Author: Miss Earhart

We kicked off the week with an extension of our study of quotation marks from last week. Not only do we know how to tag dialogue at the beginning or the end of a sentence, but we also learned how sentences with dialogue can be split in the middle.

In addition, we spent Monday and Tuesday creating special projects about Three Times Lucky. Some students chose to write letters to the author, which they were able to deliver in person on Wednesday. Others designed alternative book covers, some created movie posters, and others made timelines or wrote interviews of characters. They look great!

Thanks to a professional connection with Amelia’s mom, Ensworth was able to add Sheila Turnage to our Patchwork program this year. The author of Three Times Lucky and many other books traveled to visit us from North Carolina. The entire grade gathered with her in the library to hear about how she came up with the idea for the book, the characters, and more. Students were able to ask questions and share their thoughts about the book we all loved so much.

Later in the day, she led two writing workshops with the kids where they went through an exercise to create a character and begin a story. It was impressive to see what they produced.

On Thursday, we kicked off our new novel study of the Newbery Award-winning book by Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux. I read aloud the first two chapters yesterday, and the kids began comprehension questions at home. We also learned some crucial vocabulary before we started the book.

In social studies, we reviewed for our quiz by playing a Kahoot and Around the World. We also began reading books about various aspects of life in the colonies. Students at each table are reading a book together about Science & Medicine, School & Work, Food & Farming, or Clothing & Home.

We had two assemblies this week. Because of the ice storm, our Black History Month assembly was rescheduled for this week. We also celebrated Women’s History Month a little early with an assembly today. A magician came to perform for the kids on Tuesday. Throughout the show, he shared facts about Black entrepreneurs and another Black magician that was his inspiration.

Today, the presenter was a hiker who set the record (by a male or female) for hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has also hiked on six continents.

In Morning Meeting, the kids enjoyed playing the tape-rolling game. It felt a little like curling. They all took turns rolling a roll of masking tape to see who could get it closest to the wall without hitting it or falling over.

They also played games of 5 questions and 3 clues to review for the quiz on the 13 colonies.

We also celebrated Isla’s birthday today! A Leap Day baby, her actual birthday is Feb. 29 – which doesn’t come around again until 2028!

This week has been a very productive one in 4th grade! Students read the final four chapters in Three Times Lucky, and completed their last comprehension questions about the book. They also chose a project on which to work over the new few days before the author visits. Students are designing movie posters, new book covers, writing interviews between a reporter and a character, and more! I can’t wait to see how they put their creativity to use, and we are all looking forward to our visit with Sheila Turnage next week.

In addition, we learned four Greek morphemes this week, all of which are science related: auto, micro, ology and scope. The students had fun coming up with words that include these morphemes and illustrating them.

In grammar, we focused on quotation marks – where to put them and how to use commas, question marks and exclamation marks in conjunction with them.

In social studies, we learned about life in the New England and the Middle colonies. I also introduced the students to the Triangular Trade , the process by which enslaved Africans were brought to the colonies in exchange for goods.

We also had lots to celebrate this week. Liza brought in treats for her half-birthday, we hosted some kindergarteners who paraded through for Chinese New Year, and we attended the preview of the MS play!

On Monday, my class played a few Valentine-themed games of Minute to Win It since we ran out of time at our party. The moved conversation hearts using pencils like chopsticks and tried to build the tallest tower of hearts.

In Morning Meeting, the students enjoyed games of 4 Corners, Pass It!, and Two Arms, One Arm, No Arms among others.

This week we also began talking about and preparing for the ERB tests in April. We practiced some strategies for approaching reading comprehension tests, such as reading the title and scanning the page, identifying the genre and pre-reading the questions. Students will continue to practice this with a variety of passages until the tests.

After examining several picture books and reading many examples of odes, students selected an every-day item to celebrate. Favorite foods, items of clothing, and technological devices were among the topics. Students were encouraged to speak directly to their item, to use repetition, to incorporate similes, and to try personification as they praised their item. The results are creative and clever! Each child also created an illustration to accompany their poem.

We also read three VERY exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky this week. Next week, we will finish the book and prepare for the author’s visit.

In social studies, students worked with partners on an activity about the 13 original colonies. They learned about when each colony was founded, the origin of its name, and which products and industries were associated with the colony.

