Welcome to Fourth Grade!

1. Welcome to Fourth Grade!

2. Welcome to Music • Mrs. Wilson, our music teacher, will present info regarding the “RECORDER” unit • Each student has already brought home a paper about the unit including the importance of the unit and suggestions about where to purchase a recorder. • Recorders need to be at school by Sept. 23

5. “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” Stephen R. Covey Class of 2022

6. 3 Key Ideas for Parents About the Common Core – Part 1(Parent Handout) Thinking Deeply The Common Core emphasizes critical thinking. It requires students to analyze more, discuss more, evaluate more, justify more and explain their thinking & understanding deeply, especially in writing. Take-Away: Really thinking deeply is hard. Let it BE hard, help them talk it out. Integrating Learning The Common Core emphasizes learning across disciplines (reading with math & social studies standards combined into one task). Students spend more time working together with different settings, structures & tools. Take-Away: Problems & solutions happen every day in the real world. Showing How They Know The Common Core emphasizes proof & evidence. While some memorization will always be necessary, the days of rote memorization without understanding are gone. Assessments in the classroom will reflect this type of learning. Take-Away: The new tests will require students to explain how they know.

7. 3 Key Ideas for Parents About the Common Core – Part 2 Supporting the Common Core at Home Ask *why* when children tell you they want something or want to do or not do something. Use the word *because* after “No” or “Not tonight…” Give reasons – you to them and them to you. Encourage questions & explore answers (especially questions whose answers are not yes or no). Explain & discuss issues or problems in your house, neighborhood, & community. Brainstorm solutions. Compare how things are alike and different – videos, movies, food,… Look for patterns. Describe & categorize stuff. Tell your children what you value & why. Encourage & celebrate opinions. Taken from: www.helloliteracy.blogspot.com and revised.

8. Parent Handout

9. Four strands 1. Reading • Literature • Informational • Foundational Skills 2. Writing 3. Speaking and Listening 4. Language

10. The Daily Five Reading is taught through small group instruction, whole group instruction, and the Daily Five model. The Daily Five provides opportunities for independent, meaningful reading and writing practice. During this time the students will engage in independent literacy-based activities. Assessment is ongoing and will be administered through observation, demonstrating an understanding of concepts presented during the Daily Five rotations, as well as fluency tests, quizzes, written work, and tests. • 5 Components • Read to Self • Read to Someone • Listen to Reading • Word Work • Work on Writing This year we will also use “Team Time” to differentiate our reading and writing instruction.

11. Standards for Mathematical Practice Standards for Mathematical Practice include: • 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 • Look for and make use of structure • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

12. How we teach math…. Math is taught in our classrooms through… Small stations Small group practice Whole group practice Games Individualized instruction Written practice Push ins and Pull outs

13. Science instruction continues to be inquiry-based Areas of Focus: • Rocks and Minerals • Landforms • Animal Studies • Magnetism and Electricity

14. New to social studies is the exploration of content through five strands as we study North Carolina. Five strands include: • History • Geography and Environmental Literacy • Civics and Government • Culture • Economics and Personal Financial Literacy

15. PAWS Behavior

16. Report Card – part 1 (Parent Handout) • Student performance descriptions • Student performance is shown with levels of 1 to 4 to indicate whether the student has met the expectations set by the state in the Standard Course of Study and to indicate whether the student has the necessary skills and concepts to be successful in the next quarter or next grade.  Teachers use a variety of assessments which include observations and evidence collected throughout the grading period to determine the student’s level of proficiency.  The descriptors for each level have been aligned to the expectations of the new Standard Course of Study (Common Core State Standards and Essential Skills) for all content areas. • Level 4 - Exemplary Student consistently demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period. • Level 3 - Proficient Student consistently demonstrates an understanding of the standard, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period. • Level 2 - Approaching Proficiency Student is approaching an understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period. • Level 1 - Non-ProficiencyStudent does not yet demonstrate an understanding of the standards, concepts, and skills taught during this reporting period.

17. Report Cards – part 2 • Conduct and work habits • Conduct and work habits will receive performance indicators separate from the content area.  In reporting on conduct, the teacher can indicate whether the student meets expectations in cooperating with others, respecting others, and observing rules and procedures. In reporting on work habits, the teacher can indicate whether the student uses time wisely, listens carefully, completes assignments, writes legibly, works independently or seeks help when needed, and completes work. The following descriptors will be used: • 3 - meets expectations • 2 - inconsistently meets expectations • 1 - does not meet expectations • Specials • Your student will also receive a report of the student’s progress in the specials (Art, Music, and PE) at the end of each semester.  The report is provided by the Specialist teaching that area. • Comments • The elementary report card provides one way for the teacher to communicate with the student and parent about the student's success in meeting the state standards for that grade and reporting on the student's classroom behavior and work habits. Parents may request a conference with the teacher to discuss their student’s progress and ways to support their learning in and out of school. • http://www.wcpss.net/what-we-teach/curriculum/elem-report-card.html

20. Help Your Child Learn at Home (Parent Guide handout) Try to create a quiet place for your child to study, and carve out time every day when your child can concentrate. You should also try to sit down with your child at least once a week for 15 to 30 minutes while he or she works on homework. This will keep you informed about what your child is working on, and it will help you be the first to know if your child needs help with specific topics. Additionally, here are some activities you can do with your child to support learning at home: English Language Arts & Literacy ■ Urge your child to use logical arguments to defend his or her opinion. If your child wants a raise in allowance, ask him or her to research commonsense allowance systems and, based on that research, explain reasons why, supported by facts and details. ■ Talk about the news together. Pick one story in the news, read it together, and discuss with your child what it means. Mathematics ■ Ask your child to compare numbers using phrases like “times as much.” For example, if the family cat weighs 8 lbs. and the family dog weighs 56 lbs., how many times as much does the dog weigh? ■ Ask your child to help you compare fractional amounts — for example, if one recipe calls for 2⁄3 of a cup of oil, but another recipe calls for 3⁄4 of a cup of oil, which recipe calls for more oil? (In 5th grade, your child will learn ways to determine just how much more oil.) *HOMEWORK NOTE: If your child is taking longer than 50 minutes to complete nightly homework, please stop the homework and write the teacher a note. As a team, we expect students to read at least 20 minutes a night. (Studies have shown that students who read every night for 20 or more minutes improve their comprehension and fluency. )

21. Field Trips • We have a few possible ideas waiting for approval! Watch for more details! • Symphony Trip is March 20th. • Possible trip to downtown Raleigh government buildings and museums. • Possible science experience. • For safety and security, we would like quite a few parent volunteers on our downtown Raleigh trip. No parents are allowed on the Symphony Trip due to space limitations.

22. Questions?! Thanks for coming! We look forward to a great year with your children! Mrs. Donaldson, Mr. Hughes, and Mrs. Rosado