We sure are busy this month with all the events and projects going on at Trinity. Below you will find a few updates for what we are learning in class, along with enrichment blog updates. Happy Valentine’s Day and belated Chinese New Year!
Math
We have started our new unit on Fraction Cards and Decimal Squares. To learn more about the unit please read the parent letter on the Math Resources page. We are making connections between the 3rd grade fraction unit and review key vocabulary like numerator and denominator. The unit began with us modeling parts of a whole with Cuisenaire rods (check out virtual Cuisenaire rods here) and using sentence strips to represent halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eighths on a number line. We continue to explore fractions of a whole and fractions of a group. During this unit we will eventually investigate decimals as a method of understanding portions of equal groups.
How can you help your child with the work for this unit?
1) Ask your child to share what work we do in class each day.
3) Involve your child in real world fraction/decimal conversations (following recipes, dealing with money, reading your car odometer or gas gage, etc.)
2) Remember the student math handbook with great explanations of strategies and resources on this unit (and others)
3) Check out these activities from Investigations for "Fractions and Decimal Squares," Unit 6
Biography Work
Our reading, writing, and social studies lives have merged as we work to complete our biography project. Please check in with your child about their project. Ask questions about their subject. Conversations at home will help students articulate their new knowledge and prepare them for our Wax Museum presentations on February 25th.
Read Aloud
The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac tells the stories of two fourteen year old boys in the summer of 1777. One main character, Samuel Russell, is a Quaker and the other main character is Stands Straight, an Abenaki Indian. Both characters are experiencing turmoil as they find their place within their culture and community while the tensions between Loyalists and Patriots grow. We are at a fascinating part of the book and students are predicting how the two boys’ stories are going to connect. I encourage you to ask your child about The Arrow Over the Door and their personal predictions.
ENRICHMENT BLOGS:
Art:
Fourth graders are blowing up the sculpture studio! Maybe this is because hot glue guns are now available. They sent up a rousing cheer when permission was granted. 3-D work in progress includes houses, stadiums, skateboard parks, ships and other structures yet to be transformed. Building with peers allows them opportunities to share ideas, agree, disagree and problem solve. Ask your child if they have tried scratch art or zentangles. Students will save work in their portfolios as they prepare to choose pieces for the Spring Arts Festival.
Thanks for sharing your artist with us.
Jen Rankey and Mary Ann O’Sullivan
P.S. Don’t forget the subscribe the the Art Department Blog (tesartdepartment.wordpress.com) and follow us on Twitter (@tesarttab1) to keep up with all the wonderful things happening!
Faith Studies:
What is Hanukkah and is there a connection between this special faith celebration, Advent and the way we live into community? Fourth grade students explored the aforementioned question as we shared personal concepts of faith in action through the traditions of our families. We celebrated Advent by learning and sharing in customs from the liturgical Christian traditions which including playing Advent Bingo! January brought more exploration of faith in action through the lens of Epiphany and the life and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a model faith in the face of fear.
PE:
Our basketball unit ended at winter break. We returned to a long unit of racquet sports, badminton, pickle ball, and tennis. We are using station work to emphasize the introductory skills of footwork, grip, and racquet control. We have also worked on refining service skills. Game play has included adapted games, like pinball, to include our racquet skills. We will be moving into team handball during February.
Finally, our fitness days (Wednesday) have been quite successful. Choosing from three options (running on the track, yoga/pilates, and agility station work) has improved our participation and enthusiasm. Circuit interval training has been introduced along with jump ropes. We have started making the connection between maintaining fitness and improving ability in athletics and other areas of physical activity.
As always, if you have any questions, please email me ([email protected]), or call the school and ask for extension 454.
Spanish:
Fourth graders have been practicing the theme "La familia" using short phrases to describe their own families, creating a Family Tree - "Árbol Genealógico". On this family tree, children were using singular and plural, and also the appropriate article for each family member, such as: los padres (parents), el padre (father), la madre (mother), el hermano (brother), la hermana (sister), la abuela (grandmother), el abuelo (grandfather), los primos (cousins), la mascota (pet).
