Art: Personal Symbols

The girls are working of the collage pieces considering the macro design (their personal symbols) and the micro design (imagery from their "I am" poems). They are using different strategies to morph their imagery.  The results are powerful! 

Computer Programming

This month the girls began an introduction to computer programming by learning about Ada Lovelace.  In 1843, Ada Lovelace became known as the first computer programmer and predicted the future of technology.  During Ada Week, October 13-17th, we watched various short video clips and read articles about her life.  With a partner, the girls create a Google Presentation about Ada’s Life.  Now we are working in Scratch, a programming language created by MIT.  To learn more about this program visit http://scratch.mit.edu/parents/

You can view your child’s work online throughout the unit!

Fourth Grade Language Arts

The fourth grade is anxiously awaiting each additional page as we read the novel by Beverly Naidoo, Journey To Jo'Burg. Naledi, the main character, is very concerned about her sister Dineo's sickness which needs immediate medical attention, but there are obstacles in the way of getting her to a hospital. She talks her brother, Tiro, into accompanying her on this difficult 186 mile journey. They meet interesting people along the way who help them to finally connect with their mother, Mma
in Johannesburg. Naledi and Tiro are also introduced to apartheid South Africa. We cannot share the ending of the story without spoiling it for the girls. Be sure to have your daughter keep you informed of the characters' journey to Jo'Burg.

As we read this novel, the girls do writing projects which show their ability to think about their reading and make responses that demonstrate careful reading and recall of details.

How many countries are there in Africa?

Did you know that there are at least 54 countries in Africa? Your daughters are now geography experts, and each one can name at least 17 locations on this vast continent.  As we finish up our first quarter, students will study eating etiquette in three different African countries and will invite their classmates to share a meal in a a traditional fashion.  In the next few weeks, this might provide interesting dinner conversation.

Ask Your Daughter about Ada Lovelace

Do you know who Ada Lovelace was? Last week, fourth-graders investigated the life and work of Ada Lovelace, one of the first computer programmers.  This collaborative technology and math project--led by Ms. Maalouf--allowed girls to explore various media resources and create a Google Presentation on this interesting mathematician. You can view your daughter's work in her Google Drive.

French: Visitons l'Afrique Francophone!

In French class, the girls have been learning about French speaking African countries. They played country Bingo, created mini country reports, participated in a country fact survey, played "I Spy" with African flags, read an authentic folk tale, and learned about the climate, geography, and culture of French speaking Africa. To conclude our unit, we had a very fun class where, first, the girls listened and danced to music from a band from Cameroon. You can see from the very blurry images below that they certainly enjoyed dancing!

Next, they teamed up and played Mancala (also known as the African Stone Game). 

It has been an interesting and busy few weeks visiting Africa! 

Science: Magnets, the attraction is obvious!

This fall, the 4th grade girls did experiments to learn the properties of magnets.

They tested various materials to see which are attracted to magnets and through which ones magnetic force can travel. They discovered that two magnets joined together have more force than one by itself and they had fun levitating magnets.

They put this knowledge to use as they planned and created original games which utilized magnet attraction or repulsion. Needless to say, the girls demonstrated their creativity and a good time was had by all!

Art: I AM POEMS

The girls are creating a design piece with symbolic imagery that represents who they are as individuals, who they are as members of various groups, and who they are as citizens of the world.  They are writing "I Am Poem" to help conjure their personal images using the link: http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/iampoem.htm

Art: Meaning

In fourth grade the art theme is Meaning.  The girls work with symbolism, literal and figurative meaning, universal connections, and cultural meaning.  They look at art from around the world and use analytical strategies and research to understand art from another place and people.  The girls also venture into abstraction discovering the power of the art elements to express and evoke personal and universal feelings and ideas.  

Technology: We have an app for that!

The girls have been very busy learning a variety of new apps in the classroom, during art, french, technology and more. Here is a list of the apps they have been using:

iBooks
Pic collage
Art set
Beautiful planet
                                                    Edmodo
                                                   Socrative 
                                                   Fotobabble
                                                   Google Drive

From the Library

Fourth graders have just finished a sleuthing project involving the organization of non-fiction books in our collection. Not all libraries use the Dewey Decimal System, but most do, and it's good to know that there is a system using numbers from 000-999. Girls found the lowest numbered and highest numbered books in a range and then together we hypothesized about the category. The Story of  the Three Wise Kings (220) and The Three Muslim Festivals (297.4) helped us easily figure out that 200s were books about religion.  A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art (700) and Iditarod Dream ( (798.8) made us think that 700s might be about travel. We were stumped when we added Sailing is for Me (797.1) and Songs of the Wild West (781.7). What else besides travel? The 700s cover a wide range of titles about arts and recreation, including sports.
We have also had some fun with thesaurus work. Ask your daughter for some exciting synonyms for BAD and for BREAK.