Fourth Grade

1
Fourth Grade

• Welcome!

2
Mrs. Virginia Appelbaum

• I grew up in Catonsville. My husband and I are
  Catonsville High School graduates.
• We have three children at various stages of
  college. Ouch)
• I have a degree in History from UMBC and a
  Masters in Elementary Education from Johns
  Hopkins. I have a Maryland Advanced Professional
  Certificate, 1st grade through Middle School.
• I have over twenty years experience working with
  children of all ages in the classroom.
• I have taught in private schools as well as
  Howard County and Baltimore City.

2
3
Ms. Alaina Grubb

• I currently live in Ellicott City, MD where I
  grew up. I have lived and taught in both
  Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Suwanee, Georgia.
• I attended the University of Alabama and
  graduated with a degree and certification in
  Elementary Education. I am certified to teach
  first grade through middle school. I am also
  certified in ESOL and gifted education.
• This is my tenth year teaching. Seven of my nine
  previous years were teaching fourth grade. I have
  also taught third and fifth grades.
• I love teaching and watching students learn and
  grow. I work to instill confidence and a
  life-long love of learning in my students.
• I am so excited to join the St. Johns family and
  look forward to a wonderful and year.

3
4
Goals for fourth grade students

• Students will work hard to bring out the
  excellence within themselves.
• Students will continue to grow as children of
  God, showing respect for themselves and others.
• Students will continue to grow as independent
  thinkers and learners.

4
5
Our Goals

• To give your child confidence to be an
  independent thinker.
• To provide a safe, fun, supportive, and nurturing
  learning environment.
• To stimulate your child academically and give
  your child a thirst for knowledge.

6
Class Subjects

• Language Arts
• Reading
• Writing and Grammar
• Spelling and Vocabulary
• Math
• Social Studies

7
Math

• We are following the
• Houghton Mifflin Math Expressions Curriculum.
• Students will learn about the following concepts
• Naming and constructing geometric figures
• Using Numbers and Organizing Data
• Multiplication and Division
• Decimals and Their Uses
• Big Numbers, Estimation and Computation

8
Math

• Fractions and Their uses Chance and Probability
• Perimeter and Area
• Percents
• Reflections and Symmetry
• Shapes, Weight, Volume and Capacity
• We will be reviewing and assessing throughout the
  year, both formally and informally.
• www.eduplace.com/math/mthexp/

9
Reading

• The students will learn fourth grade reading
  strategies and skills
• These skills will include the following
• To Summarize
• To predict and Infer
• To monitor and clarify
• To question
• To think and compare
• To evaluate
• To make connections

10
Writing

• Students will be exposed to many different forms
  of writing, including narrative, poetry, reports,
  news articles, letter writing and persuasive
  writing.
• 6 1 Writing Traits- ideas, organization, voice,
  word choice, sentence fluency, conventions,
  presentation
• Polish the Paragraph
• 5 paragraph Essay

11
Social Studies

• The main focus for Social Studies this year is
  Maryland
• We will be exploring
• Marylands land and early people
• (Native Americans)
• Explorers
• Colonial Maryland
• Maryland Today
• The Thirteen Colonies
• We will utilize research and map skills.
• Spring fieldtrip St. Marys City

12
Geography

• Every couple of weeks we will have a week of
  geography skills.
• Started with the continents and oceans, will
  discuss map skills and locate major countries in
  the news, as well as, state capitals

13
Spelling and Vocabulary

• These subjects will be taught on alternate weeks.
• Spelling/Vocabulary
• We are implementing a new spelling program
  called Words Their Way.
• This is an individualized spelling program that
  involves sorting words and noticing patterns.
• Workbooks will be sent home each night.
• Homework must be done each night for review in
  the next days lesson
• Test will be on Friday

14
Homework

• Each week your child will have
• Words Their Way or Wordly Wise
• 20 minutes reading daily
• Math
• Plus any extra homework that enhances class work
• Each month your child will have
• A book project based on a genre or a Discovery
  Quest - An oral research project
• Social Studies projects will occasionally be
  assigned throughout the year.

15
Memory Bag

• Due on October 1st

16
DISCOVERY QUESTS

• Discover a career (grown-up job) that interests
  you! Heres the catchit must be in a science or
  math field. Explain what it is, why it interests
  you and what you have to do to pursue this career
  e.g. education, experience, training.
• Discover a legend! Research one in detail
  including its history (when or how it started),
  geographic region of origin (where it comes from)
  and explain if it is still believed today and
  why.
• Discover a biblical hero from the Old Testament!
  What obstacles did they face? How did they
  overcome them? What can we learn from God from
  this hero?
• This time you and your parents must have a
  conversation and decide which one to choose
  together! Remember Only choose one
  question.Prepare a 5 10 minute speech to
  recitenot read! Use posters, visual aids and/or
  handoutsthey really jazz up your presentation.

17
Grading Scale Fourth and Fifth GradeGrade
/ Percent A 97-100 A 96-93 A-
92-90 B 89-86 B 85-83 B-
82-80 C 79-76 C 75-73 C-
72-70 D 69-65 F below 65If a D or
below is awarded then the child will be given the
opportunity to redo any work to improve his/her
grade.
17
18
(No Transcript)
19
Volunteers Needed

• SCHOLASTIC PARENT
• PARTY SIGN-UP
• MYSTERY READER
• BIRTHDAY STAR
• Room Parent (Mrs. As room)
• Yearbook Parent (photographer)
• Thank you for volunteering! We could not do it
  without you)

19
20
Welcome Ms. Nichols

• After St. Johns
• Where do we go from here?
• Meeting
• Wednesday, October 9th
• 630 pm

20
21
Questions?
21