More pic lits... I love their work... clever poets!

Mary's - I so agree with your poem on reading!

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

Some students have been continuing to work on poetry at home and have created beautiful and clever work! Mary, especially, has taken time to write a free verse and quite a few others. So please, head to our pic lit page and share your thoughts.

Here are samples of the more recent work by Mary and Kate!

Kate captured the danger & fear in the circle of life!

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com



I found this piclit by another author and thought..."How cleaver and how true!"


See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

The launch was scrubbed!!! Check us out on Fl Today's Flame Trench

We watched the crew drive almost to the VAB live on NASA TV!

All pics by NASA.gov

I wondered what my first launch back would be like in a classroom...surrounded by four walls and not out among the thousands of excited people.  Well...the energy and excitement our 4th graders have for the space program is truly out of this world!  We had soooo much fun in 1st and 2nd session monitoring the launch live through NASA TV.   It was a surprize to see the scrub live.  We were watching as the AstroVan was driving up towards the VAB.

STS-134 will be carrying spiders into space!

We asked questions from Jame Dean of Fl. Today's Flame Trench "LIVE" and found out the shuttle is taking up spiders!!  More from NASA...http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/space_spiders.html
and Florida Today's Flame Trench. 
Here is a sample...

10:29

James Dean:  Depending on where you start counting, Caleb. The launch itself only lasts about nine minutes, while landing takes about an hour from the time they start dropping out of orbit. But the countdown to launch lasts three days. And it generally takes at least five months to get a shuttle ready for launch. Friday April 29, 2011 10:29 James Dean

10:28

[Comment From WMSS 4thWMSS 4th: ]  Does it take a different amount of time to land then to take off? Caleb : - ) 10:24

James Dean:  Kaila, as we speak, a team of inspectors is out at the launch pad checking out the entire shuttle from top to bottom. They're officially called the Final Inspection Team, and also known as the "ice team." One of the things they're looking for is ice that could form on the external tank. It or any other loose debris could damage the shuttle heat shields during launch. So we'll want to know if the FIT team is reporting any concerns, but I haven't heard of any yet.

10:22

[Comment From WMSS 4thWMSS 4th: ]  Does anybody inspect the shuttle??? kaila*  9:59 James Dean:  American astronauts living on the station typically stay for about six months. I know some Russian cosmonauts have lived in space longer, but would have to look up the numbers. As for total days, that's an appropriate question for this mission. Endeavour mission specialist Mike Fincke will set the U.S. record for most total days in space during this mission. His total now is just over 365 days -- a full year of his life spent in orbit. Friday April 29, 2011 9:59 James Dean 9:57 [Comment From WMSS 4thWMSS 4th: ]  What is the longest time that the astronauts have been in space? Jaime

The night before...beautiful lightning right off of STS-134's launch pad by NASA.gov

Wow new blog design and no homework!

Countdown...less than 24 hours until Endeavor's launch!

Hi! Well, what do you think? I have a wonderful techy, shabby chic friend who makes blog designs and she came up with this one for our class!!! I was excited and surprised to see the design today because we talked my thoughts on Earth and space science.  Very excited...

OK... No homework.  We worked hard today.  I am truly making their minds think.  Our students know how to calculate numbers, yet have found challenge with choosing the right operation when solving real world problem.   Today we reviewed how to divide the numerator by the 'demonator' (I have no idea why I keep writing that...I'm thinking too much Phineas and Ferb) to get the equivalent decimal.  We tried some harder versions 8/11 and such.  Then we moved on!

Our goals today was to look behind the scenes to see what happens when we double, triple or quadruple fractions.  Some students just knew double 1/2 was a whole...but we took a number line and really worked through what we were adding.  Then, we worked some unusual fractions like 8/11.

Tomorrow we will learn the 'easier' way of multiplying fractions by whole number and try our hand at solving problems where we are increasing the servings for recipes and the ingredients.

Remember...tomorrow is  a BIG day!  We have a Royal wedding and our Endeavor launch!