Spy Lab

4th graders arrived at school today to discover some shocking news...Mango, Bogey (Ms. Shypula's mascot), and Monday (Mrs. Weeks mascot) were missing! We met at headquarters to get our briefing from Agent Bryson and get caught up to speed. Check it out here

Quickly, 4th graders were transformed into spies and ready to use their fictional story element knowledge in order to gather clues and uncover the secret information. We started in the setting spy lab in order to determine WHERE our mascots went. Spies were given clues, which required the use of a magnifying glass, to find different settings. Once spies discovered the hidden black light numbers they were able to crack the code to discover that our suspect took Mango and friends to the book room.

Next, we headed to the character trait spy lab. Agents needed to read passages and answer questions to crack the secret number code. Once they determined the correct numbers they headed to Agent Shypula to get their next clue. With a seemingly blank card in hand, secret agents were able to use their spy black lights to learn that the suspect is cheerful, intelligent, helpful, and caring. 

Finally, we put all our knowledge of the suspect's character traits and the setting together in our final plot spy lab room. With three QR codes in hand, agents scanned to reveal different Pixar shorts. Once they watched the shorts they determined the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Correctly filled in plot diagrams granted them access to a number. With three numbers in hand students unscrambled them to open the briefcase and discover the confidential information. They learned the suspect has been lonely eating lunch at his new job at Howe-Manning School and decided to hide our friend to keep for themselves. 

 It didn't take long for spies to put all the pieces together and learn that Mr. Drouin had stolen our mascots and hid them so he would no longer had to eat lunch alone. To read the full plot click here. 

Secret agents safely rescued our beloved friends. Just another day in the life of a 4th-grade spy. 

Case closed!

Reader's Workshop

Reader's Workshop is well underway in 4th grade. We have been practicing REAL reading (no fake reading here) with STAMINA. We've been enjoying read alouds together, are deep in book club work and even enjoyed some flashlight Fridays. Let's just say, I am one impressed and proud teacher! Not to mention there are tons of comfy spots to stick our noses in our books.

We kicked off our first genre study on fiction with a delectable book tasting. Reservations were made and Klipfel Cafe was packed.

Students were exposed to a wide range of fiction texts. They whet their appetites with historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, adventure, and even mystery books. I loved hearing students hunt for these books in our classroom library, school library, and even Flint Public Library.

Wait, did I mention our noses in books? We are well on our way with our love of reading!