Circuits

Last week, we began our lessons on Circuits, and moved into conductors and insulators. While this is a new concept for 4th Graders, they have picked it up quickly! One of the more difficult areas is the types of circuits we are looking at. We are focusing on Series Circuits and Parallel Circuits. Below are pictures and an explanation of each circuit type.


The first type of circuit we are looking at is a parallel circuit. The objects in this type of circuit are independent of one another and do not rely on the other object in order to work.

Parallel Circuits: In parallel circuits, each object has its own separate loop. Electricity doesn’t have to flow from one object to the next object and back to the power source.  It can flow through both objects at the same time. If one object is missing or stops working, THE OTHER OBJECT STILL HAS ELECTRICITY BECAUSE IT IS ON ITS OWN LOOP.

The second type of circuit we are looking at is a series circuit. The objects in this type of circuit are dependent of one another and rely on the other object in order to work. If one part burns out or stops working, it has a direct impact on the other part(s).

Series Circuits: series circuits have everything connected in one continuous loop. Electricity flows from one object to the next one in the loop and back to the energy source. If one object is missing or stops working, ALL OTHER OBJECTS STOP WORKING, TOO

Weekly Snapshots & Remind

What an AMAZING back to school Porch Party! Thank you to everyone who was able to come to Porch Party last night! 4th Grade was so excited to see everyone here and glad that you were able to make it around to meet all of us!

This week's snapshot has been added to the Weekly Snapshots page. Remember to use the password you received on your back to school brochure to access the Weekly Snapshots page.

You will also find a links to some of the different pages that were on your child's desk during Porch Party. Please make sure you sign up for the Remind for ALL OF YOUR CHILD'S TEACHERS. Different teachers will send different information about their specific content area. I will also be sending out any "all grade level" remind messages so we do not bombard you 4 of the same text when we have 4th grade announcements.

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know! Have a great weekend and we can't wait to see everyone back at school on Monday morning!

Porch Party!

Hey Knights!

Don't forget, our Back to School Bash/Porch Party is tomorrow night! Bring your school supplies so you have less things to worry about bringing in on the first day of school. I'm so excited and can't wait to see everyone!

Surprise!

Hey there, parents & students!

It's August and school is right around the corner! I hope that you have all had an amazing summer break, did plenty of cool activities, and enjoyed your time off from school.

I have an exciting announcement that I am finally able to share with you. I'm thrilled to be looping up to 4th Grade with you all as your 4th Grade Science and Social Studies Teacher!

I can't wait to see you at Porch Party next Thursday, August 8 fomr 5:30 - 7. Your new Math teacher and ELA/Writing Teachers are eager to meet you, too!


Mrs. Castle, Mrs. Jenkins, Mrs. Hightower and myself hope to see you all Thursday evening!

See you soon! 😊

MyON Summer Reading Challenge!

Hey there, parents and kiddos! I hope everyone has been having a great summer!

Our 3rd Grade Garden!

We've check on our AMAZING garden throughout the year and have some pretty great photos of our 3rd Grade Garden! The kids have done great checking in on our garden during STEAM school, recess, after school, and other random times during the school day when we've had a quick second!

As of today, we have 7 pea pods, 6 (and counting) pumpkins coming in, and 5 sunflower plants that pass up almost every single kiddo!

This is where we started. Several milk cartons lined up in the window sill of our classroom with Swiss Chard, Broccoli, and Purple Snap Peas. (We planted the sunflowers and pumpkins directly in the ground later).

The Planets!

These first couple of weeks of school we have be studying the Sun and Planets in our Solar System. We went on a space exploration and discussed different planets as we walked throughout the building to see about how far apart each planet would be (starting at the Sun) based on our scaled down model.

As we have been recording our facts from our space exploration in our planet foldable, we have been listening to the Planet Suite by Gustav Holst in the background! I have been so impressed by all of the connections the kids have been making between the scientific facts, Roman and Greek mythology, and musical score depicting each planet.

While the score we have been listening to in class has just been the audio, I think this video of a youth orchestra playing the Suite is amazing to watch. :)