Grade 4 Language Arts & Social Studies

On Tuesday, our Book Club met again to discuss Book the Second of The Tale of Despereaux. Thank you to the families who sent in sweet and salty snacks, as well as CapriSuns, for the kids to enjoy. Our student-led conversation is a great opportunity for everyone to share, debate, and listen to a variety of opinions. We learned about the meaning of characters’ names – Chiaroscuro and Botticelli and how they were inspired by the artistic technique of combining light and dark, as well as the Italian Renaissance painter.

In addition, we spent time each day practicing multiple choice questions and skills they will face on next week’s ERB tests. We read short stories and played a game with slides to review writing mechanics. Today we practiced a 20-minute, 45-question test which covered all types of language arts questions to get a sense of pacing.

In social studies, we read about the Stamp Act, and the growing tension between the colonies and Britain. We discussed the Boston Massacre, and read a picture book about the Boston Tea Party.

Each day, we take 15-30 minutes to read in our biographies and take notes about our famous Americans.

In Morning Meeting this week, we had fun with the Double This greeting, a ‘trash’ketball game, games of Sparkle and much more!

In social studies this week, students worked to create slideshows about various aspects of life in Colonial America. Some surprising facts were shared about restrooms, hunting, clothing and more! 4E shared their slideshows with the class, and 4M is still finishing their presentations.

On Wednesday, we held our first Book Club meeting to discuss Book the First from The Tale of Despereaux. The desks were arranged so they all faced one another. Everyone chose some refreshments and settled in for a student-led conversation, or, in some cases, a debate. The book features a character who is very different from his family and who is accused of breaking the rules. Students discussed their opinions about his rejection his family, the issue of family loyalty and more. We look forward to delving into Book the Second after break, and, of course, another Book Club meeting!

We also learned three new morphemes this week and continued to practice analogies. 4E made flip books with analogies they wrote themselves. We also practiced multiple-choice analogies like the ones we’ll see on ERBs.

Today, the boys and girls were matched with their famous Americans! After spending several days going over a list of people and submitting their requests, they were matched with someone whom they will research and portray at the Biography Fair in April. 4M took a quick trip to the library to pull books they might use. We also readied our notecards so we can begin after the break.

Today, in celebration of Ensworth’s Literacy Week, 4th graders joined with 1st graders for Reading Buddies. Mrs. Jackoboice’s students came to our classroom, and everyone enjoyed reading some picture and chapter books together.

In Morning Meeting this week, 4E enjoyed the shoe greeting, the ‘dab’ handshake, Silent Ball and more.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe break!

This week, 4th graders have been learning a little bit about a lot of famous Americans. We are making our way through the 1700-1800s, with more current people to come next week. We have talked about the contributions of people like Alexander Graham Bell, Ben Franklin, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Frederick Douglass. We hope to finish the list and match students up next week.

In social studies, everyone has finished reading their book on an aspect of Colonial America. 4E also began creating Google slideshows to share what they learned. 4M will jump on board next week.

We have been very busy in language arts, too! This week, students read six very short chapters in our novel, The Tale of Despereaux. They are also working through a packet of comprehension questions. We look forward to discussing ‘Book the First’ at our book club meeting next Wednesday.

In addition, they learned four Greek morphemes and discussed comparative adjectives. We practiced writing sentences comparing two things and adding -er to our adjectives.

We also began working with analogies. Analogies are featured prominently on our ERBs, as well as all future standardized tests. We read a picture book introducing them, and 4E answered some multiple choice analogies and wrote some original ones of their own. Now that their play is over, 4M will catch up next week.

We celebrated three 10th birthdays this week. Happy Birthday to Campbell, Colette, and Vail!

In Morning Meeting we had lots of fun playing some new games, as well as some old favorites. We enjoyed Hidden in Plain Sight, Elevens, and Mind Reader. Everyone shared about their weekends, favorite childhood books, and things they are looking forward to this spring/summer.

Finally, we ended the week with Mr. Mogle’s class play. “The UnPrincess” was a big hit! I was so proud of the performance. Everyone looked great, delivered their lines enthusiastically, and pulled off a great show as a team! Way to go, 4M!

We kicked off the week with an extension of our study of quotation marks from last week. Not only do we know how to tag dialogue at the beginning or the end of a sentence, but we also learned how sentences with dialogue can be split in the middle.

