Native American Share Fair & Thanksgiving Celebration

In social studies, we have been learning all about the Native Americans who lived in New York.  For the last few weeks, students worked in groups to research more about the Iroquois and Algonquin tribes.  In addition to our written reports, each group also made a diorama to display a typical scene of the tribe.   We shared our dioramas today with our classmates and parents.  Check out our detailed displays!

After each group presented, we got to enjoy some traditional foods, like popcorn, chestnuts and cornbread.  (We also had some modern treats too!)  Thank you to all the parents and visitors who helped celebrate our hard work!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love,
Ms. Rippe & Mrs. Vanegas

Old Stone House

Our trip to the Old Stone House on Friday was really fun and informative! We learned about how the Lenape used the Gowanus to help them survive. Each group presented what they had learned about the wildlife which lived on the Gowanus Creek. Here are some pictures from our trip!

The Authors of Class 4-309

Finishing up our final drafts...

For the last several weeks, we have been working hard on our realistic fiction stories.  Each writer created a character and brainstormed problems that they might face.  We spent some time planning and rehearsing our stories, thinking of all the different ways they could go.  As we drafted our pieces, we worked hard to stretch out the problem and build tension.  Then in the revision stage, we challenged ourselves to use more descriptive vocabulary, and added setting and character details.  Our published pieces turned out great, and we can't wait to share them with our visitors during Open School Week!

We read each others' stories during an in-class publishing party.

Meet Our Newest Class Members...

After weeks of hard work earning compliments, we finally got our FISH!  Mrs. Vanegas set up the tank last week and bought our catfish and tetras.  The fish monitor is in charge of feeding the fish each day before we go to lunch.  We are making a suggestion box for names--although it is hard to tell them apart!

We love the 80s!

Last Thursday, we had a dress up day to help the 5th graders raise money for their class activities. We dressed in our finest '80s apparel...lots of neon, side ponytails & cool glasses!  We can't wait for next month's dress up day--holiday sweaters!