Mapping the United States

On Friday, April 16th students learned a brief history of the United States from "Neal the Map Man."  Neal taught the students a bit of history as he drew a map of the United States from memory.  Students learned many U.S. facts.
Here are a few of the things they learned.

• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S.
• The largest living things on this planet are trees.
• Death Valley is the lowest point in the country at 282 feet below sea level.
• Iowa is the U.S. state that produces the most corn.
• The first U.S. mail system was the Pony Express which existed from 1860-1861.

At the end of the show Neal asked the students a number of questions and students were able to show what they learned using the clues that Neal had drawn on the map.  It was a fun, interactive learning experience for all!

Celebrating Mickey Mouse's 91st Birthday

Disney Day

By: Student Blogger Evan

Do you know what Disney Day is? Well at Proctor School Disney Day is Mickey Mouse’s birthday!

Yesterday Mrs.Gibbas’s class celebrated by going on a QR code hunt to find out were Minnie was taking Mickey for his 91st birthday. We went around the library scanning all the QR codes to find out the answers to where they were going. There were 18 codes and 1 separate code had the answers of it. Mickey and Minnie were going to different states and capitals plus famous landmarks like The Empire State Building or The White House. We were all zipping around left and right trying to find the codes we needed to finish the hunt. At 12:45 p.m. we had lunch and when we had to stop the room was filled with groans and moans because no one wanted to leave. We were having so much fun doing the QR hunt.

Thank you Mrs. Klipfel for creating this fun activity for us!

Tales first-hands from other lands

As part of our fourth grade Social Studies curriculum, Team Gibbas students learned about how different groups of people immigrated to the United States and contributed to the present day culture of the United States.  Students learned that people come to the United States for different reasons, experience different challenges, and contribute to American society in different ways.  To enhance our study of immigration we invited Team Gibbas family members that were first generation immigrants to visit our classroom and to share their first hand experiences on what it was like growing up in a different country and immigrating to the United States.

Thank you so much to the Team Gibbas family members that came into the classroom to teach us about immigrating from India, Australia, Ireland, and El Salvador!  We learned so much from you!

Akash's mother taught us about immigrating from India.

Maddie's dad taught us about immigrating from Australia.

Christian's mom taught us about immigrating from Ireland.

She even taught us how to do an Irish step dance!

Zach (a.k.a. Michael Jackson)'s grandmother taught us about immigrating from El Salvador.

How well do you know the United States?

Today Proctor School fourth graders were treated to a captivating, interactive geography lesson.  Students participated in The Geography Gameshow whereby they learned facts about the United States as Cape Cod artist Neal Nichols drew a map of the United States from memory.  Then at the end of the program some students were chosen to come up to the map and challenged to see how many questions they could answer about the United States using the map.

It was amazing to see how much students learned from this fun and engaging program.
Thank you TESPTO for making this curriculum enrichment experience possible!

Italy

Italy Presentation

Mrs. Strong

By: Student Blogger Sofia

On Thursday, May 3rd a very special guest, Mrs. Strong, came to share her immigration story and experiences with Italy. She came because in class we are learning about immigration and we wanted to learn about some experiences people in Team Gibbas had. Mrs. Strong taught Team Gibbas all about Italy. We learned some history about Italy, the differences between Italy and America, and then how Mrs. Strong keeps some traditions of Italy with her family like the befana and going to Italy every year. We also saw pictures of Italy and Mrs. Strong´s family in Italy.  Plus she brought in things to pass around such as little cars because Italy is famous for their cars, a mask because when the Italians celebrate they're big about masks, a wild boar stuffed animal because in Italy instead of deer there are big wild boars.

Mrs. Strong also passed around a little sculpture because Italy is big about art and sculptures, and last she passed around the befana. The befana is a tradition in Italy and the befana is a little lady who is poor but on January 6th she passes around small gifts like a mini Santa. We did learn a little Italian and we got to hear Sofia Mrs. Strong's daughter sing a song in Italian about the befana.

Thank you so much Mrs. Strong for teaching us all about Italy! We all hope to visit there one day.