In addition, we spent Monday and Tuesday creating special projects about Three Times Lucky. Some students chose to write letters to the author, which they were able to deliver in person on Wednesday. Others designed alternative book covers, some created movie posters, and others made timelines or wrote interviews of characters. They look great!

Thanks to a professional connection with Amelia’s mom, Ensworth was able to add Sheila Turnage to our Patchwork program this year. The author of Three Times Lucky and many other books traveled to visit us from North Carolina. The entire grade gathered with her in the library to hear about how she came up with the idea for the book, the characters, and more. Students were able to ask questions and share their thoughts about the book we all loved so much.

Later in the day, she led two writing workshops with the kids where they went through an exercise to create a character and begin a story. It was impressive to see what they produced.

On Thursday, we kicked off our new novel study of the Newbery Award-winning book by Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux. I read aloud the first two chapters yesterday, and the kids began comprehension questions at home. We also learned some crucial vocabulary before we started the book.

In social studies, we reviewed for our quiz by playing a Kahoot and Around the World. We also began reading books about various aspects of life in the colonies. Students at each table are reading a book together about Science & Medicine, School & Work, Food & Farming, or Clothing & Home.

We had two assemblies this week. Because of the ice storm, our Black History Month assembly was rescheduled for this week. We also celebrated Women’s History Month a little early with an assembly today. A magician came to perform for the kids on Tuesday. Throughout the show, he shared facts about Black entrepreneurs and another Black magician that was his inspiration.

Today, the presenter was a hiker who set the record (by a male or female) for hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has also hiked on six continents.

In Morning Meeting, the kids enjoyed playing the tape-rolling game. It felt a little like curling. They all took turns rolling a roll of masking tape to see who could get it closest to the wall without hitting it or falling over.

They also played games of 5 questions and 3 clues to review for the quiz on the 13 colonies.

We also celebrated Isla’s birthday today! A Leap Day baby, her actual birthday is Feb. 29 – which doesn’t come around again until 2028!

This week has been a very productive one in 4th grade! Students read the final four chapters in Three Times Lucky, and completed their last comprehension questions about the book. They also chose a project on which to work over the new few days before the author visits. Students are designing movie posters, new book covers, writing interviews between a reporter and a character, and more! I can’t wait to see how they put their creativity to use, and we are all looking forward to our visit with Sheila Turnage next week.

In addition, we learned four Greek morphemes this week, all of which are science related: auto, micro, ology and scope. The students had fun coming up with words that include these morphemes and illustrating them.

In grammar, we focused on quotation marks – where to put them and how to use commas, question marks and exclamation marks in conjunction with them.

In social studies, we learned about life in the New England and the Middle colonies. I also introduced the students to the Triangular Trade , the process by which enslaved Africans were brought to the colonies in exchange for goods.

We also had lots to celebrate this week. Liza brought in treats for her half-birthday, we hosted some kindergarteners who paraded through for Chinese New Year, and we attended the preview of the MS play!

On Monday, my class played a few Valentine-themed games of Minute to Win It since we ran out of time at our party. The moved conversation hearts using pencils like chopsticks and tried to build the tallest tower of hearts.

In Morning Meeting, the students enjoyed games of 4 Corners, Pass It!, and Two Arms, One Arm, No Arms among others.

This week we also began talking about and preparing for the ERB tests in April. We practiced some strategies for approaching reading comprehension tests, such as reading the title and scanning the page, identifying the genre and pre-reading the questions. Students will continue to practice this with a variety of passages until the tests.

After examining several picture books and reading many examples of odes, students selected an every-day item to celebrate. Favorite foods, items of clothing, and technological devices were among the topics. Students were encouraged to speak directly to their item, to use repetition, to incorporate similes, and to try personification as they praised their item. The results are creative and clever! Each child also created an illustration to accompany their poem.

We also read three VERY exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky this week. Next week, we will finish the book and prepare for the author’s visit.

In social studies, students worked with partners on an activity about the 13 original colonies. They learned about when each colony was founded, the origin of its name, and which products and industries were associated with the colony.

They also read an article about the Southern colonies. Students learned a bit about the Lost Colony of Roanoke and Jamestown, as they practiced reading for information.

On Friday, 4th graders were excited to see Miss Wickes’s class perform their play, “The Not-So Mysterious Disappearance of Cinderella.” Each student wrote a piece of ‘fan mail’ to a member of the cast.

