Welcome to Mrs. Kukowski’s classroom
It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through our third quarter. The months are passing quickly, and the children have been wonderful to know and enjoy. Progress report envelopes should be returned to me as quickly as possible, for soon the quarter will end!
We have been enjoying various genres of literature, including a play. Now we will move on to a new period of literature built around the Gold Rush and the lives of real cowboys. The children seem to enjoy historical fiction, and it teaches them a great deal about different times and places. It also puts the development of our nation into perspective. Coupling that with expository non-fiction makes for lots of learning.
For Presidents’ Day we read about both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They loved hearing about the deeds of both before becoming presidents, and learned that life isn’t always easy, even if you become famous. We also had an opportunity to learn something about slavery and the underground railroad, which they found to be courageous. It put us into Black History month nicely by learning about Harriet Tubman. But I think their fascination with the stories of wooden teeth and Abe Lincoln’s hat got them giggling.
The fourth graders are delving deeper into elements of non-fiction with a piece entitled Fire! They are taking notes, and doing webs to relate main ideas to details. They learned to preview text thoroughly before even beginning to read, and were surprised they knew so much about the piece before actually beginning to read it.
During Social Studies, we have been doing book reports that revolve around a number of different topics. The children are working in cooperative groups, taking notes, organizing them, and finding new words and definitions for index cards. Each group will have a time to present what it learned to the rest of the class. They seem excited to do this, and if it works very well, we may try to perfect technique by doing the same thing on a different topic. Some of the topics are food chains and webs, states of matter, weather, trees, and many others.
During the next forty days, we will be learning about our Lenten journeys with Jesus. For each of the days, we will hear a reading and complete an activity to accompany it. We will also see dvd’s to help empathize with Jesus. In addition we will make booklets about each of the sacraments, and its relevant signs and symbols.
For more information about the Sadlier site we use, visit www.WeBelieveweb.com. I love to see our children live out their faith at mass, and it is a tribute to all that they are so well-behaved.
