Fourth Grade Newsletter
April 2019
Reading Endorsement Summer Courses
Registration opens in myPGS on May 1, 2019.
Pasco County Schools offers five reading endorsement courses throughout the school year and summer to provide our teachers an opportunity to add the endorsement to their teaching certificate. Click on this link for a list of all courses being offered this summer, their myPGS course number, and details about the dates that the courses run for the summer session. Please email readingendorsement@pasco.k12.fl.us if you have any questions.
Standards Feedback: Make Your Voices Heard!
This is your opportunity to be sure your voice is heard. The state is now asking for additional feedback about our state standards that is more in depth than the original feedback survey. We hope leaders, teachers, and parents have the opportunity to share their thoughts about our state standards.
Click here to create an account and provide your input: https://www.floridastandardsreview.org
Click here of the information on the standards review process:http://fldoe.org/standardsreview
ELA
Throughout Unit 4, learners will understand that collaboration leads to creative solutions and those innovations lead to economic growth.
Students will engage in both a narrative and opinion writing task. You can find the District Narrative and FSA Opinion Rubric on the Writing tab on the ELN. For the Module B Task, students will create a project proposal for their own innovative idea to become successful financially. How can this unit connect to financial literacy?
Scaffolded Strategies Handbook (SSH)
- Unlock the text (anchor and supporting) by providing scaffolded instruction aligned to the qualitative features.
- Unlock the writing so they can become proficient in writing opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces. There are also lessons to help students understand the task, how to prepare to write, write, and revise their draft using a task specific checklist.
- Routines and activities to teach phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, grammar, or ways to engage learners in discussions.
Did you know that you have digital access to the 2016 SSH through Pearson Realize? You will find that they have added an Unlock Language Learning section, which is filled with strategies to build background knowledge, provides sample sentence frames for writing and speaking, expands vocabulary and provides sample writing task exemplars.
Formative Assessments
- Selection Tests
- Question Stems
- Formative Assessment Cards
- Formative Assessment Strategies
- Independent Writing-Formative Assessment call outs
Remember, one of the best ways to truly assess what students know is through writing or speaking.
Additional Resources
The additional articles and videos can be paired with the anchor text, text collection titles, poetry or leveled readers in order to make cross curricular connections.
Here are several additional texts:
- A Tale of Two Poggles
- Money Makers
- Watch Your Money Grow
- Flagler's Arrival to Key West Image- Primary Source
- Letter from Flagler- Primary Source
Videos:
- Economic Expansion
- Blue Jeans Innovation (background for 5th Gr. Sleuth- Pants with History)
Math
During the month of April, Grade 4 students wrap up work with Decimal Fractions in Module 6. Students utilize their understanding of fractions developed throughout Grade 4 Module 5, to apply the same reasoning to decimal numbers in order to build a solid foundation for Grade 5 work with decimal operations. To learn more about this topic, click here to access the Module 6 Study.
In Module 7, students work on Exploring Measurement with Multiplication. Students build their competencies in measurement as they relate multiplication to the conversion of measurement units. Throughout the module, students explore multiple strategies for solving measurement problems involving unit conversion. They begin the module by building on their work in Module 2 with measurement conversions. Working heavily in customary units, students use two-column conversion tables to practice conversion rates. To learn more about this topic, click here to access the Module 7 study.
New to Eureka Math? Be sure to join us for our Introduction to Eureka Math session on 4/17/19 from 4:30-6:30 PM. This training will be held at the District Office in Building 2 Mangrove Room. Registration for this session can be found through My PGS under Course #2119 Section #13243.
Science
Q4 starts with learning around the forms of energy. Students started this learning in 3rd grade, focusing on the behavior of light. Fourth grade continues the exploration of the forms of energy and how they transform. Sound Energy is introduced and explored only in 4th grade, so it should be a focus of hands-on exploration and examples in this unit. The energy unit provides an excellent opportunity to set up explorations stations that can be used to maximize instructional time. Heat is also a focus of the fourth grade learning in this unit. Both heat and sound are annually assessed on FSSA in 5th grade, but not re-taught in 5th. You can use texts from READYGEN to help students build knowledge around energy:
Social Studies- Celebrate Financial Literacy
April is National Financial Literacy Month which is a great opportunity to highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach our students how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits. To celebrate the month and encourage our students to be financially smart citizens in our communities, Pasco County Schools has several events planned and resources to encourage Financial Literacy Fridays.
Pasco County Schools, in partnership with our valued community partners, is excited to host two Financial Literacy Expo events from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 1st at Marchman Technical College and April 4th at Wesley Chapel High School. These events are designed to help parents/guardians, employees, community members and students with financial planning matters and getting more information for starting a financially successful future. There will be an expo-style event in the dining room/cafeteria showcasing our valued financial experts. There will also be brief informational sessions that we encourage you to attend.
Teachers who attend sessions will be able to earn professional development points and can register through Course # 2559/ Section # 14136 for April 1, 2019 and Section # 14137 for April 4, 2019 within myPGS. Also, we are asking that you encourage your students and their families to attend these wonderful events. We will have a fun and fabulous prize for the school who has the most students who attend.
Please go to the Financial Literacy web page, where you will find:
- a flyer to advertising (printed flyers were delivered to schools for advertisement, as well);
- an FAQ document so that everyone is able to answer parent questions about the events and how to register;
- and, links to register for either the Marchman or Wesley Chapel expo.
To help celebrate the month with lessons, tasks, texts and ideas to spark discussion, please visit:
https://floridafinancialliteracy.weebly.com/
and https://pasco.instructure.com/courses/191744/pages/financial-literacy-month.