1. Welcome to Open House
Park Trails Elementary
Mrs. Ida
Fourth Grade
2. Introduction
Park Trails Mission Statement
The mission of Park Trails Elementary is to create and sustain a
positive learning community, in a safe and nurturing environment,
where students are provided a well-rounded education that fosters life-
long learning.
Educational Philosophy
Education is the key to the development of self and community.
My goal is to help students gain the knowledge and skills that are
essential for critical thinking, problem solving and expanding their
sense of confidence in their own abilities. This is accomplished
when I know the students’ strengths and weaknesses and create an
environment in which each learner is respected and appreciated.
3. Developmental Stages of Fourth Graders
Physical Development
* uses tools fairly well
* capable of fine hand and finger movements
* draws with great detail
* energetic - may persist with an activity until exhausted
* has a large appetite
* height and weight increasing at a steady rate
* increased coordination and strength
* body proportions becoming similar to an adult’s
4. Social and Emotional Development
* disposition is generally happy; may experience some mood swings
* likes to talk and share ideas
* often dislikes the opposite sex intensely
* friendships are quite important; enjoys clubs and activities
* can distinguish between wishes, motives and actions
* fairness is important
* responsible; can be depended on and trusted
* more independent, but wants adults to be present to help
* can identify and label feelings he/she is experiencing
5. Intellectual Development
* memorizes and recites facts, but may not show deep
understanding
* reads to learn (rather than learning to read)
* has a strong desire to complete tasks
* highly verbal (tells jokes, makes puns); asks fact- oriented questions
(wants to know “how,” “why,” and “when”)
* critical thinking starting to emerge; can deal with abstract ideas
* aware of time, but needs help to plan in a practical way
* judges success based on ability to read, write and do math
* enjoys projects that are task oriented (sewing, woodwork)
6. Good Readers
1. Know how to choose a book.
2. Preview and predict.
3. Use a range of strategies to decode.
4. Monitor their reading and self correct mistakes.
5. Read with fluency (expression, intonation, prosody, rate and
attention to punctuation).
6. Understand what they read - retelling, summarizing and making
connections.
7. Good readers read! Include a variety of genre.
7. Levels of Comprehension
Literal
Understanding what is clearly stated in the text - students simply look back in
the text to find the answer
Inferential
The ability to understand the implied message of the text. Readers need to find
the clues in the text.
Applied
Reader uses the stated and implied information and applies it to what he/she
already knows and arrives at a logical conclusion.
Judgmental
This is the level where a reader can process the information and arrive at an
opinion or prediction that can be supported with facts and is logical to the
story.
8. Ben sat on the front steps. His cheek was cupped in
his hand and tears were trickling down his cheeks.On
the step beside Ben lay a leash with the name”Rags”
embossed on the leather. Ben had looked everywhere
he could think, but it was no use.
________________________________________________________________________________
Literal - What is the name of the boy? Where is he sitting? What is on
the step next to him?
Inferential - How is Ben feeling?
Applied - Who is Rags? Why do you think Ben is sad?
Judgmental - What else might Ben do to find Rags?
9. Why read to your children?
•Your child develops background knowledge of a variety of topics
•Builds vocabulary
•Becomes familiar with rich language patterns
•Becomes familiar with story structures
•Experiences the reading process
•Identifies reading as an enjoyable activity
•Listening comprehension level exceeds their reading comprehension
level
http://www.readingacrossbroward.com/
10. Variation in Amount
of Independent Reading
Percentile Rank Minutes/Day
98th 67.3
90th 33.4
70th 16.9
50th 9.2
30th 4.3
10th 1.0
2nd 0.0
85% of what students read should be easy
15% should be a bit of a challenge
0% at a difficult level
11. Why Does Your Child Need To Read Every Night?
Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;
Student B reads only 4 minutes a night...or not at all!
Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.
Student A reads 20 min. x 5 times a week = 100 mins./week
Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes
Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.
Student A reads 400 minutes a month.
Student B reads 80 minutes a month.
Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year
Student A reads 3600 min. in a school year.
Student B reads 720 min. in a school year.
Student A practices reading the equivalent of ten whole school days a year.
Student B gets the equivalent of only two school days of reading practice.
Which student would you expect to read better?
Which student would you expect to know more?
Which student would you expect to write better?
Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?
13. Computational Fluency
•Having flexible methods of computing accurately
•Fact Fluency: Knowing facts with automaticity and
the ability to extend those facts to higher numbers
•Demonstrating understanding of operations and
strong number sense
Problem Solving
By solving problems, students acquire ways of thinking, habits of
persistence and curiousity, and confidence in unfamiliar
situations. Students should have opportunities to solve complex
problems that require a significant amount of effort. Students will
be encouraged to explain and discuss their thinking during the
problem-solving process so they can adapt their strategies to other
problems in different contexts.
14. Writing arts consists of preparation
A major component of fourth grade language
for the Florida Writes test. Florida Writes is a statewide assessment which
is given to students in grades 4, 8 and 10. The students’ writing is rated
from 0 to 6. The average score in Broward County is 4.0. The scores are
based on the following criteria:
Focus How clear the essay presents and maintains the main idea
Organization The structure or plan of development (beginning, middle,end)
Support Details used to clarify or explain (word choice)
Conventions Use of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, sentence variety
Grammar skills are taken from our reading text.
*Spelling also has developmental stages - phonetic, transitional and
conventional. 4th graders are expected to be able to have 80% spelling
accuracy of the words they use in their own writing (not tests).
15. Homework
Practice Preparation
reinforce newly acquired skills relevant to upcoming topic
not used for a grade not used for a grade
differentiated creative
Guidelines
Extension organized place
consistent schedule
assigned with a grading rubric and timeline encourage, prompt
specific directions Stop for bedtime
encourages individual creativity
parent information letter when necessary Homework Hotline
954-581-5377
**amount = 10 X grade level MON. - THURS.
4 to 8 PM
16. Teach Your Child These Concepts
The importance of following directions and
doing one’s own work
The wisdom of asking questions
Methods for preparing a complete and neat
product
The art of giving and receiving constructive
criticism.
How to manage one’s time to meet deadlines.
The development of people skills to survive
group projects.
17. Projects
Purchase supplies.
Take your child to the library.
Hold the parts together until the glue sticks.
Proofread your child’s work.
Let your child rely on him or her self and his
or her own inspiration to produce projects.
18. Home - School Connection
Contact me:
jacqueline.ida @browardschools.com
or call
754-322-7800
http://mrsidasclass.edublogs.org/
19. Technology
Class Website - updated weekly with information about
curriculum, school events and pictures.
Online Practice - students will be using online applications for
homework as we move to becoming a paperless classroom. A few
of these applications are:
Study Island
FCAT Explorer
Spelling City
Accelerated Reader
Blogs - our class will be blogging later in the year.
Internet safety is
a primary concern. More information will be shared later in the year.
20. Miscellaneous
Room Moms, Meet the Masters,
Math Superstars
Book Club
Snacks
Water
Field Trips
Absentee/Tardy Policy
Birthdays
