# data[].attributes.body
Hello again.
My professional goal is to become an educator. Teaching the fourth or fifth grade is the goal for the moment. My belief as of right now is that it is important for a teacher to realize there are different techniques for teaching and just because one technique works one year it may not work the next. Its time for educating to evolve and grow into more than just memorization. Setting up the class room to allow movement has statistically shown that the children are learning better. Active seating is just one of many ways our classrooms are starting to evolve and so is teaching with the help of technology.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Are you new to teaching fourth grade and looking for inspo? Or have you been doing this for a while and you're looking for ways to revamp what you're already doing? We've got you! We've looked through our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook and the web for some of the best tips for teaching fourth grade. We've organized the list by topic to make it easy to cruise for ideas. Let's do this!

Getting Your Classroom Ready

1. Classroom Setup

Need ideas to make sure your classroom is ready for your kids? Here's an excerpt from the book Responsive Classroom: " What Every Fourth Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom."

2. Try different classroom layouts

Long gone are the days of straight rows of desks lining the classroom. Throw out your seating chart and try one of these ideas instead.

3. Fill your classroom library with these classic fourth grade books

Teaching fourth grade involves a lot of reading! Here is a big list of our favorites.

4. Create interactive bulletin boards

Have you ever heard of or tried interactive bulletin boards? Here's an article from Brittany Jeltema and her tips for bulletin boards students can use. Plus, here are our favorite interactive bulletin boards for inspiration.

5. Get a jump start on lessons

Teacher planning and prep time are precious! It makes life a lot easier when you can purchase existing lessons, bundles, books, and pages. And why not support other teachers while you do it! Check out our favorite Teacher Pay Teachers sellers for fourth grade.

The First Days of School

6. Introduce yourself creatively

Make day one memorable by introducing yourself in a creative way, such as sending postcards over the summer! Here are our favorite creative ideas.

7. Make "Big Plans"

We love this start-of-year activity from Write On, Fourth Grade! Start by reading Big Plans by Bob Shea and Lane Smith. Then on construction paper, have students create their own plans for fourth grade, for their school career, and for adulthood. Hang 'em up and label the wall "Our Big Plans"!

8. Set goals with your students

Have you ever heard the phrase "a goal without a plan is just a wish?" Let's support our students in turning their wishes into actions with this goal-setting activity.

9. Establish an anti-bullying culture from day one

Download free and kid-centric anti-bullying printables from Kid Pointz to help your students understand the importance of avoiding peer pressure and handling bullies constructively. Plus check out our anti-bullying videos and anti-bullying books to share with your students.

"I also went to the dollar store and got these cute little 'pledge' cards that kids can sign at the beginning of the year to pledge that they won't bully each other and will report bullying when they see it. It's a great way to start the year!" -Jen B.

10. Establish a culture of kindness

Print these free, downloadable classroom posters to remind your students that kindness matters most of all.

11. Build your students' social-emotional skills

Teaching fourth grade means building SEL skills. Use these read-alouds to talk about everything from kindness to courage to trying your best.

12. Create classroom jobs for your students

Here are some creative classroom job ideas from our teacher community: tech support, environmental support, organizer, textbook coordinator, sanitation engineer, librarian, substitute, chief in charge, messenger, paper passer, supply clerk, IT technician, human resources officer, administrative assistant, waste management. Plus check out these creative classroom job charts.

13. Make a class time capsule

At the beginning of the year, have students write down their thoughts, expectations, goals, feelings, and predictions. Put them all in a decorated jar, seal it up, and then read them all in the last week of school.

14. Keep your students linked into the big picture of the lesson

We love this kid-friendly version of a teacher's lesson plans. Put day-specific "Today I am ..." "So that I can ..." and "I'll know I've got it if ..." posters on your board.

15. Get rid of the boring worksheets

Instead, engage your fourth graders with:

"Thinking maps that students create." -Aimee V.

"Brain-based activities and games." -Joy W. (Check out these fourth grade brain breaks.)

"Foldables. Check out Dinah Zikes for ideas!" -Dianne K.

