A Food Web

This week in our study of ecology, the fourth graders took on the identity of a local species.  We learned how these organisms within the same ecosystem are interconnected by creating our own "food web."

News and Notes 5/30

A Forest of Factor Trees

With our growing understanding of numbers and computation, this week we added a new skill to our mathematical skill set: factoring.  The fourth grade mathematicians took composite numbers and learned how to break them down into their prime factors.  This means we learned a few new vocabulary terms including factor, factoring, and prime numbers.  We discovered that all numbers can be broken down into small parts known as their prime factors.  To demonstrate our understanding of factoring and channel our creativity, the fourth graders created their own "factor trees."  We will use the skills of factoring to help as we begin working with fractions in the coming days and weeks. 

"Curiouser and Curiouser"

During our Junior Great Books work this week we started reading the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  This classic story has been retold and reinterpreted many times and is a fairly familiar story for the fourth grade readers.  What was most remarkable for us this week was the amount of interesting word-play Lewis Carroll uses in his story.  We discovered that although this is a narrative, there are many examples of poetic language.  Using words for their meaning and their sound and playing with words is a distinct characteristic of this well-loved author.  As we read the story, we borrow a refrain from the text to describe the experience: it's getting curiouser and curiouser!

A Web

After researching different native species, the fourth graders created a large tangled web of interconnectivity.  Using the concepts of the simple food chain, we explored how organisms in a given ecosystem are connected to each other.  We started with the sun which then gives energy to plants which in turn give energy to herbivores and omnivores which then give energy to the carnivores which all provide nutrients for the decomposers.  As we drew these connections we used some string to create a literal food web.  Once we were all tangled together, we started to explore what happens when different forces impact the ecosystem.  Whether it's pollution, deforestation, or irregular weather, the fourth graders observed the ways one force can have a chain effect on an ecosystem.  Even if the species that one child was representing wasn't directly impacted, the dominoes of the food web made it evident that all the organisms of the ecosystem are "in this together."  As we prepared for our ecology field trip to The John Hay Estate on Friday, it was exciting to see just how much the organisms of an ecosystem are connected to each other.

Division Champions

As we move forward with other concepts in math, the fourth graders continue to chip away at their long division work.  We are at the point now where we are just practicing a couple problems each day to work on our fluency and fix up any lingering errors.  We can tell when a learner truly understands a concept when they are able to teach it to someone else.  The concluding assessment for our study of long division is creating a "how to" book.  The fourth grade mathematicians are demonstrating good comprehension and ability with long division by creating some impressive and informative instructional books about long division.  The class is becoming a crew of serious division champions!

Ending Well

How do we combat spring fever in fourth grade?  Well, here's our plan...

News and Notes 5/23

News and Notes

From Fourth Grade

Adventures in Long Division

The fourth grade mathematicians are becoming increasingly more skilled with long division.  This week we practiced the long division algorithm by playing bingo, deciphering secret codes, and even solving word problems involving baked goods.  The more we can work through the steps of long division, the closer we come to being proficient with this essential computation skill.  Our grumbling and hesitation related to long division has significantly lessened as we have become more confident with our abilities.  How exciting it is to add long division to our list of math concepts we've conquered this school year!

Questions?

A rule for the inquiry-based Junior Great Books is that the teacher, as the discussion facilitator, should only ask questions.  During our first few "J.G.B." discussions the students are a bit uncomfortable with the fact that the teacher isn't giving them the right answer or affirming their ideas.  Instead, their ideas only spur on more questions.  It is interesting to watch how students start to build upon each others' ideas and use evidence from the text to support their thoughts.  This growing independence in thinking is an essential skill of a lifelong learner.  Being able to find evidence to support our inferences and conclusions is one way we demonstrate a true and deep comprehension of a subject.  The fourth grade readers are certainly showing their skills, even in the face of endless questions!

Symbiosis

As we looked more closely at ecology this week, we discovered a very interesting term: symbiosis.  The basic idea is that certain organisms have relationships in which one or both organism relies on the other.  We discovered that in some ecosystems there are organisms that live in symbiotic relationships.  Each fourth grader selected a native organism to learn more about.  They researched the habitats, food, life cycles, and interactions with other organisms in the ecosystem.  We ended the week with a simulation demonstrating how organisms in the same ecosystem rely on each other.  We experience how even a small change in an ecosystem can have a large impact because of these relationships. 

Ending Well

It's official.  Spring fever has reached the fourth grade.  The mixture of end of year testing and beautiful weather has allowed for some lapses in our decision making.  This week we took some time to reflect on how we want to finish the school year.  With about one month left, we all created plans for how we are going to end the year well.  From staying focused on learning to using kind words to being safe in the classroom, every fourth grader had great ideas for how to finish well.  After an amazing year of learning and community, we want these last few weeks of our time in fourth grade to be fruitful and enjoyable!  Thankfully these fourth graders are amazing planners and have created some very specific and completely doable plans for making these last few weeks the best of our whole school year!  So, onward we push, in eager anticipation of all the fun and learning we still have left to look forward to as fourth graders!

The End of Testing!

In honor of the end of our recent Science NECAP testing, the fourth grade had a bit of fun.  It's not all business around here...

