Fourth Grade Update

Students participated in several exciting learning experiences this week!

Mystery SKYPE
Students participated in their first Mystery SKYPE this week. During a mystery SKYPE the fourth grade SKYPEs with another fourth-grade class somewhere in the world. Students work in collaborative groups to develop their speaking and listening skills by developing questions to ask the mystery class to determine their exact location. Students also develop their geography and map skills by using an Atlas to develop effective and specific questions to ask the mystery class. The mystery class does the same, trying to guess our location. Our first Mystery SKYPE class was from Ottawa, Canada!

Archeologist Visit
Mrs. Silvia, of the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University visited our classes again to present information about the Native people of the Arctic. Mrs. Silvia brought real artifacts to help students learn about how the culture of these people is greatly impacted by their unique climate. Students tried traditional Inuit games that were used to build hunting skills, dressed in traditional Inuit clothing, and tried a traditional ceremonial dance. Thank you to the JFK PCC for funding this great learning experience!

Creative Arts Friday
In Project-based learning students presented their weather station projects to the class. Students reflected on the Engineering Design Process and their work as a team to make decisions and solve problems. Many groups were able to test their weather stations outside to collect rain and test wind direction. Several groups concluded that we received 1.75 inches of rain during the last rain in late November. On the other hand some some groups realized that their weather station would need more support to with-stand strong winds when left outside; a valuable lesson on the Engineering Process.

Fourth Grade Update

Our Kennedy 4th graders began our week with a story during our morning meeting.  The book, Strictly No Elephants, by Lisa Mantchev connected beautifully to Inclusive Schools Week. Students also are working on sharing ways that they feel included. These ideas have been shared on the intercom in the mornings, and will be visible at JFK on our large ladybug.

On Friday, all 4th graders participated in the Hour of Code.  The response was VERY positive.  Your child can share a lot about this, and can try other projects at this website. 

As we begin our second term, these homework tips might help students move toward independence and responsibility.

GENERAL HOMEWORK TIPS FOR PARENTS 

(Reposted from the Department of Education. You can see the full article here.)

✪ Make sure your child has a quiet, well-lit place to do homework. 

Avoid having your child do homework with the television on or in places with other distractions, such as people coming and going.

✪ Make sure the materials your child needs, such as paper, pencils and a dictionary, are available. Ask your child if special materials will be needed for some projects and get them in advance.

✪ Help your child with time management. Establish a set time each day for doing homework. Don‘t let your child leave homework until just

before bedtime. Think about using a weekend morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially if the project involves getting together with classmates.

✪ Be positive about homework. Tell your child how important school is. The attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.

✪ When your child does homework, you do homework. Show your child that the skills they are learning are related to things you do as an adult. If your child

is reading, you read too. If your child is doing math, balance your checkbook.

✪ When your child asks for help, provide guidance, not answers. Giving answers means your child will not learn the material. Too much help teaches your child that when the going gets rough, someone will do the work for him or her. 

✪ When the teacher asks that you play a role in homework, do it. Cooperate with the teacher. It shows your child that the school and home are a team. Follow the directions given by the teacher.

✪ If homework is meant to be done by your child alone, stay away.

Too much parent involvement can prevent homework from having some positive effects.  Homework is a great way for kids to develop independent, lifelong learning skills.

✪ Stay informed. Talk with your child‘s teacher. Make sure you know the purpose of homework and what your child‘s class rules are.

✪ Help your child figure out what is hard homework and what is easy homework. Have your child do the hard work first. This will mean he will be most alert when facing the biggest challenges. Easy material will seem to go fast when fatigue begins to set i