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Back to School Night-

4th Grade Rules, Procedures and Information

Mr. Brian Casey Mrs. Kristie Ritchie [email protected] [email protected] x1200 x1201 Ms. Christy DiValerio Ms. Maria White [email protected] [email protected] x1204 x1206

Mrs. Colleen Bingaman [email protected]

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Together

I dreamed I stood in a studio And watched two sculptors there.

The clay they used was a young child’s mind And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher, the tools she used

Were books and music and art, One was a parent with a guiding hand

And a gentle, loving heart.

Day after day, the teacher toiled With a touch that was deft and sure, While the parent labored by her side And polished and smoothed it o’er.

And when at last their task was done,

They were proud of what they had wrought, For the things they had molded into the child

Could neither be sold nor bought.

And each agreed they would have failed If they had worked alone,

For behind the parent stood the school And behind the teacher, the home

Author Unknown

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2013-2014 4-DiValerio

1. RJ Abbott 2. Dominic Benasutti 3. RJ Buehler 4. Will Calvert 5. Campbell Carlin 6. Michael Cras 7. Kaia Eder 8. Hailey Fitzgerald 9. Nick Gargiule 10. Carly Hunsicker 11. Alaina Ireland 12. Ethan Martin 13. Lucy McCullough 14. Colin Morris 15. Isabella Purdy 16. Colin Reynolds 17. Tommy Ross 18. Justin Salvesen 19. Grace Sheibley 20. Avery Sorce 21. Neta Tor 22. Finn Williamson

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4-‐ DiValerio Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Homeroom 8:45-‐9:00

Science/Social Studies

9:00-‐9:50

Language Arts 9:55-‐11:15





Library

11:20-‐12:20

Homeroom 11:20-‐11:50

Guidance/SSR 11:50-‐12:20

Art

11:20-‐12:20

Music

11:20-‐12:20

Gym 11:15-‐12:00

Homeroom 12:00-‐12:20






Lunch and Recess 1:00-‐1:50

Math 2:00-‐3:25

Math 2:00-‐3:25

Math 2:00-‐3:25

Math 2:00-‐3:25

Math 2:00-‐3:25






Weekly Schedule

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Student Responsibil ities Classroom Rules In order to create a positive learning environment, the following rules will be encouraged and discussed throughout the year:

*Respect yourself *Respect others *Respect our school

Behavior

Every student is responsible for their own behavior. Students will receive tickets for following classroom rules. These tickets can be traded in for classroom privileges to encourage their great efforts. If a child chooses to misbehave, the following consequences will take place: MISBEHAVIORS CONSEQUENCES First * Personal warning Second * Student’s name is written on the board Third * A check is placed next to the students name and time will be taken from recess If the behavior continues, parents will be contacted.

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Homework

Assignment Books

• All 4th graders are required to record their homework in their assignment book each day.

• Assignments and test dates are posted on the board daily. • The students record the assignments at the end of each class. • Parents are encouraged to look over the assignment books for important

reminders or teacher messages. • If a student needs further organization guidance, we can devise a strategy

together!

Incomplete Work

• Homework is to be handed in promptly and completed in pencil. It is best to

set aside a consistent time and area at home for work to be done. • If an assignment (home or class) is late or missing, students will lose 5

minutes of recess time, and they will have to complete the assignment at home.

• Parents will be contacted if a teacher is concerned about frequent incomplete work.

• After school detention will be assigned after three missed assignments. Absentee

Work

• If your child is absent from school, we would be happy to prepare any missed assignments.

• Please let the homeroom teacher know by 11:00 (either email or voicemail) indicating whether you would like the work sent home with a classmate, sibling or left in the office to be picked up after school.

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Fourth Grade Social Studies

Our fourth grade students explore the four disciplines of social studies as they relate to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to the geographical regions of the United States. History- Students build on their understanding of chronological thinking as they learn about the past and the present of our state and nation, and about the individuals, groups and events that contributed to the establishment of PA and the U.S. Geography- Students learn about the physical characteristics of places and regions, and about the human interaction with those places, from early history to the present. They build on their knowledge of basic map skills. Civics- Students develop an understanding of the purpose of government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Economics- Students learn about the interrelation between history, geography, government, and economics. They see how resources are discovered and developed, and how goods are produced and consumed. The social studies textbooks we use are Pennsylvania: Adventures in Time and Place and Regions: Adventures in Time and Place. Students may be required to complete homework assignments, such as studying for tests and doing short research for projects.

