Grade 4 News
An insight into life in Grade 4 at BMS...
Dear Friends of Berlin Metropolitan School,
The children and teachers are now busy and engaged in their Unit of Inquiry: Who We Are. During this unit the children are comparing belief systems, exploring how beliefs and values can determine people's actions, and looking into examples of how spiritual traditions can impact on societies.
You will, of course, be aware by now that the children have and will be taking part in a number of trips away from the school site to visit and explore different places of worship. This is an excellent opportunity for them to see and experience different ways and thinking about the world. Please feel assured that you will be notified well in advance should the children be required to bring anything different to school on these days. Otherwise, please just try and make sure that they are in school on time, and that they have warm and waterproof attire.
4a Update
Unit-
Over the last fortnight 4a have been very busy finding out more about different systems of beliefs and values. To inspire, we have visited a mosque, a synagogue, a church and the Islamic Art Museum. We have also had presentations from several teachers about their beliefs or values. Additionally, Bruno and his family presented to us about their life on a boat; Marta and a friend presented to us about Buddhism and Ms O'Fee taught us for a yoga class. What an exciting two weeks! We are now using this experiences to compare several different belief and value systems. Next week, we will begin working on our summative assessment for this Unit of Inquiry.
Maths -
In Maths, the students have been sharing their mental or written methods of addition and subtraction. This has helped us try out several different calculation strategies by learning from each other. Next week, we will use our experience of geometrical patterns in some of the places of worship that we've visited to help us inquire into the properties of 2D shapes.
English -
We have been looking at the language of comparing and contrasting. This will help support us for the summative assessment for this unit.
4b latest news:
To help us gather information we have been reading books and using our research skills – locating information, selecting relevant ideas, and recording ideas in note form. We then record our findings on a class data grid. Viewing the information in this way will help us to identify similarities and differences between the different systems.
The fortnight in 4c...
As part of their Unit of Inquiry, the children have continued to improve their understanding of different belief systems and how these can affect the behaviour of individuals and communities. They have visit a place of religious worship and have a number of other trips planned over the next couple of weeks.
During their English lessons they have read, deconstructed, drafted, up-levelled and written final copies of film blurbs for the short animation, Alma.
In maths children have continued to build on their understanding of place value, while also taking part in weekly problem solving activities. Their most recent problem, pictured below, involved using clues and working as a group to solve a logic puzzle.
4d
4d continues to explore the world of Geometry. They have been classifying and naming 2D shapes by sides and angles; identifying and comparing different kinds of quadrilaterals; sorting and classifying quadrilaterals by their geometric properties. They have incorporated Art and Geometry by creating geometric art pieces and using ipads to create a mini lesson explaining the different geometric pieces found on their art work.
The latest from the German team:
Dear Parents,
During the last two weeks the 4th grades have been, in collaboration with homeroom, focusing on believe systems and values in German classes. We have thought and talked about, as well as gathered ideas in the form of mind maps for the terms system, value and various elements that make out different belief systems. Furthermore, we are practising our new unit words and focusing on double consonants as a spelling pattern.
The children are especially enjoying the many field trips we are undertaking in order to support our learning and understanding of the current unit as well foster open-mindedness and respect towards all kinds of customs and beliefs. Our trips include the Magic Museum Magicum, where the focus lies on the biggest world religions as well as superstitions, furthermore a Buddhist Temple and a visit to the Philipp-Schaeffer library.
Many greetings from the German Team!
Frau Pointner and Frau Lucic
CCEP Update:
A successful day for our BMS Alba Primary Team in the first round of the “Alba Grundschulliga”! The outstanding performance of the team was rewarded with the qualification for the final round - Keep it up!
Ein erfolgreicher Tag für unser BMS Alba Primary Team in der ersten Runde der “Alba Grundschulliga”! Die tolle sportliche und mannschaftliche Leistung wurde mit der Qualifikation für die Finalrunde belohnt - Weiter so!