This Week in Fourth Grade...

This week in Fourth Grade, students entered the world of cartography. After learning about cardinal and intermediate directions, and how to read latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates on a global grid, students practiced locating various places in the United States. Then, inspired by a student observation, we turned an exercise ball into a hands-on model of the latitude and longitude lines to further illustrate the concept!
 
Students also began their first novel study of the year, using "The Family Under the Bridge", by Natalie Savage Carlson. This fictional story of a Parisian tramp, Armand, who finds a ready-made family to live with him under the bridge, inspired some fantastic discussions and observations from our fourth grade students about homelessness, hunger, and poverty. We are really looking forward to reading the tale, and brainstorming ways to help out in our own community.