Students are introduced to "adjetivos posesivos" (possessive adjectives) such as: MI (my), TU (your), SU (his, her, their), NUESTRO-NUESTRA (our). They have been singing a song to help them remember how to use them correctly, and playing with finger puppets they are using for this activity.
Click here to access a video to watch with your child at home to practice full sentences about family, possessive adjectives and new vocabulary words!
Choir (January): We have our first choir concert this Thursday, January 28 at 6:30pm. Please remember to have your child arrive by 6:10pm so we can warm up and be ready for show time! Students must wear their music ensemble uniform; long khaki pants and white TES logo polo shirt. In the upcoming month, our 4th graders will begin to learn more about vocal phrasing in music! I am looking forward to our choristers learning more about musical sentences as it means so much in singing!
Lastly, we will be performing the Phantom Tollbooth as an entire grade level on February 11 at 2:30pm in the Dickson Dining Hall.
Band:
We are having our annual lower school concert this Thursday, January 28 in Dickson Dining Hall. All of our band members are extra excited to show off all the skills they have learned so far. Here are a few details about the concert:
Strings:
By the time you read this, the Winter Concert will be mere days away! It is Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 in Dickson Dining Hall. Watch for an email early next week with all the details. We have been working with laser-like intensity on preparing our music for this concert. While everyone can play his or her own part just fine, the challenge in a Music Ensemble lies in its name: playing together. In each class we get a little better at playing our instrument, reading the music, and watching the conductor to know where the beat is - all while listening to ourselves and the others in the group to ensure that what we are playing actually fits with what everyone else is playing. No wonder playing in a musical ensemble increases brainpower! Please encourage your child to continue practicing his/her part; the better they all know their own part, the more energy they can spend watching and listening.
Math
We have started our new unit on Fraction Cards and Decimal Squares. To learn more about the unit please read the parent letter on the Math Resources page. We are making connections between the 3rd grade fraction unit and review key vocabulary like numerator and denominator. The unit began with us modeling parts of a whole with Cuisenaire rods (check out virtual Cuisenaire rods here) and using sentence strips to represent halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, and eighths on a number line. We continue to explore fractions of a whole and fractions of a group. During this unit we will eventually investigate decimals as a method of understanding portions of equal groups.
How can you help your child with the work for this unit?
1) Ask your child to share what work we do in class each day.
3) Involve your child in real world fraction/decimal conversations (following recipes, dealing with money, reading your car odometer or gas gage, etc.)
2) Remember the student math handbook with great explanations of strategies and resources on this unit (and others)
3) Check out these activities from Investigations for "Fractions and Decimal Squares," Unit 6
Biography Work
Our reading, writing, and social studies lives have merged as we work to complete our biography project. Please check in with your child about their project. Ask questions about their subject. Conversations at home will help students articulate their new knowledge and prepare them for our Wax Museum presentations on February 25th.
Read Aloud
The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac tells the stories of two fourteen year old boys in the summer of 1777. One main character, Samuel Russell, is a Quaker and the other main character is Stands Straight, an Abenaki Indian. Both characters are experiencing turmoil as they find their place within their culture and community while the tensions between Loyalists and Patriots grow. We are at a fascinating part of the book and students are predicting how the two boys’ stories are going to connect. I encourage you to ask your child about The Arrow Over the Door and their personal predictions.
ENRICHMENT BLOGS:
Art:
Fourth graders are blowing up the sculpture studio! Maybe this is because hot glue guns are now available. They sent up a rousing cheer when permission was granted. 3-D work in progress includes houses, stadiums, skateboard parks, ships and other structures yet to be transformed. Building with peers allows them opportunities to share ideas, agree, disagree and problem solve. Ask your child if they have tried scratch art or zentangles. Students will save work in their portfolios as they prepare to choose pieces for the Spring Arts Festival.
