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Fourth and Fifth Grade Curriculum
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In
addition to incorporating themes throughout the content areas,
I also use UNITES, an approach to teaching that utilizes children’s
literature to unify and reinforce mathematics, science, social
studies, technology education, and other areas of instruction
across the elementary curriculum.
True
learning comes through personal discovery. The goal of the
Blue Room is to not only increase the size of a student’s
knowledge base, but also to create possibilities for student
invention and discovery. There will be many hands-on applications
throughout the content areas this year.
To view the Blue Room
daily schedule, please click here.
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Language
Arts
Reading and writing are connected, and therefore are an
integral part of the Blue Room curriculum. We will read
an assortment of literary works with an emphasis on classics
and contemporary works by a variety of authors. We will
have author studies in which students explore the writing
techniques of various authors. Much of our reading material
will relate to math, science, and social studies. We will
also incorporate current events into our language arts program.
We will study the steps to becoming proficient writers as
well as the processes for developing good “pieces.” The
students will learn to use various resources to gather information.
The
students will be exposed to a variety of poets and poetry
and have many opportunities to write the same. Students
will learn and/or continue their cursive writing skills.
Almost
every day the students will have a Reader’s or Writer’s
workshop. The workshops consist of the following activities:
Reader’s
Workshop (students will be required to keep a reader’s response
journal)
Mini-lesson - a short lesson on some aspect of
reading such as identifying genres or gauging a book's
level of reading difficulty.
Independent
Reading
– in which students read a text, usually of their own
choosing. Over time, students will read and respond to
a variety of texts independently. I will guide text selection,
confer with individual students, and facilitate a shared
discussion to extend students’ understanding and enjoyment.
The students will complete a Reader’s Quilt project
this year.
Guided
Reading – in which a small group of students with
similar reading strategies work with the teacher to learn
more about reading. I will select a text at an appropriate
level, introduce it, and provide supportive teaching that
helps the group understand what reading is and how it
works.
Literature
Study – in which a group of readers discusses various
aspects of a text or a set of related texts and sometimes
works on projects to extend and share learning. Students
will be shown how to analyze and discuss texts with one
another in order to create shared meanings that are more
refined and complex than they would discover on their
own.
As our reader’s workshop develops, students will work in
different areas. Some may do independent reading, usually
of their choice. This may not always be true, but most
of the time it will be their choice. Readers should self
select about 80% percent of the texts they read, since reading
skills improve when students choose the books they can and
want to read.
Comprehension
strategies will be emphasized during reader’s workshop.
Strategies that will be taught include
•
Making connections between prior knowledge and the text
• Questioning
• Visualizing
• Drawing inference
• Determining important ideas
• Synthesizing information
These
strategies will be taught through teacher modeling, guided
practice, independent practice, and real reading situations.
Regular strategy practice, combined with teacher and peer
response, is central to reading improvement.
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Writer’s
Workshop
Mini-lesson - a short lesson on some aspect of writing
such as parts of speach, sentence structure, or paragraph writing.
Independent Writing
– in which students work individually and silently on their
own writing. Students may write or sketch in their writer’s
notebook. At other times, they may work on drafting, revising,
editing or publishing a writing project. The students will
choose most writing topics, but sometimes they will be assigned.
I will confer with individual students to support and address
their needs.
Guided
Writing – in which the teacher pulls together temporary
groups of student writers and teaches the craft, strategies
and skills those writers need at that particular time. Group
work may focus on developing specific writing skills, on using
writing as a tool for inquiry, on learning to write in different
genres, or on using technology to publish writing.
Investigations
– in which students will explore a piece of literature or content
area topic in depth, using writing, reading and a variety of
media resources, including technology. The investigation will
often culminate in an oral presentation, performance or display.
Language
and Word Study
This
block of instruction varies from day to day. The focus will
be on the students’ language and word study knowledge and skills.
We will build vocabulary, practice handwriting, and learn the
rules and principles of phonics and spelling. We will focus
on parts of speech and the various parts of a sentence. Diagramming
of sentences will be utilized.
Reading
and writing goals that will be emphasized for fourth grade
students:
•
Use effective communication skills in group activities
• Present brief oral reports
• Apply word-analysis skills when reading and writing
(knowledge of less common vowel patterns and homophones)
• Use synonyms, antonyms and homonyms; understand multiple
meanings of words
• Identify parts of speech
• Use strategies to read a variety of printed materials
• Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of printed materials
• Read a variety of fiction and nonfiction selections, including
biographies and
historical fiction
• Write effective narratives and explanations, using correct
subject-verb
agreement, avoiding double negatives, and using commas
in series, dates and addresses
• Write stories, letters, simple explanations and short
reports across all content
areas
• Use available word processing programs
Reading
and writing goals that will be emphasized for fifth grade
students:
• Use effective oral
communication skills in a variety of settings
• Use knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes
• Identify parts of speech
• Read a variety of literary forms, including fiction, nonfiction,
and poetry
• Describe character and plot development, and explain how
conflicts are resolved
• Write effective narratives and explanations
• Use information resources to research a topic
• Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of literary forms
by using text organizers such as type, headings and
graphics to predict and categorize information in informational
texts
• Write for a variety of purposes to describe, to inform,
to entertain, and to explain
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Mathematics
The
Blue Room will be using a math curriculum entitled Everyday
Mathematics. It was developed through the University of Chicago
School Mathematics Project in order to enable children in elementary
grades to learn more mathematical content and become life-long
mathematical thinkers. The instructional design was carefully
crafted to capitalize on student interest and maximize student
learning. The curriculum is organized into six mathematical content
strands that cover a number of skills and concepts. This approach
provides a rich yet balanced curriculum, with attention to numeration
and computation without neglecting geometry, data, and algebraic
thinking. The content strands that are emphasized are: numeration;
operations and computation; data and chance; geometry; measurement
and reference frames; and patterns, functions and algebra. Everyday
Mathematics stresses:
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A problem-solving approach, based on everyday situations, that
develops critical
thinking.
