EXPECTATIONS FOR STUDENT LEARNING HANOVER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2004 - 2005

GRADE 4 English

Science

Mathematics

Social Studies

Hanover County Objectives and Virginia Standards of Learning are the foundation for expectations.

To review Virginia Standards of Learning objectives for the following curriculum areas, use the web site address below:

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/sol.html Links from this page include the following information: • Frequently Asked Questions About the VA Standards of Learning • Virginia Standards of Learning for these curriculum areas: English Music History (Social Studies) Visual Arts Science Dance Arts Math Theatre Arts Foreign Language Driver’s Education Health and Physical Education Career and Technical Education Different links on the Virginia Department of Education web site will provide specific curriculum covered under each SOL objective. Parents of secondary students who will be involved with End of Course SOL testing may want to review the specific information that could be tested. These specifics are called Essential Questions, Essential Understandings, Essential Knowledge, and Essential Skills. All information under these categories in the Resource Guidelines or the Curriculum Frameworks could be assessed in SOL End of Course tests. To find the “essential” information for each SOL objective in the “core curriculum” areas, use the web site addresses below: English Resource Guidelines: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/English/englishCF.html History and Social Sciences Curriculum Framework 2001: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Instruction/History/history_ss_framework.html Science Curriculum Framework 2003: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/Science/sciCF.html Mathematics Curriculum Framework 2001: http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Instruction/Math/math_framework.html

Dear Parents and Students, This booklet contains revised and updated objectives for students’ learning in the “core” areas of English, mathematics, science, and social studies. These learning objectives are closely aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) to enhance students’ opportunities for successful performance on SOL tests. The purpose of this booklet is to provide parents and students a practical tool to use in planning and monitoring learning. Students are encouraged to preview course objectives at the beginning of a course and to evaluate their progress periodically by reviewing the objectives. Parents can play a significant role in increasing their children’s achievement by participating in this monitoring process. Research repeatedly shows that by having high expectations for students’ learning, we can make a positive contribution to students’ success. Please join me in communicating to all students our expectations that they can succeed academically and become prepared for a rewarding future. Sincerely,

Stewart D. Roberson Superintendent of Schools

LANGUAGE ARTS OBJECTIVES Oral Language 4.1 The student will use effective oral communication skills in a variety of settings. • Present accurate directions to individuals and small groups. • Contribute to group discussions. • Seek ideas and opinions of others. • Use evidence to support opinions. • Use grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas. 4.2

The student will make and listen to oral presentations and reports. • Use subject-related information and vocabulary. • Listen to and record information. • Organize information for clarity.

Reading 4.3 The student will read fiction and nonfiction with fluency and accuracy. • Use context to clarify meanings of unfamiliar words. • Explain words with multiple meanings. • Use knowledge of word origins; synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms; and multiple meanings of words. • Use word-reference materials, including the glossary, dictionary, and thesaurus. 4.4

The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fiction. • Explain the author’s purpose. • Describe how the choice of language, setting, and information contributes to the author’s purpose. • Compare the use of fact and fantasy in historical fiction with other forms of literature. • Identify major events and supporting details. • Describe the relationship between text and previously read materials. • Identify sensory words.

4.5

The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction. • Use text organizers, such as type, headings, and graphics, to predict and categorize information. • Formulate questions that might be answered in the selection. • Explain the author’s purpose. • Make simple inferences, using information from texts. • Draw conclusions, using information from texts. • Summarize content of selection, identifying important ideas and providing details for each important idea. • Describe relationship between content and previously learned concepts or skills. • Distinguish between cause and effect and between fact and opinion. • Identify new information gained from reading. 1

4.6

The student will demonstrate comprehension of information resources to research a topic. • Construct questions about a topic. • Collect information, using the resources of the media center, including online, print, and media resources. • Evaluate and synthesize information.

