Week 5: Celebrating Ancestors and Traditions

        This week we read several selections that helped us consider varying traditions that are a part of our heritage.  In particular, we read about the ways birthdays are celebrated in three different countries.  Following our reading, we looked for similarities and differences in the traditions.  The ability to compare and contrast is an important skill that is used across subject areas.  The students wrote paragraphs about the country in which they would most like to celebrate their birthday and included reasons they had learned through reading.  We continued working on revising and editing our writing, as many first drafts were true “rough” drafts.

            It has been very exciting to hear the students present their ancestor projects! About a quarter of the students have shared so far.  I am very grateful for the support students received from family members in acquiring information.  It is clear that many students learned things they had not known before.  The pride in their voices is a tribute to these ancestors in itself!

            In social studies the students set personal goals for learning the location of states in the USA.  The 4^th grade curriculum requires students to be able to identify the Mid-Atlantic States that surround Maryland.  I challenged the students to learn the locations of 10 additional states that have personal significance to them.  Many students have done an impressive job of expanding their previous knowledge of state locations! 
          In math this week, we continued our conversations about place value.  We began to use this knowledge to begin/perfect our standard algorithm for subtraction...a skill that needs to be mastered by 5th grade.

       In science we put finishing touches on our pet adoption projects.  Those that are finished should be up on display by Monday.  This project was meant to assess the students' understanding between learned and inherited traits while practicing persuasive writing.  The students' took the perspectives of dolphins, koalas, pandas, kittens, lizards, parrots and megalodon sharks!  So if your family is looking for a "pet", stop by room 104 and take a look!