Open House...Parking Lot Questions Answered!

Curriculum Corner... Fourth Grade Open House

Thank you Parents for sharing your questions with the Fourth Grade Team! Your communication is always greatly appreciated. We hope the information below helps clarify any uncertainty regarding our curricular programs.

Can you give us more information on what my child should be doing on Mathletics?

• Students should practice their math fact skills through the live competitions. Periodically, the teacher will assign activities.  When a lesson is not assigned, students can play live mathletics or play math games at their appropriate level. 

When is the first 1:1 teacher/parent conference?

• Parents will have a chance to discuss their child's progress with the teacher AND child at the student led conferences, (November 6th or 9th and March 18th or 21st).  However, if you would like a 1:1 conference with just the teacher, you can always contact the teacher to set up a meeting during a time that works for both.

What is the logic/criteria for the math groupings? Was it overall proficiency or specific areas that need reinforcement?

• All students take a “pretest” for each math unit. Each unit lasts approximately 2-3 weeks. Teachers use this data to group students. Instruction of different groups focuses on common areas of need or common areas where they can be challenged. This helps instruction to be more individualized for students’ needs. Students then take a “posttest” to assess students’ growth. Groups are fluid - each unit students are regrouped based on their pretest. This means that every two to three weeks, all children will be reassigned into new math groups based on their "pre-test" for that particular unit. MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Math results are also used to support decisions for math groupings.

What is the balance between silent reading and read aloud?

• There should be a 50-50 balance between reading to your children and your children reading to someone else or to themselves. Children can benefit from listening to a story (listening comprehension), as well as reading independently (practicing using specific reading strategies to help develop comprehension of explicit and implicit information)

How do you give grades?

• Grades are based on a child's level of mastery of our learning standards.  Depending on the subject (Math, Reading, Science, etc.), we use a variety of summative assessments (for ex. tests, written assignments, projects, etc.) to assess a child's understanding and abilities with the skills and content being addressed.  We use common assessments in all classrooms, and come together to "norm" or clarify our common expectations among all teachers.  Student work is considered in relation to benchmarks, which are agreed upon expectations for what students should be able to do at a certain point in the year.  As part of a standards-based grading approach, grades are determined by the "most common, most recent, most significant" evidence of student achievement.