Star of the Week: April 26-30

Our Star of the Week this week was Nicholas. He started off his Star Week by bringing a snack to share with us. We all enjoyed some delicious tortilla chips. He also had his mom come to school and have lunch with him. Finally, he chose to have Stuffed Animal Day. We will all bring our stuffed animals to school next Monday, May 3rd (to not conflict with Junior Achievement and Famous Missourians). Thanks for being a great Star of the Week, Nicholas!

Star of the Week: April 19-23

Our Star of the Week this week is Julian. On Tuesday, April 20, our class interviewed him.

Alvin: Why do you like Derek Jeter?

Julian: He is good at hitting and fielding.

Maria: If you had as much money as you wanted, what would you buy?

Julian: Yankee tickets.

Garret: What is your least favorite baseball team (besides the Cubs)?

Julian: Orioles.

Eric: What would you buy if you had a million dollars?

Julian: A mansion.

Kayla: When did you start playing soccer?

Julian: When I was three.

Kara: If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Julian: New York.

Jaclyn: What's your favorite kind of ice cream?

Julian: Cookie dough.

Garret: What is your third favorite baseball team (After the Yankees and Cardinals)?

Julian: Rays

Alvin: Why do you wear a lot of Yankee gear?

Julian: I like the Yankees.

Sydney: What's your favorite soccer team?

Julian: I don't know.

Star of the Week: February 22-26

Our Star of the Week this week is Maria. Here is her interview:

Maria’s Interview

Kayla: if you had million dollars what would you buy?
Maria: A convertible

Rebecca: If you had $100,000 dollars what breed of horse would you buy?
Maria: Clydesdale

Jaclyn: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Maria: teacher

Sydney: Why are you scared of the Easter bunny?
Maria: I was scared when I was two, not now!

Alvin: favorite holiday?
Maria: I don’t know… Christmas

Kara: Two favorite stores in the mall?
Maria: Justice and JCPenney

Alvin: Favorite sport?
Maria: Softball

Sydney: Favorite place to go?
Maria: Iowa

Kara: Do you like snow or swimming better?
Maria: Swimming

Zack: What kind of pie do you like?
Maria: I don’t like pie

Ben: Favorite meat?
Maria: Steak

Julian: Favorite baseball team?
Maria: Cardinals

Alvin: Why do you like softball?
Maria: because usually I get to play with my friends

Jaclyn: Favorite book?
Maria: Diary of a Wimpy Kid – the whole series

Zoe: What movie would you like tosee that is coming out?
Diary of Wimpy Kid

Nicole: Favorite Movie
Maria: Avatar

Garret: Least favorite thing to do?
Maria: Being bored

Sydney: Favorite food?
Maria: taco

Star of the Week: February 1-5

Garret was our Star of the Week February 1-5. Here's his interview:

What time did you loose your tooth?
9:35 am

How many teeth have you lost?
About 12

Zack: What kind of pie do you like?
Pumpkin

What’s your favorite season?
Summer

What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
Play sports

Maria: If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
Brazil, maybe

Rebecca: What’s your favorite breed of horse?
Clydesdale

Bennett: Would you rather hit your dad’s car or your sister’s car with a snowball?
My sister’s car

Kara: What’s your favorite ice cream?
Chocolate chip

Kayla: If you had a million dollars, how would you spend it?
On a car… a Ferrari!

Jaclyn: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
Two brothers, and two sisters: Jenny – 20, Greg – 18, Jackie – 15 , Geoff – 14, and I’m 10

Alvin: Who’s your favorite soccer team?
Liverpool

Alvin: Why do you like soccer?
Because it’s fun

Jaclyn: What’s your favorite food?
Mac n Cheese

Bennett: What’s your favorite thing in the whole world?
Money!

Star of the Week: January 25th-29th

Starting this week, we will be sharing a little information about our Star of the Week each week on the blog. Check back often!

Our Star of the Week this week is Alvin. On Tuesday, January 26th, our class interviewed him to learn more about him! Read on for the interview . . .

Sydney: What’s your favorite soccer team?
Alvin: Manchester United.

Rebecca: If you had a million dollars, what would you spend it on?
Alvin: A car.

Natalie: How old were you when you went to your first Blues hockey game?
Alvin: 3 or 4.

Zack: What’s your favorite Bakugon?
Alvin: Maxus Helios.

Garret: If you could go to a different country, what would it be?
Alvin: Italy because I’ve never been there and I want to see what it looks like.

Kara: When did you start liking hockey?
Alvin: 3 or 4, when I first went to my first game.

Jaclyn: What’s your favorite book, and why?
Alvin: I actually like the Star Wars books because it’s a lot of fun to read them and I’ve seen the movies. I know if the movie’s good, then the book’s probably going to be good.

Jaclyn: What’s your favorite place to shop?
Alvin: I don’t like to shop, but I do like Toys’R’Us.

Zoe: What’s your favorite electronic device?
Alvin: The iPhone.

Garret: Who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?
Alvin: The Colts.

