Metric Measurement Websites

Play Concentration, Matching or do a Crossword for metric measurement at:
http://www.quia.com/jg/4177.html

Practice reading a ruler in millimeters and centimeters at easy, medium or hard levels:
http://www.funbrain.com/measure/

Play of version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" with metric units and conversion:
http://www.quia.com/rr/96635.html

Practice converting between meters, centimeters and millimeters to build a new shed:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/measuring/lwc/game.shtml

George Washington Websites

Read Geroge Washington’s biography written by the White House:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington

Learn some facts about George Washington through Enchanted Learning’s biography on George Washington.  If you have time, you may take the quiz!

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/pres/washington/

Learn some rare facts about George Washington at the website of his home, Mount Vernon:

http://www.mountvernon.org/learn/meet_george/index.cfm/

Read some letters that George Washington wrote to his family and friends:

http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/multimedia/index.html

Probability Math Websites

Random Ball Picking Machine:
http://www.onlinemathlearning.com/probability-game.html

Record yours results on this spinner game:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_186_g_2_t_5.html

Learn about probability while at the beach!
http://xpmath.com/forums/arcade.php?do=play&gameid=76

See if the door you pick is the one that Monty is behind!
http://www.theproblemsite.com/games/monty_hall_game.asp

Ms. Munk's Math Centers

Play decimal and whole number jeopardy by yourself or with a friend!
http://www.quia.com/cb/8142.html

Compare decimals in SPACE as you shoot meteors:
http://themathgames.com/our-games/decimal-games/place-value/decimal-place-value-math-game

Test your knowledge of ordering fractions and decimals at this site:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/ordering-game.php?m=Dec-Tricky

Play anything from multiplication games to geometry riddles here:
http://www.ezschool.com/Grade4Games.html

Ms. Munk's Language Arts Center Websites

Play a matching game with your spelling word contractions of the week:
http://www.quia.com/cc/86241.html

Play a target game about parts of speech or possessive nouns:
http://www.toonuniversity.com/aol/aol_language_36.asp

Feed flies to spiders with this adjective game:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/adjectives.htm

Wack robots holding verbs at this game:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/verbs.htm

Practice your nouns here:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/nouns.htm

Visit BrainPop for some video tutorials and quizzes:
http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/

Ms. Munk's Language Arts Center Websites

Play a matching game with your spelling word contractions of the week:
http://www.quia.com/cc/86241.html

Play a target game about parts of speech or possessive nouns:
http://www.toonuniversity.com/aol/aol_language_36.asp

Feed flies to spiders with this adjective game:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/adjectives.htm

Wack robots holding verbs at this game:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/verbs.htm

Practice your nouns here:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/nouns.htm

Visit BrainPop for some video tutorials and quizzes:
http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/

Boy by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl's story telling abilities shined through as much through his autobiography as through his fiction works.  Dahl's narrative of his boyhood intrigued me.  I appreciated Dahl's commitment to his writing style.  While reading Boy, I couldn't help but make endless connections to his other authored works.  Dahl's ruthless headmasters reminded me of none other that the dreadful Ms. Trunchbull of Matilda.  And the candy shop of Dahl's walks to primary school pointed to no other book than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (in fact, Dahl explicitly makes this connection for the reader).

Throughout the pages, Dahl includes pictures and letters from his boyhood that make his stories come to life.  I often found myself staring at one of Dahl's pictures, looking for every detail, just wondering if Dahl knew at six-years-old that he would be a famous author one day.  I often forget that the iconic figures in our lives once had a childhood, too.  How wonderful it is that Dahl wrote this book because young readers can see that Dahl had similar trials, tribulations, and triumphs as they do.  Children can read how Dahl transformed from a "normal" boy into a beloved children's book author.  I hope the opportunity will arise in my future elementary school classroom to read Boy as a class.

Nothing touched me more than Dahl's letters signed "love from Boy."  The inclusion of these letters, seeing Dahl's own handwriting signing "Boy," made the title of the book increasingly significant.

When I checked this out at the library, I saw that a sequel accompanies this book.  Titled Going Solo, the book includes more narratives of Dahl's life.  I am relieved there is a sequel, as Dahl ended Boy writing that his adventures post-high school are "a different tale altogether" that "if all goes well, I may have a shot at telling it one of these days."  And he did! In Going Solo, Dahl, in similar story telling fashion, tells the tales of his days in Africa and as a RAF pilot in World War II.  Due to the subject matter, this book would be more appropriate for middle and high school-aged students.  I can't wait to crack it open!