Liberty Science Center by James

Field Trip

On October 11, 2013, Knollwood's 4th grade took a field trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. The whole grade needed 3 buses. Wow! The buses had TVs and a bathroom.

Hurricane Generator

My favorite thing at the Liberty Science Center was the hurricane generator. A hurricane generator is where you're in a small room and a machine generates 100 mile an hour winds and shoots water at you. You have to wear a rain jacket and goggles for safety reasons.

 In the hurricane generator.

Science

Everybody learned something new at the Liberty Science Center. The most interesting thing I learned was that a windshield can block 100 mile an hour winds. Now tall buildings have window shields to help people inside.

Capture the Flag by Maisy

Capture the Flag is a very fun sport to play. But when it comes to an argument, you have to be honest. Honesty is something you have to have when you play Capture the Flag. If you want to play Capture the Flag, you also have to have speed and agility. Speed is very important. If you want to try to get the ball you have to run across the field and run back.

The video above was created by Maisy from photos she took at recess.

The Debater by Sophie

For the past two months in class we have been doing two or three debates.

In the debates, first we read a book together as a class, having two ideas about the character and collecting evidence about why that character is being that way.

The photo above is of Sophie's evidence for two conflicting ideas, that the tree is strong and the tree is weak. She collected the evidence as we read The Giving Tree.

After that, we share some of our evidence with our reading partner. Soon, after that, we get in a caucus and order our evidence. Later, we get with our debate partner and we both get about two minutes to speak. Then we get with our caucus and figure out ways to fight back. After that, we get back with our debate partner and say what we came up with with our partners.

I think this is a good way to learn about perspectives because it teaches us that there is no wrong or right answer and many people can have different perspectives. Maybe if you get fifty people in a room, maybe they could all have different perspectives about the same thing.

The video above contains images and video from a recent debate. The video was compiled by Sophie.

KNOCKOUT by Harry

Knockout is played at recess. You play this game by trying to get the person in front of you out by shooting after they missed to get them out.

The game Knockout is played on the basketball courts at recess. If you want to play, you can just join wherever you want.

Personal Narratives around Fair Haven

We are excited to announce that our first published pieces, our personal narratives, are hanging in local Fair Haven businesses. Thanks so much to Tavolo, Fairwinds, and River Road Books for so generously giving us space to share our pieces with a wider audience!


Here's a breakdown of whose pieces are where:

Tavolo - Ellie, Caroline, Connor, Cameron, Jack S., Maia, Marcus, Harry, Patrick, Sophie, Jack M., Megan, Maddie, Harris, Sal, and Lily

Fairwinds - Lucas, Christina M., and Maisy

River Road Books - Quinn, Braiden, Christina U., and James


At the end of each unit, we'll swap out the published pieces and update you with where each writer's piece can be found.

We hope that you're able to stop by and read our class's writing soon!

pieces hanging at Tavolo

pieces hanging at Fairwinds

pieces hanging at River Road Books

Touch Football by Maddie

I like Touch Football because I watch college and NFL football and it makes me feel like I am in the real stadium. But I'm really not.

So the rules are very simple as well, like no jumping on top of each other and you're not allowed to have the ball for more than 5 seconds then the defender can tag you.

The object is to have fun and get as many touchdowns as you can!! You should try to get the football before it hits the ground. Football is a fun, super fun sport! Have fun!!

 

The video above contains photos taken by Maddie at recess.

Fire Safety Assembly by Ellie

This week we had a fire safety assembly and you learned lots about fire safety. For example, "KEEP OUT AND STAY OUT!" and like "Stop, drop, and roll!" And they showed us their equipment they wear when there is a fire and I thought that was cool! You should make a meeting spot outside in case there is a fire.

FIRE!