4th+Grade+Curriculum

4th Grade Curriculum Overview
 4th Grade 2017-2018
 * CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

CORE VALUES The four Wellesley Public Schools core values are Academic Excellence, Commitment to Community, Respect for Human Differences, Cooperative & Caring Relationships. Each individual classroom will renew its focus on the core values as they pertain to our interactions with each other in our classroom, school and larger communities. Additionally, the Bates core values are: Kindness, Learning and Leadership, and Best Effort. Students regularly discuss and practice what these core values look like in our day-to-day lives.

LANGUAGE ARTS Reading: Independent reading and reading instruction go hand-in-hand to help your child become a stronger and more proficient reader. Your child should be reading one “just right” book at a time for independent reading, both at home and at school. In addition, each student will read books at his or her “instructional level” at school as parts of various units with teacher instruction. By reading chapter books and picture books individually and in small groups, children learn to critique different authors' crafts, language, characters, setting, and plot development. Partners and groups are based on skills to be taught, ability and/or a child’s particular interest. Throughout the year students will work to increase vocabulary, develop reading fluency and implement active reading strategies. Students will also work to develop their higher level thinking skills. Students work throughout the year on comprehension skills and writing about reading. Throughout the year, students will participate in book groups and reading partnerships. Other areas of focus in reading include informational nonfiction and biographies. The fourth grade will put on plays for an audience at the end of the year in connection with our study of tall tales.

Writing: We are beginning the year with launching our writer's notebooks. Students are learning strategies to generate writing ideas, learning how to effectively use thinking maps, building their writing stamina using "PowerWrites," and writing short personal narratives. In writer’s workshop, we will write in many genres including personal essays, realistic fiction, persuasive essays, biographies, expository non-fiction, and poetry. Students will frequently bring home their writer's notebooks for homework assignments, which ask them to brainstorm or spend some time thinking and writing. Writer's notebooks are a place for experimenting and exploring; editing, lengthy revising, and publishing take place inside the classroom.

This year, much of the students’ writing will take place using iPads.

Keyboarding: Students will use iPads and laptops during writer’s workshop. They will have some time to practice their keyboarding skills in school using the Keyboarding Without Tears program. We encourage you to reinforce this skill at home with KWT as well.

Speaking: Each child is expected to improve his/her speaking skills during the year through: > > > > >
 * participation during class discussions
 * reading passages from books aloud individually or with a partner
 * sharing his or her own writing
 * book talks
 * plays

Listening: Each child is expected to develop and improve his/her listening skills during the course of the year by: > > > >
 * listening while others are speaking
 * following directions
 * maintaining eye contact with the person speaking
 * being able to restate and add on to what others say

MATH Investigations in Number, Data, and Space Second Edition is Wellesley’s K-5 math curriculum written by TERC. You will be able to access letters online throughout the year explaining each of the units of study. Homework pages reference page numbers in the Student Math Handbook, a reference book that will help with homework throughout the year. By the end of fourth grade, children will develop a more in-depth understanding of place value, the four operations, fractions and decimals, geometry and algebra. Problem solving strategies will be introduced and practiced throughout the year. To enhance individual learning styles and to increase student practice and knowledge of math skills, we use manipulatives, math combination practice, math games, mental math practice, and discussion. Students work both individually, in pairs, and in small groups during math. Practice with math combinations should take place at home on a regular basis. On our classroom web page there are links to sites that may help students with this practice.

SCIENCE Science in 4th grade is hands-on, inquiry-based whenever possible. Students will focus on generating questions, data collection, detailed observations and drawings, conclusions and discussions of results. Classes will rotate to a different teacher for each of our 3 science units, starting with the unit taught by their classroom teacher. The three units are Earth's Changing Surface which includes topics like weathering, erosion, volcanoes, earthquakes and an engineering component, Examining Mammals which focuses on identifying animals based on characteristics such as bone structure, fur, and scat, and States of Matter and the Water Cycle. We have a visit from the Discovery Museum to explore States of Matter more deeply and students will go on a geology trip to visit different sites around Wellesley.

SOCIAL STUDIES In fourth grade, we will review map skills. We will study US geography and the five regions, people, cultures, & economy. Students will learn about three historical periods: the ancient Pueblo people, the Industrial Revolution, and the Civil Rights movement. Our field trip will be to the Lowell Mills where we will learn about the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution.

COUNT ME IN! Count Me In! is taught as part of the core curriculum by teachers K-5. At the fourth grade level, students will focus on understanding learning differences, Tourette’s Syndrome, and understanding physical disabilities.

OPEN CIRCLE We are using the Open Circle Curriculum, a comprehensive social and emotional learning program that supports elementary school children in developing the skills needed to be good learners and to form healthy, positive relationships with people throughout their lives.

Twice each week during the school year, the class will meet in a circle for about 15 minutes. Lesson topics will include listening well, including one another, cooperating, understanding feelings, teasing, recognizing differences among people, getting calm, problem solving, positive self-talk, and more. The goals of the lessons are to create a cooperative classroom environment and to give children the skills they need to solve interpersonal problems and to build positive relationships.

THINKING MAPS Thinking maps are visual tools used for thinking and learning. There are eight thinking maps. Each map is based on a specific thinking process: defining, describing, sequencing and ordering, identifying part/whole relationships, comparing and contrasting, classifying, analyzing causes and effects, and illustrating analogies. Students will use these maps throughout their school day - planning for writing, recording their thinking about the characters in their book, and showing what they learned about the three types of rocks.

HOMEWORK Homework assignments focus on math, reading, and writing. The purpose of homework is to review and practice skills taught at school, but homework also serves as a way to preview or prepare for the next day’s learning. Some homework assignments will ask students to extend and apply skills they have been taught or exposed to at school. Other important purposes of homework include promoting individual initiative, personal responsibility, time management, and self-direction.

We spend time in class discussing assignments and expectations. Homework is posted on each class’s website. Students are guided in packing up what they need to take home. 7-pocket portfolios are to be brought home every day and are due back each morning with completed assignments for that day.

Important information about homework for you and your child to remember: > > > > ||
 * All assignments should be done in pencil or typed.
 * Homework should be done neatly.
 * Daily reading at home should be at least 30 minutes. This is a critical routine for you to help your child establish. Consistent practice at home will help your child’s reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It is part of your child’s homework to record daily reading in their reading log.
 * If homework (other than nightly reading) takes longer than 30 minutes a night, you and your child should stop and write a note explaining the problems he or she encountered. If homework is frequently taking your child longer than it should, please let me know and we will find a solution together.