4th Grade

Books and Themes of the Month

  • Theme of the Month:
  • Book of the Month: 
    • Click on the title for more information!
  • Student of the Month Characteristics: 
    •  

  

Quote of the Month

Reading

In Reading…

     The fourth graders will study character traits and feelings in our realistic fiction unit.

    Our fourth graders will also learn to focus on Sign Posts.  The sign posts they will learn are: contrast and contradiction, again and again, tough questions, words of the wiser, aha moments, and memory moments.  These are designed to help students notice and identify common elements in most of the stories they read.  By noticing these common elements and using anchor questions, students will be able to better interpret different story elements, such as, conflict, theme, plot and character traits. 

    Students should practice the Sign Posts they learn in school while reading at home.  When they encounter a sign post, they should stop and jot in their reading or homework notebook or on a post-it.

Writing

In Writing…

     Our 4th graders will be writing realistic fiction stories.   Using read-alouds to learn how an author writes realistic fiction, students will create their own characters and imagine a story that could happen in real life.  We will learn how to create a storyline with problems the characters will face  and solutions the character will come up with.  Students that will also learn about story beginnings, story endings, and elements of realistic fiction such as movement through time, character change, and lesson learned.  Students will work on using dialogue, paragraphs, and transitions. 

     Students will go through the writing process of planning, organizing ideas, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.  Students will collaborate with their classmates to help brainstorm ideas and share suggestions to improve their writing.

Social Studies

In Social Studies…

     The  4th graders will explore New York State.  We will be looking at the environment, resources and people of our state through both fiction and nonfiction reading, as well as through maps, video and images.

      Students will be learning about Native Americans who lived in the New York State and New York City regions.  In class we will look at reasons why Native Americans chose this land to settle and live.  We will talk about natural resources, such as animals for food and clothing, water to drink, and trees for shelter and transportation.   Students will also study different aspects of the Native people’s lives.  

Math

In Math…

     Students will learn about factors and multiples with regard to multiplication.  Students will develop strategies to find factors of a given number and should be able to explain their reasoning.  

     Students will learn how to use the standard algorithm for both Addition and Subtraction.  Students will also be using place value and reasonable estimation to help them solve addition problems fluently. 

     At home, we encourage you to look over your child’s homework and discuss their math thinking out loud.  In class we have been working on explaining our thinking clearly using math vocabulary terms related to the unit. 

Science

In Science…

We are looking forward to a great school year full of learning and fun Science activities!

The fourth grade Scientists in training are beginning the first Unit of Study called Energy, Motion, and Collisions.  We will be exploring energy by finding out what it is and its different forms.  We will investigate this by studying roller coasters and building our own paper roller coasters. 

At home, you can look at different You Tube videos explaining how roller coasters work!

In Art…

Fourth graders will be making Autumn-themed artwork.  They will be observing and illustrating Fall leaves and suggesting the movement of falling leaves through the placement of the leaves in their images. 

 

In Technology...

In technology, we will learn how to log into our chromebooks and use our G Suite accounts. We will also be learning how to create a slideshow using google slides.

 

In Gym…

Students will review gross motor skill activities in fun exercise stations.

At Home

Things to keep in mind & practice at home:

  • Read every night for at least 35 minutes.
  • Read nonfiction books.
  • Practice multiplication facts every night.
  • Read out loud for 10 minutes.
  • Do some exercise every day.
  • Eat a healthy breakfast and dinner.
  • Get lots of sleep.
  • Do your homework.

  

Questions to Ask at Home

Questions to Ask Your Child About the Books they are Reading


➔ What are the big ideas in your reading?

➔ Can you identify the main idea?

➔ Is there anything new you learned?

➔ What kind of nonfiction text structures are you seeing in your books?

➔ What do you already know about the topic of the book?

➔ What connections can you make between your books, or personal experiences?

➔ How can we use pictures and captions to help us understand the meaning of the text?

Important Dates

Thursday, September 7

First Day of School