Berkshire Country Day School - 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