What an exciting week we’ve had in 4th grade! We had a library trip, a lot of play rehearsal, and the children learned about runes. It was a week of discovery and of developing practice habits.
Morning Lesson:
In addition to our daily movement and math puzzles, we have been working very hard on our play rehearsal this week. I asked all of the students to aim to have all of their lines memorized by the end of this week, and many of them were able to meet that challenge with vigor and enthusiasm. If your child has not memorized their lines, please help them to establish a daily routine at home to work on them. We were able to see the 6th grade dress rehearsal on Thursday, and I think the 4th graders were very impressed by the 6th graders’ work! I am hoping that that added some motivation to their own rehearsing habit.
The 4th graders also heard the stories of how Odin made sacrifices for knowledge. In one story, he hangs from the tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nine nights, without food, drink, or rest. The result is that he discovers that the twigs from the tree have fallen into interesting patterns, and thus he discovers the runes. The children were quite taken with the runes, and have done a lot of writing lately–their names, secret messages, etc.–in runes. We painted the runes as well during our painting lesson.
Field Trip/Animal Reports:
Our walking field trip to the Roosevelt Public Library was a success! Special thanks to Richard Gammonley, Dona Nishi, Blanca Hernandez-McCarthy, and Megan Rotko for volunteering to chaperone.
Before the trip, I asked the class to help me brainstorm the kinds of information an animal report should contain. They came up with quite an impressive list, which I have attached as one of the pictures in this weekly. During the trip, librarian Jennifer Her led the class in an activity in which they had to practice using the call numbers and category names to find books in the library. Each child was able to check out 1-3 books on the animal that they have chosen. If your child did not bring a library card, then I checked out their books with my card.
On Friday, I led my first Language Arts skills class focused on teaching research skills. I had each child look through their book to find important resources that are typical in non-fiction books: Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, and Subheadings. We discussed the purpose of each tool and how to use it. I introduced a graphic organizer for them to organize their notes about their animals. They have not yet begun to fill them out, but I asked them to hold on to them for each Language Arts skills class.
Literature Circles:
Since our Language Arts skills classes will now be focused on research skills and work on Animal Reports, I have slowed down with Literature Circles. I have encouraged the students to keep reading and discussing, but we will not have any roles or work associated with the reading until Animal Reports are finished, probably in May. At that point I will let Ms. Rotko decide how to proceed.
Upcoming events:
SEED: Gender Tuesday, March 27, 6:30pm
As you may have heard, our faculty is currently working through a year-long SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) study. Our twelve sessions cover a wide range of topics including race, gender, ableism, and more. This week our UPWS SEED trainer and facilitators have offered to provide the study on gender for parents. As a SEED study, we’re there to explore our own lives and experiences, not school values or policies. We’ll take up ideas like gender bias and questions about how gender has affected our lives. If you plan to come, please sign up here so that the facilitators can send you the very brief homework assignment before the event. We hope to continue these SEED sessions for any interested community members next year as well.
Thursday, March 29: Transgender Day of Visibility
Urban Prairie will be observing this day as part of a larger school effort to be an affirming school. We use this day to educate students, faculty and parents about how to be affirming to trans community members. Creating a safe, inclusive, affirming environment is paramount to helping protect this vulnerable population within our community.
We will observe this day in an age-appropriate manner by role playing introductions and communicating preferred pronouns. Pronouns are part of our Language Arts curriculum. In addition, we will also paint the Transgender Flag and have a discussion about gender stereotypes. The presence of pink and baby blue on the flag can be an excellent jumping off point for a discussion of perceptions about what colors are “girl colors” and “boy colors,” or if there are toys or games that are “just for girls” or “just for boys.” Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Wednesday, April 11, 5:30-6:30 pm: Class Play “Loki and Sif’s Golden Hair”
The 4th grade class has been working hard, and is excited to present this humorous play about the mischief and consequences of the gods, dwarves, and giants from Norse Mythology. Mark your calendars!