News and Notes 5/16

News and Notes

From Fourth Grade

Scientists Representing

The spring brings with it warmer weather, sunshine, and for the fourth graders of New Hampshire, science testing.  This week our class demonstrated our great science knowledge and skills with the Science NECAP test.  Three mornings of testing were tiring, but thankfully the students were all able to persevere.  In these potentially stressful times of testing it is a huge comfort to have the support and encouragement of our families and community.  Many thanks to everyone who helped the fourth graders succeed on the test by making sure they were well rested, had extra time to play and relax, and made sure they had healthy foods to eat.  A special thanks to our room volunteer, Diane Brunetti, who provided the students with amazingly yummy snacks each morning!  Our test results will be a while in the coming, but we can say for now that we worked hard and represented the great scientific minds of Simonds School!

Just So Stories

The Junior Great Books series is a collection of classic literature for children.  This week we began reading the fourth grade Junior Great Books.  Our first story was taken from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.  The Elephant's Child is a classic story about childhood curiosity.  Instead of simply reading and discussing the story, we decided to explore a variety of different versions of the story, including an audio book, a digital text, and a short film.  Our discussion of the story is enriched when we are able to pull together different versions and interpretations of the same great tale. 

Word Detectives

This week the fourth graders had multiple opportunities to become word detectives.  As we studied different subjects we found new and unfamiliar words that required our detective skills to figure out.  While reading The Elephant's Child we kept running into the term "insatiable curiosity."  We discussed what "satiate" meant and then tried to put together the idea of what it would mean to have a wondering nature that could never get enough answers.  While reading the story we met a character called the "bicolored python rock snake."  We used our word smarts to determine that this meant a two-colored snake, just like a bicycle which has two wheels.  Then in ecology we ran into the term "life cycle."  We made connections to other uses of the term "cycle" including bicycle and recycle.  We enjoyed being word detectives and putting together meaning based on our prior word knowledge. 

Introducing...

As we move ahead with our research papers, this week the fourth grade writers created the introductory paragraphs of their five-paragraph essays.  We already had all the important parts, so it was just a matter of putting it all together.  We started with a "hook" to grab our readers' interests.  Whether it was a question, an interesting fact, or a surprise, we used specific techniques to make our opening lines attention-grabbers.  From here we put in our big idea sentence, which we are calling our "thesis statement."  Following our thesis comes a preview of our three main supporting ideas, which will be the three body paragraphs of our essays.  It is so rewarding to see our essays taking shape after weeks of researching and prewriting!

News and Notes 5/9

News and Notes

From Fourth Grade

The Family

This week the fourth grade mathematicians met a new family.  This family is actually used as a tool to help us remember the steps of long division.  Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother, Rover, and Chester are the family members to help us remember to divide, multiply, subtract, bring down, remainder/repeat, and check.  The math curriculum in fourth grade has a large focus on computation skills, and we've come to the time of the year when the students are ready for the challenge of long division.  This week we marked the date when many of the students solved their first long division problem independently.  What a significant milestone in our math learning adventures!  We have more long division practice and application coming our way, but we are certainly off to a great start!  

Learned or Inherited?

Hair color, singing abilities, and favorite foods are all characteristics we explored this week in science.  To begin our study of ecology, this week we discussed genetics and the nature versus nurture debate.  We discovered that some characteristics are inherited while others are learned.  We even recognized that some characteristics might be a mixture of both nature and nurture.  The fourth grade scientists showed great interest in the topic of genetics.  Multiple days this week there was a line at the end of the day of students who simply wanted to share connections about the topic of genetics.  As we look ahead to other aspects of ecology, we expect that these fourth grade scientists will continue to show such good engagement and scientific thinking!

Functional Texts

As teachers, we recognize that not everyone will grow up to be an avid reader of classic literature or poetry.  Not every adult will spend endless hours in libraries researching and studying.  We also recognize that everyday, as adults, we are expected to be reading and making decisions based on our reading.  The

kinds of texts we explored this week are called "functional" texts.  From menus and recipes to maps and directions to instructions and manuals, these practical texts require the reader to understand the content and make decisions based on their reading.  The fourth graders showed great understanding of many of the sample functional texts we explored.  Since functional texts so clearly relate to our everyday lives, it was easy to help the students stay engaged and interested in reading and exploring them!  Now the next time you need help with the instructions for building that bookshelf, ordering take-out, or checking a weather forecast or bus schedule, you know a fourth grader who should be both eager and able to lend a hand!

Community

This week as we were working on a variety of independent projects and trying to finish up some "I Owe You" work, I was struck my the community that has been built in our class.  Countless times this week students found simple and practical ways to help each other.  From sharing notes with classmates who were absent to repeating instructions that were missed, to assisting each other with classroom jobs and reminding each other to stay positive and work hard, it was encouraging and uplifting to see the fourth graders work together as a respectful and cooperative community!

Colonial Day

Time travel may not be a true possibility, but with a little imagination we can put ourselves into other times in history.  The fourth graders recently travels back to Colonial America.  We experienced what school, chores, and fun would have been like for children in Colonial New England.  

Electric!

As a part of our scientific exploration of energy, the fourth graders recently discovered electricity by creating their own simple circuits.  With the help of some basic tools, the fourth graders were all successful in lighting their light bulbs.  How electrifying!