"Interactive notebooks!" -Shanna J.

16. Use the walls for anchor charts instead of premade posters

You can check out our top fourth grade anchor charts for inspiration here.

17. Ground your teaching in ABAR work

Learning for Justice is a website that offers free educational resources for all grade levels in order to engage and focus our learners and ourselves in community, collective action, and social justice. Bookmark this website so you have it all year long.

Ideas for Language Arts

18. Incorporate daily writing prompts

We've gathered 50 fourth grade writing prompts that you can download and use to have your students practice their writing skills.

19. Use paint chips to inspire sensory poetry

Let color work its inspiration for your fourth grade poets. Check out other educational uses for paint chips here!

20. Teach apostrophe usage with a strong visual

We like this one from Write On, Fourth Grade!

21. Teach the difference between tone and mood with a helpful anchor chart

Practice applying the definitions by reading passages in class and asking students to identify the difference between tone and mood in each passage. Check out this helpful anchor chart.

22. Teach how to use context clues to bridge into larger close-reading skills

We love this context clues anchor chart.

23. Teach the difference between literal and figurative meanings through writing and drawing

Take sentences from your class's current text that use figurative language and have students (literally!) illustrate and explain the difference in the literal and figurative meanings of the expressions.

24. Try a vocabulary activity ... or 15

Use RAFTs, try vocabulary Jeopardy, and more with these vocabulary activities.

Ideas for Math

25. Practice math skills with the most mathematical icebreaker ever

This is a great first-day-of-school activity that doubles as both an icebreaker and a math review of last year's skills. Students create a poster of math equations representing different aspects of who they are, and then they can get to know each other by solving the problems. Bonus: You'll have instant wall art for Back-to-School Night! From Fourth Grade Fun in Florida.

26. Reinforce math skills with fun games

Check out all of these fantastic free math card games for fourth graders.

27. Learn about area and perimeter with robots

How fun are these 'bots? Students apply their understanding of area and perimeter by creating different robots based on mathematical specifications provided to them.

28. Focus on fractions

If it's not math fluency, it's fractions. The better understanding fourth graders have of fractions, the better off they'll be when the quantities get more complicated or the operations get sophisticated. We really love this pool noodle fractions hack for teaching fourth grade.

29. Teach the dreaded word problem

Use these word problem activities and strategies.

Ideas for Science

30. Get hands-on with science

Science is the perfect subject for kids to get down and dirty. Try these fourth grade science projects for inspiration.

31. Try daily STEM challenges

These STEM challenges are designed with your fourth graders in mind. Try one each day or each week to get their minds thinking outside the box.

32. Teach the plant life cycle

Plant life cycle is always a fun science unit. You get to talk about growing, planting, and nature. Plus, students love digging in and getting their hands dirty when they plant seeds themselves. Here are our favorite activities for teaching plant life cycles.

33. Teach electricity

It's electrifyingly good fun! Shock them with these science experiments!

34. Explore animal habitats

Ready to explore animal habitats around the world, from rainforests to deserts and everything in between? These fun activities are just what you're looking for. Take a walk on the wild side!

Ideas for Social Studies

35. Try social studies inquiry circles

Address the required standards through inquiry-based learning! Here's a how-to guide from the One Stop Teacher Shop. Watch your kids sink their teeth into the "thick versus thin" concept, and the Work Plan Form will help students take control of their own learning.

36. Add social justice books to your library

Here is a list of the Best Social Justice Books for Kids of All Ages! Reminder: Books don't have to be brand-new to be valuable. Check out your local library and Facebook groups, or buy used to save some bills.

37. Remind students that "all means all"

Learn about ALL people by including LGBTQ+ inclusive picture & middle grade books to your social studies lessons.

38. Learn about heroes

Read biographies about famous people in history. Match books to holidays, like Presidents' Day or Black History Month.

39. Use online learning

There are some amazing websites out there for teaching social studies lessons. Check out this big list of our favorites.

