Class blog
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The fourth grade is very lucky to be piloting a video program for our school! Take Two incorporates the social studies curriculum with acting and video editing skills. Here's what we have done so far: Step 1: We did some research about the Revolutionary War, figuring out what were some factors that triggered it Step 2: We were placed on either Team Loyalist or Team Patriot! Step 3: We collaborated to craft scripts in essay format, stating the historical events, what each side wanted, etc. Step 4: We did voice-overs. A few lucky classmates were able to record their voices reading the scripts, to be superimposed over the video footage. Step 5: We filmed the footage... don't worry, no tea was harmed in the making of these films. Next steps: We are going to learn how real documentary producers manipulate footage to fit their agendas. We cannot wait for you to see the final product! The Patriots looking disappointed to see the high cost of tea after the Tea Act. In the process of filming with the iPad King George on his throne wearing Ms. Greenberg's nice wool scarf as a prop
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During math, we have been trying to work on challenging word problems. The day before Winter Break, we focused on a math problem while simultaneously learned how to make an origami star. You child might have come home with a new holiday decoration... The math problem gave us a brief introduction to geometry and engaged us with division, which is what we are currently learning. We were trying to understand: if the star we are making uses 8 sheets of paper, and the papers are arranged in a circular pattern, how many degrees does each paper take up, given that a circle is 360 degrees? Some "good math practices" seen here include double checking work using inverse operations, representing the answer as a written statement, showing multiple strategies to derive the answer, using visuals to show the work. *Disclaimer: We love to think critically, but don't be too critical of our work! We are budding mathematicians. If you spy an inaccuracy on either of these pages, keep in mind that we are still practicing. We also love to learn from our mistakes. So far we have two enrichment opportunities that we get to experience in school! One is chess classes, taught by Coach Kenny. We have chess once a week for a semester. In each chess class, we learn a new chess skill from a lesson, and we get to practice it by playing a game of chess or two. At the end of the lesson is the reveal of who wins the coveted chess ball- you can earn this by playing a game of chess implementing the skills covered in the lesson, or if you just are very focused. We love chess!
While all classes at PS 111 receive chess lessons, the fourth grade exclusively will be getting dance lessons from the world-famous Alvin Ailey dance studio! We will most likely be learning Afro-Caribbean dance once a week. To kickstart this program, we were able to go on a field trip to City Center to watch Alvin Ailey's dance company, Ailey II, perform! Here we are busily sketching some very specific baskets from the Haudenosaunee tribe. There are about 160 tribes represented in this room, but few are from the NY region! Observing an exhibit in the Hall of Planet Earth about climate change. You guessed it, we are face to face with a giant mosquito replica. Hall of Biodiversity's predators are no match for us! We make connections to everything- we just finished a class read-aloud, The Tiger Rising, by Kate DiCamillo. Instantly upon arriving, we found something so symbolic from the story. Hanging out with an asteroid. Hands-on learning is the best kind of learning. How lucky are we to be so close to the Intrepid, a critical piece of American history! She participated in WWII, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. We got a tour of the museum, got to see what life was like aboard, and even saw some cool jets. Trying on a life preserver! We really liked looking at the jets. We learned that a lot of times, the airplane crew would customize their planes (hence the shark face on this one.) We also learned about symbols/insignias. This particular plane we are able to tell is American because of the star on the side. We learned about how to identify the function of an artifact using inferences! This particular set of artifacts pictured involves a chain, a floor insert (the circle,) and a hook. It is to keep the jets securely attached to the ship. Thanks to New York Cares, we were able to take a field trip to PMT Dance Studio. There, we were accompanied by mentors/volunteers from JP Morgan. We took a dance class on Theatrical dance, and then we had time to free dance and had a pizza lunch. Not a bad deal at all! We were lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate with the "big kids" from JP Morgan and we choreographed dances in small groups.
Ms. Jessica and Ms. Carolina have been helping out our class. Ms. Carolina is a student teacher and Ms. Jessica is part of the program America Reads. Both of them have been a huge help in class and we are sad to see them go!
Last week we went to the Bronx Zoo for a rainy, yet fun end-of-the-year field trip. We were two feet away from a giant crocodile, we saw lemurs, flamingoes, and more! We were enthralled by all the animals and didn't even seem to mind the rain. Don't worry, it wasn't all fun and games. When we got back to school the next day, we did some critical thinking and jotted down in an argumentative writing style about the function of zoos and whether or not they have a positive impact on society. We realize that while zoos have great conservation efforts and educate the public, we also wish that the animals could have the chance to roam free in the wild. Don't look now but there is a huge crocodile behind them! An assortment of fourth graders and sea lions. We got to watch the sea lion feeding! It was pretty cool seeing a bald eagle, the symbol of America, after a year of learning about American history. He was a lot bigger in person, too! We had different approaches to dealing with the rain... What a demonstration of kindness! So proud to see this. This past Wednesday, the entire fourth grade took the subway all the way downtown to South Ferry and hopped aboard a ferry to visit Ellis Island! This perfectly complements our literacy units for both reading and writing on historical fiction. We got a brief tour from a park ranger (our second National Park visited this year!) and then we had an audio tour. We got to see all sorts of things immigrants had to go through before entering this country. What is particularly cool is that not only is this a museum with artifacts, but it is the actual place where all these things happened! Of course, it was also a gorgeous day for a little cruise. Waiting for the ferry in front of one of NYC's 5 forts built for protection during the War of 1812. Excited to see Lady Liberty! (Cameo:Ms. Greenberg's coat.) Some of us may be making ambiguous facial expressions, but trust us, we were really excited to see Ellis Island! Here our Park Ranger is about to pretend to demonstrate the dreaded "buttonhook test" on our brave volunteer. The buttonhook test has nothing to do with buttons but everything to do with eyelids. If you failed this test, you might get detained in the health center on the island or worse, sent back to your home country! Each room and most artifacts had a code you could type in and listen to a commentary. Here pictured is a sample of graffiti that immigrants drew. The piece of the wall was preserved and the graffiti was done in pencil. It was lists of people's names and where they were from. In conclusion, NYC is our playground and we love it! |
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June 2019
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