Mr. Burn's Blog

April 28 - May 2

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:59:11 GMT

We’re going to see the Slim Goodbody Health Musical this Thursday at the Lorretto Heights Theater in Denver. They will need a sack lunch. We’re also visiting the Denver Art Museum and Mint on Thursday, May 15^th.

In science we finished presenting our space stations.

Our final project is the state fair project which is due on Wednesday, May 28^th. The 3/4 teachers are assigning less homework the rest of the year so the students have time to focus on the project.

In social studies we finished up with Texas and studied the aspects of Arkansas. Their brochures are due this Thursday, May 7^th. They have the states quiz this Friday. They will need to know the capital, state bird or flower, a natural resource, and another interesting fact for extra credit.

On Friday we studied the planet Mercury. It’s part of our “planet of the day” lessons.

April 21 - 25

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:12:23 GMT

We are all set for the overnight at the Denver Zoo. We posted more info about the overnight on our 3/4 homepage under documents.

We celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday by watching the Dr. Seuss short called, “The Lorax”. (It has an environmental message.) Then we went out to the playground and picked up trash.

In social studies, we covered the natural resources, geographical features, and capital of Texas. Their brochures are due on May 7^th. The brochure template is on my homepage.

The student presented their space stations to the class this week. I’ve been impressed with the job they’ve done.

We’re going to see the Slim Goodbody Health Musical on Thursday, May 8^th. We’re also visiting the Denver Art Museum and Mint on Thursday, May 15^th. Field trip permission slips are due back this Friday, May 2^nd. (Please make sure to sign both sides.)

April 14 - 18

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:36:43 GMT

The students voted on which animals they would like to donate and here’s what they came up with: 1 water buffalo, 3 sheep, 3 llamas, 5 pigs, 2 heifers, 9 rabbits, 10 flocks of ducks, 3 groups of honeybees, and 2 sets of tree seedlings. Wow!

In science, we learned about some of the important astronomers in history such as Aristotle and Copernicus, and Galileo. We watched a video from Magic School Bus called, Lost in Space. Also, we read an article about the solar system from our Kids Discover magazine.

In social studies, we’ve been studying New Mexico and Oklahoma. We’re learning about the capitals, natural resources, geographical features, and much more.

Space stations and the one page report are due this Wednesday. (They may bring them in early if they want.)

April 7 - 10

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:04:26 GMT

The 3/4 grades have raised over $3,300 for the Read to Feed Campaign. I’m overwhelmed at how they rose to the occasion to help those in need. We’ll be voting this week to determine which animals we want to purchase for the less fortunate families.

In science, we read an article called, “How Big is Big” about the universe. We also reviewed the characteristics of each planet.

On Thursday, we reviewed the states we’ll be studying in social studies. Those states are New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. They will be creating a brochure on a state of their choice. The brochures are due on May 7^th. (The template is on my homepage.)

We get to build our own space stations as part of our science unit. They may use household items such as cardboard, aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, etc. They may also use Legos or any building blocks. The space stations and a one page paper are due on Wednesday, April 23^rd. (The space station sheet template is on my homepage.)

Overnight field permission slips are due back by this Friday. (Please remember to include a check for $35 made out to Stargate.)

March 31 - April 4

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:37:14 GMT

I’ve been very pleased with the generous donations to our Read to Feed program. We will add up the contributions and discuss as a class what animals or plants we want to purchase for the families. Thanks again for all your help with this.

This week in science we finished up with the human body unit. We colored and labeled the organs of the digestive system. We also watched an entertaining and educational video on the digestive system from Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

On Wednesday, we started our new science unit on space. I read the picture book, Postcards from Pluto, a Trip Through the Solar System. We discussed the characteristics and features of each planet.

We get to build our own space stations as part of our science unit. They may use household items such as cardboard, aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, etc. They may also use Legos or any building blocks. (The space station sheet is an attachment on my homepage.)

