Welcome to Fourth Grade!

1. Welcome to Fourth Grade!

2. “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 2021 Why Are Academic Standards Important? Academic standards are important because they help ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in college and the workforce. Standards provide an important first step — a clear roadmap for learning for teachers, parents, and students. Having clearly defined goals helps families and teachers work together to ensure that students succeed. They also will help your child develop critical thinking skills that will prepare him or her for college and career.

15. Changes in Assessments • WCPSS is moving towards online testing incorporating the new standards. Teachers will use more informal and formal checks to make sure students are on track throughout the year. • More open ended questions • More technology • More real world applications

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

20. The big ideas ■ Describing the basic elements of stories — such as characters, events, and settings — by drawing on specific details in the text ■ Paying close attention to key features of informational books and articles: these include understanding the main and supporting ideas; being able to compare and contrast information; and explaining how the author uses facts, details, and evidence to support particular points ■ Comparing ideas, characters, events, and settings in stories and myths from different cultures ■ Writing summaries or opinions about topics supported with a set of well-organized facts, details, and examples ■ Independently conducting short research projects on different aspects of a topic using evidence from books and the Internet ■ Paraphrasing and responding to information presented in discussions, such as comparing and contrasting ideas and analyzing evidence that speakers use to support particular points ■ Reporting orally on a topic or telling a story with enough facts and details ■ Writing complete sentences with correct capitalization and spelling ■ Relating words that are common in reading to words with similar meanings (synonyms) and to their opposites (antonyms)

21. 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

22. Writing Writing is across all areas of curriculum. Text Types and Purposes* 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Production and Distribution of Writing 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. Research to Build and Present Knowledge 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Range of Writing 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

23. 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

24. Content Standards Instructional time will focus on four critical areas: ■ Using whole-number arithmetic to solve word problems, including problems with remainders and problems with measurements ■ Adding and subtracting whole numbers quickly and accurately (numbers up to 1 million) ■ Multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers in simple cases (e.g., multiplying 1,638 × 7 or 24 × 17, and dividing 6,966 by 6) ■ Understanding and applying equivalent fractions (e.g., recognizing that 1⁄4 is less than 3⁄8 because 2⁄8 is less than 3⁄8) ■ Adding, subtracting, and multiplying fractions in simple cases (such as 2 3⁄4 − 1 1⁄4 or 3 × 5⁄8), and solving related word problems ■ Understanding simple decimals in terms of fractions (e.g., rewriting 0.62 as 62⁄100) ■ Measuring angles and finding unknown angles in a diagram

25. How we teach math…. Math is taught in our classrooms through… Small stations Small group practice Whole group practice Games Individualized instruction Written practice

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

27. 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

28. Standards-Based Summary All academic subjects are graded on a 1-4 scale. The Standards-Based Grading Scale (1-4) will only be used on assessments. These scores will reflect the student’s understanding of the objective(s) being assessed. Conduct and Work Habits are graded on a 1-3 scale. Specials are graded on a 1-3 scale as well.

30. Help Your Child Learn at Home 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. )

31. Field Trips • We have a few possible ideas waiting for approval! Watch for more details! • Symphony Trip is November 14th • Possible trip to downtown Raleigh government buildings and museums this fall. • Possible trip to science museum in Durham this spring. • Cost is approximately $20-$25 total for all 3 trips.

32. PAWS Behavior

33. Questions?! Thanks for coming! We look forward to a great year with your children!