They also read an article about the Southern colonies. Students learned a bit about the Lost Colony of Roanoke and Jamestown, as they practiced reading for information.

On Friday, 4th graders were excited to see Miss Wickes’s class perform their play, “The Not-So Mysterious Disappearance of Cinderella.” Each student wrote a piece of ‘fan mail’ to a member of the cast.

Of course, everyone was excited to decorate their Valentine bags and swap treats and cards with their classmates. Thank you to the parents for sending in the sweet and salty snacks for the party. Kids in 4E were so busy with their treats, we didn’t have time to play the Minute-to-Win-It games I had planned. We’ll have to do those next week!

In Morning Meeting this week, 4M enjoyed some games of Poison Dart Frog, Two Arms, Follow the Leader and more!

This has been an interesting week to be sure! Students embraced the opportunity to wear comfy clothes, and they were happy to be back with friends, to share about their adventures over the snowy break, and to ease back into the routines of school.

This week we learned a little bit about the Winter Olympics. The students read articles about the first games and the 2026 games. They answered questions and enjoyed making a foldable project showcasing all of the sports.

Later in the week, they read articles about the Jamaican bobsled team and Olympian Bonnie Blair.

We also wanted to capture the memories of Winter Storm Fern and the resulting power outage, so inspired by the I Survived stories, we wrote stories of our own. First we mapped out the beginning, middle and end, listed some vocabulary that we might include, and decided on the setting and tone. Then students wrote their accounts of the last week or so. Many families sent in pictures to include with the stories and we have started a great display in the hallway. If you haven’t sent pictures yet, it’s not too late!

This week we also celebrated three of our friends turning 10! Happy birthday to Nelson, Kate, and Atticus!

In addition, we read three exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky. We will finish the book in the next two weeks, and on February 25 we will have author Sheila Turnage visit! We can’t wait to talk to her about the book and engage in a writing workshop activity.

In Morning Meeting this week, we shared a lot about our adventures over the unexpected break. We also greeted one another with ‘dabs,’ the potato handshake and more. We played games of Smile Tosser and Poisonous Dart Frog.

These girls did a little switcheroo with their sweatshirts. Did you notice? ; )

This week, 4th graders reviewed what they have learned so far about European colonies in North America. They played Around the World and competed with a Kahoot! They took a quiz on the information today.

In language arts, the students learned two more morphemes, two more vocabulary words, and read two chapters in our novel.

In addition, we read a series of picture books to prepare for an upcoming writing project. We charted our observations of the writing. Students noticed similes, personification, and more.

The focus and the highlight of the week for 4E was our class play, “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring.” With only 2 1/2 weeks between winter break and our show to rehearse, we were feeling a little nervous before today’s assembly. I am so proud of how they did! Not only did they deliver a wonderful performance, the class also worked together to set the stage between scenes, pull the curtain, manage their props, and create the scenery! They were up there all by themselves. Way to go, 4E!

Once we returned to the classroom, the students thoroughly enjoyed the delicious cake and some ‘ring’ pops. Fan mail has started to trickle in from other classes, and we look forward to reading more of it next week!

This week, students have taken a close look at three European countries and their settlements in America in the 1600s. Students read articles about Spain, France and England. They took notes, answered questions, and discussed the various ways the colonies were governed, what products they grew and traded, as well as their relationships with the Indigenous people.

In language arts, we learned several vocabulary words this week. Sometimes, we look them up in the dictionary, and other times we copy the information from slides. Every time, students write definitions and create original sentences to share.

We also enjoyed two exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky. Students continue to practice writing in complete sentences and cite evidence from the text when answering comprehension questions.

On Tuesday, we were thrilled to have a Patchwork assembly with Kate Messner. Author of the Ranger in Time and History Smashers series, as well as approximately 50 other titles, Mrs. Messner shared with us where her inspiration comes from and how she develops characters in her books. It was entertaining and informative!

Today, Ensworth celebrated Martin Luther King Day with a LS assembly. We heard from some 8th graders about MLK’s work in Nashville, and some 5th graders competed in a Kahoot! about his life. As always, we danced in and out to Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.”

In class, 4M has enjoyed a series of picture books about the civil rights movement and MLK’s life. 4E has only had time for one so far, since we’re busy rehearsing our play. More to come!

