Clarksburg Elementary School
Fourth Grade Newsletter
Engaged Learners
Volume 1 Issue 2
Future Leaders
October 2015
Email Addresses
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Welcome to Fall
Dates to
Remember:

Open House Oct.
12th, 9:30a.m. –
12:00 p.m.

Catoctin Popcorn
Fundraiser Sheets
Due, Oct. 16th

MSTA Convention
Oct. 16th, No School
for students

Halloween Parade
and Party Oct. 30th,
2 p.m.
Clarksburg Elementary
Reminders:

Halloween costume
needs to be safe and
appropriate for
school. The children
will be able to
change into costumes after recess
so they are not to
wear them to school.
We are off to a great start of the school year. Here is an overview of
some of the instructional areas of study for this month. We are
attaching the reading and math newsletters that have been generated by
the county if you requested a hardcopy of the newsletter. These newsletters are also be available on the CES website. The newsletters will
give you the Measurement Topics (MT) for each of these subjects. It
will also give you the Thinking and Academic Success Skills (TASS) that
will be the focus for all subject areas during the quarter.
On the following pages is an overview of the instructional areas of study
for the areas of writing, science and social studies that will be covered
this month.
Writing
Writing: Narrative
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by composing, over
shorter and extended time frames, narrative texts with evidence of:
A well established situation that introduces a narrator and/or characters.
An organized event sequence that unfolds naturally.
Dialogue, descriptions and details to develop experiences, events, or show the characters response to situations.
Transitional words and phrases to sequence events.
Concrete words, phrases, and sensory details to precisely communicate experiences.
A concluding section that results from the experiences and events.
Writing: Process, Production, and Research
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by:
Developing clear, coherent, and organized writing appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
Planning, revising, and editing based on feedback from adults and peers.
Using a variety of technology while interacting and collaborating with others to produce or
publish writing.
Conducting short research investigations of different aspects to build knowledge or a topic.
Recalling or gathering relevant information from print and digital sources.
Recording relevant notes, categorizing information, and citing sources.
Drawing evidence from literary and informative texts for analysis, reflection, or research.
Writing: Use of Language
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by:
Creating audio recordings and visual displays to enhance main ideas or themes.
Choosing words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
Demonstrating command of grade-level grammar, usage, spelling, and capitalization.
Differentiating between listening and speaking contexts that call for recounting experiences,
reporting on topics or telling stories in an organized manner using appropriate facts or
details.
Writing: Informative/Explanatory
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by composing, over
shorter and extended time frames, informative/explanatory texts with evidence of:
An introduction that develops a clear topic.
An organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the information.
Formatting using text features or multi-media to aid comprehension.
Researched facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
related to the topic.
Linking ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because).
precise language and domain-specific vocabulary
A concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented
The students have researched a time period in American history. They chose
between colonial times, the frontier, the 1900s, or the 1950s. This month they
will use that research to help them write their own historical fiction stories
based in their chosen time period.
Social Studies
Geography
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by:

using geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities in the United States today, in Pre-Columbian
America, and during the European colonization of America.
The students will synthesize information from a variety of sources to compare the how the
Native Americans from the Eastern Woodlands, the Plains, the Southwest Desert and the
Pacific Northeast met their needs for food, clothing and shelter.
Science
Life Sciences
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by:
Understanding Explanations- Explaining interactions and relationships among
living things, including humans and the natural environment. Applying these
concepts to real-world situations.
Generating Evidence- Analyzing and interpreting data as evidence that supports
claims related to interactions and relationships between living things, including
humans and the natural environment.
Reflecting on Knowledge- Using and interpreting scientific and technological
knowledge to formulate generalizations about interactions and relationships between living things, including humans and the natural environment.
Participating Productively- Questioning the validity of evidence related to interactions and relationships between living things, including humans and the natural environment.
Engineering and Technology
Students demonstrate proficiency of Grade 4 standards for this measurement topic by:
Understanding Explanations- Understanding the characteristics, scope, and impact of technology. Explaining relationships among technology, humans, and
the natural environment. Understanding the engineering design process and its
application to real-world situations.
Generating Evidence- Deciding what evidence is needed to investigate a scientific question or address a technological problem. Applying the engineering design process to address a technological problem.
Reflecting on Knowledge- Using and interpreting scientific and technological
knowledge to revise thinking based on new evidence or ideas about products or
systems.
Participating Productively- Representing information and ideas clearly and convincingly based on scientific evidence and technological concepts or designs.
The students will be following the flow of energy through an ecosystem.