Humanities with Hilary

Dear 4th Grade Families,

It was so wonderful seeing you, last week, for our Publishing Party! The work they showcased was spectacular, and each student really is the expert of their colony. Here is a photo album of 4th Graders throughout the process of our project!

The day after, we went on a walking tour around the Financial District, exploring Lower Manhattan history to see where colonists were and their experiences. During this tour, we studied maps, took on the perspective of different occupations (in relation to economics and how artisans/merchants/military/enslaved people/etc would feel about raised taxes), and MORE! The kids and our amazing chaperones were troopers when it came to the weather. I cannot wait for our next field trip(s)! Here is the photo album of our trip!

Last week, we started to talk about Civil Rights. We started by talking about what we already know when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement. This document shows you what each student shared. As is the 4th grade tradition, one part of this is studying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech from “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” on August 28, 1963, which we will soon perform on Friday, January 13 at 10:00 am. When we listened to the speech, we were first surprised by how long it took for Dr. King to say “I Have a Dream” — OVER 10 MINUTES (in a 17 minutes speech)! Next, we realized he says a lot of really big words.

We have gone through the first third of his speech and dissected what he was trying to say. One group made a fantastic simile for when Dr. King talks about not being satisfied. They mentioned that people in the Black community are being given crumbs, or being given small “gifts” such as getting water fountains (that are segregated) or sitting where they want on a bus or desegregating schools, but what the people want are their FULL rights and freedoms. These “inalienable” rights are promised to each of us at birth, and cannot be taken away. We talked a bit about economics, and the basics of how banks work. This description, of how the account you have with a bank is you loaning money for others to use, helped the class to understand Dr. King’s words a bit better when he said that “America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” ” After we explore his whole speech, we will start looking backward in time, from the 1960s back to the 1860s, to see what prompted Dr. King to write and say what he did. This will include talking about the Great Migration and looking at US Census population maps from 1890 to 1960.

Finally, all of the students have received their warm fuzzy bookmarks! Reading what these students wrote for one another, and how well they were able to keep to the positives of others, was really wonderful to read. I can’t speak for each of the students, but I know that each 4th Grade teacher and I took to heart what the class wrote about us and how they feel. It immediately brightened each of our days when we received our bookmark.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Wednesday, December 21, 2022 to Monday, January 2, 2023 –> NO SCHOOL for Winter Break
• Tuesday, January 3 2023 –> FIRST DAY BACK
• Friday, January 13 2023 –> MLK Tekes from 10:00-11:00
• Friday, February 17 2023
  • First Day of Adar (aka PJ Day)
  • 3rd and 4th Grade Talent Show (time TBD)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Hilary

Judaics with Shira

Fourth graders continued studying Parshat Toldot in Chumash class last week. We were introduced to two new characters, Ya’akov and Esav, twin siblings who are actually very different from each other. We took a close look at the text, and at the family dynamics that were formed among this growing family of four. The students had lots of opinions about the parents and their favoring of opposing children.

This week we studied all about Chanukkah, reviewing the rituals, customs, and story. We then read the book Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue, the story of secret Jews who emigrated from Portugal to Massachusetts in the 18th century. Through this tale we began to explore the concept of Pirsum Ha’nes, advertising a miracle. Next week we will continue to study about how and when we can advertise a miracle in our communities through looking at teachings in the Shulchan Orech. We capped off the Chanukkah preparations yesterday with dreidel playing with our K buddies! The fourth graders were such patient teachers to their young buddies and are really starting to form trusting relationships with their young friends. Fourth graders have also been practicing reciting the blessings and singing Chanukkah songs such as Maoz Tsur and Mi Y’mallel, so that they can participate in your family celebrations at home. Finally, fourth grade will be leading the whole school in our candle lighting on Tuesday!

Math with Luis

Fourth graders have fiiiinally moved on from multiplication and division! We wrapped up that unit with an assessment two weeks ago and have since embarked on our fractions journey. Corrected assessments went home on Monday (12/19) along with a very old assessment from the beginning of the year – feel free to email me with any questions about these. Overall, fourth graders did very well and showed that they had confidence with their 2-digit multiplication, long division, factors, and multiples. In our fractions unit so far, we have only been able to do equivalent fractions and comparing fractions, but more is coming next year. 

STEAM with Sammi

In STEAM class, the 4th graders have jumped back into our teamwork challenges after completing their Google Slide work. It was great to jump back into a teamwork challenge and see how far the students have grown this year on their teamwork skills. Before the challenge, students looked a list of areas they have been growing and chose one to focus on for the week: patience, empathy, communication skills, respect for others, perspective thinking, ability to compromise, tolerance for struggling, ability to problem solve, and sportsmanship.

Last week’s activity was to save Fred! Fred is a gummy worm who was stranded in the ocean with his boat flipped over and his lifesaver knocked into the water. Using 4 paper clips, students had to work together to flip the boat back upright, get Fred into his lifesaver, and put Fred safely back in his boat. If Fred fell in the water, they had to start over! Everyone had a great time with this activity and it is very easy to replicate at home if you want to give it a try.