4th Grade Overview
2014-15
Mrs. Rowland & Mrs. Follett
Parents: We are eager to be working together as a fourth grade team and excited to have the opportunity to work with your child. It will be a year of progressing in the areas of personal responsibility and organization, but also working on relationships and collaboration as a classroom community.
On this document you will find preliminary information on the major subject areas as well as our homework policy. This is an overview and will be expanded upon and refined as needed.
We may be contacted by e-mail if you have any questions:
[email protected] and [email protected]
Students: Please bring your HCS Summer Reading book bag back on the first day of school with your list and your books. We would also like you to bring a favorite book that you would like to read on the first day of school.
We will have snack time each day. Please bring a small, nutritious snack (fruit, crackers, pretzels, granola bar, yogurt, carrot/celery sticks).
Birthdays are celebrated in 4th grade. You may bring in a treat on the day of your birthday and usually, we will celebrate during our snack time.
We look forward to having you in class! It will be a fun & exciting year!!
Content
English Language Arts (ELA)
Reading is taught through a workshop model, concentrating on the strategies good readers use to increase comprehension. Listening activities and conversation deepen students’ knowledge and appreciation of all texts. Students will conference individually with teachers in order to extend and refine their personal reading skills.
Students self-select text, which is supported through class and individual activities, with the goal of promoting the love of reading at the student’s instructional level. Instruction in small groups is specific to identified needs. Instruction may take place through novels, short stories, magazines, newspapers and web based resources. Encouraging the love of reading is the ultimate goal.
The aim of our 4th grade writing instruction is to develop students’ ability to effectively communicate; utilizing standard spoken and written language. Students are taught to recognize that written language is not merely spoken language put on paper, but that written language requires the use of correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization in order for the communication to be both meaningful as well as accurate.
Writing Workshop will include, but not be limited to:
Skills :
* Grammar * Spelling * Capitalization * Punctuation
Content:
*Building a Writerly Life * Personal Narrative/Memoir
* Poetry * Feature Article * Persuasive Writing * Summaries * Compare/Contrast Essay
New York State has set high standards for all students. To help measure the students’ achievements of these standards, there will be a New York State English-Language Arts (ELA) test given in Spring.. The students will demonstrate their ability to read a range of materials, and respond in writing to a variety of literary and informational passages.
Science _
The 4th grade science curriculum is a balance between content and process skills. Students are exposed to a significant amount of information, which is reinforced through language acquisition activities such as vocabulary development and supplemental reading, while engaging in “hands-on” labs. The areas of study include:
*Life Science
*Earth Science
*Physical Science
Units are designed within these areas to both review the teaching of past years and deepen the understanding of these areas. As in Math and English Language Arts, the students take a comprehensive performance and written New York State Science exam in late May/early June, which assesses the science concepts and skills students have acquired in grades K-4.
Social Studies
The 4th grade Social Studies curriculum connects local, New York State, and United States history while focusing on the following themes:
*Geography of New York State and its relationship to the USA and World
*Local History (including a study of the O&W Railroad)
*Native Americans of New York State
*European Explorers
*Colonial and Revolutionary periods
*The New Nation
*Industrial growth and expansion – Erie Canal, Railroad
*Government – local, state, and national
Through the learning process, we will help the students assess their understanding of the 4th grade Social Studies content and assist them in developing their ability to apply the understandings to interpretation and analysis of reading passages, graphs, political cartoons, maps, charts, and diagrams. Students will also be introduced to content-based vocabulary.
Math
Our math program is based on the Common Core Learning Standards and the Everyday Math program. The theory behind this program is constructivism in which students build on previous mathematical knowledge and discover relationships among numbers as they explore with strategies and
various manipulatives.
NOTE: It is very important that students become fluent in their math facts, addition/subtraction and multiplication/division! We would encourage you to review math facts with your child regularly throughout the year. It is essential for success in 4th grade and beyond.
Everday Math integrates the Common Core 4th grade Standards in their units:
A New York State Math Exam will be given in late April. In order to prepare students to meet the rigors of this exam and the demands of the curriculum, students entering the fourth grade should have a good working knowledge of basic math facts including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The Standards for Mathematical Practice
Homework Policy
Homework will be a routine in fourth grade in order for students to practice and study subject matter outside of school. We recommend that a special time and place be utilized to complete homework in order to continue developing a routine and the responsibility that helps a student be successful. We encourage parents to take an active role to help create a comfortable, quiet atmosphere to do homework to ensure that assignments are completed on time. Parental involvement will help your child develop a positive attitude regarding homework and support their academic progress.
Homework assignments will be recorded by your child, on a daily basis, in their agenda. Parents can locate assignments and be of great assistance in developing responsible homework habits by looking over their homework for completeness and quality, as well as daily checking your child’s agenda.
Fourth graders are expected to complete ALL homework by the assigned due date. There will be an occasional long-term project with a specified due date. Students who are absent from school will be given additional time to complete missed work. We encourage you to e-mail us for assignments when your child is absent for several days, in order to help them stay current. A pattern of missed assignments will necessitate a parent, student, teacher conference.
On this document you will find preliminary information on the major subject areas as well as our homework policy. This is an overview and will be expanded upon and refined as needed.
We may be contacted by e-mail if you have any questions:
[email protected] and [email protected]
Students: Please bring your HCS Summer Reading book bag back on the first day of school with your list and your books. We would also like you to bring a favorite book that you would like to read on the first day of school.
