9/24/2013 0 Comments Social Studies in Fourth GradeThis is an exciting and comprehensive year for social studies. We have a whole continent to cover from top to bottom. To enhance this experience for students, and to expand their exposure to teaching styles, the fourth grade teachers will be working as a team to present this curriculum. Students will rotate throughout the five fourth grade teachers: myself, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Brown, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Dunton. They will begin the year learning about Mexico and Canada with me and will then be off to explore the US regions, US states, mapping skills, and immigration with each of the fourth grade teachers.
We have begun our study of Mexico by speaking and reading about some of the first inhabitants: the Mayans and the Aztecs. These ancient civilizations were very advanced and the remains of their cities and pyramids can still be visited today. The last and biggest civilization was the Aztec one that ruled from the land that is now the capital of Mexico. Their rule lasted until the Spanish colonists arrived and took control of this central location. This presents a good opportunity to compare the English colonists that students learn about in third grade with the Spanish colonists, who colonized Mexico and much of central and South America. Their tactics, reasons for colonization and their treatment of the native people differ greatly. This past week students had to study the 31 states plus the Federal District, Mexico City. This can be a daunting task with so many states in a small map. Not to mention the origin of many of these words are not English, not even Spanish, the current official language of the country, but rather from the indigenous languages of the land's first inhabitants. These Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, Mayan and Aztec languages bear little resemblance to the Romance or Germanic languages. Despite this, many students put in the time to study and more importantly, used effective study strategies. In class I asked students who had success on last Thursday’s test to share some of these strategies with the class. Here is the list we came up with: 1) Mnemonic devices: rhymes, funny phrases or acronyms 2) Put in the time: 15 minutes to a half hour every night 3) Saying what you are studying over and over 4) Lots of practice tests 5) Figure out what you know and don’t know so you can spend more time on what you still need to know These are fabulous study habits that the students came up with. Other effective study habits are welcome. Feel free to share by commenting. Orale
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9/1/2013 0 Comments Los primeros diasStudents did not miss a beat in returning to school, remembering classroom norms and adapting to new ones. We welcomed a new student into our classroom and school, who is making the transition to both the class and school. The class has been supportive and eager to show James the ropes of Memorial.
Some of these new routines we are implementing in fourth grade to foster greater independence and responsibility are....
I'm happy to see some summer assignment packets completed and turned in. I am still accepting any that have yet to be turned in. |
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