Of course, everyone was excited to decorate their Valentine bags and swap treats and cards with their classmates. Thank you to the parents for sending in the sweet and salty snacks for the party. Kids in 4E were so busy with their treats, we didn’t have time to play the Minute-to-Win-It games I had planned. We’ll have to do those next week!

In Morning Meeting this week, 4M enjoyed some games of Poison Dart Frog, Two Arms, Follow the Leader and more!

This has been an interesting week to be sure! Students embraced the opportunity to wear comfy clothes, and they were happy to be back with friends, to share about their adventures over the snowy break, and to ease back into the routines of school.

This week we learned a little bit about the Winter Olympics. The students read articles about the first games and the 2026 games. They answered questions and enjoyed making a foldable project showcasing all of the sports.

Later in the week, they read articles about the Jamaican bobsled team and Olympian Bonnie Blair.

We also wanted to capture the memories of Winter Storm Fern and the resulting power outage, so inspired by the I Survived stories, we wrote stories of our own. First we mapped out the beginning, middle and end, listed some vocabulary that we might include, and decided on the setting and tone. Then students wrote their accounts of the last week or so. Many families sent in pictures to include with the stories and we have started a great display in the hallway. If you haven’t sent pictures yet, it’s not too late!

This week we also celebrated three of our friends turning 10! Happy birthday to Nelson, Kate, and Atticus!

In addition, we read three exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky. We will finish the book in the next two weeks, and on February 25 we will have author Sheila Turnage visit! We can’t wait to talk to her about the book and engage in a writing workshop activity.

In Morning Meeting this week, we shared a lot about our adventures over the unexpected break. We also greeted one another with ‘dabs,’ the potato handshake and more. We played games of Smile Tosser and Poisonous Dart Frog.

These girls did a little switcheroo with their sweatshirts. Did you notice? ; )

This week, 4th graders reviewed what they have learned so far about European colonies in North America. They played Around the World and competed with a Kahoot! They took a quiz on the information today.

In language arts, the students learned two more morphemes, two more vocabulary words, and read two chapters in our novel.

In addition, we read a series of picture books to prepare for an upcoming writing project. We charted our observations of the writing. Students noticed similes, personification, and more.

The focus and the highlight of the week for 4E was our class play, “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring.” With only 2 1/2 weeks between winter break and our show to rehearse, we were feeling a little nervous before today’s assembly. I am so proud of how they did! Not only did they deliver a wonderful performance, the class also worked together to set the stage between scenes, pull the curtain, manage their props, and create the scenery! They were up there all by themselves. Way to go, 4E!

Once we returned to the classroom, the students thoroughly enjoyed the delicious cake and some ‘ring’ pops. Fan mail has started to trickle in from other classes, and we look forward to reading more of it next week!

This week, students have taken a close look at three European countries and their settlements in America in the 1600s. Students read articles about Spain, France and England. They took notes, answered questions, and discussed the various ways the colonies were governed, what products they grew and traded, as well as their relationships with the Indigenous people.

In language arts, we learned several vocabulary words this week. Sometimes, we look them up in the dictionary, and other times we copy the information from slides. Every time, students write definitions and create original sentences to share.

We also enjoyed two exciting chapters in Three Times Lucky. Students continue to practice writing in complete sentences and cite evidence from the text when answering comprehension questions.

On Tuesday, we were thrilled to have a Patchwork assembly with Kate Messner. Author of the Ranger in Time and History Smashers series, as well as approximately 50 other titles, Mrs. Messner shared with us where her inspiration comes from and how she develops characters in her books. It was entertaining and informative!

Today, Ensworth celebrated Martin Luther King Day with a LS assembly. We heard from some 8th graders about MLK’s work in Nashville, and some 5th graders competed in a Kahoot! about his life. As always, we danced in and out to Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.”

In class, 4M has enjoyed a series of picture books about the civil rights movement and MLK’s life. 4E has only had time for one so far, since we’re busy rehearsing our play. More to come!

This week, 4E worked with Ms. Coates to create original pieces of art which will serve as our scenery and props for the class play. We are enjoying being on the stage to practice for next week’s performance of “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ring.” We look forward to welcoming our families and friends to the 8:55 show on Friday in Frist Hall.

In Morning Meetings this week, students enjoyed games of Sparkle and Arm Hockey, as well as sharing about their weekend and what’s new with them.