Economics

For the past two weeks we have been studying about economics! Last week we talked about what it meant to be a consumer or producer and how they depend on each other. We also discussed how important it was to make good economic choices. This week we have worked in groups and continued our study about ecnomics. Students have worked together and presented their information they learned to the class. We studied about scarcity, suppy and demand, conserving energy and how important it is for Kentucky to trade with other regions of the state. On Thursday after a review in class students will take a short quiz.

On Monday we are heading to Beaver Trail Park for a fun day in the sun! Students will be bringing home a note today about this event! Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! As always if you need to contact me please call Highland Elementry at 659-0432 or email at rebecca.johnson@glasgow.kyschools.us

Schedule Change

Due to the bad weather this week, we are now traveling to Bowling Green for the Hot Rods Game on Tuesday, May 3rd! We will be leaving school at 9:00 and will return after school hours at 3:00. Please make arrangements to pick up your child by 3:00. Thanks! If you have any questions please contact me at rebecca.johnson@glasgow.kyschools.us or 1-270-659-0432

Testing has began!

Today was a wonderful start to our first day of testing at Highland. Please make sure your child gets a good night's sleep, eats a nutritious breakfast, and arrives to school each day on time. Encourage your child to do their best each and everyday!

Don't forget to return the permission slip that was sent home on Friday. To reward students who have perfect attendance during testing and give their best effort during testing, we will be attending a Hot Rod's baseball game on Wednesday, April 27th!

Week of April 11th-15th

I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break! The weather was beautiful! It will be a fun week in Social Studies this week! We are going to start our week learning about Kentucky symbols. We will look at the Kentucky State Song and even make our own KY symbols book! Check out the link below for a really cool website to learn more about Kentucky  symbols!  See you all tomorrow! :)


http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/us_state_games/kentucky/

Citizenship

This week in Social Studies students have been learning about citizenship. We discussed our rights and responsibilities that we have as citizens of the United States. We compared our rights and responsibilities as citzens to our rights and responsibilities in the classroom. Today we watched a video about citizenship. After the video we talked about how being a good citizen also means for citizens to stay informed about current events. We can use our knowledge to make better decisions and to take actions. I challenged all students to today to watch the local news tonight to become more informed about their community!

Mayor Trautman

On Monday afternoon Mayor Trautman from   Glasgow came to Highland Elementary to speak to our fourth grade students. Students have recently been studying about government and the three levels of government. Mayor Trautman shared with the students about her job and responsibilities as Mayor of Glasgow. The students had many questions and learned a lot! Thank you Mayor Trautman for visiting our school!



Kamron Gore and Hector Cabrera presented Mayor Trautman with a thank you card signed by all 4th grade students.



Week of March 21st- 25th

We have had a wonderful start to our new government unit so far! This past week we were able to learn about the constitution and the three levels of government. We are so lucky to have the mayor come speak to us at Highland on Monday! We will be learning about her responsibilities in our local government. This will be a very short unit! This week we will finish up our levels of government posters, learn about the three branches of government, review and will prepare for a unit test on Friday! I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and are ready for another great week!

The Great Depression

Last week students learned about the beginning of a new century. Students learned how things were going great in the beginning of the 1900's but then in the fall of 1929 the United States and even Kentucky suffered through the Great Depression. After learning about articles, students looked at photos from the Great Depression and imagined what a newspaper article might say about the photo above. Fourth grade students then wrote their own newspaper article about this photo taken during The Great Depression.

Week of March 7th-11th

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Just wanted to update you on this upcoming week. Tomorrow we will finish our article writing about the Great Depression and will finish up our unit on the New Century this week. By Wednesday or Thursday we will review for a test and will take a test the following day. After our test will we will begin a new unit on Kentucky government! Just a reminder, Mystery Literacy night has been changed to Thursday night, March 10th, at 5:00. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please contact me! 1-270-659-0432 or   rebecca.johnson@glasgow.kyschools.us

Week of Feb. 28th-March 4th

This week we will begin a new unit on a new century. We will look at key events of the first half of the 20th century and how they affected Kentuckians. We will discuss how WWI affected Kentucky, building of Fort Knox, Woman's suffrage, the Great Depression and WWII. Students will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday. Don't forget, Study Island assignments are also due Friday! Let's have a great week!!

This week's I can statements are:

I can understand the success and challenges that Kentucky faced during the first half of the twentieth century.

I can locate Fort Knox, Kentucky on a map.

I can describe how women in Kentucky fought for their right to vote as citizens of the United States.

I can identify ways that people in Kentucky have addressed the problem of limited resources through decision-making.

Civil War Test

Students brought home a test review today for the Civil War test which will be on Wednesday. Parents, please study with your child and sign for 5 extra bonus points on the test. We will play a review game tomorrow and will take the test on Wednesday. We will start a new unit on Thursday! Hope everyone has a great week! Don't forget to STUDY!!!!

Our Journey as a Slave

 This week our classes traveled on the Underground Railroad to escape slavery. We took a real journey through a web quest that led us to freedom. While escaping we had many struggles and obstacles to go through. After this activity the students were so excited and really, truly felt that they had traveled and escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad. Students chose to write about their journey. I had to share some of them with you! These fourth graders are wonderful writers! Enjoy!!

Reminder for Monday, February 14th

Our Valentine Party has been re-scheduled for Monday morning! We will have a Valentine breakfast. Don't forget Jump Rope for the Heart is also tomorrow! Bring in your money so that you can jump! Hope you are ready for a great week!!

