Science

Our class has been learning a lot in science class in our unit called Organisms in the Environment.   We have been able to observe our dwarf African frogs, snails, and guppies.  We have learned so much information about them.  We have discussed vocabulary such as vertebrate and invertebrate, physical characteristics and behavioral characteristics. 

We have also discussed food chains and food webs and the differences between the two.  Using a freshwater marsh as an example, we talked about the impact when one organism is removed (for various reasons).  The students learned that one small removal can have disastrous results on the whole ecosystem and the fragileness of a habitat’s natural balance. 

Ask your child to identify some facts about the different animals we have observed.  See if they can tell you by using some of the vocabulary we’ve introduced! 

 

Social Studies

Our Economics unit is moving along smoothly! We have learned about goods, services, and resources (natural, human, and capital), and have built upon that knowledge to understand entrepreneurship and consumerism. We have read many picture books to help us understand these challenging ideas, as well as used our lapbooks to pullout and record our most important ideas about a topic. In the coming weeks, we will be learning more about how consumers make decisions (wants , needs, and opportunity cost), supply and demand, spending and saving, and how taxes and money are used in a society.

Tying into our social studies unit for economics and our reading study of realistic fiction, the students are beginning the year with a book club of The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.  The students are reading the book and having conversations about the book in a book club format.  Today we had a wonderful group of students model to the class how a conversation would work while the rest of the class gathered around them in a "fish bowl style" to note what to do during a good conversation.  All of the students did a fabulous job of asking questions, listening and responding, disagreeing politely, staying focused and good body listening.  So proud of these fourth graders! 

Character Traits!

In reader's workshop, our class has been working on identifying character traits.  We discussed how an author often doesn't tell you that a character is sensitive or evil, but instead, the author shows you through a character's words and actions.  In our discussion, the students also added a third option - a character's thoughts.  We began by discussing a character's actions and how what they do shows the type of person they are.  The students went off in their own book and identified their own character's actions and from there inferred the character traits.  Check out three students' examples of what they found!

Making Connections

Hello parents!

I apologize for the delay in posting on the blog.  Our students have been busy assessing this September.  Along with assessing, we have been busy setting up our reader's workshop.  Our first comprehension skill has been working on making connections when we read.  We began by listening to the song, "Rachel Delevoryas" by Randy Stonehill and making connections as we listened.  The students were amazing to watch, huddled over their notebooks and discussing their connections to the song.  Many made connections to their lives while others connected to books they have read.  A few students even made connections to what they've heard about in the news about bullying.