May 6, 2017
Meeting a Hero
This week, grade 4 had an opportunity to meet Razia Jan, one of CNN's top 10 heroes of 2012. Razia is known for starting a school for girls in Afghanistan. Friends became connected to her through Beth Murphy, mom of a student in 3rd grade, who made a documentary about her. Middle School students spent time with Razia, and 4th grade was invited for a 30 minute session due to our work with the civil rights unit.To learn more about this inspiring woman, check out the video clip here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/meast/cnnheroes-jan-afghan-school/
(Please note: the article attached to this video is very "heavy", and that information was not shared with the students.)
(Please note: the article attached to this video is very "heavy", and that information was not shared with the students.)
Decimals
This week I reached a milestone in my teaching career. I finally got to take the packaging off a set of decimal cards, ha! Yes, that is correct. This crew blew through fractions and we are headed to the next level - my first time teaching them. We will learn how to name them, what they represent, how they are related to fractions, and how to do some calculations with them. Wo-hoo!
February 24, 2017
We hope you were able to join us at All School Meeting last week for our presentation on "Voices of Change Throughout History". If you were not, here is a review of what was said. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
In fourth grade we have been studying Civil Rights. This is
when people with different skin colors worked hard to end
racial segregation and discrimination in the 1950s and
1960s. Sometimes the leaders of Civil Rights, like Martin
Luther King Jr, led protests or held rallies to show the world
how much they cared about an issue.
We also talked about other rallies that have
taken place throughout history, like anti war rallies and
rallies to support rights of minorities. Recently you may
have seen or heard about rallies in the news. At this time,
we would like you to stand up if you recently went to a rally
or march.
We have selected six different causes that we want to feature here, today. We will present them in chronological
order. We want the audience to know that whether or not you support these individual causes, the most important
takeaway is that we can each use our voices for positive leadership and change, honor diversity and listen to all members of society. Be an advocate, be a friend, and use your voice for good!
when people with different skin colors worked hard to end
racial segregation and discrimination in the 1950s and
1960s. Sometimes the leaders of Civil Rights, like Martin
Luther King Jr, led protests or held rallies to show the world
how much they cared about an issue.
We also talked about other rallies that have
taken place throughout history, like anti war rallies and
rallies to support rights of minorities. Recently you may
have seen or heard about rallies in the news. At this time,
we would like you to stand up if you recently went to a rally
or march.
We have selected six different causes that we want to feature here, today. We will present them in chronological
order. We want the audience to know that whether or not you support these individual causes, the most important
takeaway is that we can each use our voices for positive leadership and change, honor diversity and listen to all members of society. Be an advocate, be a friend, and use your voice for good!
We rally because in the past, women in the United States were not able to vote, and they didn’t have the same rights as men. This changed on Election Day in 1920, when millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time!
We rally for racial justice, for our differences inside and out, and for love. We want the world to know that there is power in ‘different’ , and power in togetherness. We speak for those who don’t have a voice, and we hope for equality above all else.
We rally against war. War is evil and not the answer to solving problems. Groups in the United States have often opposed wars. One of the loudest protest movements was during the 1960s when voices were loudly heard during the Vietnam War.
We rally to raise our voices and tell the world that we need to take care of the Earth and protect the natural environment. On April 22,1970 we had the first ever Earth Day, which is now recognized around the world as a day of education about environmental issues.
We rally for marriage equality. Love knows no bounds, and people should get to marry who they love. In June of 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States recognized that love is strong, love is powerful, and families come in all different arrangements.
We rally for showing the world that women’s rights are human rights. Women gathered last month in cities all over the world with their partners and families to protect our rights, our safety and our families. We recognize that being diverse is a strength of the United States.
February 20, 2017
Social Studies
In Social Studies, the grade learned the difference between protests, rallies and marches. We also looked into the power of our words and the influence that children's voices can have for causes that they are passionate about. Please join us this Wednesday at All School Meeting (8:10am) where we will showcase 6 different causes over time throughout American history. Sneak peek below!
In Social Studies, the grade learned the difference between protests, rallies and marches. We also looked into the power of our words and the influence that children's voices can have for causes that they are passionate about. Please join us this Wednesday at All School Meeting (8:10am) where we will showcase 6 different causes over time throughout American history. Sneak peek below!
Social Thinking
During a social thinking class, we learned about multiple intelligences. We talked about how at school, you are challenged the most with skills that require you to use your linguistic smarts (word smarts) and logic smarts (math/number smarts). Because of this, people do not always have the chance to let their other smarts shine through and be seen. People can start to believe that they are smarter than others, even though it isn’t a fair representation of all the different kinds of smarts!
Take the quiz below to discover your strengths - you may want to take a break halfway through. We did : )
http://www.literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
Special thanks to Ms. Velazquez for helping collaborate on this lesson!
Take the quiz below to discover your strengths - you may want to take a break halfway through. We did : )
http://www.literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
Special thanks to Ms. Velazquez for helping collaborate on this lesson!
September 22, 2016
In preparation for Friday's field trip to the New Bedford Whaling Museum to learn about New Bedford history, 4th grade students got together to take a Kahoot about Friends Academy history. This multiple-choice online quiz allowed all students to log on and use a computer (or other device) to create a screen name and answer questions in real time. We were most interested to learn that Friends Academy was once located in New Bedford....so after the field trip we drove by the original location (what remains is the beech tree) and took a picture.
Below are the other questions that we studied:
Below are the other questions that we studied:
September 15, 2016
Mixed Grade 4 Activities
Speaking of our friend Hank Zipzer, we used him as a springboard to discuss learning differences with the entire 4th grade. We held off on beginning our first official social studies unit to go over this important topic. We talked about how at the end of the story, the teachers decide that Hank should be tested for how he learns best. We watched the short video "What's it Like Being Dyslexic?" in which the character also ends up being tested. In our SBP homeroom, we also read the book Thank You Mr. Falker, which followed a similar theme.
The final component was going over types of learning differences (an "umbrella" term) and the "raindrops" that may or may not go along with them. I think, and hope, that it was eye-opening to all 4th graders that all of us, teachers included, may have some of these pieces. Yesterday, students in here got to try to be the teachers to their peers by leading a nonsense word reading game (requiring students to slow down and decode words such as drenvile and dispote) in addition to a multiplication game that hit all components of multisensory learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile).