Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Edmodo

I introduced the students to Edmodo.com today. They loved it! I think if I would have let them work all day on this in the computer lab they would have! It is a social network designed for teachers and students. The reason I introduced them is because I have teamed up with a few teachers from across the country to create an Edmodo group where students can share what they are reading over the summer. The group is called My Summer Reading 2011. Hopefully, your child will read books and post messages on this board all summer long!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Follow us on Twitter @ camp

Can’t join us at 4th grade camp? That’s okay; follow us before, during, and after camp on Twitter! If you are a member, follow 4thgradecamp on Twitter. Not a member of Twitter, that is still okay!

Here are some simple step-by-step instructions to help you follow all the action at 4th grade camp:
1.    Go to Twitter.com
2.    Search “4thgradecamp”
    3.    Check back often, before camp, then during camp; leave Twitter open all day and refresh often!

      Note: At camp, cell phone service is weak to non-existent but I hope this will work and I will be able to make posts!

      This should be a fun way to let everyone keep up with all the fun that we are having at 4th grade camp!

      Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!


      Wednesday, April 27, 2011

      Snapple Fact #755

      There are more chickens than people in the world.

      Wednesday, April 20, 2011

      Snapple Fact #922

      Maine is the only state with a one-syllable name.

      Tuesday, April 19, 2011

      Camp Forms

      Reminder to get your child's camp forms turned it!! Thanks!

      Friday, April 15, 2011

      Reading test... on the computer!

      This week for the first time I created the reading test in a google form and we took the test online. It seems to have gone over well with the students. I am still trying to figure out how to report the student scores! Today I will be sending home a red 1/4 sheet with their score. I hope to continue to figure things out over the last few weeks of school. Let me know what your child is saying about the test or if you have any comments or suggestions!
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      Wednesday, April 13, 2011

      MAP testing

      We start MAP testing today with Language Arts. We will be testing the rest of this week and on Tuesday. Make sure your child is getting a goodnights sleep and eating a healthy breakfast each morning. I am excited to see our growth!
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      Tuesday, April 12, 2011

      Camp Meeting

      Reminder: 4th grade camp meeting Monday, April 18 at 5:30 pm in Lincoln at the Heartland Co-op. There will also be a short chaperone meeting afterwards. It is suggested that at least one parent attend the meeting. If you are unable to attend, please let me know. See you Monday night!

      Wednesday, April 6, 2011

      AR Chocolate Party

      We are having a 3rd & 4th grade chocolate party for those students who meet their 4th quarter reading goal! So keep reading!!
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      Tuesday, April 5, 2011

      Student email accounts

      We are getting gmail accounts!! I am so excited for the students to have their own school email accounts. However, this is a big responsibility for the students. The students need to remember these are school accounts and are only to be used for school purposes! I will be keeping a close eye on there use! Be looking for a paper coming home about the email accounts. Please read this over again with your child and return it signed. We will not move forward until all sheets are returned.
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      South Board Games

      We are finish up our board games for the South region. They are looking great! We hope to be finished by the end of the week and move onto the Midwest region next week.
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      Wednesday, March 30, 2011

      Snapple fact #768

      Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale.
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      Friday, March 11, 2011

      QuizGeo

      QuizGeo is a new site hosting geography quizzes built on the Google Maps platform. On QuizGeo you can browse and play pre-made geography quizzes or create your own quizzes. All of the quizzes operate in the same fashion of presenting you with a place name and requiring you to click on that place on a map before time expires.


      This is a great tool to use when your student is learning where each state is in the United States. You can practice the whole U.S. or search for each region. Have fun!

      Wednesday, March 9, 2011

      Snapple Fact #814

      Tug-of-war was an Olympic sport in the early 1900s.
      Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

      Thursday, March 3, 2011

      Listen to Reading... at home

      Here are some sites you and your child can to go at home to Listen to Reading:


      Storyline Online
      Mighty Book
      Bab Books
      Children's Storybooks Online

      Snapple Fact #753

      A group of goats is called a trip.

      Monday, February 28, 2011

      Awesome Division Site

      Thanks to Mrs. Backstrom, we have discovered a wonderful long division website that walks the students through the steps. The site is Snork's Long Division. Enjoy!!

      Wednesday, February 23, 2011

      Snapple Fact #885

      Vultures can fly for six hours without flapping their wings. WOW!

