Roland Smith Author Visit

Each year LPS treats its readers to a extra special author visit. Fourteen Lewis & Clark 5th graders who had read all 12 Mark Twain nominees traveled to Heritage Middle School to hear a presentation by the one and only Roland Smith! I am so proud of our readers who set a reading goal and met it. We joined an auditorium full of other readers to hear all about Roland Smith's life and books. We had a blast and really enjoyed getting books autographed.

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Kindergarten Builders and Problem-Solvers

Mission: Using the supplies provided, build a contraption to help the Little Red Hen carry flour. Supplies: TinkerToys, Yarn, Bucket, 5 lb Bag of Flour Focus: Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Fun

The Power of A Book

I recently finished the book, Appleblossom The Possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan (the author of Counting by 7's) Let me start by saying I will read anything that H. G. Sloan writes. What an amazing author! Appleblossom is the sweetest little possum you ever did read about and she totally changed my feelings about possums. They just don't seem quite so nasty anymore:). Just look at that cute little possum waving to you on the cover below. She was drawn by Holly Goldberg Sloan's husband, Gary A. Rosen.

I started reading this book on Monday and found myself headed back to school tonight (Wednesday) after dinner so I could find out what happened to sweet little Appleblossom in the "monster's house." I have always thought that I didn't enjoy fictional animal books. I may be the only person in the world who doesn't like Charlotte's Web. I am beginning to wonder if it is because of the sadness I felt as a little girl when I read about Charlotte…

Fourth Grade Makers: Catapults

For the past couple of years, my 4th graders have started the year with a catapult inquiry project. Each time we work through this unit, I learn something new to improve my students learning. This year we focused more on planning our ideas and building prototypes (they really just want to go in the MakerSpace and begin making) but we really talked about the benefit of planning. Using the Launch Cycle Design Model, we are working through the steps to help us build a successful catapult.
We looked at the plans for our newest school addition to reinforce why the planning process is so important and the details that are required for a successful project.

The planning and design process was taken very seriously!

Working in the MakerSpace during the planning process to see what materials are available for their builds.

A prototype and the plan!

This year I am being a stickler about requiring the kids to build from their plan and not veer off course. Some tweaks may be necessary but they nee…

Lewis and Clark Learns

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