Ability Awareness Day 2010

Ability Awareness Day 2010 on PhotoPeach

On Friday, January 22, our class participated in Ability Awareness Day. We spent the afternoon learning about people with all different abilities. We learned about ADD and ADHD, dyslexia, and cerebral palsy. We even got to "roll a mile on someone else's wheels" as we explored what it is like to be in a wheelchair. Students had opportunities to listen to speakers and ask important questions. It was a great learning experience for everyone!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays 2009! on PhotoPeach

Personification

This week, our class read a poem by Valerie Worth called "Safety Pin."

On Friday, we decided to write our own poem about an object:

Soccer Ball
By Mrs. Valter's Class
December 4, 2009

On the ground, rolling
Like an unfinished
Snowball,
Silently bumping
Over soft grass,
Waiting to be
Launched;

In the air, flying
High
Like a
Speckled plane,
A plump bird
Sailing
Toward the net.

Pioneer Day 2009

Pioneer Day 2009 on PhotoPeach

Welcome to the 2009-10 School Year

Our year is officially in full swing, and we have some great things going on in the classroom! Families, please be on the lookout for our first published class newsletter this week. We've been working hard to create it for you!

I would really like to know something that is going well so far this year. Please leave a comment about something so far this year that you have LIKED about fourth grade (parents or students)!

**Remember: Please post as "anonymous" and sign with just your first name--i.e. John or John's mom. What you post is public and can be read by anyone!

Welcome to an exciting new year!

Welcome to fourth grade! I can't wait to meet all of you and start our new school year together!

What exciting things did you do this summer? Please leave a response to share your exciting summer! (Remember, use your FIRST NAME and LAST INITIAL only--please don't share your last name!)

Poetry Tea!

Important Change for Tomorrow’s Poetry Tea!

We are really looking forward to tomorrow’s 4th Grade Poetry Tea! Please note an important adjustment to tomorrow’s schedule:
Guests are invited to begin arriving at 1:30
Poetry readings will begin at 1:40
Refreshments will be served in the cafeteria from 2:15-2:45
We hope to see you tomorrow!

Poetry Resources

Our poetry project is due tomorrow! Remember, you should be copying (neatly, of course) and analyzing five different poems.

Here are some excellent websites with online children's poetry:
Poetry for Kids
Giggle Poetry
Jack Prelutsky's site
Shel Silverstein's site

How do I write a limerick?

A limerick is a silly, five-line poem. It has the rhyme pattern (scheme) AABBA. It usually starts with the pattern "There once was a ______________ named/called __________."

Here is an example of a limerick I wrote in class today:

There once was a pizza named Pie
Who fell down out of the sky
He landed on the ground
Without making a sound
Until he started to cry

Please publish some of your original limericks here!

Attention Percy Jackson fans!

Author Rick Riordan (writer of the Percy Jackson series, including the book The Lightning Thief) will be visiting the St. Louis County Library headquarters on Friday, May 15th. If you are interested in attending, please click here!

Read St. Louis is hosting this event, and will be holding events all through the month of May related to Rick Riordan's writing and the release of the final book in his Percy Jackson series. To find out more information, visit http://www.readstlouis.org.

If you attend any of these events, please comment on this blog post for extra credit in reading!

How do I write a diamante poem?

A diamante poem has 7 lines, and looks like a diamond. It follows this pattern:

Topic
Two adjectives about the topic
Three verbs that end with -ing about the topic
Four nouns or a four-word phrase about the topic
Three verbs that end with -ing about the second topic
Two adjectives about the second topic
Topic (either a synonym or antonym of the first topic)

Here is an example of a synonym diamante I wrote in class today:

Puli

Shaggy, playful

Chasing, running, jumping

Loves tormenting my cat

Wagging, bounding, playing

Energetic, smelly

Dog

Here is an example of an antonym diamante:

Puli

Shaggy, playful

Chasing, running, jumping

Always tormenting my cat

Hiding, hissing, howling

Scared, timid

Oreo

(Puli is my dog and Oreo is my cat)

Please share your original diamante poems by commenting here!

How do I write a haiku?

A haiku is a 3-line poem with 17 syllables. It is usually about nature. The pattern of syllables is:

• first line = 5 syllables
• second line = 7 syllables
• third line = 5 syllables

Here is an example I wrote in class today:

Mole is underground (5 syllables)
Tearing up my dirt and grass (7 syllables)
Won't he go away? (5 syllables)

Please share one of your original haiku poems!

Excavating Rocks and Minerals

This afternoon we worked hard to excavate "rocks" and "minerals" from "earth" like geologists. How many were you able to excavate?

Poems!

Need some great poetry ideas? Want to read some poems by fourth graders you know? Log on to Ms. Balzer's blog by clicking here to read poems written by her class. Don't forget to leave some nice comments!

How do I write a cinquain?

Cinquains are five-line poems about objects or living things. They follow this pattern:
Line 1: Name the object
Line 2: Describe it in two words
Line 3: Write three action words about it that end with -ing
Line 4: Write 4 words that tell how you feel about it
Line 5: Name a one-word synonym for it

Here is an example I wrote today:
Volcano
Exploding mountain
Burning, flowing, destroying
Changing the Earth's surface
Eruption

Please share one of your original cinquains here!