Mr. Moshoyannis’ Fourth Grade Class Welcome, Parents!

Welcome to Fourth Grade! Educational Philosophy NY State Assessments Educational Outcomes Classroom Policies/Procedures School Forms

All About Me  My background  I grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens and then moved to Long Island in 4 th grade.  My educational background  I attended Roosevelt Elementary School, Vernon Middle School, and Oyster Bay High School.  I went to Cornell University (BS), Teachers College/Columbia University (MA/MPhil), PhD. (ABD)  I am a life-long learner (Summer 2009 University of Washington for the Teaching of Physics)  Summer 2015 September 11 th Memorial and Museum (Gilder Lehrman)  Summer 2015 “Thomas Jefferson and Education” seminar at Charlottesville, VA  Attended Army Basic Officer/Advanced Course in field artillery (honorably discharged after 15 years of service)  Called to World Trade Center during 9/11/01  My experience  I have been teaching for 22 years.  I was a social studies specialist in Brooklyn teaching grades 2-9.  For 15 years I taught 5 th grade at Lee Avenue.  This is my sixth year teaching 4 th grade.

My Goals  To give the student the academic and social skills they need to progress through fourth grade and be prepared for fifth grade.  To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment.  To help students make new friends and discover new interests.

Class Subjects  The subjects we cover during fourth grade are:  English Language Arts  Reading-new series Reading Street  Writing-The Teachers College Writing Program  Speaking  Listening  Math-Using GO MATH!  Science  Social Studies  Health (The Great Body Shop)

Reading  Fiction (fantasy, historical/realistic, mystery, myths and tall tales)  Non-fiction (biography, articles, newspaper)

Writing  Expository non-fiction  Letters (friendly, business) for persuasion  Descriptive  Response to literature (Close reading)  Book projects each trimester.

Math  Review of math facts and operations (division/multiplication and the interpretation of remainders)  Geometry and the use of the protractor. How to read angles and construct shapes i.e. triangles and quadrilaterals. Use of protractor. How to use and read a ruler.  Multi-step word problems  Fractions: operations with like denominators and understanding parts of a whole.  NYS Math Assessment

Science  Life Science (Plants/Animals)/adaptations  structural/behavioral/ecosystems/food webs/chains  Physical Science  Simple Machines  Physics (Electricity, Mass, Volume, Gravity/Friction, Magnetism) and use of special scientific equipment  STATE SCIENCE TEST

Social Studies  Map skills (political/special purpose/longitude/latitude/geo-graphic terms)  NYS history (Native Americans, The First New Yorkers)  American Revolutionary War  Industrial Revolution (Erie Canal, trains)  Immigration  How to use data to interpret events  Strengthening writing skills

Classroom Community  Our classroom is a community. In our community, we have rules and behaviors to help us get along with each other. Our class rules are:  Be respectful and responsible.  Be organized and follow directions.  Be prepared.  Wait one’s turn before speaking.  Listen to others.  Don’t be afraid/nervous/anxious to ask questions.

Homework  I will assign approximately an hour of homework every night.  Homework policy sent home and signed Extra Help Tuesdays and Thursdays---8:35 AM Policy sent home/signed

Tardiness  School starts at 9:05 A.M.  If you are going to be late or absent on a particular day, notify the office EARLY so that work missed can be gathered.

Let’s Have a Great Year!