Listed below are a few important dates that you need to know!
Writing State Testing-
4/26 Ivy, Watts and Schipke
Math State Testing-
4/28 Ivy
5/1 Watts and Schipke
Math Performance Based State Testing-
5/9 Ivy
5/10 Watts and Schipke
4th Grade Famous Artist Wax Museum
5/10 at 1:00
3rd and 4th Grade Awards Day
5/15 1:00
OscARs Awards
5/17
Mr. Bell, our visual art teacher, taught us about a style of abstract painting called Color Field that was made popular by Barnett Newman in the 1950’s which lead to the style of the term Abstract Expression. We looked at some of his works and realized that some of his works seemed to have tints and sharp angles. The students were then given a degree of an angle. They had to find their missing angle by subtracting from their total. For example, 90 degrees was their total measurement of their paper, and they might have been given 75 degrees. The students then used their protractor to find their answer and draw the angle. In this case, the student would draw 15 degrees angle using the protractor. The students when created their own example of the style of Color Field by making tints with the color of their choice. 
We have been studying equivalent fractions for the past few days. We wanted to challenged the students to make something artistic while using fractions. We learned about different ways that you could use trash and make it into art. We looked at works of art from real artist from all over the world, and we found it very interesting. So we complied a load of trash and wrote fractions on them. We had boxes, plastic bottles, and other goodies. Then the students were given a sheet where they had to find equivalent fractions by multiplying or dividing. Their answers to the problems were specific body parts they needed in order to make their robot. If they couldn’t find the equivalent fraction, then they wouldn’t be able to find their trash part that had their fraction written on it. As they did their math, they found their parts, and we glued them together. We chose to spray paint the final pieces so they looked a little more uniformed and not so much like trash.
Students who met their AR goal 2nd 9 weeks enjoyed dressing in their pajamas and watching a movie! Teachers will return back to school on January 4th, and students first day back will be January 5th!
We have started learning about our body systems. This week we learned specifically about the digestive system and muscular system. In dance infusion, the students were challenged to make up a dance explaining the process of the digestive system. We first made a list of words that describe the actions that take place in the digestive process. The students then created their dance in small groups and preformed them as the audience looked for the details and meaning of the dance. 
Click the link below to watch one group’s performance of the the digestive system explaining the process.
The students had to solve division word problems by looking at art prints while using specific themed manipulatives for the print. They had a lot of fun learning the process of division.
Madison battled amongst the 20 top students in our district to be THE CHAMPION of the Fall 2016 Multiplication Bee! We are so proud of her!
Our top 10 fourth graders faced off in a heated multiplication bee to find the TOP FIVE that will represent Nora Davis at our district battle! Our top five are Bryce, Jamiyah, Cor’Neceyunna, Madison (our school champion), and Nevaeh!
“It was extremely fun because we got to do so many activities with Jim Henson. The performances were funny and goofy. We learned how many things he created. Like the Muppets and Sesame Street. It was fun and challenging at the same time creating the simple machine Muppets. But we would definitely do it again.”
– Center Group Number 5
We read a biography about our famous Mississippian, Jim Henson. We learned so much about his personal life, how he wanted to better the world, the ways he creativity changed television, and about his most famous works, the Muppets. Because we were learning about simple machines in science, we created our own Muppets using our knowledge of levers. In order for a Muppet to work, our working simple machines included a load and fulcrum. In pairs, we created a storyboard with a partner that had a simplistic plot. The elements of Jim Henson’s work, opposites attract, had to be evident with our Muppet’s character traits and look. We learned that Muppets just can’t be funny; they have to do funny things. The skits were preformed showcasing our theater skills including pacing and voice projection.
We have been doing a fairy tale unit for the past two weeks, and it was a lot of fun! The students read an original fairy tale, and then they read a fractured fairy tale of the original. Some were The Three Little Ninja Pigs, The Princess and the Pizza, The Wolf that Cried Boy, and The Penguin and the Pea. The students compared and contrasted the two tales using a Venn diagram. The students then chose one of the main characters of one of the tales. The students analyzed this character and wrote down characteristics that they noticed from the books. The students had to cite evidence for these characteristics from the text. The students then wrote a monologue in first person point of view describing the character, their feelings, and their responses to situations. The students created masks to represent these characters using a variety of art materials. The students performed their monologue for the class using their masks. It was a lot a fun!
