FOURTH GRADE CURRICULUM NIGHT

8/20/2014Mrs. Fitzgerald

Mrs. HuberMr. OConnell

Mrs. Peterson

CONTINUOUS CLASSROOM IMPROVEMENT (CCI) Focus on specific learning outcomes Students take part in creating

mission statements, analyzing data, and setting goals

• Progress monitored throughout the year and tracked on graphs displayed in room

• Plan Do Study Act

READING WITH MRS. FITZ

Comprehension Vocabulary “Digging” into the text

READING Common Core Standards –

dig deep (explain, evaluate, defend, analyze, …)

look at writer’s techniquefocus on various genres including non-fiction

Develop strong readers with a solid skill base to understand and retain literature

Focus on Expository Text.

READING CONT.• Materials–Reading Street Book– Reading Folder–Independent Reading Book–Reading Notes (Composition Book)

• Reading Logs – 20 minutes per night for total of 400 minutes per month

SCIENCE WITH MR. OCONNELL

This class uses FOSS (Full Option Science

System) as the basis for study. FOSS is

aligned with Arizona State Standards and

was developed through rich collaboration of

scientists, educational researchers,

curriculum developers, assessment

specialists, teachers, administrators,

community members, and parents. Students

learn by doing science. FOSS engages

students to construct an understanding

through investigations and analyses, using

lab equipment, readings, and interactive

technology.

FOUR MAIN UNITS OF STUDY

Landforms

Environments

Magnetism and Electricity

Water and Weather

FOURTH GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM

Using the Common Core Standards

COMMON CORE: 3 TYPES OF WRITING

• Opinion: To support a point of view with reasons and information• Informative/Explanatory Writing: To examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly• Narrative: To develop real or imagined experiences, using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences

THE WRITING PROCESS Prewriting

- Using strategies to generate, plan, and organize ideas for specific purposes.

Drafting- The use of prewriting activities to create a first draft containing necessary elements for a specific purpose.

Revising- Evaluating and refining the rough draft for clarity and effectiveness. “Ask: Does this draft say what you want it to say?”

Editing- Proofreading and correcting the draft for conventions.

Publishing- Formatting and presenting a final product for the intended audience.

WRITE FROM THE BEGINNING

Writing program used by the district

Helps writers with the pre-writing step in the writing process.

Use of Thinking Maps to organize ideas before starting a piece.

A skill-based program.

WORDS THEIR WAY

Deer Valley has adopted this program of word study to replace the spelling program from last year.

Students will work in differentiated groups at their level of knowledge to acquire new spelling patterns.

Students may be tested on words that follow their pattern weekly or every other week.

Spelling is now part of the 4th grade writing program.

FOURTH GRADE MATH

MRS. PETERSON

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW

Common Core! Shared Standards between states in the United States

Common Core! Philosophy for math…go for a deeper understanding of the concepts rather than teaching numerous standards with little depth

Concepts Covered in Math

•Place Value•Multiples and Factors•Multiplication and Division•Fractions•Angle Measurement•Measurement Conversions•Decimals

ENGAGE NEW YORK Curriculum this year is a more common

core oriented program called Engage New York.

The daily classroom lessons will be reinforced with nightly homework.

For additional practice the students have access to a online math website called IXL.

ID’s and passwords will be handed out soon.

SOCIAL STUDIES

THE STUDY OF ARIZONA

Facts about Arizona

Arizona’s Location and Regions

Surrounding Areas

Ancient People and Tribes of Arizona

Spanish Explorers and Missionaries

And more…

ARIZONA STUDIES WEEKLY

Don’t forget to send in your $5 to cover the cost of this newspaper

NEW REPORT CARD Deer Valley is changing to a new report

card for grades 3 – 6.

We’ll look at a Power Point from the district that will be available for parents to read on the 4th grade website.