Thanks for sharing your artist with us.
Jen Rankey and Mary Ann O’Sullivan
P.S. Don’t forget the subscribe the the Art Department Blog (tesartdepartment.wordpress.com) and follow us on Twitter (@tesarttab1) to keep up with all the wonderful things happening!
Faith Studies:
What is Hanukkah and is there a connection between this special faith celebration, Advent and the way we live into community? Fourth grade students explored the aforementioned question as we shared personal concepts of faith in action through the traditions of our families. We celebrated Advent by learning and sharing in customs from the liturgical Christian traditions which including playing Advent Bingo! January brought more exploration of faith in action through the lens of Epiphany and the life and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a model faith in the face of fear.
PE:
Our basketball unit ended at winter break. We returned to a long unit of racquet sports, badminton, pickle ball, and tennis. We are using station work to emphasize the introductory skills of footwork, grip, and racquet control. We have also worked on refining service skills. Game play has included adapted games, like pinball, to include our racquet skills. We will be moving into team handball during February.
Finally, our fitness days (Wednesday) have been quite successful. Choosing from three options (running on the track, yoga/pilates, and agility station work) has improved our participation and enthusiasm. Circuit interval training has been introduced along with jump ropes. We have started making the connection between maintaining fitness and improving ability in athletics and other areas of physical activity.
As always, if you have any questions, please email me ([email protected]), or call the school and ask for extension 454.
Spanish:
Fourth graders have been practicing the theme "La familia" using short phrases to describe their own families, creating a Family Tree - "Árbol Genealógico". On this family tree, children were using singular and plural, and also the appropriate article for each family member, such as: los padres (parents), el padre (father), la madre (mother), el hermano (brother), la hermana (sister), la abuela (grandmother), el abuelo (grandfather), los primos (cousins), la mascota (pet).
Students are introduced to "adjetivos posesivos" (possessive adjectives) such as: MI (my), TU (your), SU (his, her, their), NUESTRO-NUESTRA (our). They have been singing a song to help them remember how to use them correctly, and playing with finger puppets they are using for this activity.
Click here to access a video to watch with your child at home to practice full sentences about family, possessive adjectives and new vocabulary words!
Choir (January): We have our first choir concert this Thursday, January 28 at 6:30pm. Please remember to have your child arrive by 6:10pm so we can warm up and be ready for show time! Students must wear their music ensemble uniform; long khaki pants and white TES logo polo shirt. In the upcoming month, our 4th graders will begin to learn more about vocal phrasing in music! I am looking forward to our choristers learning more about musical sentences as it means so much in singing!
Lastly, we will be performing the Phantom Tollbooth as an entire grade level on February 11 at 2:30pm in the Dickson Dining Hall.
Band:
We are having our annual lower school concert this Thursday, January 28 in Dickson Dining Hall. All of our band members are extra excited to show off all the skills they have learned so far. Here are a few details about the concert:
- The concert starts at 6:30 and you should arrive with your band member at 6:10.
- The uniform for all performances is a white Trinity polo uniform shirt and khaki pants.
- Band students should report to the band room to warm up before the show at 6:10.
- If you don’t have a white shirt or need one just for the concert you may borrow or buy from the clothes closet.
- Band students will sit together until the end of the concert.
- It will be a great show!
Strings:
By the time you read this, the Winter Concert will be mere days away! It is Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 in Dickson Dining Hall. Watch for an email early next week with all the details. We have been working with laser-like intensity on preparing our music for this concert. While everyone can play his or her own part just fine, the challenge in a Music Ensemble lies in its name: playing together. In each class we get a little better at playing our instrument, reading the music, and watching the conductor to know where the beat is - all while listening to ourselves and the others in the group to ensure that what we are playing actually fits with what everyone else is playing. No wonder playing in a musical ensemble increases brainpower! Please encourage your child to continue practicing his/her part; the better they all know their own part, the more energy they can spend watching and listening.