RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES We are reading about, writing about, and discussing the rights and responsibilities of being a US citizen. These discussions could go on for days, as the kids have so many wonderful questions about how our government works. I'm hoping their new learning and questions are making it home-they would make great dinner conversations! In reading, students were broken into 4 small groups to read stories that helped answer the question "What are the rights and responsibilities of being a US citizen?" Once the story was read and discussed with their group, students met with kids from other groups to hear about other stories and discuss how each story illustrated good citizenship. We then read a connecting passage that helped bring it all together. Ideas discussed included: serving in the military, jury duty, taking care of animals, peacefully protesting, and helping others being bullied. On Thursday, Jan. 14, we had a special treat. Representative Jim Butler came in and talked with the students about the structure of our government, how a bill becomes a law, and the ins and outs of his job. Then he took the students through an exercise where they proposed bills (that was fun!), voted on which they were most interested in, then voted on one to "become" a law. They chose to decrease the school year from October-April. Keep dreaming, kiddos... :) From there, we moved on to a study of the Bill of Rights. We were introduced to it through a short video, then delved into each of the first 10 amendments. Our focus is really on the 5 rights listed in the first amendment. Students were broken into small groups and asked to list those rights in order of importance to them. They then had to defend why they chose the right they chose as the first. It's a great process for the kids to go through and talk about what each right really means. Students were then asked to go home to discuss these rights with their families and to post on Google Classroom which one they thought was the most important. Here are some of their responses:
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how do electric charges flow in a circuit?Learners in 4K and 4W worked with Snap Circuits this week! Our room was filled with flying fans, buzzers, music, and alarms. Ask your child to talk to you about his/her discoveries and new learning! HOW CAN WE GENERATE EQUIVALENT FRACTIONS?We have started our work with fractions! This is a big area of focus for our fourth grade learners. Our first chapter invites students to look at equivalent fractions and compare fractions. When we return from Winter Break, we will begin our work with adding and subtracting fractional parts.
Math EXPLORERS:QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME How can you find factors and multiples, and how can you generate and describe number patterns? How can you use models or lists to find factors? How can you create a number pattern? DESIGN CHALLENGE:Build a mountain that can with stand the effects of water being poured on it. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME Tell me about the materials you used. How did you measure or determine the amount of run-off? What changes did you make to your original design and materials when you were given other opportunities to build? How will you use what you learned during this experience in your Operation Hillside project? OPERATION HILLSIDEQUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT HOME:
Tell me about The Hunter and the Philosopher.... What were your big take-aways? How will this help you with solving the problem? Show me your group's Google Slides Notebook for your project work! What experts are you hoping to interview, and what information are you hoping to learn from them? I hope everyone had a great winter break and will have a fabulous 2016! It is the beginning of the second semester of fourth grade...do you believe it?! We have much to look forward to in this second half, so let's get to it! We started our time back together by reflecting on what we'd like to achieve in 2016, and what we are looking forward to. Students filled out a large 2016 and thought about: 2 things they'd like to accomplish in 2016, how they would ZERO-in on those things, 1 thing they'd like to improve on, and 6 things they are looking forward to in the new year. These are hanging in each student's personal bulletin board in the hall. English Language Arts We jumped back in full force with our focus on non-fiction text. Students are learning about the various structures that writers use when writing non-fiction pieces. We will apply our knowledge about these structures when reading AND writing. To begin with, students are reading samples of writing written in each type of structure and filling out a corresponding graphic organizer to help them see the parts and how they work together. We have written and will continue to write various pieces using these text structures. We also began our study of figurative language. Similes and metaphors are the first types we learned about. The kids are enjoying trying to understand what some of them really mean! We watched a couple of fun videos to help cement our learning. Links to these can be found on my ELA page. Our mentor texts for the next couple of weeks will add to our understanding of figurative language and how it can be used to create a picture in the reader's mind. Next week's text is a beautiful story about a little blind boy who has to "see" using his other senses. There is some beautiful use of similes to help the reader "see" as well. Social Studies
We started back with a review of the levels of government: local, state, and federal, then spent the rest of the week immersing ourselves in understanding the branches of government as laid out in our Constitution. Students read about, discussed, played games, and watched videos, all to help them understand this very important system. Links to some games can be found on my SS webpage in case you're interested in brushing up on your knowledge! Our discussions are especially interesting in this big election year, as many of the students are tuned in to the upcoming presidential election. We will also get a first hand account of the state system when Representative Jim Butler comes and shares his knowledge with us next week. In the pics below, the students are playing 4 Corners to help review for our quiz. |
AuthorAnne Kenney Archives
May 2016
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