Class blog
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On Friday, May 13th, New York Cares sponsored a group of volunteers from American Eagle Outfitters corporate branch to come visit the 4th grade classrooms and teach our students about entrepreneurship! We were so lucky to be able to learn about what it takes to start a business- and we tried our hand at creating some prototypes products! We were able to devise an idea for a product/concept in small groups, and then we worked on advertising, designing, and presenting skills. This was an awesome enrichment program, and we have so much gratitude for New York Cares for this day (not to mention the subsequent pizza party and donation of all remaining materials to the classrooms! Wow!)
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Today we were fortunate enough to be able to have a private Children's Tour of the UN! Students were able to learn a bit about how and when the UN was founded, what countries are permanent members of the Security Council, some of the UN's sustainable development goals, and more. While we were there, an actual council meeting was occurring and we got a peek. Students were proud to see their home countries represented at the UN! Our class got a chance to see a replica refugee tent. We learned that the average refugee stays in a refugee camp for 17 years, often without access to adequate food, water, shelter, and education. Here we are looking inside a "School in a Box," a UNICEF initiative to permit children with limited resources to have access to education. Inside were things like chalkboard paint (more versatile than an actual chalkboard,) and reversible notebooks, because sometimes different languages write from right to left instead of left to right. Sorry for the long hiatus- our class has been very busy learning! In math, we have been learning about angles. To bring some of the material to life and to make it more relevant and applicable, we have been able to construct bridges out of toothpicks, straws, tape, and popsicle sticks. We were able to experiment during Family Friday. Which kinds of angles produce the strongest bridges? Do patterns help in building the strongest bridge? (Not to mention, we also honed in on our teamwork skills...) Both visiting parents and students had a fun time.
1. 4th and 5th grade G&T went on a field trip to the Morgan Library! We were enthralled by being surrounded by all the wonderful architecture, art, and literature. A main highlight, unanimously, was said to be learning about Mr. Morgan's secret library staircase. Not only did we learn about the history of the Morgan Library, but we were able to visit the exhibit on Charles Dickens. It was fantastic! Students had time to take notes or sketch things that were interesting to them. We had a fantastic museum educator, Clara, who answered many questions and kept us thinking!
2. Once we got back from the field trip, we decided to make a museum of our own... just in time for Family Friday. Many of the students opted to stay in during their recess time to make artwork for the museum. We explored the question "What do Martin Luther King Jr. and Charles Dickens have in common?" (Hint: they're both civil rights activists!) 3. We finally had our Alvin Ailey performance! All three fourth grade classes had the opportunity to display what we had learned from our dance instructor, Ms. Heather, and the drummer, Mr. Nick. The students learned a bit about modern dance. We also read a book about Alvin Ailey in class- we also learned about his creative contributions to the Civil Rights movement. These past couple of weeks leading up to Winter Break have been very busy for us! We were lucky enough to be able to go on two field trips: one to see an Alvin Ailey dance performance, and the other to see some exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. Both trips were enjoyed very much by the 4th and 5th graders! We were fortunate enough to be able to watch one of Alvin Ailey's newer pieces, "Breaking Point," as well as another dance that was one of Ailey's originals. One highlight was that the students were treated to a light show where they got a little lesson on how stage lighting works! The show was the perfect complement to the once-a-week dance lessons provided by our Ailey instructor, Heather.
