Transcript Document 7282292

Our Agenda
 What is Common Core?- Waller
 Reading Curriculum and Best Practices-Waller
 Writing Curriculum and Assessment-Waller
 Math Curriculum-Mize
 S.S. Curriculum-Mize
 Science Curriculum-McNeill
 Online Grading/Parent Conferences -McNeill
What is Common Core?
Common Core Curriculum is being introduced this
year. It is a national curriculum that builds on past
skills, making it imperative that students acquire
connectivity and application concepts. Each year ‘s
learning is vital to another year. If you can picture a
pebble being dropped into a pond and growing everwidening circles, perhaps that will help you visualize
the growing and overlapping circles representing the
acquisition of applicable knowledge. Using what you
know to create something else is the highest use of
these skills.
Reading
Guided Reading
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8:00-8:45 Small groups
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 Ability grouped
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 Comprehension Skill and
Fluency Focus
Nightly Reading Logs
 Nightly reading with
parent supervision
Shared Reading
Whole group
45 minutes
Reinforces Guided
Reading comprehension
skill
 Fluency, Word Study,
Word Walls
 Content area text often
used
Comprehension Skills (taught in
all subject areas)
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Main Idea and Supporting Details
Making Inferences
Making Generalizations
Story Elements
Summarizing
Author’s Purpose
Author’s Point of View
Compare and Contrast
Cause and Effect
What is the overall goal?
Children will use features of effective writing to
communicate ideas and opinions in a multi-paragraph
paper, letter, journal entry, explanation, etc. Writing will
be integrated across the curriculum (other subject
areas). A portfolio will be kept throughout the year. Four
exemplar papers will be kept as examples of each
student’s writing progress.
How many writing exemplar
papers are there?
Four.
Should include:
 Personal and Imaginative narratives
 Research based paper
 Content area writing assignments
Content Area Writing
We truly enjoy teaching content area writing.
Children practice “real life” types of writing, such as a
letter, short report, or article, and are given time in
class over several days to work on their papers with
teacher support. Student research is embedded.
How are they graded?
A rubric is used for features and conventions.
The students are graded on features (focus,
organization, support and elaboration, and style. A 4
is considered outstanding (achieved by very few
students), a 3 indicates that most feature goals were
met, a 2 indicates that some features were met, and a 1
indicates that very few features were met. Students are
expected to achieve a level 3 by the end of fourth
grade.
The conventions score addresses sentence structure,
mechanics of writing (grammar and punctuation), and
spelling.
 A level 2 exhibits reasonable control (not perfect!) of
grammatical and spelling conventions.
 A level 1 indicates a minimal control of conventions.
 A level 0 indicates a lack of control (no complete
sentences or mechanics).
Word Study
Students will receive a word study rule and assignment every two weeks
with activities to be completed at home. Students are expected to
understand and apply the rule in new situations.
In January, we plan to change from phonics-based word study to
vocabulary based word study.
Check the planners to know what to do at home.
Fourth Grade Math
How is Math taught?
• The goal of our math instruction is for students to gain
mathematical proficiency – to learn mathematics
successfully. The Common Core Curriculum guides our
instruction. We will incorporate these standards into
our math lessons each day using Math Expressions
materials and a pacing guide developed by our Central
Office.
• Math instruction is broken into the following five
domains:
Operations and Algebraic
Thinking
Students will:
 Use the four operations with whole numbers to
solve problems.
 Gain familiarity with factors and multiples.
 Generate and analyze patterns.
Number and Operations in Base
Ten
Students will:
 Generalize place value understanding for multi-digit
whole numbers.
 Use place value understanding and properties of
operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
Number and Operations in
Fractions
Students will:
 Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering.
 Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending
previous understandings of operations on whole numbers.
 Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare
decimal fractions.
Measurement and Data
Students will:
 Solve problems involving measurement and conversion
of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
 Represent and interpret data.
 Geometric measurement: understand concepts of
angle and measure angles.
Geometry
Students will:
 Draw and identify lines and angles.
 Classify shapes by properties of their lines and
angles.
How do we teach Math?
Lots of ways!
• Having more than one way to solve a problem allows
students to discuss the concept behind each one and the
advantages and disadvantages of each one – this allows
students to find, use, understand, and explain methods that
work for them
• Continual focus on sense making, helping (from the teacher
and peers), and explaining increases mathematical
language development, competence, and confidence.
What if I don’t know how to
help my child with homework?
 Go to the Math Expressions website and click on the
appropriate text and grade level. There are also helpful
links on teacher websites, as well as the one listed below
with lots of background information.
 http://www.eduplace.com/math/mthexp/g4/mathbkg/
Social Studies: North Carolina
Students learn about North Carolina’s landforms, resources,
and people.
Big Ideas:
 colonization/immigration
 movement of people through time
 regional differences through time
 government
Fourth grade introduces the first formal study of North
Carolina, its ethnic diversity, its rich culture, the
economic energy of its people and its geographical
regions. Students learn about North Carolina’s
physical features and regions and then move on to
early exploration and colonization and the events
leading up to the American Revolution. Students
discover that North Carolina’s changing history is
closely related to the physical geography of its three
major regions.
How is Social Studies taught?
 Students learn the curriculum goals in a variety of
ways in class.
 Whole group and small group collaboration are
common strategies in studying Social Studies
 Social Studies content will be integrated into reading
instruction
 Projects (typically one per nine weeks)
The science curriculum is based on the national
Science Essential Standards for 4th grade.
Students learn through a variety of hands-on
activities, interactive lessons, and technologybased teaching using video resources from
Discovery Education.
Science Content
Earth Science
 Earth, moon, and sun
 Changes in the earth’s surface as seen in fossils and
changes over time
Physical Science
 Properties of matter, including rocks and minerals
 Forces and motion, including magnetism
 Energy and light
Life Science
 Ecosystems
 Food, vitamins, and minerals
Science Assessment
 There will be a Science benchmark test for fourth
grade this year (several throughout the year). This is
new, and we don’t know what to expect, so please do
not worry over this. We are all learning.
 Students are quizzed during the unit and tested at
the end for understanding of the concepts.
 Students are assessed on their participation in group
work (labs, activities, research)
 Their science journals are assessed for completeness
and neatness.
•You can use your username and password to access your
child’s grades online.
•We will make every effort to enter grades weekly.
•Patience as this is all new to us as well.
•Continued support as we work hard to help each child
learn.
•Extra “parent” teaching time at home when your child
needs help.