Science

Have you ever had one bulb burn out on a string of Christmas lights?  What happens?  Well, if your whole strand darkens then your strand was made using a series circuit.  If the rest of the lights stay lit, then your strand was made using a parallel circuit.  This is what fourth graders discovered this week during science.  After being presented with this problem, students were split into two groups to make strands of lights using a series circuit and a parallel circuit.  After deciding which circuit was best, students wrote a letter stating why the circuit they picked was the most effective for a string of lights.

Accuracy

This trimester TCS students are focusing on striving for accuracy.  Throughout Morning Meeting this week students discussed what it looks like and sounds like when you are working accurately during the school day.  Then students chose one thing that they were going to do with 100% accuracy for the week.  These things ranged from academic goals to routines that they felt as if they were no longer doing correctly.  Ask your child how they were accurate this week!

 

Reading

During our study of Historical Fiction this week students read “Phoebe the Spy” by Judith Berry Griffin.  This is the story of a young African American housekeeper who is asked to spy on George Washington in order to find out who is trying to kill him.  While reading this book students examined the different sources of tension throughout the book, and learned to pay close attention to the passage of time in order to understand the story on a deeper level.

 

Important Dates:

• Monday, January 18th                       MLK Day- No School
• Friday, January 29th                          The Art Walk 8:00am-9:00am
• Friday, February 12th                         Valentine’s Day Concert and Bake Sale
• February 15th & 16th                          February Break