This week, 4E worked with Ms. Coates to create original pieces of art which will serve as our scenery and props for the class play. We are enjoying being on the stage to practice for next week’s performance of “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring.” We look forward to welcoming our families and friends to the 8:55 show on Friday in Frist Hall.

In Morning Meetings this week, students enjoyed games of Sparkle and Arm Hockey, as well as sharing about their weekend and what’s new with them.

The students were excited to see one another back at school on Tuesday. We kicked off the new year by completing a scavenger hunt through the state posters. Each class had to examine the 18 posters from their class to answer the questions. Once they completed that, they enjoyed scanning QR codes on the posters that linked to a variety of websites, songs, and videos about the states.

In language arts this week, students learned two new morphemes and two new vocabulary words from their class novel.

In addition, we learned rules for subject-verb agreement. Students engaged in a cut-and-paste activity on the topic and completed task cards on which they decided whether or not the subjects and verbs agree. We completed a brief assessment today, and we will dive deeper into this topic in the coming weeks.

4th graders learned another type of topic sentence today, and that helped them craft a paragraph about some of the adventures they enjoyed over winter break. In the ‘Winter Break Times,’ they wrote about how they spent their time away from school, and they included tidbits about favorite gifts they gave and received, as well as the best thing they ate!

In addition, we read two more chapters in Three Times Lucky.

In social studies, we are embarking on a unit about colonial America. Students shared what they thought they knew about this time in history, and we read an article together about the Columbian Exchange of goods between the Old and New World. We look forward to learning more next week!

We were excited to have three seniors visit our classroom today. Cate, Harper and Maggie shared about their experiences, the classes they enjoy, and their plans for next year. 4th graders had the opportunity to ask them questions, and we all played Imposter together.

In Morning Meetings this week, the classes shared about their winter vacations and about injuries they’ve had over the years. They enjoyed games of Giants, Wizards, and Elves, and 4M tried playing Arm Hockey!

At today’s Spirit Assembly, several 4th grade boys were selected to compete in for some Black/Orange points. Way to go, Jack, Christian, Jackson and Holden!

We also enjoyed meeting the winter sports teams and cheering alongside our basketball cheerleaders.

My class spent time practicing our lines for the play coming up very soon. I hope they read through their scripts again this weekend!

This week, students were wrapping up their state posters, which included labeling maps, writing paragraphs, and drawing state flags or birds.

The end result is a colorful and educational displauy in our hallway. In the new year, students will have a chance to explore one another’s work.

In addition students researched products from their state. They created a symbol for each crop grown, animal raised, or item manufactured, mined or fished to create an ‘economy quilt’ for their state.

So many state snacks came in this week! There was such a great variety of things for them to try. Charlotte shared homemade Benne wafers from SC with hummus and pimiento cheese, while Anika brought Hershey’s Kiss cookies for her state of Pennsylvania. Aurora shared popcorn for Illinois, and Nelson brought crab dip and crackers for Alaska. Oliver brought in King’s Hawai’ian rolls for, you guessed it, Hawai’i, and Mason baked New Orleans-style bread pudding for Louisiana.

Later in the week, we tasted crab cake balls for Maryland that Christian and his dad made, and Isla brought Key lime pie for Florida. Cooper brought in heart-shaped berry tarts for Oregon. Ellie’s family made Nebraska coffee cake, and Charlie brought in prickly pear-flavored popcorn for Arizona. Finally, Roger made a yummy Texas sheet cake, and Will brought in biscuits with chocolate gravy for his state of Arkansas. Phew! Thank you to all our parents who made this possible by shopping, ordering, baking, slicing and more.

The highlight of the week was the trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Students were split into four groups for docent-led tours of the collection, including the special exhibit about Dolly Parton. They had a chance to see costumes, lyrics, instruments, cars and so much more belonging to pioneers of country music, as well as today’s stars.

The trip concluded with the songwriting session. Our volunteer songwriters were a husband-wife team originally from Florida, Giselle and Erik. They read through 36 sets of lyrics we submitted, and chose six to set to music. It was so exciting for the students to hear one another’s work and for those six students to share about their inspiration for their songs. Congrats to Cooper, Penny, and Amelia in 4E and Charlie, Mara, and Silas in 4M.

In language arts, we reviewed our spelling-vocabulary words, took at test, and read another chapter in Three Times Lucky.

We also celebrated Elliot’s 10th birthday this week.

