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.
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AuthorAnne Kenney Archives
May 2016
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