Tarpul Testing

Engineers use models to observe, measure and label 

the layers of different lithosphere samples. 

4th graders did an amazing job with SBAC testing this week. We've all nearly completed every section. A few absent students or students who need more time will finish this coming week. We are happy to be moving back into a typical school week although the students certainly did like chewing gum and getting some extra time outside for breaks between testing! :) We have some exciting units to finish out the year.

In the afternoons this past week we continued to work on our science unit about weathering and erosion. We are studying the earth's lithosphere and gathering information for an engineering task of selecting a spot to build a special bridge called a Tarpul. Last week students took model core samples of different sections of the earth's crust to decide where the best soil would be to protect the bridges' anchoring in the river bank.

What can you tell about these soil types?

On Friday we also experienced hands on science with a Four Winds session on plants' and animals' defenses. Students got outside and found examples of these defenses right in the front lawn of WCS!

Next week we will begin our final literacy unit on poetry. Using what we've begun to discuss in our read alouds of Love that Dog and Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech, we will go deeper into what the authors' purpose is and what poems are telling us. We will also continue with our engineering work with the Tarpul and will finish our geometry math unit. The Unit 5 math test will be this coming Friday.

We hope all 4th grade mothers got to share a sweet day with your children!