Grade 4 Archives - Page 9 of 38 - Berkshire Country Day School

4th Graders Create-A-State! March 2018

Dear Families,

I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Spring Break!
I’ve attached a slide show that will give you a quick overview of some of the different activities we’ve been enjoying at school.

I think you can see how intently everyone is working on their written responses to the novel, Locomotion and how attentively they are working on their Create-A-State projects.
Also a few shots of the all important desk clean out, Choice time, Winter Carnival, and stretching along to my favorite Qi-Qong video.

A lot of odds and ends coming home today, snow pants, etc. Let’s hope we dont’ need them in April, I don’t imagine there’s any snow left! And as always, some great work for you to review with them in their portfolios.

Looking forward to a Lunch Bunch in April with Neal’s family that had to be cancelled due to a snow day.

I’m also looking forward to the trip/home journals coming in after the Break and for them to have to opportunity to share their adventures with their classmates.

Again Happy Spring Break to all,

Katharine

To view the slideshow, click this link:

https://www.flickr.com//photos/bcdtech/sets/72157693773508014/show/

By BCD Blog|2018-03-20T15:40:30-04:00March 15th, 2018|

Garbage, garbage everywhere! March, 2018

Dear 4th Grade Families,

In conjunction with our Service Learning Unit this year, we took a trip to Covanta in Pittsfield last week. Covanta is an Energy from Waste facility that processes approximately 240 tons of solid waste every day, converting it first to steam and then to electricity. We really saw the Energy from Waste cycle first hand. I’m not sure if the photos truly convey the mass of garbage we saw all in one place, but perhaps you’ve heard first hand. I don’t know who was more excited about the trip, the 4th graders or Mr. Gore who joined us – he really was a kid in candy store!
I hope to visit a recycling facility as well by the end of the year. We plan on writing up a brochure explaining where our garbage goes, what happens to it after we throw it away and what can be done with it.

Fractions continue to be the theme of most Math classes. One game that proved lots of fun, was ‘Which one is the Outlier?’ out of a choice of 4 fractions. I always look to include problems with more than one right answer, especially in math which is often associated with precision but also has plenty of room for multiple methods and representations. The class quickly created their own groups of 4.

In Social Studies class we have begun our Create-A-State projects and the creative energy is really flowing. They are just finishing the first of five different maps of the same imagined State- the Physical map. Tourist maps, Road maps, Natural resource maps and Landmark maps are to follow. The are applying their knowledge of map scale, map keys, and different landforms as well as arranging and categorizing which information goes into which map, and how to design and illustrate that as well.

As you know after we finished Maniac Magee the class created their own Tall Tales and enjoyed sharing them with each other. Most everyone chose to share theirs and it is gratifying to see them so absorbed in each others unique compositions. Photos are attached in the slide show below.
Thanks to Kara for introducing the class to Sudoku puzzles and to Neal for bringing in two of his Math board games for us to play.

Again, it was great to see so many of you at Bring a Parent to School day. I’m jealous of you all getting time with Mr. Evans on the pottery wheel in Art Class. I’ll get up there one of these days!
I’m sure you’ve all heard that the Talent Show has been rescheduled for this coming Tuesday, March 6th.

Hope you’re all safe and warm on this snowy day.
Best, Katharine

To view the slideshow on a mobile device, click this link:

https://www.flickr.com//photos/bcdtech/sets/72157693738511125/show/

By BCD Blog|2018-03-20T15:30:25-04:00March 5th, 2018|

13 Ways of looking at a Fraction

Dear Families,

The distance lab in the Learning Commons is such a great learning environment and the 4th graders took great advantage of it this week to continue our study of improper and equivalent fractions, along with mixed numbers, common factors and how to put fractions in their simplest form. We’ve used… fractions strips, fractions pieces, cuisinaire rods, numbers lines and the ever popular pizza pie; not quite as many ways as Wallace Stevens looked at a Blackbird, but give us time.
After watching a few different videos showing different ways to compare fractions, the kids went to work on putting fractions in their simplest form, and saw that all that work learning multiplication really does pay off!

The Valentine’s party was great fun. Thank you to all the parents who provided the goodies to make it special. It knocks me out to see how genuinely appreciative they are for each and every card they receive and how much work and care goes into their preparation. There are a couple of shots in the slide show that show just how excited they were to share their cards with each other.

We continue to work away at the geography of the USA, the poetry of our reading book Locomotion, atlases, spelling rules, map keys, and keyboarding skills.
I have worked hard to make sure desks and cubbies stay (somewhat) clean, coats are always picked and everything that is used is then put away. These habits contribute to a general respect of our classroom, our school and the teachers and staff that work alongside them to keep it the special place it is.

Thanks to Neal for bringing in his math games from home and to all the parents who were able to sneak away from work and visit the classroom for Bring a Parent to School Day. It makes me proud to see how proud they are to share their work with you.

Enjoy the long weekend!
Best, Katharine

To view the slideshow on a mobile device, click this link:
https://www.flickr.com//photos/bcdtech/sets/72157692657246354/show/

By BCD Blog|2018-03-06T09:55:42-05:00February 16th, 2018|

Cooperative vs Independent learning in 4th grade / January 2018

Dear 4th grade families,

Each Tuesday morning the Middle School meets as a group and each grade takes turns presenting something they have been working on to the rest of the Middle School. Last Tuesday it was our turn and the class did a first class job on presenting an excerpt they learned from Martin Luther King Jr.’s, I Have A Dream speech. I was very proud of each and every one of them. The video is attached for you to watch.

In math class we have moved on to the world of equivalent fractions and mixed numbers. We have been using both fraction strips and fraction pieces to help visualize those concepts.

In Social Studies we are continuing our unit on US Geography. Today we had an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of working cooperatively. Here were some of the comments:

” If you give someone the answer then they’ll never know it themselves for a quiz”, “Sometimes it’s helpful to work with someone else because they can show you a new way or a strategy for figuring something out you would never have thought of”, ” Sometimes you can give hints, or just guide them”, “It’s fun”, “Sometimes, I like to work alone”,”It can help with social skills, having to work with someone else”.

I believe that students need skills in both working in a team and solving problems independently. Part of my job is to determine when to use each of these strategies and give them opportunities for both. Social Studies is a great time to work cooperatively with atlases answering questions about land forms, determining latitudes, labeling rivers and adding cardinal points. Some of the photos in the attached slide show are from Social Studies class, when they’re humming along is when I have a chance to grab the camera!

As part of our Service Learning project, we will be traveling to Covanta, the solid waste facility in Pittsfield on Wednesday. Mr. Gore will join us and we will get a tour of the facility and see how they turn our garbage into electricity! I will be sending home a sheet on Tuesday about how the students need to be dressed for that day.

We’re looking forward to seeing some of you next Tuesday morning at Bring a Parent to School Day. There is a Lunch Bunch on Tuesday as well.

I am personally looking forward to seeing some of the 4th graders at the private lessons Music recital on Sunday. Such talented students!

Enjoy the snowy weekend,

Katharine

4th Grade I Have a Dream Speech from Berkshire Country Day School on Vimeo.

To view the slideshow on a mobike device, click this link:
https://www.flickr.com//photos/bcdtech/sets/72157691132916421/show/

By BCD Blog|2020-01-14T11:31:02-05:00February 2nd, 2018|