40. Take a field trip

The independence of nine- and ten-year-olds, coupled with grade-level focus on their state, makes for lots of fantastic options for fourth grade field trips.

Ideas for Classroom Organization

41. Check homework three ways

"Pick what's most important about the lesson, not the small details, and grade that way. Don't worry about spelling or grammar. The important thing is, did they understand the content?" -Megan P.

"For my gradebook, students receive credit for returning homework completed. I go around and mark them off, then I put the answers up and students correct it themselves. Then I go over any problems that the students request for me to explain." -Montoya M.

"I have a box of clothespins with each kid's name on them. They clip their pin to their homework and drop it into the homework file up front. It's easy to tell who didn't hand in homework because you just take a glance at the remaining clothespins! I set a two-minute timer for them to complete this so it doesn't take too long, and my fourth graders do it in no time! You just have to practice and train them. Make a game out of 'beating the timer' without pushing or shoving." -Jamie S.

42. Set up interactive, exciting centers in your classroom

Having centers, or workstations, in your fourth grade classroom allows students to work independently.

"When introducing a new independent activity, I usually do it in small groups first, so when put in the independent stations, they are able to do it without my help." - Carol V.

"I have center folders that students keep their work in, and at the end of the cycle of centers, I grade the work as 100, 80, or 60 based upon what's done and the quality. I give one center grade for each cycle." - Gary F.

Ideas for Classroom Management

43. Quietly redirect

Looking for a way to redirect your students without making it "a thing"? Hand one of these to a student who needs a reminder to focus and you'll be in the clear. Just be sure to explain the why and how of this activity before you hand out your first one! Here are free printables from Rock and Teach, or make a more discrete design yourself on PowerPoint, Google Slides, or with just paper and a Sharpie.

44. Establish classroom community in the first days of school with heart maps

Your fourth graders can express what matters most to them by illustrating and writing in these heart maps. Download a free template from Fourth Grade Lemonade.

45. Affirm your students daily

We love this idea of leaving positive sticky notes for kids every day to encourage them and let them know you're behind them 100 percent!

46. Teach students the art of note-taking

Fourth grade is a wonderful level for students to begin taking their own notes. Using a handy anchor chart will help remind them of the different approaches to note-taking they can use.

47. Remember that even big kids need to move

Even grown-ups can't sit still and listen all day! Get your kids up and moving with awesome fourth grade brain breaks .

48. Keep track of where your fourth graders are without the aggravating sign-in/sign-out sheets

This genius idea from Teaching Excellence Program uses little magnets to make managing your class easy. Add in any typical places your kids may go on a given day. If you want to make it more personal (and have the time), you could also do this with photos of the kids.

Other Ideas

49. Have a sense of humor

Teaching fourth grade requires a sense of humor, both for yourself and your students. Poetry from Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky hit right at fourth graders' funny bones. Or try one of our fourth grade jokes to start the day.

50. Build positive relationships with parents

Here are ten tips for making working with parents the easiest part of your job.

What are your top tips for teaching fourth grade? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
50 Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Teaching 4th Grade

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you new to teaching fourth grade and looking for inspo? Or have you been doing this for a while and you're looking for ways to revamp what you're already doing? We've got you! We've looked through our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook and the web for some of the best tips for teaching fourth grade.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
New data from ongoing Steelcase Education studies shows that classrooms designed for active learning-i.e., where physical space supports a focus on engaging experiences for students and faculty- have a significant effect on student engagement.
Improving educational outcomes is a nearly universal goal, but how to achieve it remains a focus of continuing research and debate.

The success of any student is influenced by many variables. Academic studies have investigated several of them, from socioeconomic background to internal motivation to the influence of different teaching styles. Still often overlooked or underemphasized is the role of classroom design.

Noteworthy studies have been completed in recent years that show factors in the built environment can affect retention, attention, motivation, learning and academic achievement, but there have not been reliable post-occupancy evaluations of how different classroom designs affect student success. To address this important gap, a team of Steelcase Education researchers, in collaboration with academic researchers in Canada and the United States, recently completed studies at four U.S. universities. A robust survey instrument, titled the Active Learning Post Occupancy Evaluation (AL-POE) tool, was developed specifically for measuring the impact of classroom design on student engagement. Engagement is widely recognized as a highly probable predictor of student success.

