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NEWSLETTER Unit of Inquiry:
For the past unit, How the world works, students
immersed themselves into science inquiry and the scientific method. Students learned about posing
questions, predicting and hypothesizing, planning and
conducting fair and unfair experiments, collecting data and analyzing the results in a conclusion. Each student was responsible for at least two science tests. The
results of these tests were compiled by all students in
the fourth grade and can be found in the Fourth Grade
Science Library Blog at
http://blogs.chadwickschool.org/ scienceexperimentlibrary/
The students’ inquiry into science related concepts and
the scientific method as a means to acquire knowledge
relied heavily on their thinking and inquiry skills. It was a pleasure to see many of the students work
independently to complete their tests and lab reports.
Calendar Items
May 17 KISAC Swim Meet CI Aquatics Center
June 6 VS Concert Main Theatre 1pm
May 24 Family Fun Day Soccer field 12 pm
June 6 Conferences
June 9 Sports Day
June 10 International Day
June 11 Last day of school Half day
June 12 CI/Choate Joint Concert Main Theatre 4 pm
Math: In the past two weeks, students explored how to calculate the probability of an event. Students created games and situations and determined the odds, or chance, of winning and losing. After creating the games, the students tested them to see whether the actual probability matched the theoretical probability. During the course of our investigation, we did ‘gamble’ and make bets. It was hoped that the students would begin to understand that the odds of winning a game of chance is unlikely or very unlikely. After losing more than winning, students began to see that the odds of winning were not in their favor. Students are also learning about finding the typical, or average. Students were given situations where they had to determine whether using the mean, median or mode is best for finding the average. This week students will continue to deepen their understanding of these concepts, but will also be introduced to roots as an inverse to exponents.
Writing: Students are enjoying writing their creative fiction stories or plays. The writing assignment was simply to pick a genre that interests them and write a story, play or comic (graphic novel). Most students chose to write stories. Some include chapters. The students are working through the writing process independently. Each student is responsible for finding a peer to help revise and edit his/her work before submitting it to the teacher for final revisions and publication.
Reading: Students are presently reading books either independently or in a book group. The books range in genres and reading levels. Aside from practice in fluency and comprehension, the students are focusing on how conflicts develop in a story and how the characters react to each other or the situation as the events unfold.