Fourth graders have been really throwing themselves into geometry lately. Ask your 4th grader about the difference between congruent and similar. In this photo, they are learning about geometric movements called transformations. The girls here are practicing translation (sliding). Ask what the other two movements are. Geometry is definitely a hands-on topic. Since we group [...]

Fourth graders are all working on measurement in their math classes these days. But, since we regroup and switch classes for math, many of them travel down the hall to work with different teachers. Kids in Mr. Brown’s math class had a fun day today finding the linear measurement of everything in sight with either [...]

Linemen from Westar Energy visited Lecompton 4th graders this Friday to teach a bit about electricity and how to remain safe around power lines. The linemen were really impressed with how much students already knew about the topic. They didn’t know that the kids had recently completed a unit on the topic in their science [...]

All three fourth grade classes went to see a dress rehearsal of the Nutcracker at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. The kids just loved it. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Talena was one of the dancers. She was even introduced along with all the other fourth graders in the production. The large hall was [...]

Fourth graders were lucky enough to participate in an educational field trip to Royals Stadium in Kansas City. They rotated between several centers which focused on integrating physics,  history and baseball into fun, hands on activities. Ask your fourth grader about how to hit the ball anywhere you want it to go. You might also [...]

As you probably know, the whole fourth grade splits up into different groups for math. We are all working on multiplication facts through 12s, but we all go about it in different ways. In my class, we are learning songs (with ukulele accompaniment). If you have a child in my math group, ask them what [...]

For one of our first social studies assignments kids went on a tour of our school, clipboards in hand, to draw a map of the building. This introductory map skills activity gave them experience using a compass rose, boundaries (between classrooms) and spacial perception. All of these are wonderful skills for understanding how to read [...]

While reading a story set on the prairie, fourth graders are learning about it’s setting, which is a big part of this story. As a hands on activity, the class marched out to our beautiful Nature Study Site to look at it’s setting. An acre of native prairie and flowers, grasses and trees, its a [...]

During the first week of school, 4B kids brought one of their favorite things to school. They wrote a paragraph explaining why their choice was a favorite. They colored their name and glued it onto the paragraph and also glued a photo of them and their favorite thing. Some students brought stuffed animals or toys. [...]

Third and fourth graders had a wonderful time sliding, swimming and splashing at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center on Tuesday. This celebration is their reward for working so hard on state assessments in Reading ,Math and (fourth grade only) Science. You can tell that they had a really great time. Be sure to click on [...]