3rd & 4th Grade Frenzy!: Qi Gong, Needs and Wants, Math at the Aquarium, and Scripts

Some highlights from life on Team 3-4:

Morning qi gong exercises
(Plus, check out our new bulletin board in the background! That's where we're recording our thoughts about our current novel- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.)

A few days ago we split up into groups and the students looked at a stack of cards featuring items such as "housing, blanket, bicycle, dental care, camera, bathing suit..." I instructed them to discuss and then categorize those things as "needs or wants". I enjoyed seeing the additional categories that the groups came up with. Some used a tiered hierarchy like the one in the photo- needs/closer to needs/closer to wants/wants. One group added a category of "if" needs. For example, you might need transportation if you need to get to a doctor. The activity inspired a rich dialogue. Here are some interesting quotes form the kiddos that pushed our discussion:

"Some of the needs are expensive and some are free."

"The needs are things that everyone needs everywhere."

"I think most people have all the needs."

"The needs are the most important, but I think the wants matter too."

"I don't think you need education, but I want one."

"What is insurance?"

"I need exercise so I need sports equipment... or I guess maybe I don't need it... but I really, really want it."

"I have all the wants. I'm lucky."

"Some of the things matter where you are. Like, you only need it in certain places."

"Most of the things in our classroom are wants."

We just wrapped up our work on an exciting math challenge. The students were asked to design an aquarium exhibit. They were given then dimensions of the tank and a list of pelagic (open ocean) species that they could choose from. They also received information about the different animals' size, diet, migrations, speed, schooling, and more. In selecting animals for the exhibit, they had to consider space limitations, think about which animals could successfully share a habitat, and take ethical considerations to heart. They then used their multi-digit multiplication skills to figure out how much and which types of food they would need to feed the animals for a week. Students who were ready for a push could figure out how much space they would need to store that food and then how much of the different types of food they'd need for a year!

Exploring non-fiction text features:

Geometry on the iPads:

Here students are rehearsing and performing skits for the class. I gave the groups prompts that asked them to write their own scripts about different challenging social situations that third and fourth graders are frequently confronted by. They performed them for the class and the students wrote and discussed the situation using the Non-Violent Communication tools they we've been practicing. They made observations (not evaluations), identified the feeling that may have come up for the characters, and identified the unmet needs in the situation. There are a couple of examples from student journals posted below: