Kids Can Be Abrasive!!!

In an introduction to weathering, 4C students got an opportunity to be the primary cause of physical weathering through abrasion. Students received two types of rocks: conglomerate and granite. The students made observations and gave descriptions of the rocks. They even got to form a hypothesis about the effects of the weathering on each type of rock.

 

 

Once the observations and hypotheses were made, the students put each type of rock in a container to shake, shake, shake. They took turns shaking the rocks for five minutes.

 

After five long (and loud) minutes, they got to open up the containers to observe the results.

 

 

 

 

In this experiment, students found that conglomerate rocks weathered faster than granite rocks.

 

 

Singing Math to Memory

Each of us has a different learning style. Our learning styles differ from person to person.  We have auditory learners who learn best by hearing, singing, talking, and explaining. We have visual learners who learn best with having charts, graphs, and pictures. These children want to see what they are learning. We have kinesthetic learners who learn best by manipulating and moving. We have tactile learners who learn best by manipulating and touching what they are learning.

Today in math, students got an opportunity to use their musical abilities to practice place value in a meaningful way. Enjoy the musical stylings of our Sanibel math class.

 

"Mapping Out" Our Education

Students used their Interactive Social Studies Notebooks (ISN) to take notes on various types of maps. In addition, students were able to apply their knowledge of map skills, specifically latitude and longitude, by playing a map game. Their mission was to work as a team and use the information provided to find each coordinate before the time ran out.

Super Soil Sleuths in Science

Day 1 of Science this week is all about being soil detectives. Mrs. Galloway set up four dry samples of soil from a river basin, desert, mountain, and forest. The students viewed the samples using hand lenses and described the soil using their vocabulary words pebble, gravel, sand, silt, and clay. They also observed the soil sample in water to help differentiate the dead plant matter, humus, floating on top. They made a drawing of their observations and came up with a conclusion based on their observation.  These soil mysteries were solved thanks to great scientific investigation.

 

Can We Trust Our Sources?

Learning the importance of reliable research is something that we learn early in Sagemont. Today the students learned that reliable sources include websites ending in .gov, .org, and .edu. Using an internet scavenger hunt, the students found reliable sources to answer questions about their upcoming novels. They answered questions about the author, the setting of the novel, and historical facts.

Not Your Mama's Classroom

Today’s classrooms look much different than the classrooms of yesteryears. Gone are the desks in neat and even rows (replaced with pods and group seating).  Gone are the teachers telling students to sit down and focus (replaced with teachers inviting conversation and manipulation). Gone are the days of boring lessons (replaced with technology and interaction).

Today’s children get an opportunity to be fully immersed in learning. With the use of interactive whiteboards, teachers are able to bring learning to life, and children are more interested in what they are learning. Don’t we all work harder and learn better if we enjoy what we are doing?

Here are just a few ways we are incorporating fun in learning:

 

 

Bullying Prevention

Bullying is a serious subject. Children need to learn strategies to stand up for themselves and to help others who are being bullied. Sometimes it just takes one person to make a big difference.

During this week’s assembly, our administration along with Mrs. Zea, Ms. Perez, Mrs. Arango, Mrs. Padron and Mrs. Guski acted out scenes from the book One by Kathryn Otoshi. This book uses colors to represent personality types.

Blue was a quiet color and got picked on by Red. Though the other colors liked Blue, they were too scared to stand up to Red. Soon, Red became so powerful and mean that none of the other colors dared to defend themselves. Then one day, One shows up and wasn’t scared of Red. In join the other colors until Red realizes that no one is scared of him anymore. Instead of the colors turning around and being mean to Red, they invite him to be part of the group.

This book was good to help highlight that one person can make a difference, being different is okay, and standing up for yourself and others does not have to be negative or violent. Students and teachers alike enjoyed this new take on bullying prevention.

 

Week 1 :)

Wow! Week 1 is in the books (figuratively of course)! This has been a busy week of learning routines, taking assessments, and doing the dreaded homework. However, the first week wasn’t all about boring stuff. The fourth graders also completed a few projects to present to parents at Back to School Night. They worked very hard to pour personality into these fabulous projects. We can’t wait to share the projects on the 24^th!

A link to some of our project photos can be found at:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AgpGWRizxiBt1zMkIz7kbFGhqW7E

Educationally yours,

The Fourth Grade Team

Welcome Back!!!!

Get ready for an exciting new year at The Sagemont School. We are thrilled to have your child in 4th grade, and we look forward to helping them grow throughout the year. 

This year, the fourth grade team will be using this blog to highlight some of your child's learning experiences and showcase some of their academic achievements. In addition, we will have the students create their own blog posts to reflect upon and enhance their learning. 

Keep checking in during the year for new exciting posts!

Educationally yours,

The Fourth Grade Team