GENERAL INFORMATION For each unit, students will be reading a variety of reading materials in class. We will use stories from our new basal text series, as well as novels in class. Reading instruction will focus on building and developing reading vocabularies, comprehension, and critical thinking skills. Students may be asked to read a separate novel independently, and many shorter passages. Classroom novels are chosen based on instructional reading levels and students typically work in groups of 4-5 for a guided reading novel study. We provide a variety of book buckets for students to use when choosing a book for their independent study. Each student will be choosing a book on their highest independent level for the independent book study. Each unit will come to a close with the completion of a creative project based on your child's independent novel. We require most of these projects to be completed at school, but we will send home the project guidelines and a rubric to keep you aware of due dates and materials you may need to provide. Often, we will also have a time set up for parents to visit the class and see the project presentations. We also post student work on the website with your permission.
Standards of Learning:
4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings. a) Present accurate directions to individuals and small groups. b) Contribute to group discussions across content areas. c) Seek ideas and opinions of others. d) Use evidence to support opinions. e) Use grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas. f) Communicate new ideas to others. g) Demonstrate the ability to collaborate with diverse teams. h) Demonstrate the ability to work independently.
4.2 The student will make and listen to oral presentations and reports. a) Use subject-related information and vocabulary. b) Listen to and record information. c) Organize information for clarity. d) Use language and style appropriate to the audience, topic, and purpose.
4.3 The student will learn how media messages are constructed and for what purposes. a) Differentiate between auditory, visual, and written media messages. b) Identify the characteristics of various media messages.
Reading 4.4 The student will expand vocabulary when reading. a) Use context to clarify meanings of unfamiliar words. b) Use knowledge of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and homophones. c) Use word-reference materials, including the glossary, dictionary, and thesaurus. d) Develop vocabulary by listening to and reading a variety of texts. e) Use vocabulary from other content areas.
4.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction texts, and poetry. a) Explain the author’s purpose. b) Describe how the choice of language, setting, characters, and information contributes to the author’s purpose. c) Identify the main idea. d) Summarize supporting details. e) Identify the problem and solution. f) Describe the relationship between text and previously read materials. g) Identify sensory words. h) Draw conclusions/make inferences about text. i) Make, confirm, or revise predictions. j) Identify cause and effect relationships. k) Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension. l) Read with fluency and accuracy. 4.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts. a) Use text structures, such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information in both print and digital texts. b) Formulate questions that might be answered in the selection. c) Explain the author’s purpose. d) Identify the main idea. e) Summarize supporting details. f) Draw conclusions and make simple inferences using textual information as support. g) Distinguish between cause and effect. h) Distinguish between fact and opinion. i) Use prior knowledge and build additional background knowledge as context for new learning. j) Identify new information gained from reading. k) Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension. l) Read with fluency and accuracy.