Welcome! *About the teacher(s) *The district has requested we emphasize curriculum and expectations for grade level rather than procedures tonight. *Please look over handouts on procedures, and let me know if you have any questions! *Please hold your questions until the close of presentation

What is Different About Fourth Grade * Emphasis shifts from learning to read to reading to learn *Work on fostering increased responsibility, organization skills, and independence *Less “hand holding” as year progresses in order to foster increased maturity and active, rather than passive, learners *Teach study skills like note taking and use of different types of study guides; students also learn text book navigation (glossary, index…etc.) *Beginning to prepare for skills needed to be successful at the middle school level

State Standards: How Children Learn Differently Now than When We Were Young *Spending more time on a concept in a given grade until a deeper understanding is developed instead of lightly touching on concepts in each grade *Nonfiction and fiction are given equal attention; and reading, writing, and speaking skills must grow together to develop literacy *Academic vocabulary is emphasized, as well as text-based evidence to back up claims in all subjects (This means use the language of math, for example, when explaining how a problem was solved.) *It is about college and workplace readiness-works backward asking what they need to know before entering a university or getting a job someday.

ELA-ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS – How we Learn * Reading skills require that students are introduced to more rigorous texts- realistic fiction, historical fiction, narrative and expository nonfiction (story-like or fact-like nonfiction) *Literary Elements are Explored-Students explore themes, character development, and symbolism used by the author; they consider both author’s craft (ex. Use of figurative language or symbolism) and their purpose in writing a story *Writing is higher level including: A fiction story using a plot mountain, various essays, and a historical informational piece divided into chapters.

Math Learning *Be able to compute accurately and with speed *Learn different ways of solving a math problem; must understand all methods of arriving at an answer even if have a preferred method *Be able to write about math and explain how they know and how they got the answer *Lots of class discussion (math talk)and group tasks *Why all the algorithms? The different strategies prepare them for more success in high school and college math classes (high order thinking) and understanding why problems must be done a certain way. (ie. The importance of place value in complex division and multiplication is stressed in the algorithms.)

Homework Expectations * Monthly Math Log —practice on computer, Ipad, flashcards, games. Log a minimum of 30 minutes per week (120 minutes per month) (add, subtract, multiply, divide with proficiency) * Monthly Reading Log — 400 minutes of reading per month, or 100 minutes per week; choose one book to complete the reading menu each month. *Word Study-Word lists come home usually on Monday and tests are usually on Friday-requiring your child to sort/spell as discussed with their group in class. *Paper/pencil tasks-These will come home randomly per week and may be anything from finishing a rough draft to math worksheets; typically any work not finished that should be.

Before You Leave… * Have Questions?? *Getting To Know Your Child Survey - Please send back in a sealed envelope! *SIGN UP FOR CONFERENCES *Classroom parties and fluency lab: Volunteers needed! More information to follow. *Classroom donations * verification-check before you leave! *Write back to your child - can take home! THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT! I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOUR CHILDREN!