      Thursday, February 17, 2011

      Author's Visit

      We had a great time when Coach Sloth came. We loved the book and can't wait for his second book to come out! 
      Thanks Coach Sloth for a wonderful afternoon. Also, stay tuned for our special podcast interview with Coach Sloth!

      Snapple Fact #880

      The Venus flytrap can eat a whole cheeseburger.

      Tuesday, February 15, 2011

      Author Visit TOMORROW

      Coach Ry Sloth will be coming to school tomorrow to read and talk about his book, Sammy Sloth Sports Superstar! Students will have the chance to listen to him talk, ask questions, and get the books they ordered signed. Should be a great day! Visit Coach Sloth's website. Check back for pictures!

      Friday, February 11, 2011

      Guest Blogger: Abbie

      We learned a cheer that was awesome and we are going to dance at the MS vs teachers basketball game. The name of the song is Interlude and the band is called Attack! It is from the UNI basketball games. 


      Abbie

      Thursday, February 10, 2011

      Into the Book

      I have introduced a new website to help students with their reading skills called Into the Book. It is a great site for the students to use either at home or at school. Hope you and your child have a chance to check out this site at home!

      Wednesday, February 9, 2011

      Snapple Fact #869

      Theodore Roosevelt has a pet bear while in office. 

      Monday, February 7, 2011

      New addition to Listen to Reading

      Whenever I am in Ames, I try to stop at Goodwill looking for books for the classroom. This past weekend I had great luck, finding a Quantum Pad (similar to a Leap Pad) and two books/cartridges for $10. This has made a great addition to our “listen to reading” tools; the kids really enjoy using it.


      Do you have any Leap Pad and/or Quantum Pad books/cartridges that your kids are no longer using? If so, would you be willing to donate them to our class or let us borrow them for a few weeks? This would be awesome. Let me know if you have any questions and I will continue to keep my eye open for more books/cartridges, too! 

      Friday, February 4, 2011

      Super Bowl

      4E is ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. 12 students in class will be going for the Steelers and 9 will be cheering on the Packers! We will see which group is happy on Monday morning! I guess I am cheering for the Steelers (but it is very hard for me to cheer for a black and gold team) I will really be watching for the commercials.

      Wednesday, February 2, 2011

      Snapple Real Fact #881

      A baby caribou can outrun its mother at 3 days old.

      Monday, January 31, 2011

      Date change for 4th grade camp

      Mark your calendars... 4th grade camp has been moved to May 19th and 20th. This is a week later than previously scheduled. With this date change I am already getting excited for 4th grade camp. We will be giving out more information at spring conferences!

      Friday, January 28, 2011

      Today's Guest Blogger: Lexi

      One of my favorite things about fourth grade is a thing called CAFE. C stands for Comprehension, A stands for Awareness, F is for Fluency, and E stands for Expand Vocabulary. CAFE is apart of our Daily 5   and the best part rotation is Word Work. For Word Work we have 22 stations plus the two computers. Elizabeth says her favorite is magnadoodle. Zack and Madisen both say their favorite is the newest activity, the Nintendo DS. Mitchell's favorite is the sentence rods. My favorite is also the DS. Thanks for following Miss Erickson's blog!!


      Lexi

      Thursday, January 27, 2011

      Pencils, Pencils, Pencils!

      It seems that the students are running out of some of their school supplies (especially pencils)! Please ask your child if they need any more school supplies. Thanks!

      Wednesday, January 26, 2011

      Snapple Fact #807

      Every once in a while I read a Snapple fact to the kids. They love to hear the interesting facts. So on my blog Wednesday will be Snapple fact day! Hopefully, this will encourage your students to visit the blog as well!




      Snapple Fact #807
      Shakespeare invented the words "assassination" and "bump."

      Tuesday, January 25, 2011

      Podcast

      Check out our weekly podcast of the Reinbeck Elementary Announcements. A few students have got this project underway. They are exciting and proud of the work they have done so far. They cannot wait to continue learning and creating until they become masters and eventually teaching the rest of the class how it's done.

      To listen to the podcast click here

      Monday, January 24, 2011

      100th Day

      Today was the 100th day of school. To celebrate the students were divided into 10 groups, the groups then went from room to room for a fun 100th day activity. Each group had students of all ages and it was fun to interact with different kids. It was a fun and exciting morning! 

      Sunday, January 23, 2011

      New Year.... time to Blog!

      I am going to try hard in this new year to post regularly to this blog! My goal is not only to increase my posts but also to get more followers.


      Thanks and look forward to more posts in the future!