Fourth-graders stay connected even while at home
Although digital learning has changed what our school day looks like for many, our fourth graders continue to work hard in math. While continuing to practice and learn new strategies in multiplication and division, they have had different digital learning opportunities which include The Great American Multiplication Challenge, Wacky Math Hour activities by Alex Kajitani, and Team Fluency Games from MobyMax. Despite our hard work, we are all counting down the days until we can be together at school again.
In a google doc called DAILY, the students are writing almost every day. It has been a wonderful way to stay connected, do language assignments, AND create a timeline of our digital learning. Students may often write about whatever they wish, and it has become somewhat of a diary creating something for them to look back on in years to come. As difficult as this time is for many, it has also had many silver linings and joys. Having these in writing helps us all to keep our focus, stay connected, and do our jobs. Fourth-grade is truly amazing!
Despite being apart from the classroom setting, as well as school and public libraries for eight weeks now, the fourth-graders haven’t skipped a beat with their reading! We finished a 5-weeklong Heat Wave AR challenge with 535 points, which was originally started in the classroom with an end goal of 500 points. From there, they continued to exceed expectations by ending a Ninja Reading Challenge with 122 AR points in just five days! Students worked hard on a Mystery Reading Detective Challenge to earn clues to solve a fun, digital “crime” scene. Currently, they are being reading machines in attempts to earn enough AR points to have their teachers and Mrs. Schulz get pied in the face! Their attitude and efforts during this time has truly been remarkable and we couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments. Thank you students, parents and grandparents for all your help and support during this time. YOU ROCK!
The fourth-grade team certainly has been missing their time together in the classroom setting. While core subjects are important, we value the importance of connections, communication, friendship and laughter as well. During these times apart, we have been staying connected with our teammates with daily Morning Meeting activities and weekly Zoom video chats. Some have found the excitement of sending and receiving hand-written mail to classmates and teachers. We had a blast sharing pictures of our School Spirit Week, despite celebrating each day from the distance of our own home. We are so thankful for all the ways we’ve been able to stay connected with our team!