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Fourth Grade Science

Students in the fourth grade continue to experience science as a process in which they learn skills such as observation, inference, and experimentation. Through three hands-on modules (Land and Water; Magnetism and Electricity; and Sun, Moon and Stars), students will develop their abilities of doing and understanding science. The students will focus on a four stage learning cycle:

• focus on what they know about a topic and what they want to learn • explore a scientific concept with a team of classmates • reflect on their findings and record the information in science

notebooks • apply their new learning to real-life situations and other areas of

the curriculum Magnetism and Electricity- This physical science module will involve fourth graders in the exciting world of wires, bulbs, batteries, switches, circuits, magnets, and electromagnets. The hands-on investigations allow students to draw conclusions about what it takes to conduct electricity. Land and Water- To investigate the interactions between land and water, students build a stream table. With this model, they observe how runoff causes stream formation; how ground water forms; how soil is eroded, transported and deposited; how water shapes land. Students create hills, manipulating certain parts of it, and testing it, students discover how water changes land and how, in turn, land formations affect the flow of water. Sun, Moon and Stars- This space module introduces students to objects we see in the sky. Through observations and active simulations, students learn that the sun, moon and stars move in predictable patterns that can be observed, recorded, and analyzed.

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Fourth Grade Parties With the help and support of our wonderful homeroom parents, we have several celebrations throughout the school year.

Halloween Our homeroom participates in the Chatham Park Halloween parade. We create a “spooky” craft project and eat delicious healthy treats.

Winter All fourth grade classes enjoy a breakfast together in the cafeteria! We play games and do a service project.

Chinese New Year Celebration All fourth grade classes read about Chinese New Year, make crafts and enjoy a Chinese lunch!

Valentine’s Day The children in our homeroom exchange Valentine’s Day cards, create a craft project, and enjoy some delicious treats!

End-of-the-Year The whole fourth grade enjoys a pizza lunch with organized games in the afternoon, courtesy of our homeroom parents. Then, on the last morning of school, each homeroom has a “Summer Birthday Luau”, celebrating an exciting and successful year together!

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Extra-Curricular Activities For Fourth Grade

One of Chatham’s strengths is the number of opportunities it offers its students. There are clubs and activities that meet many different interests. With the exception of District Chorus, all students are welcome and encouraged to participate in each activity regardless of skill level. The following is a list of all activities offered to 4th graders.

Chatham Chorus- Mr. Peters holds practice one morning before school each week. The concert is in the spring. You can sign up in music class. District Chorus- Mr. Peters selects this group of talented singers to represent Chatham in a district wide chorus. Practices are held after school. Auditions are in the fall. Musical Instrument Lessons- Mr. Shanefield and Ms. Greenburg conduct the school band and orchestra. Lessons take place during the

school day and rehearsals are held occasionally during recess. Field Hockey- A group of Chatham Park teachers coach this team that competes against other district elementary schools. Practices and games are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from mid September through early November. Flag Football- Players will be assigned to teams to compete intramurally on selected Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the fall. Chatham Park teachers will supervise this activity. Floor Hockey- Students will be assigned to intramural teams and compete on selected Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during the winter. Track and Field- All interested runners, jumpers and throwers practice on selected Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in late April and May to prepare for a School District track meet in late May. Chatham Park teachers will supervise this activity. Service Club- Students who are interested in working together to perform service for local community organizations. Meetings are held afterschool approximately once a month. Chatham Park parents will supervise this activity.

