Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays 2009! on PhotoPeach

Personification

This week, our class read a poem by Valerie Worth called "Safety Pin."

On Friday, we decided to write our own poem about an object:

Soccer Ball
By Mrs. Valter's Class
December 4, 2009

On the ground, rolling
Like an unfinished
Snowball,
Silently bumping
Over soft grass,
Waiting to be
Launched;

In the air, flying
High
Like a
Speckled plane,
A plump bird
Sailing
Toward the net.

Pioneer Day 2009

Pioneer Day 2009 on PhotoPeach

Welcome to the 2009-10 School Year

Our year is officially in full swing, and we have some great things going on in the classroom! Families, please be on the lookout for our first published class newsletter this week. We've been working hard to create it for you!

I would really like to know something that is going well so far this year. Please leave a comment about something so far this year that you have LIKED about fourth grade (parents or students)!

**Remember: Please post as "anonymous" and sign with just your first name--i.e. John or John's mom. What you post is public and can be read by anyone!

Welcome to an exciting new year!

Welcome to fourth grade! I can't wait to meet all of you and start our new school year together!

What exciting things did you do this summer? Please leave a response to share your exciting summer! (Remember, use your FIRST NAME and LAST INITIAL only--please don't share your last name!)

Poetry Tea!

Important Change for Tomorrow’s Poetry Tea!

We are really looking forward to tomorrow’s 4th Grade Poetry Tea! Please note an important adjustment to tomorrow’s schedule:
Guests are invited to begin arriving at 1:30
Poetry readings will begin at 1:40
Refreshments will be served in the cafeteria from 2:15-2:45
We hope to see you tomorrow!

Poetry Resources

Our poetry project is due tomorrow! Remember, you should be copying (neatly, of course) and analyzing five different poems.

Here are some excellent websites with online children's poetry:
Poetry for Kids
Giggle Poetry
Jack Prelutsky's site
Shel Silverstein's site

How do I write a limerick?

A limerick is a silly, five-line poem. It has the rhyme pattern (scheme) AABBA. It usually starts with the pattern "There once was a ______________ named/called __________."

Here is an example of a limerick I wrote in class today:

There once was a pizza named Pie
Who fell down out of the sky
He landed on the ground
Without making a sound
Until he started to cry

Please publish some of your original limericks here!

Attention Percy Jackson fans!

Author Rick Riordan (writer of the Percy Jackson series, including the book The Lightning Thief) will be visiting the St. Louis County Library headquarters on Friday, May 15th. If you are interested in attending, please click here!

Read St. Louis is hosting this event, and will be holding events all through the month of May related to Rick Riordan's writing and the release of the final book in his Percy Jackson series. To find out more information, visit http://www.readstlouis.org.

If you attend any of these events, please comment on this blog post for extra credit in reading!

How do I write a diamante poem?

A diamante poem has 7 lines, and looks like a diamond. It follows this pattern:

Topic
Two adjectives about the topic
Three verbs that end with -ing about the topic
Four nouns or a four-word phrase about the topic
Three verbs that end with -ing about the second topic
Two adjectives about the second topic
Topic (either a synonym or antonym of the first topic)

Here is an example of a synonym diamante I wrote in class today:

Puli

Shaggy, playful

Chasing, running, jumping

Loves tormenting my cat

Wagging, bounding, playing

Energetic, smelly

Dog

Here is an example of an antonym diamante:

Puli

Shaggy, playful

Chasing, running, jumping

Always tormenting my cat

Hiding, hissing, howling

Scared, timid

Oreo

(Puli is my dog and Oreo is my cat)

Please share your original diamante poems by commenting here!

How do I write a haiku?

A haiku is a 3-line poem with 17 syllables. It is usually about nature. The pattern of syllables is:

• first line = 5 syllables
• second line = 7 syllables
• third line = 5 syllables

Here is an example I wrote in class today:

Mole is underground (5 syllables)
Tearing up my dirt and grass (7 syllables)
Won't he go away? (5 syllables)

Please share one of your original haiku poems!

Excavating Rocks and Minerals

This afternoon we worked hard to excavate "rocks" and "minerals" from "earth" like geologists. How many were you able to excavate?

Poems!

Need some great poetry ideas? Want to read some poems by fourth graders you know? Log on to Ms. Balzer's blog by clicking here to read poems written by her class. Don't forget to leave some nice comments!

How do I write a cinquain?

Cinquains are five-line poems about objects or living things. They follow this pattern:
Line 1: Name the object
Line 2: Describe it in two words
Line 3: Write three action words about it that end with -ing
Line 4: Write 4 words that tell how you feel about it
Line 5: Name a one-word synonym for it

Here is an example I wrote today:
Volcano
Exploding mountain
Burning, flowing, destroying
Changing the Earth's surface
Eruption

Please share one of your original cinquains here!

The Rock Cycle

Check out this cool game about the rock cycle:

http://www.kineticcity.com/mindgames/warper/

Please respond to tell what you learned about the rock cycle!