New Beginnings for Grade 4/5

Grade 4/5 in Mrs. O’Keefe’s room has just completed a unit on cells- the basic unit of life.  Students became proficient in making slides and focusing in on them under the microscope.  Some very nice scientific drawings were made of plant and animal cells including some of our very own.  Student’s also learned the Cell Theory and how the development of microscopes made it possible.  A number of students are now considering careers in biology- the study of life!

We began our year reviewing and building strong paragraphs.  At this time we are studying parts of speech and how to build strong sentences through the “Framing Your Thoughts” program.  We also did a study of Strategies for Successful Readers.  Everyone is reading independently, keeping track and developing responsibility with the reading logs and checking comprehension through Accelerated Reader testing.

We have drawn up our Full Value Compact and have chosen personal goals that will promote strong classroom respect and responsibility.  The students have also chosen personal goals to improve their academic success.  The challenges we experienced on our field trip to Couttes-Moriarty helped us realize how strong we can be physically and mentally and how good it feels to set and accomplish goals individually and as a group.

Students are working to strengthen their knowledge of math facts so they can tackle more difficult ideas about math. Everyone is expanding their knowledge of whole number place value and working with large numbers. We did some comparisons of populations of the continents and compared the human population of the world with that of penguins!

Speaking of continents, we are reviewing map skills and learning new vocabulary to help us in our study of the geography of the United States.  By the end of the month we hope to have started our clay maps of the United States.  The map will focus on landforms and geographical regions.  More to come!