We’re just two short weeks away from the first day of school around here and I realized I haven’t shared anything about my fourth grade planning.
It’s been a summer FULL of work — no vacation this year — so I’m actually feeling a little ahead of the game. We’re starting out with online learning (another post about that coming soon), and I knew there would be lots to adjust to with that new modality, so I decided to get a good chunk of curriculum planning in the bag early.
Planning for Online
I also decided that, at least when it comes to planning, not to do anything different with curriculum prep. There are some things — different supplies and materials, for example — that require a different approach, but my regular block planning is looking remarkably the same.
I figure I’ll adjust as necessary, but the first step is to get the curriculum map figured out. Luckily, this step is the most fun and I always get excited and enthusiastic about the year to come when I start thinking through the stories.
Thankfully, this year is no different.
Waldorf 4th Grade Blocks
The first step, as always, is to map out the blocks on the school calendar. Here’s the order I’ve got them arranged in this year.
- Local Geography #1
- Norse Mythology #1
- Math #1, The Kalevala
- Human and Animal #1
- Math #2, Introduction to Fractions
- Norse Mythology #2
- Human and Animal #2
- Norse Mythology #3
- Math #3, Simplifying Fractions, Multiplying and Dividing
- Local Geography #2
You’ll see that I like to put the more outward facing blocks on the ends of the year, to allow for field trips (though our capacity in that regard will be pretty limited.
Block Planning
One other change I’ve made this year is that I’ve put together a Block Plan document that shows what the imaginative content, skill content and practice work. In the past, I’ve collected this information for myself and outlined it in my teacher planner, but this year I know that parents are wanting more information so they can track their students’ progress themselves. I actually appreciate the inspiration it’s giving me to get more-organized about the work. I’m hoping it will pay off during the school year when planning time will be much more limited.
The First Block — Local Geography
I’m actually really excited about my Local Geography block and I’m approaching it differently this time around. In the past, I’ve essentially taught a block on the indigenous/native perspective and a block about early settlers (for us that means Lewis and Clark and the founding of Portland.)
This time around, it just didn’t feel right to separate the content this way. I’ve been talking with indigenous teachers about how to approach the topic mindfully and every recommendation has been to incorporate modern perspectives, making sure the students know that the native experience is something that is happening now — not separate from other perspectives.
So, instead, each week I’m telling three different types of stories:
- An indigenous story
- An early settlers story
- A purely geographic/connection with nature story
And I’m breaking up the content by location. For the first block we’ll stay right around Portland; the second block will include the entire state of Oregon.
Field Trips
As I learn about all of the different locations around Portland — some that I’ve never visited before — I’m finding good excuses to go out walking with the dog. We’ve hiked all over this city and I’m getting excited about providing my students with hiking guides that they can explore as a family.
At some point we may be able to explore together in small groups, but we’ll start out with individual family explorations, and I think they’re going to have a lot of fun with it.
Academic Skills
As always, the beginning of the year is full of learning new rhythms and establishing routines and practices. This year of online learning (at least for the beginning of the year, that is) is no different. We’ll be figuring out how to work together online, which will actually be very different than what we did in the spring. (I promise a post all about it is coming soon.)
And though our focus won’t be too much on gaining new academic skills, we will do plenty of review, getting back in the swing of things and writing a report.
All About Me Report
When I went through my notes from last time I taught 4th grade, I saw that I had my students complete an All About Me report. I was new to this group of students, so I used it as a chance to get to know them better.
But it also ties in really well with one aspect of the 4th grade curriculum, which is continuing to support the students’ growing individuality. Being able to locate themselves — in space and time — is an important part of this report and greatly contributes to the development of the 4th grader. It will also give us a chance to explore verb tenses in an organic way, before learning about them more formally in our next block.
At this point — and, really, through 5th grade, reports are strongly guided. I give the students a weekly homework assignment with the questions I want them to answer. I make sure they know to answer the questions in complete sentences and then they put their sentences together in a formal report (after I’ve collected and corrected their homework, that is.)
For this report, each week the homework will have a different theme.
- Week 1: When I was a baby
- Week 2: My friends and family
- Week 3: When I first started school
- Week 4: Who I am now
Each week they’ll get three or four questions that will come together to make up that portion of the report. I’ve been using this structure for report writing for awhile and I find it really helps kids until they start to learn what a report looks like. Then they can start taking on structuring their report themselves. Until then, they’ll be supported by the regular structure of our homework routine, which will break the report down into manageable chunks.
I’m really looking forward to teaching this block (yes, even via Zoom) and I’ll definitely update you once the school year gets rolling.
How’s your summer prep going? Are you ready for the first day?
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