Structures and Functions of Living Things: A Wild Learning Experience!
This past Thursday, our fourth graders had an exciting on-campus field trip with Jungle Jill, bringing our Core Knowledge unit on Structures and Functions of Living Things to life! Scholars also enjoyed a picnic lunch on the field with parent donated pizza.
In the presentation rotation of the day, students had the opportunity to meet several fascinating animals up close while learning how their unique body structures and behaviors help them thrive and survive in their environments.
Throughout the presentation, students discovered that every animal has specialized features that serve important purposes, whether providing protection, helping locate food, capturing prey, or sensing the world around them.
Here are a few of the incredible creatures we met!
African Tortoises: A Built-In Suit of Armor
We met baby African tortoises and learned that their protective shells are much more than hard coverings. Beneath the shell is a network of nerves that allows tortoises to feel sensations from their surroundings. Their shells provide essential protection, and these remarkable animals can live for up to 100 years! Their shells are a wonderful example of how an animal's body structure serves an important survival function.
Kookaburra: A Laugh That Protects
The kookaburra delighted us with its famous laughing call! We learned that this distinctive sound can serve as a protective behavior, helping communicate with and warn other animals. Its strong beak is also an important tool for hunting and catching prey.
South American Red-Tailed Lizard: A Powerful Defense
This large, red-cheeked South American lizard showed us that sometimes a tail is much more than something used for balance! Its powerful tail can serve as a weapon to defend itself against predators. Students also learned about its remarkable forked tongue, which collects scent particles and uses a special sensory organ in the roof of its mouth, called the Jacobson's organ, to help determine the direction of a scent. This helps the lizard locate prey and navigate its surroundings.
Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches: Teamwork and Protection
These fascinating insects demonstrated how they can produce a collective hissing sound by forcing air through openings along the sides of their bodies. The sound can startle or discourage predators. We also examined their exoskeletons, which provide support and protection, and their antennae, which help them sense and explore their environment. What a great example of how even small creatures have specialized structures for survival!
African Ball Pythons: Sensing the World Differently
We met African ball pythons, including a beautiful white-colored python, and discussed how camouflage helps animals blend into their surroundings. Students learned about the python's unique forked tongue, which collects scent particles for its Jacobson's organ to analyze. They also have specialized heat-sensing pits near their noses that detect the warmth of nearby animals, helping them locate and capture prey, even in darkness!
Eurasian Eagle Owl: Built for Silent Hunting
One of the highlights was meeting a magnificent Eurasian eagle owl! With an impressive five-foot wingspan, powerful talons, and specially adapted feathers, this bird is built for hunting. Its soft-edged flight feathers help muffle the sound of its wings, allowing it to approach prey almost silently. We also learned that owls have 14 neck vertebrae, giving them remarkable flexibility to turn their heads and observe their surroundings.
Connecting Our Learning
Throughout our Core Knowledge unit, we are exploring the relationship between structure and function: how the parts of a living thing are designed or adapted to perform particular jobs.
This presentation gave students real-world examples of that relationship:
Protection: Tortoise shells, lizard tails, and insect exoskeletons.
Sensing the environment: Antennae, forked tongues, Jacobson's organs, and heat-sensing pits.
Finding and capturing food: Powerful beaks, talons, and specialized hunting adaptations.
Communication and defense: Kookaburra calls and the hissing cockroach's defensive sounds.
Movement and survival: Owl wings and specialized feathers for silent flight.
The big idea we want students to take away is that living things have structures and behaviors that serve specific functions, helping them meet their needs and survive in their environments.
A huge thank-you to Jungle Jill for bringing these incredible animals to our campus and giving our students such a memorable, hands-on opportunity to connect classroom learning with the natural world! Thank you also, to all the parent volunteers who served our scholars and team all afternoon! We hope you enjoyed your experience as well!
--The Fourth Grade Team
NEWS:
No School on Wednesday 11/11 in observation of Veteran's Day. Consider watching the annual Veteran's Day Parade in Tempe! https://www.downtowntempe.com/do/veterans-day-parade-tempe Mrs. Heisler's son, James will be participating as a part of the ASU ROTC program!