Comparisons between old and new classrooms were statistically significant on all 12 measured factors for both instructors and learners (p<0.001).

The results of the beta study and the following term's aggregated data revealed that classrooms intentionally designed to support active learning increased student engagement on multiple measures as compared to traditional (i.e., row- by-column seating) classrooms.

Extending what's known

Sociological and environment behavioral research has established the impact of built environments on various behaviors: territoriality, crowding, situational and personal space. More recently researchers have explored how a learning environment impacts students. The consensus is that learning spaces have physical, social and psychological effects. The Steelcase Education research program was undertaken to build upon and contribute to this growing body of evidence that the learning environment impacts students' success and engagement is a key predicting factor.

The Approach: An Active Learning Post-Occupancy Evaluation Survey

The research was designed to analyze student engagement across multiple measures by asking participants to compare their experiences in a traditional /standard classroom with row-by-columnseating ("pre/old") (See Figure 1: Standard Classroom) to what they experienced in a classroom designed for active learning -i.e., where physical space supports a focus on engaging experiences for students and faculty ("post/new"). (See Figure 2: Steelcase Advanced Learning Environments) (The AL-POE instrument showed these figures to orient the participant.)

The active learning classrooms were furnished with Steelcase's advanced innovative products and applications for active learning settings: Node seating, Verb, media:scape and LearnLab™. To determine a relationship between classroom design and the behavioral factors of student engagement, participating faculty members did not receive training from Steelcase on active learning practices. The settings were simply provided for their use as they saw fit.

Using a two-step decision-making research method, student and faculty participants simultaneously evaluated their experience in the active learning setting and their previous experience in the traditional classroom; specifically they compared the "pre/old" and "post/new" settings for each metric.

Knowing that a robust and reliable tool is key to meaningful, consistent measurement, the research team used a rigorous content analysis process to create the AL-POE questions, synthesizing information from multiple resources including the 2012 National Survey of Student Engagement and published studies in brain science, brain-compatible classrooms, learning research and the impact of classroom design. The external institutional review board, Heartland, reviewed and approved the study's research protocol.

The main body of the resulting evaluation has two sections. Section I (Practices) focuses on active learning practices that elicit engagement in the learning space. Section II (Solutions) measures the effect of the classroom design on these active learning practices. Twelve measurement factors are consistent across the two sections, including:

collaboration

focus

active involvement

opportunity to engage

repeated exposure to material through multiple means

in-class feedback

real-life scenarios

ability to engage ways of learning best

physical movement

stimulation

feeling comfortable to participate

creation of an enriching experience

To ensure adherence to the standards of academic research, the Steelcase team worked with third-parties: IRB research review protocol, researchers and a statistician to analyze and report results.

Another set of questions uses a five-point Likert scale to determine perceptions of grades, retention, overall engagement and ability to be creative. Open-ended comments are solicited as a final component of the survey tool. Respondents completed the survey online approximately 6-8 weeks into the term so they had enough time to establish a rhythm of using the space. To ensure adherence to the standards of academic research, the Steelcase Education team worked with third parties: IRB research protocol review, academic researchers and a statistician to analyze and report results.

Results: Active Learning Classrooms Have A Positive Impact On Student Engagement.

The combined studies results yielded major findings, all supporting a highly positive and statistically significant impact of active learning classrooms on student engagement:

1) In the universities studied, participants reported that the new classrooms improved active learning practices and had more positive impact on engagement compared to the old classrooms. There were no significant differences in results among participating universities, strengthening the applicability of the findings.

