Welcome to 4th Grade
Mary Ellen Keith
Tony Kresl
Kate Shaw
Gina Turgeon
Teacher/Parent Communication
*Conferences: Oct 9th/10th; March 19th/20th
*Weekly Whale Watch & Talk 203 Messages
*Monthly grade level newsletters sent
by email and updated on 4th grade
website
*Assignment notebook
Conferences
• Parents need to use their Portal Access Key to log
onto the conference scheduling tool.
• Families will be notified when the conferencing
system PTC Wizard is online - sometime in
September.
• Then parents using their Portal Access Key will be
able to login and schedule conferences with their
child’s teachers.
• Parents should sign up for conferences with their
homeroom teacher. Information about your
child’s progress will be communicated.
Introducing….
Introducing…
Highlands Heroes!
Curriculum Night
Highlands Heroes are…
• Respectful
• Responsible
• Safe
• Kind
These are the core values that will guide our behavior
expectations throughout the building.
Curriculum Night
Highlands Heroes Core Values
Hallways
Bathroom
Recess
Lunch Room
Respectful
Soft Voice/Silent
Quiet feet
Hands, feet and body to self
Respect others’ belongings
Follow ALL adult directions
Silent
Respect privacy of
others
Hands, feet and body to
self
Take turns with
equipment
Follow ALL adult
directions
Work together to solve
problems
Soft voice at designated
times
Hands, feet and body to
self
Follow ALL adult
directions
Be polite and use
manners
Soft voice
Hands, feet and body
to self
Responsible
Walk with purpose
Stay with your class
Pick up after yourself
Go, flush, wash and
return to class
Keep bathroom clean
Tell an adult if there is a
problem
Line up quietly at bell
or whistle
If unable to solve
problem, seek recess
supervisor
Talk calmly to people
near you
Clean up your space of
all garbage
Raise hand for help
Zip backpacks
Put everything on
hook or shelf
Safe
Single file line
Walk
Face forward
Stay on the right
One stair at a time
Keep feet on floor
Use bathroom properly
Wash your hands
Use equipment
appropriately
Stay within designated
areas
Hands, feet and body
to self
Keep feet on floor
Eat own food
Walk in gym and
hallways
Walk at all times
Line up upon arrival
Enter/exit through
assigned door in a
single file line
Kind
Be courteous
Be patient
Be helpful
Use kind words
Be polite
Be patient
Includes others
Encourage others
Be a good sport
Use kind words
Be helpful
Be polite
Use kind words
Be polite
Be patient
Use kind words
Core Values
Arrival/
Dismissal
Curriculum Night
Visual Supports
Volume Meter
Posters
• These posters will
be hanging with the
expectation posters
throughout the
building
Curriculum Night
Equipping our Students with
Super Powers
• Explicit teaching of expectations in a structure
that fits into your schedule and classroom
culture (through class meetings, when
introducing Bully Backpack, before entering
common areas of the building, etc…)
• Constant review of expectations throughout
the year
• Teachable moments
Curriculum Night
Holding Heroes Accountable
Verbal Warning
Highlands Behavior Communication
Report
Office Referral Form
In OUR Classroom, Highlands Heroes are …
Respectful
 Follow the Golden Rule
 Use manners AND take turns
 Listen to the person speaking (and respond to them!)
Responsible





Safe
 Walk
 Hands to yourself
 Chair on the ground
Kind
 Help others when they need it
 Be friendly
 Share
Pay attention
Do your best
Turn your work in on time
Take care of ALL materials
Be open to new learning
Curriculum Night
Where does this fit with HOM?
• Anchor Lessons
• Infusion of Language throughout
curriculum
• Self-Reflection
• Mathematical Practices
Habits of Mind 4th Grade Focus
(Key words and ideas to remember)
Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision: Be clear!
Striving for accurate communication in both written and oral form
Taking Responsible Risks: Venturing out! Being adventurous and
trying new things.
Questioning and posing problems: How do you know? Interested, quest,
clarifying, pondering, inference, predicting, seeking, investigative, curious
Working It Out Together
What is the problem?
Excluding classmates at recess





What does it look like?
Sitting or standing alone
Watching not doing
Being sent away from a team activity
Being ignored
On a team/activity but ignored
How does the affected person feel?
 Sad
 Left out/ Not Wanted/ Invisible
 Angry
 Depressed
 Confused
 Bored
 Annoyed (Not Noticed)
Ways to solve this problem include...
Adjust “rules” to allow for changes that included all interested participants
Be aware of excluded students
Understand Highland school rules: “You have the right to be included in all work and
play activities.”
Invite them to join YOUR game.
Let them play! Let them play! Let them play! (Let everyone on the team know so they are
not ignored)
Walk away, find someone else to play with.



Our goal as a class is to (feel good words)...

