Q3W1 & W2
Hello!
This is Mr. Smith, I will be writing the blog for this quarter and I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break, whether it be by travel or enjoying a staycation. That being said, the festivities have translated into a bright new year with bright new opportunities in fourth grade. Now closer to 5th graders than 3rd graders, our scholars will continue to be challenged in exciting new ways in order to reach the finish line of 4th grade. This can be seen in fun mini-projects, extensive reading, and (finally!) field trips.
News:
We are starting off easy with a half day on Thursday, January 5th. Dismissal is at 12:30p.
January is our month of reading! There is a Read-A-Thon event on Saturday from 4:30p-6:30p on the field to promote (you guessed it!) reading. There will be volunteers and staff alike reading with and helping scholars, so it will be a lot of fun. Don’t miss it!
Our first field trip is on Friday, January 13th, which is just over a week away. We will be going to the Arizona Natural History Museum and Mesa Grande Cultural Park. For this it is vital that students bring an entirely disposable lunch and water bottle. It will be an exciting way to connect with our 3rd quarter history unit; Arizona History.
Remind your scholars to be filling out their reading logs. They should be adding a new entry after reading 150 pages of a book. If they are not reading enough for entries to be made, please encourage them to do so. The goal for students is 15 pages per day. This allows them to reach the overarching 30 “books” in a year and be rewarded with a small prize. However some scholars have catching up to do.
Curriculum
ELA:
In grammar, we will be reviewing contractions, mastering their form and use, before discussing the use of quotation marks. This is key for essay writing, creative writing, and to understand literature. In week two, we will then transition into the vital element of language called prepositions. This concept is foundational for grammar and will be when we begin using our second WOL books.
Literature is our poetry unit, not to be confused with our poems for recital. Students will need to bring their copy of Harp and Laurel Wreath on Thursday, January 5th, as we jump straight into it. For these early weeks, we will be discussing the nature of poems, figurative language, and imagery. We then will learn and write specific models of poems, including color poems, quatrains, haikus, and parts-of-speech poems.
Our poem for recitation will be the same for the entire quarter; Paul Revere’s Ride. Each week students will be expected to learn a new stanza in order to recite privately to a teacher. After we get through the entire poem, 13 weeks of hard work, the grade will perform a group recitation for parents to watch. I know it looks like a lot, but the students are capable of great things and this is a chance for them to shine. A link to the poem is on the right column of this blog.
Latin and Greek roots pick up next week with the following roots: Geo-, Terra-, and Naut- /Nav-. Students will be expected to spell the following words: geology, geography, geode, territory, terrestrial, subterranean, nautical, astronaut, navigate, circumnavigate.
In our philosophy unit, we will be discussing 3rd quarter goals as well as the poem Dreams by Langston Hughes.
Math
In math, we continue to dissect the concept of fractions, delving further into mixed numbers and their real world applications. This starts as understanding 2-step word problems and continues onto the use of units and their significance. We will also multiply fractions by whole numbers, analyze fractions as multiples of another fraction, and learn how to make/use line plots.
HIstory
In history, we will be complementing our field trip as we delve into Arizona History. This begins with a deep dive into the geography of the state and then understanding the ancient peoples that once called it home, such as groups under the category of Paleo-Indian and Archaic Peoples. This will, again, prepare us to understand the rich history behind the Arizona Natural History Museum and Mesa Grande Archeological Site.
Science
In science, we begin next week with our overarching unit of geology. It begins with a literal dissection of the Earth as we will finally be utilizing the playdoh you donated to visualize the layers of the Earth. This mini project will take place on Thursday, January 12th, and yield a craft to take home; don’t miss it!
Remember, the blog is updated weekly. Be sure to come back frequently to see any upcoming events or changes in fourth grade.