Writing 4.7 The student will write effective narratives, poems, and explanations. • Focus on one aspect of a topic. • Develop a plan for writing. • Organize writing to convey a central idea. • Write several related paragraphs on the same topic. • Utilize elements of style, including word choice and sentence variation. • Write rhymed, unrhymed, and patterned poetry. • Use available technology. 4.8

The student will edit writing for correct capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. • Use subject-verb agreement. • Include prepositional phrases. • Eliminate double negatives. • Use noun-pronoun agreement. • Use commas in series, dates, and addresses. • Incorporate adjectives and adverbs. • Use the articles a, an, and the correctly. • Use correct spelling for frequently used words, including common homophones.

Understanding the Language Arts Standards Oral Language At the fourth-grade level, students will apply oral communication skills to participate in discussions about learning and take part in collaborative learning projects. In order to be contributing participants in discussions, students must apply the skills involved in effectively communicating ideas and opinions, including such skills as actively listening to and constructively agreeing and disagreeing with others. Using grammatically correct language and specific vocabulary, students will learn how to present information succinctly and confidently in oral presentations. Reading At the fourth-grade level, students will build on their skills for reading and reading comprehension. They will continue to develop fluency as they use strategies such as word analysis, context clues, and inferencing to bring meaning to text. Students will use reading strategies before, during, and after reading to develop and demonstrate comprehension. The use of graphic organizers will facilitate students’ understanding of text organization and will help

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them to summarize and draw conclusions from fiction and nonfiction text. Students will read widely from content-area texts and nonfiction trade books. They will also collect information from a variety of resources in order to acquire additional knowledge about a topic. They will construct questions about their topic, gather information, and then synthesize the information for use in their oral presentations and writings. Writing At the fourth-grade level, students will develop and build their writing skills by writing effective narratives, poems, and explanations. They will use the writing skills of selecting and narrowing a topic, developing a plan for writing, and organizing information into several paragraphs with a central idea and supporting details. The instructional focus will include an emphasis on written expression. Revising and editing for sentence formation, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling will continue to be important skills at this grade level. Students will also use available technology to write their narratives and explanations. Tips for Parents: Parental involvement in schooling can lead to academic benefits for students. Parents are encouraged to: • set an example by reading daily; • read aloud to or with your child; • read both works of fiction and nonfiction; • discuss what your child has been reading; • visit the library in order to learn about outstanding literature; • share and define new vocabulary words; • read and discuss newspaper/magazine articles and historical/current events; • have your child keep a writing journal; • review and discuss your child’s writing, making suggestions for revision; and • limit television viewing. Websites with Language Arts and Reading Ideas for Parents and Teachers http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/pals/pals-websites.html

The UVA PALS website provides links to teacher websites, parent websites and alphabet websites

www.nwrac.org/pub/tipsforparents.pdf

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: Tips for Parents About Reading (available in English and Spanish)

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www.executiveparent.com

Parenting for Academic Success: provides links to Reading, Language Arts, Parent’s Homework Guide, Boosting Brain Power, Academic Success, Learning Calendar

www.greatbooks.org/programs/parents/index.shtml

The Great Books Foundation Parents’ Corner

www.reading.org/links/lit_tp.html

International Reading Association Literacy Links: Resources for Teachers and Parents provides links to other websites and resources

www.pbskids.org

PBSKids website provides links to activities related to PBS programs such as Between the Lions, Reading Rainbow, and Sesame Street

www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/reading.html

US Department of Education website provides links to reading improvement websites

www.literacytrust.org.uk/

National Literacy Trust (United Kingdom) website provides links for parent resources and RIF, UK (Reading Is Fundamental)

www.pamunkeylibrary.org

Check out the Pamunkey Regional Library website for reading events and library catalog

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MATHEMATICS OBJECTIVES Number and Number Sense 4.1 The student will a) identify (orally and in writing) the place value for each digit in a whole number expressed through millions; b) compare two whole numbers expressed through millions, using symbols ( >, ,