Tales Of A 4-5 Something

On our first day that we made boots we were artists. We made a pair of boots whatever way we wanted. Our teachers had music and there were snacks that were apples and cheese. Then the second day came. Our teachers told us that people liked our boots and we each had to make two pairs but we didn't have more time. We still had to make them good so people would buy them. We didn't have music or snacks this time. Then it was the third day. We had to make as many boots as we could. It was crazy. People were moving fast. Each room made its own factory name and Ben was in charge to make sure we made lots of boots. He walked around with his umbrella. We made a lot of boots but they did not look as good as the first day. We stopped working on our own and started to work as a team so we could make more. All three days were different. Our blog post from two years ago.

We are studying immigration and the Industrial Revolution. In one class we learned about how the land changed in Lowell, MA. We went to Lowell when we started units. Lowell, started as mostly farms with a few houses. Then all the farms were gone and there were a lot of factories and streets. There were also more canals. There were canals because factories used water power to make all their machines worked. They also moved supplies on the canals. After learning about all that we decided which kind of waterwheel would be the most efficient. Then we go to build it! We got water everywhere but we had fun!

4-5 went to see The Emperor's New Clothes on Wednesday, December 9th. It was the Middle School Drama Club’s performance. My sister was in it. She was the Duchess of Dressing Up and my friend’s brother was the Emperor. The whole Lower School was there and the sixth and seventh grade we're watching too.  The play was in Franklin Theater and it was about an Emperor who he loves clothes. One day, a mother and son came to town to trick the Emperor into buying their "magical clothes.” The clothes were made with a special thread that only “smart people” could see. There really were no clothes and the Emperor was stupid enough to "put them on" and all in all he actually liked not wearing anything. Even though he wasn't naked on stage we laughed when he danced in his new clothes. The acting was really well done. I loved the play. Connor

In spanish class we created a family called our Famous Family or Ma Familia Famosa. You could have anyone you want in your family from Mickey Mouse to Clifford the Big Red Dog. I thought it was really fun to make them because you got to be as creative as you wanted to be. Some people had aliens in their family’s and some had unicorns. After we decided who was in our family we had to describe them and that is where we practiced our Spanish. It was an awesome activity. Once we were done with them we got to share them with the whole class it was amazing. By Eli

PACER The pacer is a test that 4-5 takes twice a year in PE. In the pacer we have to run for as many laps as possible. The goal is to get in to the “healthy fitness zone” which is 12 for girls 10 and 11 and 24 for boys. Everyone I have run with has made it in that zone. The 5th graders can only run up to 50 laps in the fall and the 4th graders can only run up to 40. But in the spring the 5th graders can run for ever and 4th graders can run to 50. My high score is 50. That was all I was allowed to do. According to Elicia, the most laps ever run by a student is 120 laps. The pacer is a great way to stay fit and healthy. By Henry W. We interviewed classmates about the pacer which is a running test in P.E. One of our classes mates said that there is a lot of pressure and that you want to do well. After the pacer we play a game. Sometimes we play kin ball. It is called the Pacer because you have to pace yourself. The pacer is where you run in a straight line and a voice says ...

On Wednesday, December 10 we dressed up like people from the past. We had a big simulation in Sills and we were trying to see what it felt like to be an immigrant coming to the Unite States. After we came down the staircase we had to go through a heath, brains and legal tests. We got our picture taken for a fake passport. In between every test we had to sit in chairs and wait. It was noisy and there was a lot going on. Then we had to go to the people at the judge’s podium and we showed them all our information like why were coming to the country, what we were bringing in, and how we did on our tests. When we finished all that we got to drink cider and eat snacks and fill out a paper about it the simulation. by Jaden Here is a video of what happened: Here is a video from the last time 4-5 did Ellis Island. Do you see anyone you know?

A month ago in 4-5 Writing Workshop classes we randomly chose a fictional character and studied it. Some of them were, The Easter Bunny, Scooby Doo, Rumpelstiltskin, and even Harry Potter. We became that character and we were interviewed by a classmate who we got partnered up with. When we were done taking notes after the interview we wrote a story about them. We are calling the writing a non-fiction narrative. It was SUPER fun! A couple weeks later, when we finished editing our character stories, we were put into small groups and we interviewed real people that had immigrated from different countries to the US. We interviewed people from Holland, Germany, Colombia, Somalia, New Zealand, England, and Canada. Our writing will show up on a Thinglink pretty soon.  All of us had a lot of fun, and we learned so much! I hope we interview more people and characters! by Violet Here is our Thinglink that holds all our interviews. Thank you to everyone who came in to talk with us! ...

Did you know that this week schools all over the world are showing kids how to code? Codes are languages for computers and iPads and other gadgets. When you look at the screen you see words, pictures, and links but behind the scenes all of that is made by codes. We are going to try to understand what is behind the scenes of a computer and write code! It seems interesting but it will be hard and we want to do it. We really like the coding idea but we do not know how to do it. We are glad that we will be learning this during the next few weeks! by Cole, Iris, Violet, and Eli Some of us saw these videos: A Message From The President The Hour Of Code Worldwide Anyone Can Learn Code Do you want to try at home?  Code.org  is a great resource. Here  are a few beginner tutorials: Anna & Elsa (Frozen) or Angry Bird & Naughty Pig .   In school we're doing an hour of code!! We get to start of on small practice steps and after that we can program in a...

On November 14th we went to the Lowell mills at the Tsongas Industrial Museum in Massachusetts. We took a long bus ride to get there. Once we got there we split into small groups and met our tour guides. Each group got to take a tour of the hall that was full of things like the machine that picked the things from the cotton from the cotton mill. We learned how the slaves were forced to pick the cotton that was made into the nice clean fabric like we wear everyday.It was then shipped from the south to the north. After that we got to weave.When we weaved we used a big loom and we could weave different patterns. Each student got weave on their own loom We learned that girls who worked in the mills worked a long time like fourteen hours a day. We had lunch in a big cafeteria. Then we went on to a museum. It had a big replica of the floors of a factory mill. We split up into small groups for a scavenger hunt. Then we shared what we had learned with each other. After that we went on ...

Today Tim read Oranges by Gary Soto for an Opening Moment. We listened to the poem and drew what we saw in our imagination. Have you heard this poem before? We also talked about the poem. Here is what we said: I think that the poem is cool to listen to because the boy is exaggerating how bright the orange is. I like that the poet makes that part exciting. AH I liked that this poem sounded like a story. It had detail but not too much. It was just the right amount. VM It was nice that the lady sold the candy even though the boy did not have enough money. I thought that was the heartbeat of the poem. IC I think that the heartbeat was that the boy was on his first date with the girl. DH I liked that the last line said the orange was like a fire in his hand. We are talking about similes in WW and this is one. SC What do you think about the poem? What do you like?

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Every Monday 4-5 students take home an assignment sheet that shares the week's homework expectations. Our goal is that families sit with their student to talk about the upcoming week and to plan out when assignments will be completed. Signing the sheet on Monday let's advisors know that families are aware of the expectations. The assignment sheet also informs families about events at school. This week we have picture re-takes, a food drive, and Family Pachanga. If you have any questions about the homework please contact your child's advisor. If you need an extra copy of the sheet you can always find it by following this link .