Mystery Skype

Team Gibbas Mystery Skype

By: Student Blogger Elise 

"Are you west of the Mississippi River?"  This was one of the questions that Team Gibbas asked the classroom we were skyping with for our first Mystery Skype of the year.

On Wednesday, May 2nd we got to do a mystery skype with a class from Kansas. When we skyped them we had no idea where they were from. To find out where they were from we had to ask yes or no questions. First we asked big questions and went down to more detailed questions. We did the skype to practice our map skills. When they said yes or no our note taker  would write down the notes to help the people in the think tank ask very good questions. Then the runners would give the questions to the filters to make sure they were good questions that hadn't already been asked before. After we learned that they were from Kansas the next question they asked was if we were from Massachusetts, so it was a tie!

At the end of the Skype call we learned that the fourth grader on screen asking us questions was actually the daughter of Mrs. Gibbas's college roommate!  We also learned that these Kansas fourth graders would be getting out of school a bit earlier than us.  Their last day of school will be May 24th whereas we will be in school until June 21st.

We can't wait to do a mystery skype again!

Thank you Mrs. Klipfel for this fun learning experience!

Yankees and Immigrants Field Trip

Yankee and Immigrant Field Trip

By Student Bloggers Annalisa & Eva

On March 22nd, Team Gibbas went to the Lowell Mills.

We learned about the Yankees and immigrants. An immigrant is a person who travels to a different country permanently. A Yankee is a native of New England.

We learned the challenges of an immigrant and how the immigrants traveled to America. We also learned that the young Yankee girls worked in the Lowell Mills for fourteen hours a day! All of us explored the boarding houses where the  mill girls lived. We got to go into the loud mill factory where we saw  the big, noisy machines that produce a funny smell.

Click video below to hear the weaving room in action.

Later, we role played immigrants and Yankees at a town meeting discussing whether or not the citizens of Lowell should build a school for the Irish immigrants using their tax money.

We also all got passports and acted as immigrants getting off a ship to New England.

We were all from different countries, and got together with our fellow immigrants. We saw the luggage that the different immigrants would bring to America, and made a mini-museum with the objects.  

We loved our educational field trip a lot. Thanks a lot to the Lowell Mills!     

Tour Guides of the Southeast Region

Are you wondering which landmarks in the Southeast Region would be worthwhile to visit?  Well you are in luck because the Team Gibbas tour guides are here to describe what makes each of the below landmarks exciting places to visit.  Simply click on the pin on the map and the tour guides will explain interesting facts about each location.

Grade 4 Learning Standards:
4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G)
4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G)
4.12 Identify and describe unique features of the United States. (G)

Team Gibbas on the Map

As part of our study of the different regions of the United States Team Gibbas students collected data on which U.S. states they have lived in or visited.  From this data we created a class map using Google My Maps.  An orange heart represents a place that we visited.  Houses represent a place that we or an immediate family member has lived. 

Mrs. Gibbas explains the pins that she placed on the map.

Look at all the places that we have explored!  

Question:  Using our map data, which region of the country had the least amount of visitors?

Why do you think that is?

Thank you Mrs. Klipfel for sharing this learning opportunity with us!

Mystery Skype

                                                         Mystery Skype

By Angie, Fourth Grade Student

         On Monday, May 8th our class had our first Mystery Skype! It was challenging at first but we came up with some great questions. The other classroom found our state first but soon we found out they lived in New Mexico. After that it was a battle to find the town. It was tough but our class quickly found out that they were in Albuquerque, New Mexico! We soon gave the other class hints and they found out that we were in Topsfield. We never had time to figure out their school but we all had fun trying to find where in the world they were.

Coming to America from El Salvador

As part of the fourth grade Social Studies curriculum, students have been learning about immigration. Today, Kylie's grandmother visited our classroom and talked to the students about her experience immigrating from El Salvador.  Students learned that El Salvador is a tiny country in Central America; it is even smaller than Rhode Island!  Students also learned that El Salvador is known for its volcanoes, coffee, and artists.  Students were a bit envious when they learned that in El Salvador children get a two hour break from school every day from noon to 2pm.  