• Mathematical communication, including understanding and
evaluating the mathematical thinking and strategies
of others.
• Frequent practice of basic skills through ongoing program
routines and
mathematical games.
• An instructional approach that revisits topics regularly
to ensure full concept
development.
• Activities that explore a wide variety of mathematical
content and offer opportunities for students to apply
their knowledge.
Focused math areas for fourth grade
students this year:
• Identify orally
and in writing, the place value for each digit in a whole number
expressed through millions.
• Compare two whole numbers, expressed through millions,
using symbols (>,<, or =), and words (“greater
than, less than, or equal to”).
• Identify and represent equivalent fractions and relate
fractions to decimals.
• Compare numerical value of fractions having denominators
of 12 or less.
• Create and solve problems using addition and subtraction
of money amounts using
various computational methods, including calculators,
paper and pencil, mental
computation and estimation.
• Add and subtract whole numbers written in vertical and
horizontal form.
• Find the product of two whole numbers when one factor
has two digits and the other factor has three digits
or fewer.
• Estimate and find the quotient of two whole numbers
given a one-digit divisor.
• Estimate and measure weight/mass using both US Customary
and metric units.
• Estimate and measure length using both metric and US
Customary units.
• Estimate and measure volume using both US Customary
and metric units.
• Investigate, describe and draw the relationships between
and among points, lines, line segments, and rays.
• Identify lines which illustrate intersections, parallelism,
and perpendicularity.
• Collect, organize and display data in line and bar graphs
with scale increments of one or greater than one.
• Identify and locate missing whole numbers on a given
line number.
• Solve problems involving pattern identification and
completion of patterns.
Focused math areas for fifth grade
students this year:
•
Read, write, identify, and compare the place values of decimals
through ten-
thousandths.
• Find the product of two numbers expressed as decimals
through thousandths.
• Given a dividend of four digits or less and a divisor
of two digits or less, find the
quotient and remainder.
• Determine perimeter of polygons and area of square, triangle
and rectangle.
• Solve problems using various unit of measurement to include
length, weight/mass,
liquid volume.
• Measure temperature to include Celsius and Fahrenheit.
• Classify, measure and draw angles.
• Identify ordered pairs.
• Solve problems of probability by using tree diagrams or
by constructing a sample space representing all possible
results.
• Investigate and describe the concept of variables.
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Olga teaches
one of the Blue Room Math sections |
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| Science
The purpose of science education
is to help children acquire the skills necessary to investigate
more thoroughly and systematically. Children are natural
investigators and naturally ask questions. Channeling the
power of questions for instructional purposes is known as
the inquiry approach. This is the approach we will take in
Science this year by providing the opportunity for the students
to transform those questions into investigations.
Students
will be expected to develop questions, formulate simple hypotheses,
make predictions, gather and analyze data, make inferences
and draw conclusions. They will and use the metric system
with greater precision.
Focused
science topics for the Blue Room this year include, but are
not limited to: |
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Rocks and Minerals
• Oceans
• Solar System
• Electricity
• Plants
• Insects
• Environmental Issues
• Human Body
• Forensics
• Science Fair Project
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Social
Studies
Social studies is more than a collection of facts
for children to memorize. It is an understanding of how people,
places and events came about - an understanding of how people relate
and respond to each other’s needs and desires. It develops respect
for different viewpoints and cultural beliefs.
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In
the Blue Room this year, our focus will be on US and World
geography, study of Africa, Native Americans, Thirteen Colonies,
American Revolution and a mock trial held at the end of the
year.
Current events will
be a key component to our social studies. Students will be
required to bring in a current event every week. These current
events will be incorporated into various activities including
reading a map and understanding political satire.
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Civil
War Field Trip: Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and Manassas
May 2007
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Petersburg Battlefield Field Trip
May 2005 |
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Computer Technology Computer
skills are an essential component of every student's education.
This year the students will develop or continue to develop
basic keyboarding skills. They will learn to process, store,
retrieve and transmit electronic information. They will use
electronic encyclopedias, almanacs, and catalogs. By the end
of the year, they will use word processing skills to create
one- to two-page documents with integrated graphics. They
will also learn how to prepare presentations using Microsoft
PowerPoint. The students will also have an introduction to
Microsoft Excel and using the data they collect about
the weather in an assigned world city, make it into a graph.
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