1. Welcome to a new school year at Tibbals!

2. Basic Information Introductions School starts at 7:30 Conference time is 1:35 – 2:25

3. 4 th Grade Tests In fourth grade there are three STAAR tests given by the state of Texas: reading, writing, and math. These are minimal skills tests and do not drive our instruction. The curriculum is based on the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills ). Writing will be taken in April. The test will be given over two days and they will have four hours each day to complete. Reading and Math will be taken at the end of April.

4. 4 th Grade Expectations: ELAR By the end of 4 th grade, your child will be able to: *Expand vocabulary and relate to text *Narrative and Expository *Compare/Contrast/connect reading text *Analyze character feelings within a text (and how they can change) *Identify problems and solutions *Write for a specific purpose *Use conventions (grammar rules) *Edit text on a 4 th grade level *Compose/edit and complete written compositions *Compare visual organizers with written text

5. 4 th Grade Expectations: Math By the end of 4 th grade, your child will be able to: *Read, write, and compare whole numbers to 1,000,000,000 *Read, write and compare decimals including tenths and hundredths *Add and subtract whole numbers and decimals *Recall and apply multiplication facts through 12x12 *Compare and order fractions *Apply multiplication and division *Use division with 1 digit divisors *Describe relationships between sets of data *Identify types of angles *Identify and describe parallel and perpendicular lines *Describe two- and three-dimensional figures by their attributes *Solve problems using elapsed time *Develop problem solving strategies

6. 4 th Grade Expectations: Science By the end of 4 th grade, your child will be able to: *Plan and implement lab investigations *Use the scientific method *Identify components and processes of the natural world (properties of soil, effects of oceans on land, role of the sun, physical properties of matter, heat-as it changes in the state of matter) *Learn the roles of living/nonliving in simple systems (differences between learned and inherited traits) and adaptations *Understand systems- a collection of cycles, structures and processes that interact (change and consistency in patterns; time, space, energy, matter) predictions- change over time

7. Austin Fieldtrip We will be taking our 4 th graders to Austin on December 18 th. We will visit the Capitol first and then head to the Bob Bullock Museum. This is a teaching/learning day for us and the chaperones are made up of Tibbals staff. The tour company, Education in Action, has a Facebook page as well as a Twitter page where you can get updates. The cost is $83.75 and is due no later than October 1 st.