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Language Arts In order to become good readers; students need a balanced reading “diet”. The different “food groups” of balanced reading instruction are: Working with Words, Guided Reading, Self-Selected Reading and Writing. They are referred to as…

Working with Words:

• Learning high-frequency and commonly misspelled words (word wall) • Learning one and two syllable words that follow a pattern, but are used less

frequently (Activities include: Making Words and Name Brand Phonics) • Spelling words with two or more patterns (Activity includes: What Looks

Right?) • Decoding and spelling polysyllabic words (Activity includes: Nifty Thrifty Fifty) • Applying strategies while reading and writing (Activity includes: Guess the

Covered Word) Guided Reading Houghton-Mifflin Anthology

The students will be reading and discussing selections from the anthology. The four themes that we will focus on this year are:

§ Journeys § American Stories § Heroes § Nature: Friend and Foe

Leveled Readers

Fiction and non-fiction books are used to teach specific reading skills. Students will read these with teacher support, in small groups, with a partner and independently.

Novels

Students will engage in a variety of novels ranging from realistic fiction to fantasy. Nightly reading and questions/activities may occur.

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Writing

• Each child maintains a “Writing Workshop Folder” containing all the writing samples completed during the school year.

• The students are exposed to several types of writing such as narrative, persuasive, descriptive, expressive, explanatory and poetry

• Students will follow the writing process for most pieces: pre-writing, rough draft, revise, edit and publish.

• The students develop and practice editing skills using MUG shot activities (Mechanics, Usage and Grammar) along with the Write Source Skills book.

Self-Selected Reading

• Students have the opportunity to choose what they would like to read from a variety of genres.

• Teacher meets with individual students to complete reading inventories and conferences.

• This block ends with one or two students sharing their book with the class.

Other Areas: Book Reports

• Book reports are assigned 2-3 times a year. • Students will receive packets for each project providing specific directions and

due dates. • Book reports will be an at home assignment

Nightly Reading

• Students are required to read for 15 minutes nightly Homework

Homework will typically consist of weekly spelling pages, a practice book page and a nightly reading log

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Overview

Math in Focus is organized to teach fewer topics in each grade, but to teach them thoroughly. When a concept appears in a subsequent grade level, it is always at a higher level. This is the coherence and focus that the Common Core State Standards call for. Teach to Mastery- Math in Focus is structured for mastery learning. Rather than repeating topics, students master them in a grade level, and subsequent grades develop them to more advanced levels. Moving from addition and subtraction in second grade to multiplication and division in third grade is such an example. Students continue to practice all the operations with whole numbers in every grade in the context of problem solving and deep applications. Focus on number, geometry, and measurement in elementary grades- Math in Focus emphasizes number and operations in every grade, K-5, just as recommended in the Common Core State Standards. The textbook is divided into two books, roughly a semester each. Approximately 75% of Book A is devoted to number and operations and 60-70% of Book B to geometry and measurement where the number concepts are practiced, connected, and applied. The key number topics are in the beginning of the school year so students have a whole year to master them. Organize content by big ideas- Math in Focus is organized around place value and the properties of operations. The first chapter of each grade level from second to fifth begins with place value. In first grade, students learn the teen numbers and math facts through place value. In all the grades, operations are taught with place value materials so students understand how the standard algorithms work. Even the mental math that is taught uses understanding of place value to model how mental arithmetic can be understood and done.

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Conceptual Understanding and Procedural Fluency- Math in Focus is built around the Singapore Ministry of Education’s famous pentagon that emphasizes conceptual understanding, skill development, strategies for solving problems, attitudes towards math, and metacognition that enables students to become excellent problem solvers. The highly visual nature of the text and the consistent concrete to visual to abstract approach enables all students to both understand how procedures work and to fluently apply them to solve problems. Reasoning- Math in Focus is famous for its model drawing that enables students to solve problems, as well as justify their solutions. In addition to journal questions and other explicit opportunities to explain their thinking, students are systematically taught to use visual diagrams to represent mathematical relationships in such a way as to not only accurately solve problems, but also to explain their thinking. 4th Grade Areas of Focus

• Place Value of Whole Numbers • Estimation and Number Theory • Whole Number Multiplication and

Division • Tables and Line Graphs • Data and Probability • Fractions and Mixed Numbers • Decimals • Adding and Subtracting Decimals • Angles • Perpendicular and Parallel Line

Segments • Squares and Rectangles • Area and Perimeter • Symmetry • Tessellations

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