January 12. 2007

Dear 4B Parents,

 

For our next core-literature book(s) the students will be participating in Literature Circles.  A Literature Circle is a student centered reading activity for a group of students.  Each member of a circle is assigned a role which helps guide the group in a discussion of the novel they are all reading.  Literature Circles is a fun activity which provides an opportunity for students to control their own learning; share thoughts, concerns, and their understanding of the events of a novel. Lit circles are comprised of  'jobs' ; Summarizer, Discussion Director, Predictor, Connector, Illustrator,  and Vocabulary Enricher.  As we delve into the novels, students rotate through the jobs so they have an opportunity to experience all the components that will support and clarify their understanding. The 3 books from which the students will choose one (based on level of difficulty), are Pedro's Journal; Christopher Columbus: In His Own Words; and 1492.  All three books look at different aspects of 1492 and provide a closer look into the age of exploration of North America. The students have begun reading one of these three books and a rotating job schedule and reading schedule has been given out to each student.  Through mid February, each student will be responsible for a different assignment and they will be due every Tuesday and Thursday.  Most of this work will need to be completed at home.  

 

The 4B students have been studying life in California up through the 16th century.  We have begun contrasting the lives of California Native Americans with life in Europe.   Students have begun learning why explorers began sailing from Europe, what some of them hoped to find, and what they did find.

I will make available data and stories about Sir Frances Drake, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and Sebastian Viscaino.  Students will imagine themselves as a
member of the crew aboard the ship of on one of these explorers.  They will collect information about that particular voyage and keep track of it on a gathering grid.  The who, when, where, why, what, and how of the voyage will be recorded.  This factual information will be infused into a sailor's journal.  

The students will create an imaginary character to sail along with one of these 3 explorers to the new world.  Based upon the factual information they've learned and researched, the students will create a semi-factual series of journal entries.  Their character will be fictitious, but the information they record will be about actual events that did take place.  For instance, if a student picked Drake to sail with, they could imagine what it was like when Drake encountered and took over the Spanish sailing ship, the Nuestra Senora de la Conception. They can choose to be a first mate, a sailor, a cook, or an apprentice.  They will need to write at least 6 separate journal entries.  The final drafts of these entries will be on 'aged' paper. Most of the work will be done in class.  Important dates will be announced.

As has become a fourth grade tradition, the students are creating synagogue note cards for their class auction items.  This year each student will research a synagogue that has some particular importance to their family history.  I'd like students to have conversations with their parents and grandparents and collect information about a temple that was ideally attended by one of their grandparents or parents, or if that is not practical, then a synagogue that was from a parent or grandparent's hometown prior to emigration to the United States.  To ensure we can find information about that temple, it will be important for each student to choose one or (preferably) two temples. The student will research that temple and will then trace a picture of it onto a notecard. Each set will have one card from each student in the class and will be sold on auction day & will make great gifts for Grandparents Day.  In addition, the original drawings will be grouped into a class set and framed as collage, which will be sold at the auction as well. This year's 4B theme will be tracing the Jewish community of each student in our class.  We are extremely fortunate to have the help of Debbi Seligman & Suzi Roberts for some of the development of this artwork.

 

Have a good evening!

 

-Steve

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Stephen Blatteis
sblatteis@wornickjds.org