quiz or spelling test this week.

Wednesday, April 9th- 1:15 Dismissal

Thursday, April 10th- I will be gone in the afternoon for a PBIS coaches meeting at Grant Wood AEA (Mrs. Connie Randall will be subbing in our room)

Wednesday, April 15th- TAX DAY! This is a BIG deal in my house! :) 

Wednesday, April 23rd- I will be gone in the morning for a doctor's appointment

Wednesday, May 7th- My due date

Have a great rest of the week!

 Mrs. Jodie Yuska