Άρθρα κατηγορίας 4th grade

Play time! Review the Present Continuous using DIY word puzzles!

 

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It was time for my 4th graders to review the Present Continuous -a time when students (and teachers) get to see if they actually have understood the relevant grammar. I had realized they sometimes omit the verb “be” when they use the Present Continuous, so we talked about the verbs in this tense as if they were trains. Then I thought I could bring my popsicle stick word puzzles, and then every student made a puzzle of their own, using simple strips of paper that were properly cut to contain a word. After each student had made their sentences, they took turns to visit the working spaces of their classmates, to discuss their own. It was an interesting day, to say the least!

Ode To A Stray Dog

This is an acrostic type of poem, that the 4th grade students did collectively on World Poetry Day, and they really nailed it! By the way, Boomerang is the name of the dog, he is a big black shepherd and the nurses at the nearby hospital have adopted him. There is also a school in the neighbourhood, and Boomerang likes to watch all the children go to school in the morning, while sometimes he even stands in the middle of the street, so cars stop and the little students can cross safely!

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Celebrating World Poetry Day: Acrostic Name Poems

I recently happened to come across this great article called “7 Fin Ideas for Writing and Publishing Student Poetry”, by Hannah Hudson, on the We Are Teachers website. It was great, because I wanted to get ideas for something to do in class on World Poetry Day, March 21.

Here’s a sample of what we’ve been able to accomplish in class with 5th and 6th graders (4th graders needed a little more time):

I had prepared a list of adjectives, in alphabetic order, which we translated and analysed, working in groups. Then, the students chose the adjectives that they thought described them best. They finished their work by drawing themselves as accurately as possible. It was wonderful to see how absorbed they were, trying to write self-defining poetry! Students love to define themselves, and this is a basic step towards building mutual respect and solving discipline issues in class. All they need is an opportunity! Marvellous!

 

Do you know the Simple Present? Check yourself with these coloured wooden popsicle sticks!

It was about time my 4th grade students showed me how much they have understood of the Simple Present. I used a permanent marker to write words and / or phrases onto coloured wooden popsicle sticks, gave each student group the sticks of a single colour, and that was it! They were instantly hooked, and after they had made the “correct” sentences, they wanted to keep on trying to make new, perhaps odd, but grammatically correct sentences out of the same sticks. Success!

Selling Greek olive oil!

In the context of a project about the olive tree, which 4th grade students did with their teacher, Ms Stratigoula Lazaraki, we thought about creating an advertisement flyer for our very own, imaginary, olive oil label! We all thought it would be a great idea to see the locally produced olive oil being sold on the shelves of big supermarkets in the UK, so we wanted to help by making it known to the people there.

The students’ imagination was unlimited: Someone thought of olive oil as being liquid gold, which triggered someone else’s idea of presenting this olive oil as treasure which pirates had to struggle very hard to get to; others thought about olive oil as a means of celebrating peace and unity among people; for others it was the product of hard work, during the harsh autumn and winter weather; others celebrated Greek cuisine and the Mediterranean diet, and so on. It was such a pleasure to work with these talented kids! You can see some of their works here.

 

Pardon a Thanksgiving turkey!

No, dear smiling Greek student of a little town school who thinks he knows everything, we don’t celebrate Black Friday today. Today is Thursday, and it is Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is one of my most favourite celebrations. I really like the “Count your blessings” message, and I think it has a very special place in the teaching and learning process, too. This year I chose my 5th grade students to do a fun activity of collaborative colouring of a turkey, on the feathers of which the students glued what they were thankful for.

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I also find this worksheet very useful. It’s simple and explanatory. Or, you can check out numerous videos available. Just don’t let the kids grow up thinking Black Friday is actually a holiday. That would be a sin on an English teacher’s soul. Happy Thanksgiving!

What’s the weather like? A project for D class, popular among students

This project was done with a lot of excitement! The students really liked going up to the map of Greece in the classroom and finding the towns the wanted to talk about! They revised the relevant language of telling the weather beautifully! They added drawings of the weather description near each town they had chosen and some even wanted to present their project in class, just like a weather forecast!

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A letter to Santa Claus in Lapland!

Every year, with my D class students, we will normally send at least one letter to Santa Claus in Lapland around December. The “elves” from the Santa Claus main post office in the Arctic Circle will normally answer; of course, the children don’t believe they will, because “There is no Santa Claus!!!!” (as they say), but they always do, which is lovely!

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This year, we have a new student in class, who came from China last summer and used to go to school there. So, we are on a “get to know other countries” mode, and in this context the kids wanted to know more about Finland. So, why not ask Santa Claus?! You know, the good old “let’s ask the locals” Greek policy, instead of doing the homework. But if Santa replies, then voila! There’s the motivation they need to start doing some homework indeed.

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Needless to say, the students like to draw Christmasy stuff to go with their letter, and they all sign the letter, which is written by the one with the best handwriting (the choice is theirs).

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And this is a very nice picture with a boat; “because we are traditionally a nautical people.” And “the Finns should know it’s not always sunny in Greece.” Don’t you love how innocent and straightforward kids are?