We will have snack time each day. Please bring a small, nutritious snack (fruit, crackers, pretzels, granola bar, yogurt, carrot/celery sticks).
Birthdays are celebrated in 4th grade. You may bring in a treat on the day of your birthday and usually, we will celebrate during our snack time.
We look forward to having you in class! It will be a fun & exciting year!!
Content
English Language Arts (ELA)
Reading is taught through a workshop model, concentrating on the strategies good readers use to increase comprehension. Listening activities and conversation deepen students’ knowledge and appreciation of all texts. Students will conference individually with teachers in order to extend and refine their personal reading skills.
Students self-select text, which is supported through class and individual activities, with the goal of promoting the love of reading at the student’s instructional level. Instruction in small groups is specific to identified needs. Instruction may take place through novels, short stories, magazines, newspapers and web based resources. Encouraging the love of reading is the ultimate goal.
The aim of our 4th grade writing instruction is to develop students’ ability to effectively communicate; utilizing standard spoken and written language. Students are taught to recognize that written language is not merely spoken language put on paper, but that written language requires the use of correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization in order for the communication to be both meaningful as well as accurate.
Writing Workshop will include, but not be limited to:
Skills :
* Grammar * Spelling * Capitalization * Punctuation
Content:
*Building a Writerly Life * Personal Narrative/Memoir
* Poetry * Feature Article * Persuasive Writing * Summaries * Compare/Contrast Essay
New York State has set high standards for all students. To help measure the students’ achievements of these standards, there will be a New York State English-Language Arts (ELA) test given in Spring.. The students will demonstrate their ability to read a range of materials, and respond in writing to a variety of literary and informational passages.
Science _
The 4th grade science curriculum is a balance between content and process skills. Students are exposed to a significant amount of information, which is reinforced through language acquisition activities such as vocabulary development and supplemental reading, while engaging in “hands-on” labs. The areas of study include:
*Life Science
*Earth Science
*Physical Science
Units are designed within these areas to both review the teaching of past years and deepen the understanding of these areas. As in Math and English Language Arts, the students take a comprehensive performance and written New York State Science exam in late May/early June, which assesses the science concepts and skills students have acquired in grades K-4.
Social Studies
The 4th grade Social Studies curriculum connects local, New York State, and United States history while focusing on the following themes:
*Geography of New York State and its relationship to the USA and World
*Local History (including a study of the O&W Railroad)
*Native Americans of New York State
*European Explorers
*Colonial and Revolutionary periods
*The New Nation
*Industrial growth and expansion – Erie Canal, Railroad
*Government – local, state, and national
Through the learning process, we will help the students assess their understanding of the 4th grade Social Studies content and assist them in developing their ability to apply the understandings to interpretation and analysis of reading passages, graphs, political cartoons, maps, charts, and diagrams. Students will also be introduced to content-based vocabulary.
Math
Our math program is based on the Common Core Learning Standards and the Everyday Math program. The theory behind this program is constructivism in which students build on previous mathematical knowledge and discover relationships among numbers as they explore with strategies and
various manipulatives.
NOTE: It is very important that students become fluent in their math facts, addition/subtraction and multiplication/division! We would encourage you to review math facts with your child regularly throughout the year. It is essential for success in 4th grade and beyond.
Everday Math integrates the Common Core 4th grade Standards in their units:
- UNIT 1 Naming and Constructing Geometric Figures
- UNIT 2 Using Numbers and Organizing Data
- UNIT 3 Multiplication and Division; Number Sentences and Algebra
- UNIT 4 Decimals and Their Uses
- UNIT 5 Big Numbers, Estimation, and Computation
- UNIT 6 Division; Map Reference Frames; Measures of Angles
- UNIT 7 Fractions and Their Uses; Chance and Probability
- UNIT 8 Perimeter and Area
- UNIT 9 Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
- UNIT 10 Reflections and Symmetry
- UNIT 11 3-D Shapes, Weight, Volume, and Capacity
- UNIT 12Rate
A New York State Math Exam will be given in late April. In order to prepare students to meet the rigors of this exam and the demands of the curriculum, students entering the fourth grade should have a good working knowledge of basic math facts including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The Standards for Mathematical Practice
- Make sense of problems & persevere in solving them
- Reason abstractly & quantitatively
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
- Model with mathematics
- Use appropriate tools strategically
- Attend to precision
- Look for and make use of structure
- Look for & express regularity in repeated reasoning
Homework Policy
Homework will be a routine in fourth grade in order for students to practice and study subject matter outside of school. We recommend that a special time and place be utilized to complete homework in order to continue developing a routine and the responsibility that helps a student be successful. We encourage parents to take an active role to help create a comfortable, quiet atmosphere to do homework to ensure that assignments are completed on time. Parental involvement will help your child develop a positive attitude regarding homework and support their academic progress.
Homework assignments will be recorded by your child, on a daily basis, in their agenda. Parents can locate assignments and be of great assistance in developing responsible homework habits by looking over their homework for completeness and quality, as well as daily checking your child’s agenda.
Fourth graders are expected to complete ALL homework by the assigned due date. There will be an occasional long-term project with a specified due date. Students who are absent from school will be given additional time to complete missed work. We encourage you to e-mail us for assignments when your child is absent for several days, in order to help them stay current. A pattern of missed assignments will necessitate a parent, student, teacher conference.