4th Grade Curriculum Night August 29, 2017

Mrs. Branch Ms. Becker (Student Teacher)

Agenda

Displayed on the screen every morning Students must work through the checklist Student’s responsibility ~ Teachers want to hold students responsible to share with parents daily to review content Guide to share homework and skills worked on at school

Writing

Curriculum Overview Teachers pull from various resources. Focus on basic grammar involving the parts of speech, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling rules Address commonly misspelled/misused words (too, two, to ~ there, they’re, their ~ our, are) Begin with basic sentence construction Progress to complex sentences (opener, interrupter, compound)

Curriculum Overview Organization of a paragraph Focus on writing a solid thesis statement Voice (letting their personality show) Using supporting details to paint a picture for the reader *We teach writing in a way that will allow students freedom...not formulaic.

Curriculum Overview 4th Grade Compositions Narrative A piece of writing telling a story of a personal experience that is written to a stated prompt Example: Write about a time you needed help.

Curriculum Overview 4th Grade Compositions Expository A piece of writing that provides information or details (not research) Example: Write about your favorite subject and explain why it is your favorite.

Buzzword Daily Buzzword Develop vocabulary Added to word wall for future reference in writing

Reading

Curriculum Overview Teaching basic comprehension skills through novels (Literary Text) Character Analysis Inferring Summarizing/Retelling Vocabulary Development Story Elements Point of View Determining Themes Author’s Craft Questioning

Curriculum Overview Teaching basic comprehension skills through nonfiction text Inferring Summarizing/Retelling Vocabulary Development Author’s Craft Questioning Text Features/Media Literacy

30 Book Challenge Poetry Anthology 3 Traditional Literature 2 Realistic Fiction 3 Historical Fiction 2 Fantasy 2 Science Fiction 2 Mystery 2 Informational Texts 3 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir 2 Graphic Novel 2 Magazine 2 Chapter Book Free Choice 5 30 Book Challenge

Biblionasium Usernames and passwords are in your child’s agenda Uses: Keep up with books they are reading Keep up with a reading log Document books that have been read completely Chart books on the 30 Book Challenge Respond to reading Biblionasium

What can reading 20 minutes each night do for your child?

Social Studies

Texas History 4 Regions of Texas American Indians Explorers Texas Revolution Texas Today

Mrs. Branch’s Strengths Strengths Academy Mrs. Branch’s Strengths Input Developer Discipline Learner Achiever

Designed to help upper elementary school students recognize, explore, and activate their strengths Students will develop their top 3 themes into true strengths, build personal strengths portfolios, and learn to apply their strengths both in their schoolwork and in their relationships with peers. Lessons will gradually expand to help students spot strengths in other people and help students to better understand why people feel, think, and act the way they do - especially when it may not be the way they feel, think, and act! Taken from ~ Learning Together - Strengths Foundation Program Overview