Dear Families, We had quite the busy week in fourth grade! Students have started to prepare for student-led conferences coming up on February 14th, 15th, and 16th. Time was spent reflecting on the goals set back in the fall and reviewing the work that has been completed over the past few months. Each student has identified a few pieces that they are proud of and that they think reflect growth in an academic area. I look forward to these conferences as it is a time for each student to share about their life as a fourth grader. We will also use this time to set goals for the remainder of the school year. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding your conference time. Terry Wolkowicz, from the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, did a follow up visit with Friends Academy. She continued to discuss how to reduce, repurpose, and recycle in both music and with our plastic products. We continued to discuss ways fourth graders can help the environment. One way that fourth graders can contribute to the reduction of plastic waste is to pack reusable forks and spoons with their snacks and lunches. If possible, I have been encouraging students to bring in reusable flatware from home. They can even keep their flatware in the classroom cupboard and I will ensure it is used only by the person that brings it in. This small adjustment in our daily lunches can make a big impact on the environment over time. On Friday, February 8 the Diversity Committee is hosting a Parent Diversity Group gathering in Colin Martin’s classroom from 8:15 - 9:00 am. Please feel free to join the meeting. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math Students have been learning to take what they know about tables and lines graphs to analyze data. They have recorded important vocabulary in their math notebooks such as data, mean, median, range, and mode. This week they practiced finding the mean in a set of data. Next week, they learn to find the median, range, and mode of a set of data. Social Studies Fourth grade finished up our civil rights discussions with the interactive read aloud The Civil Rights Movement. As we read, students explored the different choices people made during this time. Students independently read The Voting Rights Act, which is another interactive historical book. We have concluded our study of the southeast region of the United States. Next week we will travel to the midwest! Language Arts Fourth graders have continued to work on fiction stories. Once students have completed the writing process, they will use a rubric to self-assess their work. Students helped create the rubric, which has allowed them to be a part of establishing the expectations for a published story. The rubric focuses on organization, word choice, and conventions. Take a look at our Books We Read chart now that January is over! It is so exciting to see the different choices students make during Academic Choice. This past week students crafted songs, interviewed faculty members, wrote stories, and so much more. Ask your child what they are currently working on for Academic Choice!
Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families,
The Lower School diversity group shared about identity during All-School Meeting this past Wednesday. We extended this discussion in our classroom by first reflecting on what we heard in the presentation and reviewing some of the different ways people can identify themselves. Below is a list of words that help a person describe identity:
We read the book Let’s Talk About Race by Julius Lester, which is a book about how we all have many different elements that create our story. We discussed the importance of getting to know one another’s stories rather than making assumptions about people. This lead to students exploring and sharing how they view themselves and their own identity. “I am a story, so are you. So is everyone.” -Julius Lester Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math
Language Arts
Social Studies In our individual class and mix it up group we covered the following topics:
There is a lot to unpack with each person or event that was discussed and it seems like we only scratched the surface. The goal was to expose students to these events or people and have them start to understand the role they played in the civil rights movement. Be sure to ask your child what they learned! School Announcements *Friendsfest is coming up on February 22nd. The deadline for registration and to get a free t-shirt is Monday, February 4th. Click HERE to register. *Spring Break Camp is March 11-15. Contact Charley Pellissier for information regarding registration. Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, School will be closed on Monday, January 21st to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since fourth graders are currently learning about the significant events that have happened in the southeast region, it was only natural that we would discuss Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. We also learned about many other incredible women, men, and children that stood up for what they believed in to work towards making a change. Ask your child about some of the inspiring people and important events we learned about this past week. Language Arts Students continued working on their fiction stories that they started last week. Although stories are at various stages of the writing process, a few students read what they had with their classmates. As an audience member, fourth graders were asked to listen for a clear beginning, middle and end, character development, and that the story made sense. It was great to see the different directions stories went in when given the opportunity to write fiction. Book clubs continued to meet and discuss current book selections. Students were asked to write their wonderings on sticky notes while reading independently to later share with their group. Students also identified vocabulary words that they thought were interesting or unknown to them. A theme of a story is the underlying message or big idea. The message can tell us more about human nature or life in general. We brainstormed various themes for our class book Fish in a Tree. A few themes that were identified were:
Math
Just a reminder that Tuesday will be a Monday schedule. Fourth graders will have PE and Art. Have a wonderful long weekend! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful break. It was so nice catching up with the students and settling back into our routines. Family Game Night is on Thursday, January 17th! Flyers were sent home on Wednesday detailing the evening. If you plan on attending, please return the attached form found on the flyer indicating how many people will be attending and if you will be having pizza. The school will be covering the costs of the pizza and water. Pizza and registration will be from 5-5:30 and games will be from 5:30-6:30. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math
Social Studies We are now focused on the fourth pillar in the study of the southeast region of the United States. We started by taking a look at a timeline which showed the length of time for slavery, legal segregation, and the Civil Rights Act. Students were surprised by how long slavery and legal segregation were a part of our history. In our Mix It Up groups, we learned about the heroic stories of Henry "Box" Brown and William and Ellen Craft as they risked their lives to become free. Over the next few weeks we will continue to look at these events and how have impacted our country in an age appropriate way. Language Arts We are almost finished with our class read aloud Fish in a Tree. We have continued to have discussions about friendships and appreciating each other’s differences. Students have also recalled important story details, made personal connections, and asked questions about the characters in their reader’s notebook. At the end of November, our class created a Books We Read bulletin board. Students are asked to write a brief review of a book they have independently finished. Upon our return from break, only eight forms were completed for November and December combined. Fourth graders have been challenged to finish more than eight reviews (as a class) for the month of January. Fourth graders are well on their way to fulfilling this reading challenge! We have started to explore fiction writing during writer’s workshop. Students took time to reflect on what they already know about fiction prior to writing. With help from mentor texts, students are learning how to invent interesting characters, describe believable settings, and develop imaginative plots that make sense. I look forward to seeing what stories are generated during our exploration of fiction writing.
Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid |
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May 2019
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