2) The majority of students rated the new classroom better than the old classroom on each of the 12 factors. For all of the items in both sections of the evaluation, the differences between old/ pre and new/post ratings were highly statistically significant (p<0.001) for both faculty and students. (See Figure 4)

3) Overall, active learning practices and the impact of the physical space significantly improved in the new classrooms for both students and faculty. In the practices section, average composite scores rose from 23.2 (old/ pre) to 34.2 (new/post) for students, and from 24.0 (old/pre) to 37.3 (new/post) for faculty. In the solutions section, average composite scores rose from 21.8 (old/ pre) to 35.5 (new/post) for students and from 19.1 (old/pre) to 38.8 (new/ post) for faculty. (See Figures 5 and 6)

4) The majority of students and faculty reported that the new classrooms contributed to higher engagement, the expectation of better grades, more motivation and more creativity. A large majority of students self-reported a moderate to exceptional increase in their engagement (84%), ability to achieve a higher grade (72%), motivation to attend class (72%), and ability to be creative (77%). Almost all faculty members reported a moderate to exceptional increase in student engagement (98%), and all perceived a moderate to exceptional increase in student's ability to be creative (100%). A large majority of faculty reported a moderate to exceptional increase in students' ability to achieve a higher grade (68%), and a moderate to exceptional increase in students' motivation to attend class (88%). (See Figure 7)

The Bottom Line: Intentionally Designing Spaces Provides For More Effective Teaching And Learning

As a result of the development of the evaluation instrument and this managed research program, decision makers at educational institutions, architects and designers can be assured that investments in solutions intentionally designed to support active learning can create more effective classrooms and higher student engagement. Furthermore, there's now evidence that these classrooms encourage and enable educators to practice active learning methods. Faculty development is still recommended to understand how to leverage the space as a tool for learning.

The study also underscores the importance of designing products for educational environments based on insights from rigorous research. All the products used in the new/post classrooms were developed from Steelcase's human-centered research process methodology, and this study validates that the evidence-based design protocol helps produce measurable results in use.

The Steelcase AL-POE tool developed for this study can now be used to reliably measure the impact of engagement in learning environments, adding to the body of knowledge about the relationship and implications of student engagement and spaces for learning. Initial findings from the study have been published in Planning for Higher Education, a peer-reviewed journal produced by the Society for College and University Planning. Steelcase is continuing this managed research project to build data and gain new insights into how educational environments can be designed and equipped to optimize learning.

Two study participants share key insights:

"Instead of doing multi-year studies and piloting different approaches, for which we do not have time, we were able to implement proven active learning solutions by leveraging Steelcase Education's expertise. They are an important partner in proposing and modifying solutions that prove impactful on teaching and learning." -Michael Olsen Former director of information technology and biosciences and research, University of Minnesota Rochester

"The ongoing educational design research study conducted here by Steelcase Education revealed a statistical significance in terms of student engagement between our Interactive Learning Space and traditional classroom layouts. This revelation was a shared perspective from both faculty and students." -Gary Pavlcechko Former director of The Office of Educational Excellence at Ball State University

The Research Team

Lennie Scott-Webber, PhD, IIDA, NCIDQ Director, Global Education Environments, Steelcase Education

Aileen Strickland, MS, NCIDQ, LEED AP Design Researcher, Steelcase Education

Laura Ring Kapitula, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, Grand Valley State University

With special thanks to our research collaborators:

Roger Konyndyk, Ph.D., Statistician, Steelcase Inc.,
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Kris Magnusson, Ph.D., Dean of Education, Simon Fraser University,
British Columbia, Canada

Bryan Hiebert, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Education Psychology & Leadership, University of Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada

References

Altman, I. (1970). Territorial behavior in humans. An analysis of the concept. In Spatial behavior of older people. Edited by Leon Pastalan and Dan Carson. MI: The University of Michigan. 1-24.

Altman, I. (1975). The environment and social behavior. CA: Wadsworth. Appleton, J., Christenson, S., & Furlong, M. (2008). Student engagement with school: critical conceptual and methodological issues of the construct. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 369-386.

Blincoe, J. (2008). The age and condition of Texas high schools as related to student academic achievement. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (AAT 3341554).

Durán-Narucki, V. (2008). School building condition, school attendance and academic achievement in New York City public schools: A mediation model. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 278-286.

