Curriculum Night Documents

Fourth Grade Curriculum Meeting, September 17, 2018

Laura Tepper and Robyn Kurzrok

Our Philosophy on Education

• Create a collaborative learning community
• Nurture independent inquiry
• Design interdisciplinary curriculum
• Differentiate teaching to address individual needs
• Provide time, space, and opportunities for exploration
• Foster accountable conversation
• Interactive, hands-on learning
• Empower students to use themselves and each other as resources to truly become independent learners
• Provide opportunities for active engagement
• Assess and utilize each learner’s unique strengths, abilities and learning styles
• Validate and honor student learning and projects with appropriate celebration or culminating activity

Reader’s Workshop

• Read-aloud (books chosen from a variety of genres that often support other areas of the curriculum such as social studies). Read-aloud is a wonderful opportunity for students to reinforce their reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. We have a limited amount of additional copies of each read-aloud chapter book in the classroom for students to borrow; students may bring in their own copy of the book as well. Our first read-aloud book this year is Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.
• Small-group instruction and book clubs (guided reading)
• Whole-class reading  (shared reading)
• Independent reading (reading “just right” books) and daily reading logs
• Text-based discussions

Writer’s Workshop

• Students write for authentic purposes (e.g. personal narratives, persuasive essays, research reports, letters, current events articles, literary essays, etc.)
• Writing Process: prewriting/brainstorming, collecting “seed” ideas, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing
• Writing Conferences: with peers and teachers
• Grammar and mechanics (weekly spelling lists, Wordly Wise Vocabulary and quizzes)
• Writing through the Social Studies curriculum
• Rubrics used for assessments (student- and teacher-created)

Math

enVisionMATH & EngageNY Common Core Curriculum

(Average of 5-11 days for each topic)

• Multiplication and Division: Meaning and Facts
• Place Value
• Addition and Subtraction of Whole Numbers
• Number Sense: Multiplying by 1-Digit Numbers
• Developing Fluency: Multiplying by 1-Digit Numbers
• Number Sense: Multiplying by 2-Digit Numbers
• Developing Fluency: Multiplying by 2-Digit Numbers
• Number Sense: Dividing by 1-Digit Divisors
• Developing Fluency: Dividing by 1-Digit Divisors
• Fraction Equivalence and Ordering
• Adding and Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers with Like Denominators
• Extending Fraction Concepts
• Lines, Angles, and Shapes

Standards for Mathematical Practice

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
• Reason abstractly and quantitatively
• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
• Model with mathematics
• Use appropriate tools strategically
• Attend to precision

Social Studies

           

Essential question: What does it mean to be free?

·      Native Americans of New York State/European Explorers

·      Colonial Life

·      American Revolution

Coding

We live in a world surrounded by technology. We know that whichever field our students choose to pursue as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly hinge on understanding how technology works. As such, computer science and coding will be a part of our curriculum this year to help students develop their digital literacy skills.

Miscellaneous

o   Homework policy: customized homework planner

o   Class trips

o   Scholastic book orders: Class Code MGKGF

o   Absence and lateness

o   Contacting Laura and Robyn

o   Publishing celebrations

o   Ballroom dancing

o   Current events

o   Classroom supplies

o   At-home supplies: pencil, eraser, lined paper, ruler, calculator, protractor

o   Birthday celebrations

o   Class blog/signed photo release form

·       http://class4312.blogspot.com

·       Please subscribe to Remind 101. This application allows us to send you text messages or emails regarding new blog postings, important dates, and friendly reminders. To receive messages via text, text 81010 with the words “@class4-312”. You can also sign up for notifications at rmd.at/class4-312.

Cluster Schedule

Monday: Music with Matthew, period 3

Tuesday: Gym with Ashley, period 7

Wednesday: Gym with Marc, period 3

Thursday: Drama with Jenny, period 3

Friday: Science with Tom, period 1

Fourth-Grade Parent/Teacher Conferences & Testing Dates

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

Thursday, November 15, 2018 and Thursday, March 14, 2019

State Exams: Both the ELA and Math tests will span over two days; we are awaiting confirmation about the two exact dates from the range below.

• ELA Test: Tuesday, April 2 - Thursday, April 4
• Math Test: Wednesday, May - Friday, May 3

Field Trips

The following are all scheduled field trips for this school year. Permission slips and chaperone list will be sent out at least 2 weeks prior to each trip.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018:

• Museum of Natural History
• Free trip
• Snack and lunch will be at school

Tuesday, October 30, 2018:

• Urban Park Rangers
• $5.00 per child
• Bring lunch to eat in the park

Tuesday, March 12, 2019:

• Theater Works: Freedom Train
• $10.00 per child
• Snack and lunch will be at school

Friday, March 29, 2019 (postponed from previous date):          

• National Society of Colonial Dames
• $4.00 per child
• Snack and lunch will be at school

Tuesday, May 21, 2019:

• Van Cortlandt House Museum
• $5.00 per child
• Lunch will be at school

On Monday, May 13, 2019, the entire 4th grade will go to Philadelphia to support our social studies curriculum. All the information will be distributed a few weeks before the trip.

At-Home Resources

How to Help Your Child with Mathematics

Create a homework routine.

Familiar routines help work go smoothly at school and at home.  With your child, decide on a time and place to do homework, along with a few rules. A student’s typical routine might go like this:

Come home, have a snack, clear a space at the table, and open the homework agenda to see what the homework assignments are. Begin the first assignment. If you need additional help with your homework, ask for help and circle the tricky problems.  Once all homework is complete, put it in your homework folder, then place the homework folder, agenda, and book baggie in your backpack.

