Ms. Kreul’s Class Blog

Check out these amazing Olympics videos and learn how science is an important part of the winter sports at this year’s Vancouver Olympic games…

The Science of the Winter Olympic Games

NBC Learn interviews athletes, coaches, and scientists in this original 16-part series, and unravels the physics, biology, chemistry, and materials engineering behind the Olympic Winter Games. The Science of the Olympic Winter Games is made possible through a partnership with the National Science Foundation.

Exciting news – Ms. Swanson has her own blog called Ms. Swanson’s PE Talk Blog. Check it out to learn more about PE and more!

Ms. Swanson’s PE Talk Blog

Run Away Home

A podcast of an original book review project created after reading Run Away Home by Patricia McKissack as part of 4th grade Literature Circle group assignment based on historical fiction texts

Created and recorded by Nicko, Grace, and Allison

January 2010

For This Land

A podcast of an original book review project created after reading For This Land by Kate McMullan as part of 4th grade Literature Circle group assignment based on historical fiction texts

Created and recorded by Ka-Ron, JJ, Eve, and Haley

January 2010

The Cabin Faced West

A podcast of an original book review project created after reading The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz as part of 4th grade Literature Circle group assignment based on historical fiction texts

Created and recorded by Kenadee, Ali, Alice, and Joslin

January 2010

The Year of Miss Agnes

A podcast of an original book review project created after reading The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill as part of 4th grade Literature Circle group assignment based on historical fiction texts

Created and recorded by Larry, Migsy, Betsy, and David

January 2010

The Great Wheel

A podcast of an original book review project created after reading The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson as part of 4th grade Literature Circle group assignment based on historical fiction texts

Created and recorded by David, Matthew, and Matt

January 2010

Reminders…

*Parents and students should check Assignment Notebooks together every evening

*Students are responsible for completing schoolwork any time they are absent

*Please send book orders, permission slips, etc. in envelopes with your fourth grader’s name, 4K, and a description of what is in the envelope

*Dress appropriately for our Wisconsin winter weather

*Water bottles help keep you hydrated and healthy

*Healthy, easy to eat morning snacks help your brain work better

4K, remember to write these dates on your calendar…

• Feb. 3 Late Start 9:05
• Feb. 4 Fun Lunch
• Feb. 5 French Night
• Feb. 12 Friendship Party
• Feb. 15 No School Today
• Feb. 18 Fun Lunch
• Feb. 22 Guidance Lesson
• Feb. 24 Visit by Author Mike Artell
• Feb. 26 Taste of Wisconsin Program

Students are halfway through the school year and may need to replace or replenish their school supplies. Please check with your 4^th grader and ask him or her if a trip to the store is needed!

Thank you to everyone who sent in containers of Clorox wipes. Students use them once or twice a week to clean desks and chairs, as well as the large tables in the classroom. 

Students are encouraged to type their homework reading log assignments as a way to practice their word processing skills. As the second semester begins, students will be word processing writing assignments in school as often as possible. This practice will help students prepare for the expectations for written work in 5^th grade and beyond.

They can download a copy of the reading log sheet from the class blog, Look under the tab at the top of the page called Paper Trail and download a copy to the computer.

Students should open the document in Word or another work processing program and type right on the page itself. They will also be  working on their editing and revising skills, along with paragraph writing using the word processing program.

Save and print the homework reading log page and it’s ready to bring back to school to share on Fridays during reading class.

4K recently completed the third Literature Circle session of this school year, reading and discussing a variety of historical fiction texts – The Great Wheel, The Cabin Faced West, The Year of Miss Agnes, For This Land, and Run Away Home.

After they had finished reading and discussing their books, Lit Circle groups worked together to create book reviews to post on the class blog to convince other students to read these wonderful historical fiction books.  Groups had a choice of what format they wanted their reviews to take and chose a play, an interview, a skit, and a song. After writing and practicing their reviews, students recorded the projects as podcasts (mp3 files) for the class blog.

