FOURTH GRADE CURRICULUM NIGHT 2014 - 2015

Teachers Mrs. Meade

Mr. TinkerMiss O’Connor

Miss Nolan

ELA & Reading•Teaching and learning implemented through the district wide Common Core Curriculum Maps•Sixteen power standards incorporating reading, writing and speaking, listening and language•Supporting standards included throughout the Five ELA units

ELA: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing

● Power standards and supporting standards enable learners to meet the rigor of the MA Curriculum Frameworks

● �Five Curriculum Maps with 16 overarching power standards and many supporting standards in each unit to teach to mastery

● �Examples: Unit 1 : 7-8 weeks● �Power Standard: Students will proficiently

read and comprehend literature including stories, drama and poetry

Supporting Standards● �Unit 1 Examples( there are 14 in all)● �Describe in depth the setting drawing

on specific details in the text(RL3)● �Refer to details and examples in the

text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text(RL1& RI 1)

WritingPower Standards:

● �Students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.● �Opinion pieces: write, develop, and support opinion pieces on topics or texts.● �Informative/Explanatory pieces: write, develop, and clearly explain topic or idea to inform the reader.● �Narrative piece: write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.● �Students will report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Common Writing Assessments�Routine Writing: Builds content knowledge and provide

opportunities for reflection on a specific aspect of a text/texts. Routine written responses to such text-dependent questions allows students to build sophisticated understandings of vocabulary, text structure and content and to develop skills in analysis.

�Analysis Writing: Should put a premium on using evidence, as well as on crafting works that display some logical integration and coherence. These responses can vary in length based on questions asked and performed, from answering brief questions to crafting longer responses, allowing teachers to assess students’ ability to paraphrase, infer, and ultimately integrate the ideas they have gleaned for what they have read.

�Narrative Writing: Offers students opportunities to express personal ideas and experiences; craft their own stories and descriptions; and deepen their understandings of literary concepts, structures, and genres (e.g. short stories, anecdotes, poetry, drama) through purposeful initiation.

Writing Across the CurriculumProject Read: Framing Your Thoughts

The Written Expression curriculum focuses on the art of sentence and paragraph

development, using multisensory activities and sequential instruction to develop the

basic skills of writing.

1. Direct instruction of the concepts and skills of language

2. Presentation of concepts and skills in their dependent order, from simplest to

most complex

3. Multisensory strategies and materials created specifically for each concept and

skill

Writing Across the Curriculum John �Collins Writing Program as a resource

�TYPE I: WRITING GETS IDEAS ON PAPERTYPE II: RESPOND CORRECTLYTYPE III: STUDENT EDIT FOR FOCUS CORRECTION AREAS�TYPE IV: EDIT FOR FOCUS CORRECTION AREAS (Student and adult collaboration: not co-authoring)�TYPE V: PUBLISH/Portfolio Work

Fourth Grade Word Study● Syllabication (syllable types)● Prefixes/suffixes● Use combined knowledge of all letter/sound

correspondences, syllable types, syllable patterns, and morphology to accurately read unfamiliar multi-syllabic words in and out of context.

Math, The Common Core and EnvisionStudents will...Mathematics Power Standards: Unit 1 (What they will do)● Students will understand and

apply knowledge of place value to 1,000,000.

● Students will use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.

● Students will understand factors and multiples to generate and analyze patterns.

Mathematical Practices: Unit 1 (“How they will do it) 1. Make sense of problems and

persevere in solving them.2. Reason abstractly and

quantitatively.3. Construct viable arguments and

critique the reasoning of others.4. Model with mathematics.5. Use appropriate tools strategically.6. Attend to precision.7. Look for and make use of

structure.8. Look for and express regularity in

repeated reasoning.

Math, The Common Core and ENVISION●Make Sense of problem solving and

Persevere ●Aligned with the Common Core ●Balanced Instruction ●Eight Standards for Mathematical Practice● Home/School Connection●Appropriate Use of Technology

●Some assignments can be printed at home

Math Fluency4.NBT.4 Students fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.As defined by the Common Core, fluency in mathematics means quickly and accurately.FALL (NOVEMBER)

o 5 mixed problems add/subtract whole numbers within 1000. “Quickly” is defined as within 25 - 30 minutes and includes checks

WINTER (FEBRUARY)o 5 mixed problems add/subtract within 10,000. “Quickly” is defined as

within 25 - 30 minutes and includes checksSPRING (APRIL)

o 5 mixed problems add/subtract within 100,000. “Quickly” is defined as within 25 - 30 minutes and includes checks

END OF YEAR (JUNE)o 5 mixed problems add/subtract within 1,000,000. “Quickly” is defined as

within 25 - 30 minutes and includes checks

Xtra Math● Free web-based math fact fluency program that

helps students master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts

● Fluency is essential for success with higher level math problems

● Can be used in the classroom and at home● Parents and teachers regularly receive student

progress reports in e-mail ● Students simply need a parent e-mail address

and login code (given by teacher) and it’s free!

ScienceStrands Curriculum

StructureConcepts and

Skills

Life Overarching Guiding

questions

Identifying and conceptualizing key vocabulary

Earth Essential questions

Targeting skills to process

knowledgePhysical Directed Inquiry Experiments and

discoveries

Technology Study Guides Applying knowledge

through written language

Science Topics of Study Life science

Classification of plantsEnergy from plants

Adaptations and reproduction of plants

Earth ScienceWater cycle and weather

Physical Science

Properties of MatterHeat

Electricity and MagnetismSound and LightSimple Machines

Social StudiesFive Themes of Geography

1. Movement 2. Regions

3. Human / Environment Interaction

4. Location

5. Place

●Geography● Map reading and interpretation● Regions of the United States● Fifty States and Capitals● Landmarks, Landforms, Natural Resources etc.

Social StudiesImmigration and Citizenship

● Primary Sources● Contributions from other cultures to our own

●Canada and Mexico● Based around the Five Themes

●Ancient Civilization● China

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principles:

The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum. How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand. Knowing the children we teach individually, culturally and developmentally is as important as knowing the content we teach.

Teaching Practices: -Morning Meeting-Rules & Logical

Consequences-Classroom Organization-Guided Discovery-Academic Choice-Reaching out to

Parents/Guardians-Give Me “5” -Hopes and Dreams -CARES

HOMEWORK/ AGENDA● The District-Wide Homework Policy for  the 

fourth  grade is assigning 40 minutes of meaningful homework a night

● Homework is given to have students review skills and concepts taught throughout the day and instill a sense of responsibility, independence and time management

● It must be recorded in the daily agenda

Got Grit?Angela L. Duckworth describes grit as follows:

“Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals.”

Drive & PassionPersevere: Sometimes it is uncomfortable.

What does this look like in a classroom?

Thank you!Ms. Nolan Rm. 15 (First Floor)Mrs. Meade: Rm. 24Mr. Tinker Rm. 25Ms. O’Connor Rm. 26