Current Learning: 4th grade

January-March:

All students were involved with our service project: Operation FFA--Food for All. We collected over 1,500 food items to support Feed NM Kids! We are starting a new unit about the Earth. We are building some background knowledge as a group and then will begin working on inquiry-based independent research studies on a related topic. We have finished Level 1 of Hands on Equations and are beginning Level 2, which involves positive and negative variables. We are on our last strategy in Math Quest: Act It Out. Following this strategy, the students will write another original math word problem for others to solve. We continue to read, write, and have shared inquiry discussions around Junior Great Books. Our next selection will be a fiction piece titled The Green Man. Students recently participated in a small group Brain Games challenge and are currently working on independent challenges. We will also be working on reflecting about our learning and goals to share at conference time. 

November and December:

• Junior Great Books: Young Inventors nonfiction text and new fiction text

• Inventing Unit: History of inventions, Inventor Characteristics, Categorizing inventions, Modifications, Engineering Design process, Inventor Research Note-taking/Google Slides Project, Invention Planning and Creation

• Math Quest: Make a Table and Chart strategy, Write a word problem using a learned strategy, solve others’ word problems, Start Look for a Pattern strategy

• Start/Review Level 1 of Hands on Equations

• Creative Problem Solver Posters

• Brain Game Challenges (group challenge in October and individual challenge in November)

• Individual Goal Setting using gifted strands and APS Skills, mindsets, and habits

September and October:

• Animals and You--research an animal you would love to be and create a poem and project 

• Math Quest--Draw a Picture and Make a Table and Chart

• Junior Great Books fiction stories: The Enchanted Sticks and Thunder, Elephant, & Dorobo

• Junior Great Books nonfiction: Young Inventors

• Inventions--learn about inventions, inventors, and the inventing, Engineering Design process. Then BECOME an inventor.

• Creative Drawings, Critical Thinking Challenges and other whole group discussions/activities

August and September:

• YOU: learning more about yourself as a learner and gifted person (including I Am poem)

• Animals and You--research an animal you would love to be and create a poem and project 

• Math Quest--Guess and Check strategy and Draw a Picture strategy

• Junior Great Books fiction story: The Enchanted Sticks and Thunder, Elephant, & Dorobo

• Creative Problem Solvers: Learning about traits of a creative problem solver: persistence, flexibility/adaptability, risk-taking, intrinsic motivation and making class posters

• Creative Drawings, Critical Thinking Challenges and other whole group discussions/activities

• Team Challenge--Operation Rescue Worm

September and October:

• Animals and You--research an animal you would love to be and create a poem and project 

• Math Quest--Draw a Picture and Make a Table and Chart

• Begin Review  of Level 1 of Hands on Equations

• Junior Great Books fiction stories: The Enchanted Sticks and Thunder, Elephant, & Dorobo

• Junior Great Books nonfiction: Young Inventors

• Inventions--learn about inventions, inventors, and the inventing, Engineering Design process. Then BECOME an inventor.

• Creative Drawings, Critical Thinking Challenges and other whole group discussions/activities

• Student goal setting (APS Habits & Mindsets, Gifted Strand Goals, CPS traits)