End of the Year Activities

With so many things happening during the next 2 weeks, we wanted to send an update on upcoming events to keep your updated.  Be prepared...this is a long email!

Highbanks Trip: 
Thanks to all of the parents that served as tour guides on our annual trip to Highbanks last Friday!  We had a great time, the kids enjoyed every minute of the outdoor adventures, and the weather was perfect for the creek explorations and hiking. Thank you again to all of the chaperones-we could not do this trip without your support!

Wednesday (5/23):  A Visit With The Dublin Naturalist
We invited the Mimi Migliori, the staff naturalist for the Dublin Parks and Rec Department, to return to Chapman and visit with the IMA kids in the Habitat.  She is going to work with the kids and teachers all morning, focusing on the "art and science" of observations during nature studies.  Mimi visited Chapman during the Science Expo and gave an outstanding presentation about Ohio Wildlife.  We are looking forward to her return visit.

Field Day:
Field Day is Thursday, May 24th.  Please be sure that your child dresses for warm weather and brings a water bottle.  Sunscreen and a hat may be a good idea too. Please join us if your schedule allows.  In case of rain, we will have Field Day on 5/25.  The IMA kids will eat lunch outside from 12-12:45 and our field day activities are from 1-3:00.

May 30th:  IMA's Engineering Day!!!
This is a fun event we love to share with the kids as we close out the school year.  We will have SO many pictures to share after this day!  Both classes will work together in our rooms and the hallways during the morning and afternoon.  The kids will have many different choices, activities that foster building skills, problem solving, thinking, and creativity.  Our math workshop, reading workshop and science time blend together for a day filled with fun.  If you have any old gadgets, appliances, boxes, or strange recyclables, please email us and we will let you know if we could use your treasures.

May 31st:  Habitat Day in the Morning!
The last day is always tricky.  We will spend the morning outside enjoying many different activities in our Habitat.  We will have lunch and recess at our normal times.  During lunch, we will enjoy the company of our fourth graders and share a special ice cream treat to honor their special day as they spread their wings and fly off as new 5th graders.  We have our awards assembly at 2:15 followed by music class and the "Clap Out" for our 5th graders.  This promises to be a busy day.

A BIG BOOK FAVOR:
Could all IMA kids please search for any books that they borrowed from the Chapman library and our classroom libraries?  We don't mind loaning books for the summer, but just want any completed books returned so we can pack up our libraries and know where our books are for the summer.

Summer Learning Information and The IMA Pool Party:
Information regarding our annual pool party will come home with the kids in their report cards.  We will have a swim party for all kids that complete the IMA summer party.

The IMA Kids Blog: 
The blog will be available all summer for the kids to use and record summer learning information.  Please encourage your child to keep reading and writing on the blog during the summer months.

We told you that we had a lot of news to share!  Please contact us if you have any questions or comments about the events.  Enjoy these final days of school!

Andrea and Flora

A Book Review Source For Kids: DogEared

Are you looking for a new book to read?  Do you want to learn a bit about a story before you read it? Do you like book recommendations from other kids? National Geographic has a book review site called DogEared and it may be just the digital tool for you!

Follow the link to the website and you will find a list of book reviews.  One page of the website has information about the kids that write the book reviews for National Geographic.  Another part of the website lets you examine the different book covers of previously reviewed books.  There is a helpful list of literary genres down the right side of the page to help you locate book reviews that might be helpful as you search for a book.  I think you will find this website helpful.

Can you guess why they named the website DogEared?

http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/

Guyku-A Poetry Friday Celebration!

What is Guyku?  Is this a strange new meal?  Is it a new class pet?  Could it be a new Pokemon character?

Nope!

It is a book, an idea and a great challenge….It is POETRY!!!!!

Bob Raczka and Peter Reynolds have teamed up to bring you the most interesting collection of poetry.  We have the book in class and a version on Kindle so we can share it on the Smart Board!!!! Better than that….we will start writing our own Guyku and Galku (don’t worry girls, you can participate in this too!)  What is Guyku or Galku?  It is a play-on-words describing a kind of Haiku poetry.  Rather than focusing on nature like traditional haiku, Guyku and Galku are poems that focus on the lives and interests of kids.  How fun is that?!?!

Let’s get ready to enjoy some Kidku today!!!!

Here is a link to Bob and Peter’s website:  http://hmhbooks.com/guyku/

Here is a link to Peter Reynold’s interview about Guyku:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwhGKOhjA0Q

Here is an interview with Bob Raczka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTAG4j3HE9c

The Gift of Poetry

This week our Fourth Graders took the first half of the Stanford Achievement Test.  Each testing day involved Jolly Ranchers and Lifesaver Mints.  Each day after testing, the third graders noticed how the classroom smelled "minty" when they returned to Room 137.  On Poetry Friday, the third graders decided to surprise the fourth graders with the gift of poetry and they created this Lifesaver poem using similes and metaphors.  We worked in pairs and created many similes and then we revised and crafted this poem.  Enjoy!  You will never think of Lifesavers in the same way again!

Lifesavers.....

An alarm clock for your mouth!!!

A mouth preserver- pocket toothpaste

for pepperoni pizza lunch days

A cart-wheeling flavor dancing in your mouth

A steering wheel driving you to the cold wintry Arctic

An "OH" that burns all spicy like a

bouncing hockey puck!

A surprising candy doughnut that sprinkles fun

on testing days.

Congratulations 4th graders for finishing the first half

of the Stanford Tests!!!!

Good Luck next week!

What Do Humpback Whales Really Eat?

I am so intrigued by whales and their secret lives in our oceans.  The latest Humpback Whale story circulating the Web is certainly one to think about the next time you are swimming in the ocean!  

Check out the short article on eNature.com, learn a few things about whales, and then watch the video of some boaters and a surfer who had an unexpected visit with a Humpback.

You can read the article and see the video here:  

http://wild.enature.com/blog/what-do-humpback-whales-really-eat-for-dinner/

Word Study Unit: Compound Words and Prefixes

Dear IMA Families:

In Word Study, we are working on a vocabulary unit.  We are learning about compound words and prefixes.  Students are dissecting compound words and understanding how 2 base words are joined to form a new word with distinct meanings.  Students are exploring how the meanings of words are altered when prefixes are added to words.  At the beginning of the unit we will look at the prefixes: un- (unable),  re- (reboot), and dis- (dislike.)  Here are resources that your child can use at home to extend his or her understanding of compound words and prefixes.

At our Spelling City website:   http://www.spellingcity.com/andreasmithchapman/
I encourage students to play the vocabulary games because this unit of study focuses on the meaning of these vocabulary words.  Students can practice spelling these words but will not be assessed on spelling compound words. They will only be assessed on their abilities to define compound words.
•    Unit 7 lists: Compound Words
•    Prefix lists

Word Study Wonders: http://wordstudywonders.weebly.com/unit-7-compound-words.html
•    Explore the resource links at our website.

Students are enjoying the exploration of vocabulary words that help them become better readers and writers.  Happy Learning! 

Another New Resource To Share!

 

A BIG THANKS goes out to Nick, one of our IMA students.  He discovered a FANTASTIC website called, Wild Facts.  The writer's mission is interesting.  His goal is to write 1,000 posts about animals with the hope of educating his readers about the natural world. You can read about his mission here:  http://www.wild-facts.com/about/

Each weekday, the website creator and naturalist-writer introduces readers to a unique animal and highlights interesting information about the daily animal.  The videos are secured and child-friendly.  The website's index will help readers locate animals of interest.  We are so excited to explore this site!  Thanks again Nick-you discovered quite a treasure!