Communicate with your teachers.

Please write a note to let us know if your child has had trouble with homework, to ask questions if you or your child do not understand something, and to share good news when you see progress.

Ask your child to explain.

Encourage your child to teach you the day’s math lesson by using the problems in the homework. Ask questions about the steps your child uses to solve a problem, such as, “Why did you put that number there?” or, “What does that zero mean?”

Use questions to help.

Although it’s tempting to give children answers when they’re confused, they learn more if you help them discover the answers for themselves. Try doing this with questions such as these:

• Have you seen problems like this before?  Is there an example anywhere that might help?
• What is the problem asking you to do or to find?
• What’s one idea or strategy you have for finding an answer?
• Can you draw a picture of the problem? Can you use objects (like coins, beans, and so on) to show the problem?

Be accepting of mistakes.

Let your child know that every mistake is an opportunity to learn. When your child makes a mistake, ask him or her to explain how he or she arrived at the answer, give praise for the correct steps or thinking, and gently point out where the error occurred. Then have your child try a similar problem (you may have to make one up) to practice the new understanding.

Play math games.

Games your child creates as well as store-bought games that involve mathematical thinking will help your child master skills. Your child’s teachers can give you a list of popular commercial games with mathematical content.

Share real-life math situations.

Think about the ways you use math in your everyday life – at work, at the store, at the bank, in the kitchen, and so on.  Invite your child to observe or participate in these activities with you.  Encourage your child to think mathematically about common activities, such as folding laundry (“How many socks are in 12 pairs?”) or taking out the garbage (“About how many pounds does a bag of trash weigh?”).

Give gifts that encourage mathematical exploration.

Giving a gift related to math is a good way to reinforce and reward your child’s accomplishments. Here are some ideas: a watch, a timer, an hourglass (egg timer), a calendar, a tape measure, a calculator, pattern blocks, books of brainteasers, 3-dimensional building kits, puzzles, and maps.

Ways Parents Can Support Reading and Writing at Home

·      Help your child find a place in your home where he or she can read comfortably and with little distraction. You might want to keep a basket of books and tools for writing near this spot. You can also leave “literacy gifts” in your child’s writing spot, such as cards, newspaper clippings, and so on.

·      Read aloud daily to your child.

·      Help your child notice reading and writing that is going on in the world. Watch commuters who read (you can count all the people in the subway car who are reading), look for signs, and so on.  Talk about the reasons that people write.

·      Visit bookstores and libraries with your child.  Window shop when you pass bookstores so that you help your child imagine a reading life.  (“Oh, look, so and so has a new book out!”)

·      Take books with you on trips.  When you go out of town or go to the doctor’s office, encourage your child to take along a book.  Help your child build the habit of “needing” a book.

·      Leave notes for your child in his/her lunch box or school bag.  Leave notes for them around the house (i.e. “Please pick up your toys today!”).  There is no more purposeful reading than reading something that is written for you. Also, ask your child to leave notes for you, add to your shopping list, or write reminders of things he or she needs to do.

·      Encourage relatives and friends to give books to your child as gifts.

·      Encourage relatives and friends to write to your child.

·      Subscribe to a children’s magazine and have the magazine sent directly to your child.  Some popular magazines include: Highlights, Click, Ranger Rick, Sports Illustrated for Children, and National Geographic Junior.  Large bookstores have lots of choices that you and your child can browse, taking subscription cards from the magazine(s) you choose.

·      Play word games like Scrabble Junior, Boggle, ABC Bingo, Word Concentration, etc. Tell jokes, riddles, limericks, and make up rhymes.

·      Encourage your child to read aloud to younger siblings, cousins, neighbors – even to pets and stuffed animals!

·      Talk about your childhood memories of reading. Share your own favorite kids’ books and authors, your struggles and triumphs with reading, and so on.

·      Listen to your child retell the story they are reading.  Help your child speak with and appreciate the use of detail when reading and writing.

·      Tell lots of family stories and ask your child questions about stories he or she is telling you, especially when the stories don’t seem to make sense.  Respond to your child’s stories with questions about content (e.g. “How many of you were there when so and so showed up?”).  Get them in the habit of telling understandable and detailed stories and anecdotes.  These skills will help them understand what they read and lead to improved writing.

·      Encourage your child to tell stories based on pictures in magazines, newspapers, family photographs, etc.  Say often, “That would make an amazing story,” or “You should write about that!” or “The way you said that sounds like a poem.”

·      Know that “copying” is OK if it means copying phrases or paragraphs that are moving or inspiring into a writer’s notebook.  Be on the lookout for the times kids are moved when listening to a story.

·      Take the time to look back over writing your child has done this year or other years.  Put Post-its on the writing to mark things you notice, particularly about the type of writer your child is becoming.

Believe it or not, watching television together with your children can be a great opportunity to help your children strengthen their reading skills. Here are some questions you can ask your children during commercial breaks.

Question	Reading Skill
What has happened so far?	Summarizing (Retelling)
Describe the setting. Where do the characters live? What kind of place is it?	Envisioning
What do you think will happen next?	Predicting
How do you think the character feels? Why do you think the character did that?	Inferring
How does this scene fit with what happened before?	Synthesizing
What do you think is the main problem? What were some of the important events?	Determining importance Determining importance
What themes or life lessons do you think the character is learning? What do you think this show is trying to teach you?	Interpreting