This Thursday is the Science Comprehension Check. Students will need to study their Science books and notes about waves.
Dress Code Notes:
Only school logo sweaters are allowed to be worn in the building. Non-dress code sweaters/fleeces/jackets can be worn at recess only and must be in their backpack/cubby while in the building. Now that the weather is getting cooler, remember that long sleeve shirts worn underneath a polo can be white, maroon, navy, or black. Black or blue leggings are allowed under skirts, but they should reach the sock line (not capri length).
CURRICULUM:
ELA:
The last poem of Quarter 2 is "Norman and Saxon". It is due on Friday, December 11th, but we encourage students to perform as early as they choose.
LITERATURE We are reading more chapters of Robin Hood this week. This is to complete the tale and set us up for Robin Hood Essays at the end of Quarter 2.
We continue our COMPOSITION program with learning how to write a body paragraph and be able to identify all the parts of a 5-paragraph essay. We will take a look at our graded Charlemagne Intro and Conclusion paragraphs to self-assess what we need to work on change when we write our Robin Hood essays beginning in week 6.
In GRAMMAR, we review notes in the red spiral on Predicate Adjectives. Students should refer to these notes to do homework and writing assignments to include these types of sentences in summary and essay writing for the remainder of the year. We will utilize the WOL books, working from concept in chapter 6 all week.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
In LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS our roots are scribe/scriptum = write and graph = written down, printed, drawn. Their derivatives are: scribe, manuscript, scribble, indescribable, prescription, postscript, description, inscription, photograph, paragraph, telegraph, autograph, graphite, phonograph, biography. Scholars should study their 26 Roots Cards every day for 5-10 minutes.
For PHILOSOPHY, we will discuss the history and background of the Norman and Saxon poem.
Math:
We will continue with Chapter 5 concepts which is our first chapter on Fractions. Scholars will order, compare and add and fractions with like and unlike denominators.
Math Test Corrections:
Students will attach a separate piece of paper to their graded math tests and write the problem number of each problem missed. They will re-do the problem correctly and show their work. They will also write a short sentence about why they missed that problem. Students can earn up to 5 points for their corrections. Students who missed no problems, do not need to submit corrections.
Khan Academy Help for Adding with Unlike Denominators
History:
This week in 4th-grade history, students explore pivotal turning points of the late Middle Ages as they dive into the impact of the Black Death and the heroic story of Joan of Arc. Through an engaging interactive simulation and a cause-and-effect fold activity for Chapter 21, scholars analyze how the plague devastated medieval populations while ultimately reshaping European society for the better. Scholars then turn their attention to Chapter 20, reflecting on the power of faith and the remarkable irony of Joan of Arc—a young female serf who rose to drive the English out of France during the Hundred Years' War.
Alongside preparing for our upcoming Comprehension Check on Monday 11/16 and launching their unit lapbooks, students wrap up the week completing Activity Page 20.1 to solidify their understanding of these historic shifts.
Science:
This week in 4th-grade science, scholars conclude their study of wave properties and launch into the biological principle that structure determines function in living things. On Thursday, students complete their Waves Comprehension Check to demonstrate mastery of wave anatomy, motion, and real-life communication. Scholars have study guides in their yellow folders.
On Friday, scholars dive into Unit 3 with hands-on exploration, comparing human hands and animal limbs before conducting a close-observation lab with celery stalks. By sketching and labeling internal structures like xylem tubes, students uncover how plant and animal anatomy is specifically designed to support survival, transport nutrients, and serve vital life functions.
Previous Weeks' Videos to Review for Comp. Check:
W3 Links:
Transverse and Longitudinal Review
Concave and Convex Lens Demonstration
Light Waves, Invisible and Visible
How Light is Absorbed, Reflected, Refracted
W2 Links:
Transverse and Longitudinal Waves 1
Transverse and Longitudinal Waves 2
Longitudinal and Transverse Waves
Q2W1 Links:
Sound and Light Travel in Waves
Remember, the blog is updated weekly. Be sure to come back frequently to see any upcoming events or changes in fourth grade.