It’s Week 4, and we are officially settling into the rhythm of the school year. The beginning-of-the-year activities are behind us, and we are diving into the real work of fourth grade. This week has been one of those weeks where I look around the room and think, “Okay...we’re really doing this!”

What’s Happening in Room 6

We are moving right along with our California studies! After starting with our introduction letters, students are now researching California’s different regions and learning what makes each one unique. All of that learning has lead to one of my favorite projects: making salt dough maps of California. If you are a CA teacher, you know how "4th grade" this project is! I love introducing it to a new group of students each year. If you would like my actual lesson plans, you can get them here.

In math, we have started our place value unit in EngageNY, and in reading, we are beginning Unit 1 of CKLA and our work with narrative text.

But one of my favorite lessons this week involved bubble gum.

As part of our narrative writing work, we did a “Bubble Gum Snapshot” lesson alongside our Nonfiction Quick Dip with Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum. Each student got a piece of Dubble Bubble gum (the gum that was invented in the book), and instead of immediately writing a story, we slowed down and simply paid attention.

What were they thinking before they started chewing? What did they notice? How did the gum taste? What did they feel? What changed as they continued chewing? They recorded their thoughts and feelings before, during, and after the experience.

Next up: Pop Rocks.

We’ll repeat the process with a new experience, but this time students will use those observations to actually write a narrative. I love taking something small and memorable and using it as a way to help students understand what writers do.

✨ Tip #1: Give Them Something to Write About

Sometimes we ask students to write about an experience without realizing how much we are asking them to do at once. They have to remember something, organize it, add details, think about their audience, and remember all of the mechanics of writing. Sometimes it helps to simplify one part of that process. Give everyone the same experience first.

Taste something. Try something. Watch something. Go outside and observe something. Do a quick experiment. Create a moment worth writing about.

Then pause.

What did you see?

What did you hear?

What did you think?

What did you feel?

When students have just experienced something together, they can focus their energy on learning how to turn that experience into writing.

✨ Tip #2: Practice the Thinking Before the Writing

One thing I am reminded of again and again is that students don't always need to write the final product the first time they try a new skill. Our bubble gum lesson was really practice. Students practiced slowing down. They practiced noticing. They practiced paying attention to their thoughts and feelings. They collected details. Then we'll try it again with Pop Rocks, but this time, they'll apply that thinking to narrative writing.

Sometimes the sequence can simply be:

Do it together.

Talk about what you noticed.

Try it again.

Now write.

Giving students a chance to practice the thinking before asking them to produce the writing can make such a difference. This week has been a good reminder that meaningful learning doesn't always require an elaborate lesson or a complicated project. Sometimes it starts with a piece of bubble gum, a handful of Pop Rocks, or a map made out of salt dough. And honestly, those are often the lessons students remember.

I hope your school year is finding its rhythm too!

Stephanie
Teaching in Room 6