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Welcome to the Fourth Grade |
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| Fourth grade at Meadowbrook School is an exciting adventure into what makes America what it is today. This adventure starts in social studies with the exploration of the immigration movement and extends into the relationships that the fourth grade students share with very young people and very old people. | ||
We begin by studying the journeys of immigrants to this country. The students visit Ellis Island and see first hand accounts of the travels of many different immigrant groups. The students also explore their own heritage. During the annual immigration play that the fourth grade performs for their families, the students dress as one of their ancestors. They also bring in a culinary sample typical of their heritage. Through realistic and historical fiction, the fourth grade experiences the dangerous journey immigrants faced coming to America. The novel Rifka follows a young Russian girl's journey from a small town in Russia to Ellis Island. We experience her joys and sorrows as she leaves her family and travels in steerage to the new world. Reading Little House in the Big Woods allows us to compare and contrast the life of a Swedish immigrant family who chooses to live in the prairies of Wisconsin during the 1860's. A more contemporary novel, Hatchet, allows us to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. Can we survive on another planet? Can we use our past knowledge to help us in the future? Only by reading The Green Book will we discover the answers. Each book takes us on a special adventure. Fourth grade students share a special bond with the kindergarten children at Meadowbrook School. Throughout the year, each fourth grader becomes a best friend to a K-5 child. They read stories to them each month, have lunch with their special person and of course, have playtime with them. 
The fourth grade also shares a special bond with the seniors at the Willow Grove Senior Center. Residents of the Center visit the fourth grade and play social studies bingo. The students write poems about grandparents to share with their special senior. Lunch allows time for everyone to get to know each other. Math is an area of great excitement. Math is integrated into the social studies curriculum when solving problems. Graphing and computing data about the regions of the U. S. allow us practical use of our computation skills. A variety of other problem solving strategies are examined from logical thinking to guess and check. Each year fourth grade students become certified travel agents for every region in the United States. During the course of the year, the fourth graders become experts at naming every state and capital, all the major mountain ranges, river systems and mineral resources, the climate of each region, and the best vacation spots in the United States. They also become expert cartographers. Whether it is a relief map, physical map or political map, our fourth graders can interpret each of them. We demonstrate our culinary expertise by producing an edible relief map. Join the fourth grade class for an enriching journey in literature and social studies that includes application of math skills across the curriculum. |
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| Claire Magill and Jim Pierce, Fourth Grade Teachers |
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