Congratulations fourth graders! MCAS testing for the 2011-2012
school year has been successfully completed! You have all worked very hard,
and should be proud of your efforts.
We have entered the last quarter of the year, and with MCAS complete,
the time will surely fly. However, there is still much do learn, see, and
do, so don’t yearn for that summer sun yet! There are many exciting
opportunities that still remain in our future. In reading, we are
integrating social studies and literacy. Students are using their knowledge
of good reading skills such as inferring, making connections, asking
questions, and using context clues to help them learn about Immigration in
the early 1900s. We are learning through authentic biographical texts, which
include excerpts from immigrant children’s diaries, personal interview, and
real photographs of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island for the first time!
Students will use the knowledge they acquire to write an autobiography from
the perspective of an immigrant child.
Students have engaged in the scientific engineering process, and are
currently moving on to becoming local botanists. For the remainder of the
school year, students will be closely studying plants, their life cycle, and
the process of pollination. They will also have the chance to grow plants,
and adapt what they learned about soil to determine which nutrients and soil
types help to grow the strongest and healthiest plant life! In addition, we
have our field trip to the Wachusett Reservoir Watershed. During this time,
students will observe the water cycle in action, follow their local
watershed, make observations about various plant life, and locate areas of
erosion and weathering. This field trip truly is a great opportunity to
synthesize all the concepts students have engaged in throughout this school
year.
Furthermore, with the math MCAS complete, the class will be
continuing with the unit on fractions. Students use math manipulatives such
as pattern blocks, tangrams, egg cartons, Hershey Chocolate Bars, and pizza
slices to gain a greater conceptual understanding of equivalent fractions,
and how to sequence fractions according to size. Once that unit is complete,
we will round out the year with a unit on the metric system, and
understanding metric conversions.
As you can see, there is still much left to cover and experience
between now and June 15th. So gear up, it will be a fun ride!
-Mrs. H.