Date:
No one is excluded from activities. By involving all
students, we can make new friends, learn new things, and
collaborate successfully.
12/11/2007
Grade Level: 4KR
Class
Meetings
Reading and Writing
Instructional Shifts in ELA
Read a
balance of
fiction and
nonfiction
Increase
academic
vocabulary
Learn about
the world
by reading
Big
Shifts
Write
nonfiction
using
evidence
Read more
challenging
material
closely
Discuss
reading
using
evidence
Balanced Literacy Block
Read
Aloud
Demo
Writing
Word
Study
Shared
Reading
Shared
Writing
Grammar
Reading
Workshop
Writing
Workshop
Interactive
Writing
LANGUAGE – SPEAKING & LISTENING
READING – WRITING – LANGUAGE – FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS – SPEAKING & LISTENING
READING – WRITING – FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
READING – WRITING – LANGUAGE – FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS – SPEAKING & LISTENING
Vocabulary
• Systematic approach to teaching vocabulary
using Greek and Latin prefixes, bases, and
suffixes
• Focus on key roots and strategies for
deciphering words and their meanings across
all content areas
Mathematics Curriculum
• Naperville Community Unit School District 203
math curriculum is now in its second year of
full implementation of the Common Core
State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics.
• Each grade level will focus on defined critical
areas in mathematical content.
• All grade levels will infuse the Standards for
Mathematical Practice into math instruction.
Math
4th Grade Areas of Focus
• Develop understanding and fluency with multi-digit
multiplication
• Develop understanding of dividing to find quotients involving
multi-digit dividends
• Develop an understanding of fraction equivalence
• Add and subtract fractions with like denominators
• Multiplication of fractions with whole numbers
• Understand decimal notation for fractions and compare
decimal fractions
• Describe, analyze, compare and classify two-dimensional
shapes based on properties
• Understand concept of angles
• Solve measurement conversions
Number Talks
• Number Talks is used to develop students’ thinking of
accurate, efficient and quick strategies that can be
completed mentally.
• Students develop flexible thinking skills that build on the
foundation of mathematics.
• Classes spend five to ten minutes and focus on the
discussion of strategies, not necessarily getting the “right
answer.”
• Students are encouraged to share their thinking which
develops communication skills for all students.
Social Science:
Regions of the United States
• Northeast
• Southeast
• Midwest
• West
• Southwest
The four concepts with guiding questions
which will drive instruction for each region.
Place
• What are the human made and natural
characteristics of the region?
• What are the advantages/disadvantages for
human inhabitation in this region?
Location
• Where is the region located?
Concepts with Guided Questions (cont.)
Movement
• What physical/human movements helped form this
region?
• How has geography affected interaction between this
region and other regions?
Human Interaction with Environment
•How have people of the past and present interacted with
this region?
•How do people adapt to the region and depend upon it?
Science Curriculum
Matter
(Physical Science)
• observe and define
solids, liquids, and
gases
• conservation of matter
• investigate effects of
temperature on matter
• explore chemical
changes
• design and carry out
experiments
Watery Earth
(Earth Science)
• consider water
resources globally and
locally
• conservation and
protection of fresh
water
• water use in our own
lives

4-6 week robotics
unit focusing on
bridging science,
engineering,
technology and
math



Collaborative
Workers (students
work in teams)
Teams work at their
own pace
Habits of Mind:
Thinking Flexibly
 Persisting

Learn to think, work and
act like a scientist
• Take accurate notes
• Be scientifically
specific
• Observe
• Follow directions
• Think flexibly!
• Community
Community Contributors
Collaborative Group Skills include:
•work with partners/groups
•share information
and ideas
•come to agreement
•reflect
•synthesize new learning
Band / Orchestra
• Full Orchestra – Tuesdays from 11:35-12:15
• Full Band - Wednesdays from 11:35-12:15
Group lesson schedule will be coming home.
Schedules will also be posted in classroom.
Emails: Band Sharon Oliver – soliver@naperville203.org
Orchestra: Connie Reynolds – creynolds@naperville203.org
Kathy Wunsch - Orchestra Sub – kwunsch@naperville203.org
Tips for Parents
•discuss your child’s day - specifics
•review and initial assignment notebook
•check & clean out Take-Home Folder daily
•provide a quiet reading environment for
thirty minutes daily
•practice basic math facts and mental
math regularly
•visit IXL and Xtra Math sites
4th Grade Testing
Performance Series:
Online- Reading and Math
First testing dates: September 10th and 11th, 2014
2nd testing window: January 12-30th, 2015 (~two
hours total)
3rd testing window: April 20th-May 8th, 2015 (~two
hours total)
PARCC
NEW! ONLINE!
1st Testing Window: March 16th-26th, 2015
2nd Testing Window: May 11th-22nd, 2015
NAEP –
Science/National Reporting: February 8th, 2015
th
4
Grade Testing CONTINUED
•*COGATS: Cognitive Abilities Test
• Verbal (Language) Quantitative (Math) APTITUDE
• February 23rd-26th, 2015
•*Iowa Tests
• NEW! Select students will take IOWAs, based
on CoGATs (for Gifted Identification Process)
• Math and Reading skills
• April 6th-10th, 2015
Field Trips
• Fine Arts Civic Opera at North
Central College: Oct. 7th
• Naper Settlement: November
(date TBD)
• Naperville Children’s Museum
Levers and Pulleys:
January 28th or 29th
• Water Reclamation Plant:
Jan./Feb.
• Outdoor Education: May 14th and
15th (Training May 12th)
• Naperville Century Art Walk:
Mid-May
Websites:
• Class: Canvas
• http://naperville.instructure.com
• (login as observer/parent, or students can log
in from home)
• Building: Highlands
• http://schools.naperville203.org/highlands/
• District: 203 http://www.naperville203.org
Parent Resources
Parent Roadmaps
ELA:
http://www.cgcs.org/domain/36
Math:
http://www.commoncoreworks.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/
Centricity/Domain/149/ParentGuide_Math_1.pdf
Engage New York Toolkit for Parents and Families
http://www.engageny.org/parent-and-family-resources
PTA Parent Guides
http://pta.org/parents/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2910
PARCC Resources for Parents
http://www.parcconline.org/for-parents