Class IV Curriculum Highlights
October, 2016
English
Poetry dominates Class IV English during the month of October. Students will analyze some of the
great classic poems, such as Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, and learn the terminology and language we
use to describe and categorize poems. Students will write some poems of their own and also recite a
treasured poem for the annual Brooks poetry competition. At home, students will immerse themselves
in great poems, gathering favorites and creating a personal poetry anthology. On or near Halloween,
the hurly-burly begins with a study of Macbeth!
Health
Class IV Health started the year with building a comfortable classroom community through multiple
group activities. As a class we spent some time establishing classroom norms in which every student
had a voice. In the month of October, our first unit will explore the skill of self-management and how
this can impact students’ overall health. Class IV will be conducting a Lower School health fair where
they will spread awareness about health topics that are important in balancing overall wellness.
History
In Class IV History, students have recently completed their study of the Black Death, and we will
begin setting Europe on its path to recovery. The first piece of recovery has to do with the economy.
For this unit we will focus on the decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism. As an introduction
to capitalism students will study the wool industry of Renaissance Florence. We will then move into
a conversation of how capitalism affects our lives today, and what certain capitalist terms (like supply
and demand, surplus, profit) mean. Class IV students will work in pairs to create a short movie
explaining one specific element of capitalism.
Science
In Class IV Science, students will continue drawing diagrams and writing procedures for experiments.
They will practice the more sophisticated measurement skills learned in September and begin to
analyze data from their experiments to draw conclusions. Reading and making histograms is a focus
to help students understand how to represent the trends in data sets. Students will apply all these skills
in a sequence of experiments addressing what happens to mass in a closed system.
Performing Arts
Dance Technique
In Dance IV, students are learning dance techniques for proper alignment, strength and flexibility, use
of weight, momentum and flow, rhythm and musicality, and how to dance from the inside out.
Students are watching and learning a historical dance choreographed in 1960 by Alvin Ailey,
“Revelations,” and discussing what the dance conveys as well as how it feels to dance it. They are
studying their skeletal system in order to understand their structure and posture. In October, we will
turn to Ballet technique and study George Balanchine’s iconic “Serenade.”
Rock On: A History of American Popular Music
In Rock On: A History of American Popular Music, students are off to a great start learning to play
the acoustic guitar, the electric bass, and to sing in three-part harmony. They have already shown
signs of being a talented group of singers! They can now play and sing “Rockin’ Robin,” “Sh-Boom,”
and “Our Song.” We have watched two parts of a five-part video series called the “History of Rock
and Roll.” During the month of October, we will finish watching the series and choose a couple of
songs from 1960s and ’70s while continuing to develop instrument playing and performance skills.
Set Design
In Set Design students are working on shop safety and completing their introduction to tools.
Students will commence their work on the Shakespeare set with bending wood into rings to create
chandeliers and mastering the painting technique for faux marble. As those projects finish up, the
students will start building pieces unique to their show, Macbeth, such as the trees for Birnam Wood,
castle battlements and maybe even a large cauldron for our witches.
Physical Education
This fall the Winsor Physical Education Program for IV's will include introduction to the following:
Fitness I, Flag Football, Nitro Ball and Ultimate Frisbee. Our students will develop competency in in
a variety of motor skills and movement patterns and learn the importance of physical activity for
health and well-being. Our goals are to develop each student’s fundamental skills and strategies while
also emphasizing sportsmanship; all of these are essential to the future participation and success of
our interscholastic sports teams.
Math
Algebra I
In October, Algebra I will continue working on multi-step equations and inequalities containing onevariable. We will apply these problem-solving skills to literal equations by rearranging equations
containing multiple variables. Students will further develop their skills with additional application
problems, such as distance/rate/time problems. We will start our exploration of graphing linear
functions, using slope and the y-intercept, as well as various forms of equations.
Algebra II
Algebra II students started the year looking at simplifying radical expressions and solving radical
equations. Radicals will continue to be used in our study of quadratic expressions before moving to
the definition of a function. We will look at many types of functions throughout the year, though in
October our focus will be to identify functions by either their equation or graph. Throughout the year
we will work on collaboration and taking organized notes that can be used as reference for homework
assignments or study guides when preparing for an assessment.
STEM:
Manifest Arts
In the Manifest Arts Studio STEM course, students assembled an analog electronic pixel that allowed
them to mix red, green and blue to create colors and automated the pixel. Soon, we will be coding to
coordinate the activity of the class’ pixels as a group, creating CAD renderings of various diffusing
enclosures, and 3D-printing these designs. In upcoming classes, we’ll discuss the artistic aspects of
pixilation and color, various artistic endeavors we might pursue with our pixels, and meet the
engineering design challenge of implementation.
Prototyping
In the Prototyping House STEM course, students began with a survey of smart devices and the design
principles of David Rose, which promote the implementation of the “Internet of Things” in everyday
objects to make them “enchanted” with information (like an umbrella handle that glows blue when
it’s about to rain). By coding Arduino boards, the class has begun to experiment with how
information can be communicated through user interfaces. We’ll investigate how to obtain open
source information from the internet (starting with weather data) and we’ll continue into October
imbuing our devices with this information to implement Rose’s “enchantment”.
Visual Arts
Oil Painting
In the Class IV Oil Painting elective, students are introduced to a different approach to painting with
each project. We are just finishing up our animal portraits and starting a new project. Some students
are painting a portrait for the Memory Project, a nonprofit organization that creates portraits for
children around the world who face substantial challenge such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents and
extreme poverty. These portraits will be delivered to the children. Other students are painting a selfportrait of themselves when they were young.
World languages
Spanish
In Spanish we have created artistic responses to the José Martí poem “Versos sencillos.” We are
learning to sing and drum to the song “Guantanamera” based on the poem. We are exploring the past
tense while practicing the present and progressive tenses with all verbs including reflexives, indirect
verbs, irregulars and modals. Every student is asked to give herself homework, and to manage her
resources and time during Independent Learning.
French
In Class IV French, students began the year learning to describe their lives, personal interests and
activities. We are reviewing and practicing present tense verbs in preparation for learning how to
reminisce about childhood using the imparfait. Students will learn to talk about themselves as
children and to ask others questions about how they used to be. They will tell short stories and give a
presentation using this new past tense.
Latin
Class IV Latin students will continue studying 1st/2nd and 3rd declension adjectives in order to read
more complex stories and compose more interesting sentences. They will also learn the perfect tense
(simple past tense). Study of this tense involves learning new dictionary forms and verb endings. A
comprehensive review of all verb forms will accompany this unit. Culturally, students will read
stories about the perils of Roman travel and inns, including a famous Roman “urban legend” that tells
the story of a murderous innkeeper.
Chinese
In Class IV Chinese, we continue to learn from Integrated Chinese on the topics of how to describe
one’s learning habits, and how one has done on previous activities. Students will practice using
“verb-de-adj” structure to ask and tell others how well she did on academic and extracurricular
activities. By the end of the unit, students will work in pairs to create an in-class skit using this
structure and previous knowledge, and will present their skit to the whole class.