As is our tradition, the Lower and Middle School students gathered on our last day together for a Holiday Sing-along. Filled with dancing, singing, and games, the morning was a festive way to conclude our semester together.

Once we returned to the classroom, we enjoyed games of Pictionary with holiday song titles, holiday MadLibs, and delicious treats provided by our parents.

Here’s hoping everyone has a fun-filled holiday season. See you in 2026!

4th graders are designing posters about their states. This week, many typed and printed facts, pictures, and maps to attach to the posters. The students are building computer skills as they learn to change colors, fonts, cut and paste images, and even create QR codes!

Much of the time is spent researching in books we brought up from the library. They also perused the internet to find engaging videos and websites they’d like to feature in their QR codes. The posters will be completed next week.

In addition, students continue to learn types of topic sentences and practice organizing and writing paragraphs. This week, they worked on a paragraph about an interesting place to visit in their state. These will be featured on their posters as well.

State snacks are coming in daily. This week John shared Swedish Fish for the Swedes who settled Minnesota, and Rosalie brought Mississippi Mud Cake. Jack taught us that Jell-o is a popular treat in his state of Utah, and Liza brought homemade apple crumble with ice cream for Washington. Caleb shared a yummy cucumber dip from Kansas, and Sally brought in New York bagels.

Mara shared popcorn from her state of Indiana, Kate made a peach cake for Georgia, and Nora made Mackinac fudge from Michigan. We also enjoyed Jackson’s sweet potato biscuits from Alabama and Amelia’s homemade Jolly Ranchers from Colorado.

To review for our quiz on The West, we played games of Around the World and competed in a Kahoot.

The classes enjoyed another chapter in Three Times Lucky, and we worked to sort their spelling-vocabulary words by part of speech.

This book has a lot of characters to keep up with, so this week we also discussed character traits again – personality and physical. The students worked together to identify traits of the main characters. Then they wrote them on color-coded Post-its, and put them on posters for each character.

Today we enjoyed the first of the 4th grade plays performed by Mr. Champion’s class. It was so entertaining! Our class is up next in January, so we will begin working on it next week.

Today we also hosted more prospective students. Thank you to John and Campbell for including their guests and helping them have a great morning.

In Morning Meeting, students shared about what they’d like to have zero of, little -known facts about themselves, and more. They played games of Hidden Clip, Elevens, and Poisonous Dart Frog.

This has been a very productive week in Grade 4! We have learned three new morphemes and reviewed all our current vocabulary words. The students love generating words with each morpheme and creating pictures to help them recall the meanings.

This week, they also finished writing and typing their original song lyrics. The lyrics have been sent off to a professional songwriter whom we will meet on Dec. 16 at the Country Music Hall of Fame. That day, we will be surprised to see which songs have been selected and set to music!

The focus in language arts this week has been on paragraphs. We learned about topic and conclusion sentences, as well as ‘star ideas’ and detail sentences. We worked together to identify and color-code them in sample paragraphs.

We also practiced generating star ideas for paragraphs. Students were given board topics and they had to come up with three parallel ideas about which they could write.

Today, we put it all together after a lesson on character traits. I read Olivia, a popular picture book and the students had to come up with three words to describe Olivia. Then they learned two types of topic sentences they could use to begin their paragraph about her.

In addition, we read a chapter in Three Times Lucky, and students completed comprehension questions.

On Tuesday, we traveled to Nashville Children’s Theatre to see their production of “Charlotte’s Web.” Students were very entertained by the familiar story and enjoyed sharing their observations of creative decisions made about the costumes, casting and set design. We also enjoyed a pizza/fruit lunch back in our classroom afterward.

In social studies, we finished learning about the West region, enjoyed numerous state snacks, and made great progress on our state poster projects.

We enjoyed Campbell’s chocolate-covered huckleberries and huckleberry jam from Idaho and Leela’s biscochitos from New Mexico. Sophia brought homemade chocolate cookies for Massachusetts which were invented at the Toll House Inn. Another big hit was Colette’s blueberry soda from Maine.

Thank you to Will, Elliot, Anika and Amelia for serving as wonderful and welcoming hosts to our prospective students today.

In Morning Meeting this week, students enjoyed games of Hidden Clip, Poisonous Dart Frog, Mind Reader and more. We also had fun with the selfie greeting.