4th Grade LRC Lessons

Magazines

We Discussed:
What magazines does Beebe subscribe to?
 When is a magazine sometimes better than a book?
The parts of a magazine, themes, puzzles, comics, contests, projects, regular articles and columns.
How do magazines make money, issue frequency, & intended audience.

We Read & Explored Online:
 National Geographic Kids by National Geographic Society
 Zoobooks by Wildlife Education, Ltd.
 Your Big Backyard & Ranger Rick by National Wildlife Federation
 Muse and Ask by Cricket Magazine Group
 Boys' Life by Boy Scouts of America
 American Girl by American Girl Publishing, Inc.
 Sports Illustrated Kids by Sports Illustrated

Olympics

We Discussed:
 What are the Olympics and why do we celebrate them?
 What are some famous people and events in Olympics past?
What is happening at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada?

We Read:
 Title by author
 Title by author

We Watched:
 Brainpop: Olympics
  Pictures of Modern Olympics 1896 - Present | Timeline of Modern & Ancient Olympics

We Explored:
 The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics site: Games | Video | Mascots | Interactive Map | Torch Relay | Paraolympics
 Olympics in Ancient Greece: Pictures | Video | Interactive | BBC |

Online Resources:
 Facts: Montreal's Olympic Stadium | Winter Olympic History | TFK: Ice Dreams; Bobsledder | About.com
 Quiz: Brainpop | Ancient Greek Olympics | Scholastic | Ancient Olympics |
 Activities: Vote for your favorite Winter Olympic event | Extreme Skiing Puzzle |
 Questions: Previous Olympics Statistics | What makes a sport Olympic? | What do medals look like?
 Crafts: Various | Enchanted Learning | Edible Olympic Flag |Recipes | Beads | Design an Olympic Medal |
 History: Medal Counts | Historic Images | Historic Athletes | Olympic Torches

Prairies & the Midwest

We Discussed:
 The past, present, and future of the Middle West prairie.

We Read:
 Prairie Town by Geisert
 If you're not from the prairie... by Bouchard

We Watched:
 A Madison Junior High School student introduce the FermiLab prairie.
 Mr. Mika build a virtual prairie online!
How did pioneers live on the prairie? Sod homes 1 | 2 | 3

Online Resources:
 Fermilab Panoramic | Prairie Slideshow
 Seasons on the prairie | Map of Grassland Biomes | Biomes/Habitats
 National Geographic Prairies | Prairie Dogs | San Diego Zoo: Prairie Dogs
  Laura Ingalls Wilder | Living Prairie Museum | At Home on the Prairie

Matter

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We Discussed:
 What is matter?
 What are the three basic states of matter?

We Read:
 Matter by Manolis
 States of Matter by Brent

We Experimented:
 What happens to boiling water at -20 degrees? (Liquid -> Gas)
 What happens to bubbles at -20 degrees? (Liquid -> Solid)
 How does the density of liquid matter display itself? (Coke vs. Diet Coke)

Additional Matter Experiments:
 Emergent Nut
 Floating Paperclip
 Ice Cream in a Bag

Online Activities:
 Weight vs. Mass
 Matter Match-Up
 Changing States of Matter Matching