Thank you Mrs. Connelly for sharing your immigration story with us!

Navigating our way around the Topsfield Fair

How will students be able to find their way around the Topsfield Fair?  By using their map skills, of course!

On Friday, Team Gibbas students practiced their map skills in a fun way by using the official Topsfield Fair map.  Students were given a map story about visiting The Topsfield Fair and were asked to navigate to specific locations using the compass rose, the legend, and the index.

Click here for the official Topsfield Fair map

Grade 4 Common Core Standards

History & Geography

2.  Interpret a map using information from its title, compass rose, scale, and legend. (G)

Explaining Everything about the Midwest Region

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the Midwest Region?  If so, you've come to the right place!  Click on the videos below to learn more about different Midwest Region topics.
During the month of April Team Gibbas students learned about the Midwest Region of the United States.  To showcase their knowledge, students chose one topic about the Midwest Region to teach an audience.  Students were then asked to use the Explain Everything app and add a map, facts, moving objects, and voice recordings to fully explain their topic.
Students did a fabulous job learning this new app and educating their audience about the Midwest Region!

Grade 4 Social Studies Standards

Regions of the United States

4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G) 

4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G)

4.12 Identify and describe unique features of the United States (e.g., the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Redwood Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park). (G)

What are the benefits of an Assembly Line?

As part of our study of the Midwest Region of the United States, Team Gibbas students have been learning about Henry Ford's method of production called the assembly line.  Today students learned first hand some of the benefits of an assembly line by pretending to be workers at Ford Motor Company "building" a Model T Ford.  Students were divided into three groups then asked to draw as many finished cars as they could in seven minutes.  For the first trial each student was responsible for the entire car.  For the second seven minute trial students participated in a mock assembly line whereby each student had only one part to draw and passed the cars down the line.  Then the class compared the results of the two trials.  Students learned first hand that job specialization and assembly lines are efficient production methods and that they decrease the time it takes to create a finished product.
During the second trial one student commented, "I'm getting faster at drawing my part."
Another student agreed, "Yes, I'm getting better the more I do it."
Another student said, "I don't even have to look at the directions anymore."

Northeast Slide Presentations

As part of our study of the United States' regions, Team Gibbas students created slide presentations about each northeast state.  Today in class, students had the opportunity to present their presentations to each other.  Click the arrows on the slide presentations below to see the students' hard work and to learn about the states in the Northeast Region.

Massachusetts Grade 4 Social Studies Standards Regions of the United States: 4.10  Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G) 4.11  Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G)

Mystery Skype

Last week we had our very first Mystery Skype.   We looked forward to figuring out where the classroom we were skyping with was on the map and which state they were in.   We had to ask lots of questions in order to find out where they lived.    Some of the questions that we asked were, "Are you in North America?"  The class that we were skyping with said, "Yes!"  Also one of the other questions asked was, "Are you east of the Mississippi River?"  The other class answered, "No."   We finally guessed where they were - Nebraska! They guessed where we were too, Massachusetts!  We had so much fun and we hope that we will be able to have another Mystery Skype soon. 
Written by:  Class Reporter - Abby Photos taken by: Class Photographer - Tristan

Working as a team to figure out where the mystery classroom is

Class Reporter and Note Taker hard at work

Traveling Teddies

On November 18th, the furry members of Team Gibbas began their quests to explore various parts of the United States and to help us learn about the different regions of the United States. Students' teddy bears will be traveling to different states from now until April.  Teddy bears may report back to students about their travels via postcards, a travel journal, and/or send pictures and information to be posted on our Teddy Bear blog.  Our furry friends help us learn about the physical features, natural resources, landmarks, and major cities in each region.
Thank you, Teddy Bears for helping us learn.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Click here to follow our Teddy Bears on our Teddy Bear Blog!

Massachusetts Grade 4 Social Studies Common Core Standards Regions of the United States:

4.10 Identify the states, state capitals, and major cities in each region. (G)

4.11 Describe the climate, major physical features, and major natural resources in each region. (G)