We definitely keep busy across all subject areas in Grades 3 and 4! Here are some highlights from the last couple of weeks of learning.
Our new class motto is "Knowledge is Power". Students are connecting this to characters in our literacy curriculum texts, and applying it to their own lives inside and outside the classroom.
Our field trip to the Commonwealth Museum was so much fun! Grades 3 and 4 played the role of the redcoats in a Boston Massacre Mock Trial exercise. Students learned about propaganda and evaluating opposing points of view. This connected to our in class work related to fairness as well as to our beginning studies of Massachusett's history.
Our class has puzzle fever! All students are working their critical and multiplicative thinking skills with Mancala- a game of strategy. They also enjoy the solitary version called Ruma. They have designed their own gameboards, and have started writing 'Mancala News'. We will be connecting the history of the game to our global studies. Students are enjoying solving logic problems, and playing other math games connected to our focus on place value, multiplication and division.
In science, we are learning about forces. We focused on friction this week, and students competed in a STEM challenge. Students had to build a ramp and figure out what variables would make a car go down the ramp and travel farthest. Students experimented with angles and surfaces, and realized adding water to the wheels would reduce the friction. They measured and recorded their results.
In social studies we are discussing how rivers affect the lives of people, and how people in turn affect the flow, and health of rivers. We have read A River Ran Wild, and this led to a discussion about simple machines, such as water wheels, erosion, and the conflict of interest between native americans and early settlers to our region. We also discussed how people work to keep balance in the environment. We began our river animal research with a focus on conservation.
Our new class motto is "Knowledge is Power". Students are connecting this to characters in our literacy curriculum texts, and applying it to their own lives inside and outside the classroom.
Our field trip to the Commonwealth Museum was so much fun! Grades 3 and 4 played the role of the redcoats in a Boston Massacre Mock Trial exercise. Students learned about propaganda and evaluating opposing points of view. This connected to our in class work related to fairness as well as to our beginning studies of Massachusett's history.
Our class has puzzle fever! All students are working their critical and multiplicative thinking skills with Mancala- a game of strategy. They also enjoy the solitary version called Ruma. They have designed their own gameboards, and have started writing 'Mancala News'. We will be connecting the history of the game to our global studies. Students are enjoying solving logic problems, and playing other math games connected to our focus on place value, multiplication and division.
In science, we are learning about forces. We focused on friction this week, and students competed in a STEM challenge. Students had to build a ramp and figure out what variables would make a car go down the ramp and travel farthest. Students experimented with angles and surfaces, and realized adding water to the wheels would reduce the friction. They measured and recorded their results.
In social studies we are discussing how rivers affect the lives of people, and how people in turn affect the flow, and health of rivers. We have read A River Ran Wild, and this led to a discussion about simple machines, such as water wheels, erosion, and the conflict of interest between native americans and early settlers to our region. We also discussed how people work to keep balance in the environment. We began our river animal research with a focus on conservation.