Earthman, G. I. (2004). Prioritization of 31 criteria for school building adequacy. Baltimore, MD: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland.

Erlauer, L (2003). The brain compatible classroom: Using what we know about learning to improve teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Gadermann, A.M., Guhn, M. and Zumbo, B.D. (2012). Estimating ordinal reliability for Likert-type and ordinal item response data: A conceptual, empirical, and practical guide. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 17(3). Retrieved Sept. 25, 2012 from http://pareonline.net/pdf/v17n3.pdf.

Hall, E.T. (1966). The hidden dimension. NY: Doubleday Press.

Hiebert, B. (2012). Post-Pre Assessment: An innovative way for documenting client change. Guidance Perspectives Around the World. Available from:
http://iaevg.org/crc/resources.cfm?subcat=200,202&lang=en [Accessed 26 October 2013].

Jankowska, M (2007). Use of creative space in enhancing students' engagement. Innovations in Educations and Teaching International. 45(3), 271-279.

Jensen, E (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind, 2nd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Kahu, E, (2011), Framing student engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2011.598505.

Kumar, R., O'Malley, P. & Johnston, L.(2008) Association between physical environment of secondary schools and student problem behavior - A national study, 2000-2003. Environment and Behavior, 40(4), 455-486.

National Survey of Student Engagement. (2012). Promoting student learning and institutional improvement: lessons from NSSE at 13. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.

Schneider, M. (2002). Do school facilities affect academic outcome? National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. Retrieved from http://www.ncef.org/pubs/outcomes.pdf on 5 October 2010.

Scott-Webber, L., Strickland, A., & Kapitula, L. (2013). Built environments impact behaviors: results of an active learning post-occupancy evaluation. Planning for Higher Education, Vol, 41(5).

Scott-Webber, L., Marini, M., & Abraham, J. (2000, Spring). Higher education classrooms fail to meet needs of faculty and students. Journal
of Interior Design, 26(1), 16-34.

Sommer, R. (1969). Personal space: The behavioral basis of design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sommer, R. (1970). Studies of small group ecology. In RS Catheart & LA Samovar (Eds.) Small group communication. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.
June 2014

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New data from ongoing Steelcase Education studies shows that classrooms designed for active learning-i.e., where physical space supports a focus on engaging experiences for students and faculty- have a significant effect on student engagement. Improving educational outcomes is a nearly universal goal, but how to achieve it remains a focus of continuing research and debate.

# data[].attributes.body
I had a hard time with school. I pretty much had all the reason too. I was hungry, had a hard time reading, felt stupid, and little to no help at home. Reading was the worse, especially out loud. However I had a love for math, it just came easy to me. One day in high school I got praised for my test scores and that little bit of praise made me work harder in her class. To bad I was young and really did not see much of a future for myself at that point. When anyone would ask me what I wanted to do with my life I would simply replay "I don't know" or "I'm not sure. I am not really good at anything." however in my head I would think I would love to be a teacher but one that can touch as many lives as possible. As silly as it sounds I saw this movie "The Ron Clark Story" and that is what I wanted to be. I want to inspire students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Ron Clark Story (Full Movie uploaded by Mr. Mengleang Lay)

# data[].attributes.body
One of the most important things for our young students to learn is not to harass each other. As teachers and their parents, we need to come up with an anti-bullying method that actually works.  Too many young people skip school because they want a day without feeling or being attacked. Too many young people take their own life or another's' life because of bullying. Due to technology, the bullying is now in most kids hands (their phones, tablets, computers), so the bullying for some never stop.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4th Grade Bully Vidoes YouTube - Bing video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bullying Videos for Middle School Bully Gets Beat Up Videos About Bullying Don't Bully Me YouTube Music Bully No Bully Anti-Bully Rap Allows Bully Story Bully Bully Song YouTube No Body Likes a Bully Bully Rap Song Don't Be a Bully Song Anti-Bully Vidoe Clips Hallelujah Video with Bully Your a Bully YouTube 4th Grade YouTube Videos Bully