Fourth grade has started their new Social Studies unit on Rainforest Regions. I have added some resources to our LINKS page for students and parents to use at home to support EAL students in their learning during this unit. If you are interested, please take a look. Scroll down to 'Units of Study' and find the Current Units for 4th grade. |
Fourth grade students have been learning and practicing language that signals compare and contrast in texts they read and write. Students in 4th grade have been learning about history in social studies and electricity in their science unit, so we are exploring the concepts of compare and contrast in relation to history and the invention of electricity. We have been learning and talking about how electricity has changed the way work is done through reading the book, "Jobs Change." We have been exploring the question, "How has life changed since electricity was invented?" Students learned that there are certain 'signal words' in texts, such as 'still', 'but', and 'instead of' that signify comparisons and contrasts. Just as when we drive in a car we use signal lights to know which direction people are turning, writers also use signal words in texts to show readers where they are going with the ideas. As readers, we need to recognize these signal words to help us better understand what the author is trying to tell us about the ideas. As writers, we need to use signal words to show our readers where we are going with our ideas. Next, we are moving into a writing project related to making comparisons and contrasts in response to the above question. Fifth grade students have been learning and practicing language that signals cause and effect in texts they read and write. To introduce the concepts of cause and effect, we read a backwards fairy tale called "The End". It tells the story from the end to the beginning and shows the chain of events that happened that led to the prince and princess living happily ever after. Students learned about when and how to use 'because' versus 'so', and practiced by collaboratively retelling the fairy tale in reverse order. Students learned that there are certain 'signal words' in texts, like 'because' and 'so' that signify cause and effect. Just as when we drive in a car we use signal lights to know which direction people are turning, writers also use signal words in texts to show readers where they are going with the ideas. As readers, we need to recognize these signal words to help us better understand what the author is trying to tell us about the ideas. As writers, we need to use signal words to show our readers where we are going with our ideas. Students in 5th grade have been learning about government in their social studies unit, so we are exploring the concepts of cause and effect in relation to government. We have been talking about the roles of governments and citizens and have learned about different kinds of taxes and why countries have taxes through reading the book, "The Backpack Tax." We have been exploring the question, "What would happen in a country if people didn't pay taxes?" Next, we are moving into a writing project related to cause and effect in response to the above question.
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