Writers Workshop- Students have started the year developing strategies for gathering ideas for their personal narratives. They are working on being aware of their writing and their individual intent and purpose for each writing period.
Readers Workshop- In 4TD we are busy reading books that are at good levels. Students have been discussing how to have strong book conversations and what it means to read with our minds on fire.
Math- Students in 4TD continue to study basic geometry concepts including polygons and the various names for polygons.
Science- We have begun our study of the structures of life. Students began the unit by studying the properties of seeds.
Social Studies- We began the year reviewing world geography and studying longitude and latitude. We will take a short social studies break as we dive into science.
Word Study- In these first few weeks the class will learn different methods that we will use throughout the year to help us analyze, compare, and think about words.
I just have to add these photos to the blog. One set of photos is of a science experiment we did with our snail friends. We decided to see just how strong a snail really is. We created a paper clip sled, added weights, and attached the contraption to the snail using string and tape. We realized a number of different things from this experiment. One thing we learned was that snails will just keep pulling, whether or not they're strong enough. We also found that a land snail can pull up to nine washers. We did the math and found out that the snail was pulling about 30 times it's own body weight! Pretty incredible.
The photos you see below are of 4TD students working together to recreate their Terra-cotta Warrior. As you can tell from the pictures, this took a lot of cooperation and puzzle solving. Don't forget, you can get any of these photos from the flickr account. They just drag right onto your computer.
While the sun wasn’t exactly sizzling last Friday, the day sure was. Except for the short downpour that resulted in last minute adjustments to the morning’s dynasty dig- everything went off exceedingly well. Thanks to all the support from parents, the 4th graders started the day with fruit, drinks, and donuts to get their energy up for the long day ahead. They then played the role of archeologists as they dug, sifted, organized, and researched artifacts from Chinese dynasties. The pictures above show the entire process, including last Wednesday’s “Cookie Dig” where students learned that patience is a virtue with archeology.
In the afternoon, after a tug-of-war break and a pizza lunch, the 4th grade moved on to Field Day. The pictures below tell you the entire story. All the 4th graders broke into separate groups and had the chance to work hard, play hard, and get exceedingly wet. Nothing better than a slip-and-slide on a school day. Take a look at the pictures and enjoy all the smiles.
For the last while 4TD has studied the dynasties. They've learned about the key events from each dynasty, the important rulers, and more. Students broke up in groups to make a keynote slideshow for each dynasty they studied. These keynotes can be used to help review all the information studied in class. To view the keynotes, click on the name of the dynasty you wish to open. The keynotes have been saved as quicktime movies, and I've uploaded them up to the school portal. I tried to link the keynotes so you could open up the slideshow directly, but the files were a bit too big. As a result, you will need to use the play button to control the slideshow, otherwise it will play on it's own and move quickly from slide to slide.
On Tuesday, 4TD had the privilege of meeting Mr. Dan Williams, an SAS alumnus. Mr. Williams attended SAS from 1926 to 1936 and lived for a total of 15 years in Shanghai as a child. Mr. Williams visited SAS as part of an alumni day, and took time to speak with our class and field questions. In the video you can see below, you can hear Mr. Williams talk about some of his experiences while in China. The clip begins with Mr. Williams talking about watching Japanese and Chinese planes battle it out from the window of his 5th grade classroom. In the second part of the video he is showing an original Shanghai Evening Post from 1937, which came out only a matter of months before the United States entered World War II. Make sure to take a look at the videos- his stories are truly amazing.
Mr. Williams presentation also helped to jump start our new social studies unit. For the last while the class has studied the Chinese dynasties. We will now be moving into studying modern Chinese history. We will be doing this by looking at the history through the lens of Shanghai American School. Tuesdays presentation by Mr. Williams helped to build excitement for our upcoming direction of study.
We had a great visit to the Shanghai Museum today. What made this trip a success was the wonderful support provided by the parents. So thank you so much to all the parents who were able to take time to come out help out. Everyone kept quite busy, visiting a number of different galleries. Overall, it was both a fun and educational experience. Make sure to take a look at the slideshow!
Students studied some of the major landforms in 4TD. After learning the definitions, they created landform maps. Once that was completed, the class divided into groups and each group worked on finding at least ten of the landforms within China using Google Earth. Once they tagged examples of the landforms within China, they were able to play their slideshow. Below is an example of the slideshow that Will, Luke, and Charlie created. To view the rest, click on the names of the students below.
This year in social studies students are studying Chinese history. However, before we dive into teaching it, we focus on geography and landforms. Students first review basic world geography and work from there to Asia and on to China geography.We believe that international school students should have an understanding of this world that they are so blessed to explore and experience. Below is a link to a nice website for reviewing basic world geography. This particular site allows the participant to demonstrate their understanding of the continents and oceans. Click on the link to check it out.
For social studies, we are studying the Chinese Dynasties. As of now, the class has learned about the Great Wall, the first emperor Chi'in Shihuang, and the Qin Dynasty. Throughout this month the 4th graders will continue to increase their knowledge base of the various dynasties. Aside form the text-based work done in class, there is a whole world of knowledge available online. Ms. Blovad found a number of great websites and links that relate exactly to what we are studying.
As part of the Chinese Inventions project, students PowerPoint's that demonstrated how they made their invention model. In class students are presenting their PowerPoint's and information directly to the class. These presentations will be videoed and linked to the blog soon. In the meantime, take a look at the work they've created.
One thing that became apparently clear when speaking with the fourth grade students during the museum was that everyone really knew their topic. This can be attributed directly to the accurate research compiled well in advance of writing the research papers and creating the models. For many students, the research process was entirely new. Students had to learn to ask the right questions, recognize appropriate information, cite their sources, and keep track of notes. The Chinese invention topic was particularly challenging as much of the information has been lost and resources regularly provided contradictory information. In other instances, students had to play Sherlock Holmes to find out any information.
The end result is that students really learned how to work through the research process. They learned that it can take time and effort to get the results they desire.
Below are the essays students from 4TD wrote, utilizing the the information gathered during the research phase of this project.
For the last while 4TD has studied the dynasties. They've learned about the key events from each dynasty, the important rulers, and more. Students broke up in groups to make a keynote slideshow for each dynasty they studied. These keynotes can be used to help review all the information studied in class. To view the keynotes, click on the name of the dynasty you wish to open. The keynotes have been saved as quicktime movies, and I've uploaded them up to the school portal. I tried to link the keynotes so you could open up the slideshow directly, but the files were a bit too big. As a result, you will need to use the play button to control the slideshow, otherwise it will play on it's own and move quickly from slide to slide.
