Fourth Grade Team
Dear Parents and Guardians of Fourth Grade Students:
Can you believe your children are already in the fourth grade? They will be working hard to make the transition from 3rd grade to our intermediate team. With Standards-Based Learning, our curriculum will focus on the state's Essential Academic Learning Requirements. The following is an explanation of what we have planned this year.
READING: The entire school continues to put its focus on reading. The students have been divided into flexible groups according to their reading performance at this time. We are putting strong emphasis on the development and use of comprehension/thinking skills through reading of fiction chapter books and non-fiction texts.
Through this focus, we hope to develop life long habits of reading and strong vocabularies for greater skill in written and oral communication. In addition to daily instruction of reading skills, we provide 20 minutes of silent reading or oral reading of quality children's literature at least three times per week. We also require that students read at home daily for at least 20 minutes.
MATH: The fourth grade Math standards include the understanding and application of the following concepts: number sense, measurement, geometric sense, probability and statistics, and algebraic sense. In all of these areas, students will incorporate problem solving and mathematical reasoning.
COMMUNICATIONS: We continue our practice of editing and teach grammar, punctuation, and parts of speech. We believe it is Sanislo's writing program that is the cornerstone for students' progress and development in the use of the English language. Our goal is for students to write daily as we develop the six traits of quality writing. Three pieces of student writing will be formally assessed throughout the year. Students' writing will be honored at our annual Young Authors' Conference in April.
SOCIAL STUDIES: Topics will include the land, the regions, and the people of the United States. The emphasis will be on helping our children become productive and informed citizens. Activities will be projects, a major research report, and presentations.
SCIENCE: Our goal is to provide students with exciting science experiences and help them learn the science skills and concepts. Units for the year will include Ecosystems, Circuits and Pathways, and Food Chemistry.
ART: The children will be attending Art classes with Ms.Autenrieth twice weekly.
P.E. Fourth graders participates in P.E. two days per week with Ms. T. Please remind your child to dress appropriately for P.E. on these days.
COMPUTERS: We will focus on word processing skills to prepare the students to publish their own writing. They will also learn to use a variety of educational software.
The Seattle School District emphasizes rigorous academic standards that clearly sets out what students should know and be able to do as they progress through school. Classroom activities, homework assignments, lesson plans, and assessments will be built around standards in reading, writing, communication, math, and science. Students will know what is expected of them and will be evaluated on how well they perform in relation to the standards.
As we've said before, your child's success is a product of teamwork between home and school. We look forward to working with your child and you. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call us at Sanislo(252-8380).
Sincerely,
Sarah Robb and Narayan Jacob