Tried It Tuesday: Teaching Fourth Grade Language Arts

I didn't expect to link up with Holly for Tried It Tuesday this week. There was really nothing I had tried, just the same ole, same ole. However, something really fun happened today, and here I am!

The teacher who teaches fourth grade Language Arts also happens to teach fifth grade Science. She needed the fifth graders for an extended time today so they could do some hands-on science stations about animal adaptations. The only time in the schedule that we could conjure up was when I normally had the fifth graders for Language Arts. However, my sixth graders were with another teacher who was administering a social studies test to them soooooo...... I took the fourth graders for Language Arts.

What to do at the last minute? SCOOT, of course! The fourth graders had been studying nouns and verbs, particularly as subjects and predicates. I decided to ramp it up a bit for them and add adjectives into the mix.

I started by sharing one of my new favorite books: Bats at the Library by Brian Lies.

With the predictable rhyming text, the fourth graders were quickly chiming in and helping me to read. After the first reading, we went back, extracting nouns and matching words that described them... ADJECTIVES. Next we brainstormed all the adjectives that we could think of to describe HALLOWEEN NIGHT, and what a list it was! We then used the words in sentences, noting nouns and verbs as well as adjectives. Then finally we played SCOOT wherein they practiced identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives in sentences.

They caught on quickly and really enjoyed the activity! So much so that they asked to come back again SOON! I think it might have had something to do with the cool orange paper that I gave them to write on... LOL!

The fourth graders made my day! I'm REALLY glad that I Tried Teaching Fourth Grade Language Arts today!

Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6