Dear Families, It is hard to believe we only have one more week of school before spring break. The time between winter break and spring break is a solid stretch of time allowing us to truly delve into our curriculum with few interruptions. By this point in the year, students are comfortable in the routines that were established in the fall and the expectations of the classroom. It has been during this time that I have watched students step out of their comfort zones academically and socially, develop a willingness to take risks, and feel a sense of ownership for their learning. I can only imagine this will continue to flourish throughout the spring. Click HERE to view the slides and videos from the basketball presentation from All School Meeting. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math
Social Studies Fourth graders have completed their themed maps of the midwest. Check them out! Language Arts
To support our social studies curriculum and focus of the midwest, fourth graders have started reading Little House on the Prairie. Assigning the reading for homework allows us to have more time to discuss the book and complete collaborative comprehension activities at school. The students are asked to bring the book back and forth to school since we will be using during our discussions. Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, Fourth graders did such a wonderful job sharing their work at their student-led conferences. I was impressed by their ability to reflect on the strengths and goals from the fall and identify areas they want to work on for the remainder of the year. Thank you for your continued support from home! Below are a few curriculum highlights: Social Studies Students have started learning the states and capitals for the states of the midwest. Each child has chosen a different topic to research for all of the midwestern states. Some topics include: food, flowers, mottos, birds, etc. Students will draw a small representation of what they learned on a map. Language Arts Fourth graders continue to publish stories during writer’s workshop. Once they finish a story they will pick a new one to work on because publishing is an ongoing process. Students will have a choice of publishing a fiction or non-fiction story for their next piece. Book clubs are finishing up their books during reading workshop. Once the book is complete, students will complete two different activities to represent their understanding of the story. Possible activities include: writing a letter to the author, identifying the story theme(s), completing a graphic organizer of important story elements, writing about a favorite part, or picking character quotes that stand out. They will then use the activities to discuss their book club book with members from different groups. Math We have continued to work with data and graphs during math class. Students learned how to read stem and leaf plots as well as insert data into a stem and leaf plot. Students practiced using phrases such as certain, more unlikely, less likely, equally likely, impossible to describe possible outcomes. We have not had much snow this year but fourth graders took advantage of the little we did get! Check out some pictures below! Have a wonderful weekend!
Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, We will be having our student-led conferences on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week. The students have been busily reflecting on their goals from the fall. They have spent time looking through their work to identify pieces that represent growth since the fall, as well as set goals for the remainder of the year. Please let me know if you have any questions about your conference time. Curriculum Highlights: Math During math class we have been finding the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data. To continue this practice, students have the option to bring in a container filled with small objects to be estimated by the class. During math class, students will estimate how many objects are in the container. We will then work together to find the mean, median, mode, and range of the estimations that were made. Objects can be anything from rice to cereal to legos. The objects must fit in a container that is no larger than a loaf of bread. The person sharing must know ahead of time how many objects are in the container. If students would like to participate, they should bring in their share by the end of February. Language Arts There is a lot happening in fourth grade language arts! During writing workshop, student continue to work towards publishing a fiction story. They have been focusing on the organization, word choice, and conventions of the story. We also spent time identifying nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in short paragraphs. The goal of doing this is to encourage students to use a variety of words in their own writing. During reading workshop, students are working on finishing their book club books. We have also started the class read aloud, The One and Only Ivan. Along with reading and writing, students have various academic choice projects going. Social Studies As we move to the midwest, fourth grade has been learning about the native people that lived in the area before becoming the United States. Students read about various tribes that lived in the region to learn about different aspects of their life. I look forward to seeing you all next week. Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid 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 Dear Families,
Next week the entire fourth grade class will be doing a Secret Snowflake activity. This activity is a fun way for students to show appreciation for one another through various acts of kindness. Each child will randomly be given the name of a classmate that they must keep a secret. Each night for homework their job is to create a simple but thoughtful project for their friend. The projects include: writing an acrostic poem, brainstorming a few compliments to share, making a card, and creating a craft. Each person’s Secret Snowflake will be revealed on Friday prior to Winterfest. The Secret Snowflake activity will replace our homework assignments for the week (except for reading). Students will receive a detailed assignment sheet on Monday, which gives them ample time to complete each activity. Just a reminder reminder that Winterfest in Friday, December 21st at 10:30. Students will be dismissed directly following Winterfest (around 12:00) to start our winter break. Below are a few curriculum highlights: Math
Language Arts
Social Studies
Below are a few photos of fourth graders in action! Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, One thing that we know about New England weather is that it is unpredictable. Fourth grade will continue to go outside for recess to get some fresh air as much as the weather allows. Please help your child be prepared for our varying conditions by sending them with a coat, boots, gloves, and a hat. You may also want to consider having them keep an extra of socks in their backpack as our playground can remain wet and muddy for a few days after we get rain. Winterfest will be on Friday Friday, December 21st at 10:30 in the Commons. We will have an early dismissal at 12:00 to start our winter break. Language Arts Fourth graders broke up into groups based on personal interest to form three book clubs. The books currently being read: Number the Stars, The Report Card, and Frindle. Each book club meet regularly to recall important story details, reflect on what has been read, and make predictions about what will happen. Below are a list of “discussion starters” that students will use to help guide their book talks:
We have practiced using these discussion starters for our new shared reading book Fish in a Tree. Math As mentioned in a previous newsletter, games are a wonderful way to strengthen mental math and problem solving skills. 24 has become a class favorite in fourth grade. Students are given four numbers and must multiply, divide, add, and/or subtract to get 24. There are three levels within the game which allows students to choose cards that will give them an appropriate challenge. Students are allowed to play against one another or work together to solve that problem. Below is an example. Can you solve it? (Ask your child for help!) Social Studies
We spent time this week using the online resource Culturegrams along with various books to learn about the sixteen southeastern states. We are also doing a number of activities to help students remember the states and capitals of this region. They will be quizzed on the states, capitals, and locations at the end of next week. Warmly, Brigid Dear Families, I hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving. I loved hearing about how each family spent the holiday. After a relaxing break, everyone came back energetic and refreshed, ready for a full week of school. These next three weeks are going to be very busy and our next break will be here before you know it! Winter break will begin after Winterfest on Friday, December 21th. Please note: Friday, December 21st is a half day of school. On Thursday, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra visited Friends Academy. This year, the Learning in Concert Program focused their presentation on the problem of pollution from plastic. Read more about the program HERE . Language Arts Fourth graders have been introduced to Academic Choice as part of our Language Arts block. Academic Choice gives students an opportunity to choose what and how they learn. The Responsive Classroom Approach believes:
All options for Academic Choice have been introduced and practiced. Academic Choice should not be confused with making a free quiet choice. Each option has meaning and purpose to enhance the learning of the students. For each choice made, students will share a plan of action, have conferences to monitor progress, and reflect on the work completed. Some students are currently doing an inquiry project (KWL) on a topic of choice, writing fiction stories independently, while others are buddy reading. These are just a few of the meaningful activities students are participating during Academic Choice time. Below are a few pictures of Academic Choice in action! Social Studies
We continued to learn about the Trail of Tears that greatly impacted the native people of the southeast region. We had many class discussions and took time to look through books and online resources to gather information. Fourth graders wrote persuasive essays with the goal of convincing Andrew Jackson to not sign the Indian Removal Act allowing the Cherokee tribe to remain on their land. We transition to the second pillar and begin the process of learning the states and capitals of the southeast region. Math Highlights:
Have a wonderful weekend! Warmly, Brigid |
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May 2019
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