February Newsletter

 "Go West" Play

Fourth Graders have been using their energy cooperatively as they learned their lines and practiced for their "Go West" play, and their hard work is starting to pay off!  We'll look forward to sharing our performance with you on Thursday, February 25 at 6:00.

Integrated Studies

Our big idea this trimester is Energy.  Students analyzed the enduring understanding that energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be converted from one form to another and that energy can be used cooperatively.  Students learned about how energy flows through circuits and how magnets are related to electricity.  They investigated the transformation of energy through many different experiments, including a "Rolling Down Lab," and a water mill.   Students explored what items are attracted to magnets, how to make an electromagnet, and created their own circuits.  SCG&E also came in for a presentation on safety around electricity.  Students also had fun learning the properties of light in experiments with refraction, reflection, and dimness/brightness. 

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Math

It takes energy to solve division problems!  This month students have learned more about the conflict of division!

In math class the students are cooperating to show each other how to solve long division problems by using different algorithms.  

Some students were required to complete  a "Split the Bill" project where they created a restaurant and took 3 friends out to eat with them.  At the end, the students put their division skills to the test to split the bill evenly among the four of them, turning conflict into cooperation!



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Reading

Fourth graders used their knowledge of text features to design a magazine/newspaper article on a nonfiction topic of choice. To share their work, students participated in a gallery walk where they were able to identify key text features in their classmates' articles. We were all WOWED by how these features really drew our attention into the article, making us want to read and learn more! 

​Oh the energy that has been used throughout history to provide information for us all! Reading students have distinguished between primary and secondary sources-really delving into the Declaration of Independence.