St. Patrick's Day Cleanup

Students:

Do you think participating in a playground cleanup was important to do as a leader of this school? Why or why not? Explain your answer.

Endangered Sea Turtles

This week we read a narrative nonfiction piece about a boy named Max who helps rescue an endangered sea turtle on a beach in his community. The following comments are student reflections about what they would do if they found a sea turtle on the beach.

And Now It's Time For Kids!

Read this article reproduced from this month's issue of TFK.

Record Floods

Big floods hit the Land Down Under last week. Overflowing rivers in northeastern Australia cut off major highways, destroyed crops and flooded more than 20 cities and towns in the state of Queensland. At least 200,000 people were affected by the floodwaters, which peaked on January 5.

The flood damage will cost Australia billions of dollars. "This is a major natural disaster, and recovery will take a significant amount of time," said Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

The disaster began on December 25, when a cyclone hit Australia's northeast coast. Days of heavy rain caused rivers to overflow. The flood spread across an area the size of France and Germany. In the coastal city of Rockhampton, the river rose to 30 feet. Residents were warned to stay away from floodwaters. The fast-moving water was strong enough to sweep cars away. Snakes and crocodiles were spotted in the water. The floodwaters could take a month to dry up.

The flood is having an impact around the world. Queensland exports half the world's coal that is used to make steel. Most of the state's coalfields are unable to operate, forcing a rise in coal prices.

It Takes Talent

On September 30, our 5th grade class acted out the Reader's Theater selection for Theme one, It Takes Talent! Here is our final version. Please feel free to leave us comments. Thanks!

Dancing

Meet Matt. He is a dancing machine! He dances his funny little jig in locations all around the world, and has lots of fun in the process. After you watch Matt dance, please comment on our classroom blog about the video.

Where is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

DeRoin's Dioramas

Welcome to the diaroama class project with Ms. DeRoin's 4th grade students! This cross-curricular project had students researching, writing, reading, editing, and creating, all using tools of the 21st century. As these students prepare for fifth grade, I'd like them to reflect on some things:

What was the hardest part about this project?
What was the most fun?
What did you learn?
How do you feel about the final product you created with your group?
Are you looking forward to similar projects next year in 5th grade?

St. Patrick's Day Playground Clean-Up

In Storytown, our unit theme is "Making a Difference." Last week we wrote an action plan that would help us make a difference in our community. Today is St. Patrick's day, and we decided to stick with the theme of GREEN by going out to our Rose Hill Playground and cleaning up all the trash we could find. This did make a difference to our school community because we use this space to play every day, especially when it's so beautiful outside! We found a lot of trash, plus some other very interesting things, like toys, pencils, and a watch. Please watch the slide show and feel free to comment!