We will design.
We will create memories.
We will successfully manage our work.
We will connect and reconnect.
Education is the most powerful tool which we will use.
Our connections will be strong.
The FUTURE of the WORLD is in this class.
Welcome to 4th grade!
As faith-filled learners, the fourth graders participate in prayer daily, and help and respect God's creations. During class discussions and activities across the curriculum, the fourth graders remind each other of important lessons Jesus Christ teaches us. The fourth graders discuss the importance of having trust, respect, open communication, and honesty in our friendships.
The fourth graders learn about discipleship and continue to grow as faith-filled learners. They learn about empathy. Having empathy for others helps the fourth graders better understand how to spread happiness. They know why Jesus gave us The Beatitudes to spread joy to others.
What are the Beatitudes? They are the teachings of Jesus that describe the way to live as disciples. The fourth graders investigated the meaning of all eight. They rewrote the Beatitudes in kid-friendly terms for our younger schoolmates. Our self-aware and engaged fourth graders thought of ways to live out the eight Beatitudes. Remember--if we live out The Beatitudes every day, we will grow as faith-filled, responsible learners whose actions will spread love, kindness, and bring peace to all. Read and enjoy the amazing work of our World Changers.
Here is the 4th grade World Changers version of The Beatitudes:
One way is to connect The Beatitudes to the Ten Commandments!
The fourth graders will begin to understand their conscience, their guide, in making decisions as we begin our next unit centered around The Ten Commandments . The fourth graders will investigate God's laws of love with Bible readings (Matthew 22:35-40), group discussions, and cooperative learning groups. They will discover that the two greatest commands are:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Ten Commandments can be divided into the above two categories. Our first command is the Greatest Commandment, and the second command is the Golden Rule. The fourth graders are learning that Commandments #1-3 fall under the Greatest Commandment, and #4-10 are categorized under the Golden Rule. The Ten Commandments help us lead a happy, loving life as we grow as faith-filled, responsible, engaged decision makers.
To help us live out The Ten Commandments, the fourth graders participate in the Second Step Program.
Every person has a fundamental right to life — the right that makes all other rights possible. Each person also has a right to the conditions for living a decent life — food, health care, housing, education and employment. We have a corresponding duty to secure and respect these rights for others and to fulfill our responsibilities to our families, to each other and to our larger society.
The fourth graders have finished reading Sarah, Plain and Tall, a chapter book written by Patricia MacLachlan, and the information text If You Were a Pioneer on the Prairie. We predicted and analyzed these two literary works to prepare the fourth grade historians for our units on Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail. The fourth graders have gained a better understanding on how life was like in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The fourth graders will study the two-year journey that took Meriwether Lewis and William Clark west from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean. They will learn about the unknown people Lewis and Clark faced, the harsh conditions they encountered, and the unexplored lands they came upon.
The fourth grade historians will learn about the Louisiana Purchase and its effect on Westward Expansion. They will gain a deeper understanding of how the Lewis & Clark Expedition impacted the United States, and Oregon, as it exists today. The fourth graders will discuss how life was different for Lewis and Clark as they traveled 8,000 miles without our current world consisting of iPhones, iPads, GPS technology.
The fourth graders will be assigned the task of creating digital or handwritten/handdrawn storyboards recording this epic journey of Lewis and Clark. Our historians will take a virtual tour (listed in the links on our class website) of the Expedition in small groups--reading, discussing, and recording important details on a provided graphic organizer. The tours will allow the fourth graders to better understand the experiences of the Corps of Discovery. Our engaged historians will summarize each stop to retell twelve stops on this two year expedition. These summaries will become the foundations for their storyboards they create on Pixton Creator. This project integrates Social Studies, Writing, Reading, Technology, & Math. The fourth graders will use higher level thinking skills and creativity to publish their very first digital storyboard. Check these wonderfully designed digital storyboards on our bulletin board outside our classroom in the near future.
Science/Health--
It seems fitting to learn about the layers of the Earth as we use our map investigating skills when exploring Oregon. What are the layers of the Earth?
Your engaged fourth grader will be able to inform you that the four layers are: