Week 7: "Over the mountains and through coastal plains of Mary-land we go...."

        After recognizing the value of diversity through the study of heritage, we talked about other kinds of human diversity.  Variation among people can be seen in numerous ways:  age, gender, physical size and shape, belief systems, education, talents, challenges, etc.  This week our word of the week was “stereotype”.  We read an article about people who have broken stereotypes with their accomplishments.  For example, we learned about people who don’t have the use of their legs, but they play basketball.  These people broke the stereotype many of us have that people in wheelchairs can’t play sports.   Towards the end of the week I gave the students a synopsis of three short stories that address stereotypes and let them choose which story they would like to read.  The students are now divided into three groups based on their choices.  The students read the stories and we discussed what stereotype was challenged in each story.  This coming week each group will work together to turn their story into a skit.  As a class we will help each other “see” how stereotypes can impact people and how they can be broken.

            In social studies we continued our study of the three geographic regions of Maryland.   We talked about Maryland’s nickname of “America in Miniature”.  Looking at a topographic map of Maryland and then of the USA, we could see how the landforms change in a similar way as you move from east to west.  In the middle of the week we began a “jigsaw” activity.  The students divided into groups of three and each group member chose one of the three geographic regions.  Then each student was given an information sheet summarizing the region they had chosen.  Their task was to use this information to become the group’s “expert” on this region.  (Eventually the three group members will come back together to teach each other about the region they studied.)  The students read the information about their region, highlighted key points, and made a “teaching plan” that they will share with their group next week.  As a class we will review the key features of each region by having the students report on what they learned in their small group.

       This week, we made real-world connections to large numbers as we investigated the populations of each of Maryland's 23 counties and 1 city.  After ordering the populations, we discovered that Kent County was the least populated (~20,000) while Montgomery County (my home sweet home) has well over 1,000,000 inhabitants.  Using their knowledge of MD geography, students hypothesized that due to its proximity to Washington, DC, many people choose to live in Montgomery County so they don't have to live in a bustling city but can visit it whenever they want.  The 'burbs!  Students then categorized each county into its Maryland Region then calculated each region's total population.  I was elated when student's begged to not only calculate Maryland's total population, but to conduct research on  one of it's counties.  Ask your child to tell you what they calculated.  Although we calculated the exact total (using the 2012 Census data), we used our estimation and rounding skills for parent reporting purposes!

       In science, we began "traveling" across North American looking at landforms that were formed by erosion and weathering.  We are currently in Wyoming in the Grand Tetons Mountains, but should make it to Maryland by Wednesday!  Once we "arrive" in Maryland we will explore agents of erosion and look at rapid and slow changes that occur on earth's surface.  This unit will be our first "STEAM" unit this year (authored by your very own 4th grade teachers!), as students are exposed to the concept of erosion throughout all content areas including: science, technology, engineering, the arts, math, language arts, social studies and physical education.  Both teachers and students are excited to pilot this unit and discover how erosion affects life in and around the Chesapeake Bay.