We hope you enjoy listening to 4K’s historical fiction book review podcasts. Please leave a comment or two, and then share the class blog URL with family and friends. Direct family and friends to the class blog at http://www.mskreul.com where they can click on the Podcast category on the right side of the page to listen to these wonderful original podcasts. Thank you!

By DP

 Have you ever seen snow? Well, I am going to tell you about it. It is like a white blanket. Also it’s fluffy and when you fall it’s like a soft, powdery pillow. If you look out a window everything is white. Keep your mittens, hat, and gear on or you’ll skin could get frostbite. Ouch!  Now you know how to describe snow.  Got to go catch the snowstorm!

By MK

Snow, snow is a wonderful white watery substance.  You can throw it, pack it, and build with it.  Snow is really fun but you can’t stay outside too long because you might get frostbite.  So you should go in side and have a nice and hot cup of hot cocoa, yum!

See you later and go have fun in the snow!

 By TS

Snow is a wonderful form of frozen liquid. The only time snow does not feel good is when it gets in your jacket and it melts. When the snow melts in your jacket, it feels as if someone has just let a trickle of snow down your body. I always hate it when my brother throws snow into my jacket. One of my favorite parts about snow is that you can make snowballs. The best flying snowballs are beautifully shaped so that they look like round lemons. These snowballs fly so correctly that it is about impossible to avoid them hitting you.  The snow’s color is crystal white, which make the snow reflect the sunlight. The reflected sunlight makes winter look like it has more sunlight than summer. When it snows there are two types of snow light snow or heavy snow. Light snow always scatters around your foot when you step in it, while heavy snow flattens under your foot when you step in it. Though snow has many different characteristics it always it stays a wonderful, beautiful frozen liquid!

By KB

Snow, snow, snow, snow, and more snow! I love snow it is like all of your dreams coming true and it is so white you feel like you are blind! Once it snows all the kids put on there snow pants, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves and jackets! Then we race outside and make a snow man. To make a snow man you need to get a hat, a scarf, buttons, two stick for the arms, and one carrot for the nose! After you have those materials role out one big snow ball, one medium size snow ball, and a small snow ball. Put the big one on the bottom put the medium size one in the middle and put the small one on the top! Then after you have those steps done put the buttons on the snow mans belly so it looks like a jacket then put the carrot on the face so it looks like a nose then you put the scarf, hat, and the two stick for the arms! Finally you have a snow man, you actually mad a snow man! Now it time to go inside and have a hot cup of coco!

By JC

Snow, you’d think that it was some sort of food right? Well you would if you had never seen it before. If that is you that I’m talking about you might want to listen. Well the first thing that you should know about snow is that it’s white, sometimes you can make snowballs (they’re like balls made of snow) you could also make a snow fort too it doesn’t matter the size though if you have never seen ice either you should watch out so that you don’t slip on it. Oh and last but not least snow is…COLD but not to worry if you have warm hands it will melt. I said before you would think it was food, you can eat it but always remember to never eat the yellow snow though.

By EB

 Snow it can be fluffy. But it can turn hard after a wile. You can make Snow Men as long as it is good packing snow. You can have snow ball fights. But snow Balls them self’s are harder to make. I think that you can only make snow balls with snow ball makers but that is only me. Most dogs love it you will throw it up and they will try to jump and catch it. But it’s just frozen water but it is cold.

By TW

 Have you ever seen snow before? If you have not then listen up. Snow is like powder also like flour the kind you bake with. But a thing that a lot of people like to do is make snowmen. What I like to do is make forts. What I like is that when the snow falls it lands on the trees It Looks so pretty! Light snow compared to heavy snow is so different because when light snow falls you can barely feel it and when heavy snow falls you can totally feel it all your clothes get soaked. From head to toe. I hope you learned a lot about what snow is.

4K will be joining hundreds – even thousands – of students around the US in a 2010 Census project called “Everyone Counts.”

A big thanks to Jennifer Wagner, a computer teacher in California, for organizing this wonderful math, social studies, and language arts project!