Welcome to Patriots STEM

Magnet

4TH GRADE CURRICULUM

NIGHT

PatriotsElementary

About us!We are excited to be team teaching

this year! We will prepare students to be

academically successful, socially aware, scientifically literate, and respectful, responsible citizens in the global community.

Curriculum Writer’s Workshop Balanced Literacy with a focus on

Reader’s Workshop Math Workshop Problem-Based Learning (STEM) Whole-class and small groups Projects: Home and school-based!

LanguageArts

What is Problem-Based Learning?

Student-centered and experimental Builds on or challenges student

schema/knowledge Develops critical and creative thinking Creates effective problem-solvers Highly context-specific: based on real-life

situations Promotes collaboration and interdependence

Reading & WritingReading Standards

Inferring Identifying Theme Describing Characters &

Setting Comparing/Contrasting Genres Point of View Using Text Features Main Idea Summarizing Collaborative Discussion Making Connections Reading with Accuracy &

Fluency

Writing Standards

o Opinion Pieceso Expository Essayso Narratives: Real &

Imaginaryo Publishing with

Technology

Focused on:

• Clear topics• Evidence• Transitions• Conventions• Figurative Language• Dialogue

ReadingWe are committed to creating Avid Readers.

Reader’s Workshop Will Include: Whole-Group Instruction Guided Reading/Target Groups Independent Reading Reading Informational (NF) texts Literature Circles/Book Clubs Wordly Wise- Vocabulary & NF passages

By the end of 4th Grade students should be able to…

Discuss and have detailed and meaningful conversations about their reading-thinking.

Critically analyze texts and make connections.

Our overall goal is to bring all students towards high levels of

Reading Literacy!

Writer’s Workshop Write for a variety of purposes and audiences Shared writing Guided writing Independent writing Words Their Way (learning word patterns)-

in lieu of traditional Spelling Every PBL will have a writing piece to it

Math Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

Whole Numbers and Place Value- writing, comparing and computation

Fractions- adding, subtracting, multiplying & comparing

Geometry- lines, angles & shapes

Measurement- includes conversion, area & perimeter

Algebra- order of operations & algebraic expressions

It is very important that students continue to practice multiplication tables!

MathMath Workshop Will Include: Dreambox- Replaces First in Math Manipulatives- base 10 blocks, fraction tiles,

geometric shapes, etc. Games- playing with partners/groups to

practice specific Math skills Reasoning- explaining their

thinking/problem-solving Problem-solving- working through real-life

problems Small-Group

& Engineering

Forces & Motion Matter: Properties and Change Energy: Conservation and Transfer Earth History and Landforms Earth and the Universe Ecosystems Molecular Biology Engineering projects

Social StudiesOur focus is on North Carolina…..

Geography (including landforms) History Civics and Government Culture Economics

Homework

Reading Comprehension Practice

Math Projects Unfinished Work

30 minutes

each night

Fiction, Non-Fiction & Poetry:

Given nightly

Skills practice:Students should

complete one

column each night

Given well in advance of due date

Must be completed that night

so that students

are prepared

for the next day

Communication Folders will be sent home on Tuesdays. Please sign and return all assignments. Return on Wednesday.

Grades Grades are recorded in PowerSchool. Parents have

direct access to grades by logging in. Please let me know if you have any questions. If you forget your login information, please contact our data manager, Mrs. Cragan. She has access to passwords.

Scale:A 93-100B 85-92C 77-84D 70-76F 69 and below

Homework is not graded

Grades

Students will have the opportunity to correct their grades and earn some additional points, based on their efforts.

Behavior In order to facilitate learning, all students are

expected to follow rules and procedures. Poor choices prohibit the students' ability to

succeed and meet his/her potential. SOAR is a school-wide program designed to

promote good behavior. Pasvankas’ class will use Class Dojo Kenny’s class will use a 1-2-3 system Please review your child’s day with him or

her

Pasvankas’ Class Dojo

Demo

In lieu of character cards, we will use Class Dojo. After you create an account, you can check on your child’s behavior and participation anytime!

Volunteers Needed Class Parent Math 24 Jr. Great Books New this year: Clubs Additional class activities General help!!!! You must have a current background

check on file with CCS in order to volunteer!

Field Trips Arts Council Raleigh: Capitol Building, Science

Museum& History Museum Aw Shucks Farm

Contact InformationMs. Katherine Pasvankas katherine.pasvankas@cabarrus.k12.nc.us ext. 605, after 3:15 pmMs. Ragin Kenny Ragin.kenny@cabarrus.k12.nc.us ext. 603, after 3:15 pm Email is the best way to communicate with us. We

will check our email between 4:00 and 6:00 pm each day and will be happy to respond to any questions or concerns.

Questions?Thank you for coming!

Your support is very much appreciated!