Week of Feb.7th-11th



We have yet another busy week ahead of us here at Highland so I hope that everyone is ready!! This week in Social Studies we are still discussing the Civil War. In the beginning of the week we are going to discuss what slavery was like before the Emancipation Proclamation. What was the Emancipation Proclamation? We are also going to study about Kentucky after the Civil War. On Thursday, Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd will be at our school to speak to the students! How exciting! Students will be learning a lot of fun facts about Abraham Lincoln this week.  Friday is our Valentine's Party as well as Jump Rope for Heart. If you haven't turned in your permission form, please do so ASAP. Money is due to homeroom teachers by Thursday, February 10th. Also, look for another Study Island assignment this week! Let's get ready for a great week @ HES!!





Abraham Lincoln will be at Highland Elementary on Thursday! 4th grade will be seeing him at 9:30!



Week of Jan. 31st- Feb. 4th

Good afternoon! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! WOW! What a beautiful day it is today! I have really enjoyed being outside this afternoon! I hope your ready for a good week back to school. Last week we had a great introduction to the Civil War! This week we will learn more about the Civil War in Kentucky. We will look at why the Civil War started, where Kentucky stood, and we will learn more about slavery during this time! Don't forget to keep looking for Study Island assignments. Students will have a new Social Studies assignment posted this week and a vocabulary quiz on Wednesday! Also, please remember to check out all the fourth grade teachers blogs!

A student this week brought in an old letter from 1865 where his great great great great grandfather had fought in the Civil War. This was a letter that discharged him from the war in July of 1865. We though this was so neat! Thanks Hunter for bringing this in to show us!!

Civil War Vocabulary Activity

We worked on a vocabulary activity last week in class with vocabulary from the Civil War. Students were paired in groups and were given a vocabulary word. They had to draw a picture, write the definition and explain to the class what the word meant. Check out what we did in class!

Week of January 24th-28th

I hope everyone enjoyed their snow day on Friday! I am ready for a wonderful, but busy week to start up and I hope you are ready too! This week we are going to continue our study about Kentucky's progress as a state. Towards the end of the week we will begin our study about Kentucky during the Civil War. Don't forget to look on Study Island for a new assignment this week.

This week's I can statements are:

I can describe how advances in technology have helped people in Kentucky meet their needs.

I can explain how lifestyles and conditions in Kentucky have changed over time.

I can understand the democratic principles of equality and freedom.

I can recognize how conflict was resolved in Kentucky during the Civil War

I can examine how lives of people in Kentucky changed after the Civil War.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me!

rebecca.johnson@glasgow.kyschools.us        1-270- 659-0432

Montgomery City Bus Adventure



Today, students traveled back in time and played the role of a school newspaper reporter assigned to ride the Montgomery, Alabama bus system in 1955. Students learned what it was like to ride the bus as an African American during that period in history. After watching a video about Martin Luther King Jr, students were able to see how Martin Luther King Jr's stand for civil rights played a huge role in something like riding the city bus.

Week of January 18th-21st

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their day off today! I hope you took a moment to remember why we celebrate this day! If you forgot, don't worry! Tomorrow in class we are going to do a really fun activity and learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact in our lives today.

This week's I Can statements are:

I can reflect upon events that led to the Civil Rights Movement.

I can identify the people and places that grew and changed after Kentucky became a state.

I can describe how advances in technology have helped people in Kentucky meet their needs.

I can explain how lifestyles and conditions in Kentucky have changed over time.

This week we are going to discuss Kentucky's progress as a state.We will identify the people and places that grew and changed after Kentucky became a state. I will give students one more week to complete their Study Island assignment. Do not forget that it is a part of their grade! As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me!

mailto:rebecca.johnson@glasgow.kyschools.us%20270-659-0432    270-659-0432

Test Update

Just wanted to update everyone on what will happen for our test tomorrow. Since we had a snow day, class time was cut short this week. I have decided that we will STILL have a test on Friday however, it will be open-note! Students will be bringing home a "Statehood" sheet today that they can complete for 5 extra bonus points on their test. Good luck to everyone, you will do great!

Week of January 10th-14th

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was nice to see a few flurries. I hope everyone is ready to start another great week in Social Studies! This week we are learning how Kentucky became a state. We  know that Kentucky was a separate county of Virginia after the American Revolution. Since the American Revolution is over, will settlers return to Kentucky? I hope everyone will be ready to learn about this significant event in our state's history!


This weeks I can statements are:

                        I can understand the development of Kentucky as a territory and a state.

                        I can identify the three branches of Kentucky government.

                        I can explain the duties of each branch of government.

                        I can recognize how the exploration and settlement of Kentucky led to

                        interactions between diverse groups.

                        I can review the conditions and events that led to the American Revolution.

We will also discuss the three branches of government. On Thursday or Friday (depending on how our classes move) we will have a test on early settlers of Kentucky!




Each class has also been given an assignment to complete on www.studyisland.com. Students will have the whole week to complete the assignment. It can be done at home or school!

Our homeroom class

Taylor and Logan hard at work

Best Friends

  

Pals

First Blog!

It is a new year, new beginnings, how about a new blog! I really hope that you enjoy the blog. Each week you will be able to see what is going on in fourth grade Social Studies. This has been a wonderful school year and I look forward to what 2011 brings! So far we have had a wonderful start back to school. I was so amazed at how well the students remembered everything about Kentucky's early settlers! Today we started the American Revolution. We learned that Kentucky was a very dangerous place during the war. The number of settlers in Kentucky dropped from more than 10,000 to fewer than 300 settlers! The students were amazed at this number. We discussed that we really are lucky to live in such a wonderful state and now free country! The rest of the week we are going to look at some heroes of the American Revolution. Do not forget, there is a vocabulary quiz on Friday, January 7th!