We had a great start to March and are diving into our next inquiry that encompasses social studies and literacy! Third and fourth grade are split for this initial immersion phase for a couple of weeks. The fourth graders are with Mrs. Wentworth and are learning about American Indian residential schools and the third graders are with Mrs. Ganier learning about immigration. With all students the focus is thinking critically about the past and exploring the power of a story. With each topic we are asking questions like: What are the stories here? Whose story is being told? Whose story are we missing? Through looking at data, watching videos, reading picture books and looking at primary sources we are modeling and practicing how to look at a resource and think critically about the information in front of us. After this immersion phase students will have the opportunity to keep studying these topics or make a different choice. From there, students will work in small groups to dive deep into a topic and to practice the skills from our immersion. Students will have text sets that include nonfiction, historical fiction, primary sources, data, maps and images to uncover the stories of the past.
Both topics are heavy and there has been a lot of discussion around how these events and stories make us feel and often it's not good! We want to stress the importance of continuing to talk about these topics at home and also discussing that even though many of these stories are sad, we can find stories of hope and resilience within those same stories. We are also discussing how that these stories are powerful because they help us feel connected to others and feel empathy. To give you an idea of some of the students' noticings and wonderings so far we are including some photos below.
Third grade math:
We are in the middle of our fraction unit and working on having a concrete understanding of fractions and comparing fractions. We've spent time representing fractions using number lines, bar models and circle models. We've noticed that as the denominator gets larger the pieces get smaller and we are able to compare fractions to a 1/2. We will continue to compare and order fractions using different models.
Fourth grade math:
As we finish up our self-paced unit, all students have a strategy they can use to multiply larger numbers. Some students feel confident with the area model, some are using the distributive property, while other have mastered traditional algorithm. This week we applied our strategies to solving real world problems. Up next....division!
Seesaw reflections:
This week you will see some reflections on Seesaw about student led conferences and learning showcases. We are doing a presentation next week for the SAU on these topics and we were looking for student feedback to share with other teachers in the district.
Coronavirus discussion:
There has been a lot of talk about Coronavirus! We talked about the importance of only getting information from trusted adults and we read this cartoon together.
Upcoming:
No school: Tuesday, March 10th for teacher inservice
Immigration day for third graders: Friday, March 13th- parent volunteers please plan on meeting in the cafeteria for 9:00
Fourth grade work with American Indian residential schools:
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