Calf Pen Meadow School ~ Grade 4

Today’s Schedule  Whole Group Presentation  Classroom Visits… The Fabulous Fourth!

Our Mission Statement As a community we strive to foster meaningful relationships and build a safe, supportive environment that develops life-long learners who care and think deeply about their world. Our partnership is critical to this work!

School Continuous Improvement Plan (S.C.I.P.)  To increase the academic achievement of all students, every Calf Pen Meadow student will have access to a rigorous and quality education and will have the supports needed to be successful.  To provide a safe and orderly environment for all, Calf Pen Meadow will establish and maintain a community that supports, promotes, and expects behaviors which ensure students are responsible learners and caring citizens of their school.  To strengthen and promote school/family/community relationships, the people attached to Calf Pen Meadow School will be committed to fostering and nurturing these partnerships that contribute to increased learning for all students.

What have our grade 4 mathematicians been working on? Developed and practiced strategies for solving multiplication and division problems Converted measurements of weight, capacity and time using standard and metric units Used measurement tools accurately; estimated and measured lengths in standard and metric units up to 100 feet, solved problems involving perimeter Investigated attributes of polygons and categorized them by side length, angle size, and parallel sides

What will our grade 4 mathematicians do next? Use a protractor to measure and draw angles Find the area of polygons; solve real world problems with area Add & subtract numbers within 10,000; understand place value concepts to 1,000,000; study & use the standard algorithm (addition/subtraction) Add and subtract fractions with the same denominators; multiply whole numbers by fractions using models Add decimals to the hundredths place Solve 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication problems and solve division problems using place value strategies, the area model, or the relationship between multiplication and division

How can families help at home? Fact practice at home CPM website - Academics link for websites & Fastt Math link Promote participation Extreme-Home Math - Students should record the math task they work on in their planner Idita-Math Problem of the Week - Problem will be sent home in Friday folders, beginning today Homework Math Investigations hardcover handbook - still available! Communicate difficulties to classroom teacher “The Planner”

What have our grade 4 readers been working on? Unit 1: Launching the Reading Workshop express ideas clearly during discussions build on the ideas of others during discussions support their thinking with evidence from the text Unit 2: Growing Ideas About Characters identify characters’ traits through an analysis of behaviors, including actions, dialogue and feelings analyze characters’ behaviors, actions, and thoughts; draw inferences about characters develop and revise theories about characters compare /contrast the point of view work with partnerships to share and grow theories about characters, using evidence from the text

What have our grade 4 readers been working on? Unit 3: Navigating Nonfiction Text Structures identify different text structures: description, sequence (chronology), comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution determine main idea within each text structure and explain how it is supported by key details use background knowledge to anticipate text structure notice new vocabulary and apply a variety of strategies for making meaning use visual features to gain a deeper understanding of the text. begin to take notes to record big ideas /supporting evidence use notes to summarize the text gather and share information learned while reading

What have our grade 4 readers been working on? Unit 4: Poetry, Prose, and Drama explore the differences between poetry, prose, and drama consider the significance of structural elements in poems, prose, and dramas examine details to form interpretations, citing textual evidence to support their thinking read closely to determine the meaning of words and phrases. read aloud to further convey meaning build speaking and listening skills by sharing poems and dramas through oral presentation make connections between the written text of a story or drama and a visual presentation of the same text to elevate their understanding of the piece

What will our grade 4 readers do next?  Unit 5: Traditional Literature: Analyzing Themes Across Folktales and Myths  Unit 6: Biography  Unit 7: Nonfiction Research: Becoming Scientists and Historians (Science)  Unit 8: Reflection and Assessment: How I’ve Grown as a Reader

How can families help at home? Promote participation Extreme-Reader - Students should record the their minutes in the planner Daily and Nightly Reading w/ Conversation “Talking is thinking. Thinking is learning. The more children talk, the more they learn.” “The Planner”

Our Performance Target 83 % of families responded favorably to the indicator… “This school offers me many ways to be involved in my child’s education.”

Our efforts to increase involvement to date…  Family Numeracy Learning Sessions  Mystery Readers  Fall Conferences  Have You Heard? /The Graze  January Open House  Weekly NYCU  Special Projects  QU Literacy Collaborative

Partnership Opportunities Looking forward…  One School One Book (Grants)  Family Nights (PTA)  Additional Family Numeracy Learning Sessions  Family Literacy Night  Name That Book  Chess Club  Spirit Day  April Conferences  School House Rocks Drama Production  Iditarod Projects (including “IditaMath” problems)  All School Gathering Events  Chorus & Band Concerts  Art Shows

Ideas and suggestions??????? Please complete our electronic survey that will be ed to you… so you can tell us how we’re doing and so you can share your ideas!