4th Grade

    

 

   

Summary of Module 12 Genre Study: Fiction:  In this module, over the next three weeks, our class will build their knowledge about fiction. We will read different forms of fiction, including realistic fiction, folktales, and historical fiction. Students will revisit texts we have read in previous modules. 

 

Reading: We will revisit texts from previous modules from this past year. Each week will focus on a different fictional genre and essential question. 

 

Week 1: Focus on Realistic Fiction. The Essential Question we will discuss through this week will be What are the characteristics of realistic fiction?

 

Week 2: Focus on Traditional Tales. The Essential Question we will discuss through this week will be What are the characteristics of traditional tales?

 

Week 3: Focus on Historical Fiction. The Essential Question we will discuss through this week will be What are the characteristics of historical fiction?

Home Connections

Discuss the Topic: Set aside time daily for your child to share with you what he or she is learning. Use these ideas to help build your child’s knowledge about the topic: 

• Talk about the ideas your child has added to the Knowledge Map each week. 
• Ask about the texts your child is reading and what he or she has learned.

 

Explore the Genre: The genre focus in this module is fiction. Discuss with your child the characteristics of this genre. Ask your child to read to you each day and make time to read together. 

Look for texts that: • Spark your child’s curiosity 

• Provide interesting characters, settings, and plots 
• Have unique formats and graphic features

 

Build Genre Knowledge:  Use these ideas to help your child build genre knowledge. 

 

The Big Idea: Reinforce genre by having your child point out and explain genre features in the books he or she chooses. 

Use prompts like these: What parts of this book tell you it is fiction? 

                                          What kind of fiction is this? How do you know?

                                          What Have I Read? 

Have your child keep a growing list of the fiction books that he or she has read. Next to each title, have your child note the book’s genre features. 

 

Reinforce Reading Skills

Your child’s IXL account is linked with this Module and all skills that are taught weekly from this module. Please have your child use the IXL platform daily to reinforce these skills and other teacher recommended skills. 

The use of iReady at home is also another good app to use to reinforce reading skills at home. You can access it through Teachhub and go through Clever. 

Have your child read for at least 20 minutes each night. They can choose a book from their classroom library or take a trip to the public library to check out a book that sparks their interests!

Writing: 

In Module 12, students will read about how small changes can lead to a big change. They will encounter examples of perseverance in focal texts and discuss how few problems are solved on the first attempt and that developing perseverance will help them persist until a problem is resolved. Students will then brainstorm and discuss changes they would like to see in their school and community. They will write an editorial explaining what they would like to see changed and why. Editorials will include an introduction, claim, counterclaim, research and information and a conclusion. Students will continue to include transition and linking words to connect ideas and organize their writing. They will also continue to build their typing skills by writing their editorials on their laptops.

Math Curriculum:   

Your child is extending his or her skills by converting units of length, capacity, weight, and mass within the customary and metric measurement systems. It is likely that your child is more familiar with customary units (inches, gallons, pounds) than metric units (meters, liters, grams). The best way to help your child become more familiar with metric measures is to use them more often. You can help by using metric units to do some measuring activities together.

Your child is learning how fractions and decimals relate to each other. He or she is also learning how to compare numbers to two decimal places. To do this, he or she is learning how to apply the concept of place value to decimals. For example, in 563.21, the 2 is in the tenths place and the 1 is in the hundredths place. In 563.19, the 1 is in the tenths place and the 9 is in the hundredths place. 563.21 > 563.19 because 2 tenths is greater than 1 tenth. Help your child practice comparing decimals by playing the following game together.

At Home Connection:

Metric Scavenger Hunt - Challenge your child to go on a metric scavenger hunt. The task is for your child to find items that are about the following measurements. They should find at least one item for each measure.

1 centimeter                  1 kilogram                    100 milliliters

                                         1 liter                               100 grams                     2 meters

Make the Greatest Decimal

Materials index cards, paper and pencil

Make a set of ten number cards using 0 through 9. On another index card, write a decimal point.

Place the number cards face down on a table but leave the decimal card face up. Turn over one

number card and place it to the left of the decimal point. Player 1 turns over two cards and

arranges them to the right of the decimal point to make the greatest possible number. Player 2

turns over two more cards and places them to the right of the decimal point on top of Player 1’s

cards to make the greatest possible number. Have your child record both numbers and read both

numbers aloud. The player with the greatest number is the winner.

Science: 

Waves, Energy and Information

In this  unit, we will focus on the following essential questions: How can a mother dolphin and her calf communicate underwater when they cannot see each other? How can humans use patterns to communicate? Being in  their role as marine scientists, students figure out how mother dolphins communicate with their calves. They will write a series of scientific explanations with diagrams to demonstrate their growing understanding of how sound waves travel. Then they apply what they’ve learned about waves, energy, and patterns in communication to figure out how to create patterns that can communicate information over distances, transferring data from one place to another.

Social Studies 

In this exciting unit, our 4th graders are diving into the important role of global conservationists and learning how they can make a positive impact in their own communities. Through exploring environmental challenges, from climate change to endangered species, students will understand the connections between local actions and global effects. They'll investigate ways to conserve natural resources, protect wildlife, and take steps toward sustainability. By the end of the unit, each student will have developed their own action plan to make a real difference—whether it’s starting a recycling program at school, planting trees in their neighborhood, or raising awareness about environmental issues. We're excited to see how their ideas and passion will spark change both at home and around the world!

Stay tuned for more updates as our young conservationists begin their journey to protect the planet! 🌍🌱

Art 🎨

Fourth grade artists will connect to their HMH module by creating artwork that relates to fiction. Students will create different characters and create backgrounds relating to themes and settings. Students will make artwork that relates to realistic fiction and traditional tales.