Overnight field permission slips are due back by April 18^th. (Please remember to include a check for $35 made out to Stargate.)

Just a reminder, we don’t have school Friday due to teacher in-services.

March 17 - 21

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:06:10 GMT

The students are done with CSAP testing for the year! I’m sure they all did a great job.

This week in science we visited Fiske Planetarium. We learned about clouds of gas that will one day form new stars, unusual pairs of stars, clusters of stars that form a halo around our galaxy, and much more.

We finished up our Read to Feed campaign with a Read-A-Thon this last Friday. Mrs. McPherson came in during literacy to read her favorite picture books to our class.

We’ll be collecting checks for the Read to Feed program after spring break. Please make your checks out to “Heifer International: Read to Feed.”. Thanks for your participation in this program. I hope you and your families have a wonderful spring break!

Overnight field permission slips go out today. They are due back by April 18^th.

March 10 - 14

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:42:54 GMT

We are going on a field trip to the Fiske Planetarium on the CU campus tomorrow as an introduction to our unit on space. They will need a sack lunch.

This week in science we measured the length of our digestive system using yarn. We measured the length of our mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestines (four times our height), and the large intestines (our height). Then we taped the yarn together and calculated a final measurement.

This Friday we are having a Read-A-Thon. It’s also a chance for the students to finish out Read to Feed with a strong book tally and encourage a love for reading. Our librarian, Mrs. McPherson, is coming in to share her favorite picture book with the class. If you’d like to come in and do the same, please let me know and we’ll find a time that works. Also, the students can bring in a comfy pillow, a stuffed animal, and wear pajamas that day.

We’ll be collecting their checks for the Read to Feed program after spring break. Please make your checks out to “Heifer International: Read to Feed.”. Thanks for your participation in this program. I hope you and your families have a wonderful spring break!

March 3 - 7

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:19:06 GMT

Our Read to Feed campaign is going strong! The students are eager to make a difference for families in need. The campaign will go on to spring break.

The last Friday before break, all 3/4 classes are participating in a Read-A-Thon. They will be encouraged to bring in books to read and a comfy pillow. Mrs. McPherson and other adults will be sharing their favorite picture books with them also. More details to follow.

We are going on a field trip to the Fiske Planetarium on the CU campus on Tuesday, March 18^th.

This week in science we reviewed the muscle names and types. On Friday, we took a muscle test. After that, we had a guest speaker, Mrs. Doyle, stop by. She specializes in physical training. She taught us how to exercise and stretch the various muscle groups. She also discussed what to do when you injure a muscle.

February 25 - 29

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:02:21 GMT

On Monday we kicked off our Read to Feed community service project. The students were enthusiastic about the opportunity to help people less fortunate than us. We’ll be finishing the project by spring break.

We are going on a field trip to the Fiske Planetarium on the CU campus on Tuesday, March 18^th. (We are studying the solar system in April.) Permission slips are going home in their Monday folders.

This week in science we constructed a paper model of a muscle. We also did an experiment in which we monitored our muscle contractions with a ruler and a pipe cleaner and recorded our observations using the scientific method.

February 19 - 22

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:27:57 GMT

This week in science we learned about the various types of muscles such as skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. Then we constructed a “muscle booklet”.

Tuesday and Wednesday morning the third graders took the reading CSAP. We’ll have the next round of testing for both grades in mid March.

On Friday we had our “Crispy Cream Donut Party” because we won the Valentine’s Door Decorating Contest for the 3/4 grades. Way to go door decorators!

We have an exciting community service project starting today called “Children Changing the World”. Organized by Heifer International, the students recruit pledges for each book they read. The goal is to raise money to buy gifts of livestock for struggling families in another country. We’ll be doing the campaign until spring break. The students will be bringing home information about our community service project today. (Program participation is optional.)

This Tuesday is our music recital. If you can make it, send your child to our classroom at 6:45 pm. They should be done by 7:30 pm. Mr. Osburn requested that they wear nice apparel.