At the Museum of Natural History, we were able to visit the Hall of Planet Earth, where students were able to learn a bit about Earth's geological processes. Very fitting for our nonfiction literacy unit about natural disasters! We also went to see some other exhibits in the Hayden Planetarium, since many students were so interested! We were able to notice some differences in how information is portrayed in a museum versus how information is portrayed in a nonfiction book. We are looking forward to more field trips in the future! Meet Spidey, the newest member of Room 313! Spidey (and Sleepy, not pictured) were part of a 4th grade science project about ecosystems. Now that the science project is over, Spidey and Sleepy have moved upstairs as class pets. The students are extremely excited about this, and look forward to observing/taking care of/playing with the hermit crabs. As a child, I have always had pets and I believe it is so important to foster a sense of wonder, respect for animals, and responsibility. Over the weekends, students will have the opportunity to take turns pet-sitting the hermit crabs (with permission, of course.) What a way to end the week! TODAY WAS A VERY SPECIAL DAY! THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED OPERATION WARM, THE FINANCIAL COMPANY CALLED LAZARD (WITH OFFICES LOCATED IN NEARBY ROCKEFELLER CENTER) CAME TO PS 111 AND DONATED BRAND NEW WINTER JACKETS TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, FOR FREE! THE KIDS HAD A BLAST PICKING OUT THEIR NEW COATS. IF YOU AND YOUR CHILD DECIDE THAT YOU DO NOT NEED THIS COAT, YOU CAN SIMPLY BRING BACK TO SCHOOL AND WE WILL DONATE IT TO A STUDENT AT ANOTHER NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL. GREEK WEEK SINCE WE HAD A SHORT WEEK, WE EXPLORED A THEME: WE STUDIED ALL THINGS GREEK! -WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT THE METRIC SYSTEM IN MATH, WHICH USES GREEK ROOTS (THINK CENTIMETER, KILOMETER, MILLILITER...) -WE ALSO LEARNED THAT SO MANY WORDS IN ENGLISH ARE DERIVED FROM THE GREEK LANGUAGE! WE STUDIED PREFIXES SUCH AS "ACADEM-" (SCHOLARLY,) "GEO-" (EARTH,) AND "DYNA-" (POWER.) WE BRAINSTORMED AND LOOKED UP DIFFERENT WORDS WE KNOW WITH THESE ROOTS. -WE READ A FEW GREEK MYTHS. -WE HAD OUR FIRST SOCRATIC SEMINAR! WE DISCUSSED THE GREEK MYTH "PERSEPHONE AND THE POMEGRANATE." TESTING OUT OUR THEORIES - MATHEMATICS AND SOCIAL STUDIES IN ACTION! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CAME TO OUR CLASS FOR FAMILY FRIDAY. HERE'S A GLIMPSE AT WHAT WE DID AFTER YOU LEFT... DURING MATH, WE LEARNED THE BASICS ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED THE FOUR COLOR THEOREM, WHICH STATES THAT A MAP CAN BE FILLED IN USING ONLY 4 COLORS, WITHOUT HAVING THE SAME COLORS TOUCH. WE WORKED TOGETHER IN PARTNERSHIPS, DISCUSSING WHAT STRATEGIES COULD WORK TO COLOR IN A MAP OF THE 50 STATES. SOME OF US DECIDED TO COLOR THE STATES IN A SPECIFIC ORDER/PATTERN, SOME OF US USED DIVISION, SOME OF US CONSIDERED THE AMOUNT OF BORDERS EACH STATE HAD OR THE SIZE OF THE STATES. BEFORE WE GOT TO COLOR IN OUR MAPS, WE HAD TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL WITH OUR PLANNING IN ADVANCE. (THINKING AHEAD LIKE GOOD MATHEMATICIANS!) LAFTER, WE GOT TO APPLY OUR KNOWLEDGE TO SOMETHING MORE TANGIBLE- AS A GROUP, WE GOT TO PAINT THE COUNTRIES IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE- ONTO A WHOLE BULLETIN BOARD! IT WAS SUPER FUN AND MEMORABLE (DON'T WORRY MOMS AND DADS, NO CLOTHES WERE HARMED IN THE PAINTING OF THE BOARD!) WE WERE ABLE TO COMBINE MATH AND SOCIAL STUDIES, CULMINATING IN A BEAUTIFUL WORK OF ART- YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT FAMILY FRIDAY TO SEE IT! ON FRIDAY WE PAINTED SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA. AS A CLASS, WE VOTED TO DEPICT EACH OF THE 50 STATES RATHER THAN JUST HAVE THE USA OUTLINED AS A COUNTRY. |
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June 2019
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