Classroom Snapshot for Grades 4/5
The letter below is a sample of a weekly email communication by 4/5 class teachers to the parents of their students. This is a detailed account of the academic lessons that happened in the classroom, including upcoming events and acknowledgements to parents who so graciously assisted in the classroom, on field trips or with daily logistics.
Social Studies
In social studies, we've been studying maps of California and learning about the four main regions of this remarkable state. At the same time, we've been assembling a map of California using 33 hand-drawn component pieces, learning about how to take useful notes, and documenting our own connections to various parts of California. This unit will culminate with the creation of 3-dimensional maps of California that will be on display during our upcoming parent-teacher conferences.
Mathematics
In math, both the fourth and fifth graders are very close to wrapping up their first unit. The fifth graders have been learning concepts related to algebra; focusing most recently on the order of operations (you might be surprised to know that "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" is a thing of the past) and using variables and trying to plot the patterns on graphs. Meanwhile, the fourth graders have taken a stroll down multiplication memory lane, reviewing all of the tricks they learned for recalling multiplication facts and putting their multiplicative reasoning to use in reading Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! This very special read aloud also helped us think about the difference between area and perimeter.
Science
In science, we have been exploring the world at its most microscopic, looking at atoms, elements and molecules. We began by focusing in on a book, starting with the cover and zooming in on a page all the way down to a single letter, a metaphorical process that offered insight into not only the incredibly small scale of the atomic world but also how atoms, like letters, must follow certain rules if they are to work together and create something meaningful. From there students worked with models to build different atoms and explore how they work, something that will come in handy next week when we move on to elements, molecules, and the Periodic Table of Elements.
Writing, Spelling and Boys' and Girls' Groups
We have also been writing our hearts out, choosing stories from our lives to really "zoom in" on and teasing apart the multiple pieces of a single story. We have also been sharing an amazing range of vocabulary words and practicing being "word detectives" as we build our inventory of frequently used spelling words. Speaking of spelling and vocabulary words, we're going to introduce something next week that we want to give you a heads up about. In addition to the 15 words they've had each week, we will begin to include five "spelling demon" (commonly misspelled) words as part of the homework. They will be required for fifth graders and optional for fourth graders. Finally, we are almost finished with our reading assessments, we have launched the Boys' and Girls' Groups, and we're doing lots of very intentional work on multiple-step directions.
Think About It
A highlight for us each week is "Think About It", a time we have set aside on Fridays to explore one of those questions that doesn't have a right answer as seen through the lens of children's books. The book we read today was "The Three Questions" and I asked them one of those most basic and big questions any of us ever wonders about: why are we here? Some of their answers: "we were chosen", "to live a free, happy, kind and entertaining life", "to do good", "to make mistakes and to learn and to help", and "I am here for a better future. I am also here because of luck." So, ask your 4/5 student about this conversation and ... think about it together!