Fourth graders use a workshop model in reading, writing and mathematics. Their work is very much like that of professionals in these areas – for example, they learn to collect ideas, draft, revise and edit in writing and are guided by mini-lessons as well as studying authors as mentors. In science, social studies and class meetings, themes of community and respect for others are woven into in-depth explorations of cultures and environments.
Early Explorers of California
Art, geography, history, reading, writing, researching and website development are all utilized in this example of an integrated curriculum. Students are told they are going in a time machine back to the Old World and the Age of Discovery. We look at examples of beautifully illustrated ancient world maps and contemporary maps to locate Spain, Portugal, England and France. They brainstorm all they know about explorers of this time period. Each cooperative group is assigned one explorer to research. In cooperative groups they create a list of questions they would like to answer. Students use various sources for information: books, the Internet, films and Old World maps. They read, discuss, share information and record their research on 3"x 5" note cards.
In addition to answering their own questions, they are informed that every group must include an explorer’s timeline, design an Old World map depicting their explorer’s route to the New World, create a webpage, write responses to their questions that will be part of their map and be prepared to teach each other about their explorer.
Students make an Old World map by dipping butcher paper in tea, letting it dry and then ironing the paper. This gives the paper an antiqued look and a great deal of care is taken to make the map look authentically of the Old World. Students use oil pastel chalk to draw continents, oceans, sea monsters, ships, etc., and include on their maps a timeline, the explorer’s routes, the lands and oceans known at that time and selected information describing the journey and discoveries.
Students are guided by a parent volunteer in the creation of their “Discovery” webpage. Adobe Workshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver are used as the software.
Finally, when all the maps and webpages are completed, the students share their explorer’s discoveries with each other.
Neighborhood Ecosystems
Fourth graders take their previous knowledge of environmental systems and relationships to a deeper, more sophisticated level in an integrated unit on creek ecosystems. From field trips to observe the activity and relationships in such an environment to reading and researching, to dramatizing and illustrating, students are immersed in the journey toward understanding the interconnections and complexities existing in any ecosystem. Through studying the food chain and the transfer of energy and looking at various symbiotic relationships, students develop an appreciation for the importance of each participant and component of an ecosystem. Focusing on a local ecosystem allows students to interact directly with what they are studying.
Students begin their study with a trip to a local creek where they draw and write their observations. They create lists of the plants and animals living there and begin to make hypotheses about the relationships between living things. They also examine the important role of non-living things such as water, sunlight, oxygen and soil, and how they affect ecosystem life. In the classroom and at home, students are reading and researching what they have observed outside. Through discussion and analysis, students develop an understanding of interdependence, in particular by examining and experimenting with various cause-and-effect relationships and scenarios – if we removed algae, for example, what effect would that have on the ecosystem overall? Students begin to see different types of relationships, such as mutualism and parasitism, while also developing an understanding of the various cycles within ecosystems.
Students work in groups to study different layers of the creek ecosystem with each group creating an almost life-size slice of a creek ecosystem by building a picture of the creek on a 6’x18’ bulletin board. Each layer includes plants, animals, non-living things and an explanation of the relationships and portions of the food chain existing at that level. As each group contributes a layer, they begin to see how the layers depend on each other, thus achieving one of the most significant goals of the unit – an understanding of interdependence in ecosystem communities.
A Sample Fourth Grade Daily Schedule
