Welcome to the

4th Grade/5 th Grade Curriculum Night!

September 16, 2015
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the fabulous fourth grade and the fantastic fifth grade! We are so excited to begin a new school
year with this wonderful team of students and parents/guardians! As you all know, we are 100% dedicated to the
success and growth of these children. Our goals as your childs teachers are (1) to meet the needs of each
individual student academically, emotionally, and socially, (2) to instruct in a way that further challenges and/or
supports your childs learning, and (3) to create a caring classroom community in which students are able to explore
their interests and become independent as learners.
In addition, we place very high expectations on ourselves as well as the students. We believe that each
student has the capability of achieving his/her highest potential with the right tools, support, and accommodations
for different learning styles. With that in mind, the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) will be driving
instruction in the classroom this year, as PS/IS 217 has been making the necessary changes to meet these
standards. Please be advised that the work will be rigorous and challenging for all students!
Reading Workshop will focus on:

Fluency, accuracy, and developing implicit/explicit reading comprehension skills in various genres

Accountable talk and developing conversation skills

Exploring different genres (fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, biographies, autobiographies, fables,
folktales)

Questioning the text, substantiating their thinking, developing theories, inferring, analyzing, envisioning, and
tracking character development

Writing Workshop will focus on:

Exploring and creating various genres of writing

Developing techniques to enrich their writing into reflective, descriptive and organized pieces

Analyzing different authors crafts and experimenting with them

4th Grade: Performance Tasks will involve researching and analyzing informational texts as well as writing
opinion essays.

5th Grade: Performance Tasks will involve researching and writing informational texts as well as writing
persuasive essays.

Math will focus on:

4th Grade

Fractions, decimals, multiplication, division, geometry, number sense, interpreting data and graphing, and
word problems

Explaining their mathematical reasoning both verbally and in writing

Performance Tasks will take place in the Number Sense and Operations unit and the Fractions unit.
Students will solve multi-step problems and then explain their reasoning.

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5 Grade

Place value, operations with whole number and decimals, operations with fractions, volume, coordinate
graphing

Explaining their mathematical reasoning both verbally and in writing

Performance Tasks will take place in the Place Value unit, the Decimals unit, and the Fractions unit.
Students will solve multi-step problems and explain their reasoning.

Social Studies will focus on:

4th Grade: Native Americans, history of New York, immigration, and the government

5th Grade: United States, Canada, and Latin America (New World)
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5th Grade will also be receiving additional SS content period with MS teacher, Mr. Niederman.

State Tests:

ELA April 5-7

Math April 13-15

4th Grade Science Performance Exam (scheduled during May 25 - June 3), Written Exam (June 6)

There is a tremendous amount of importance placed on the 4th Grade State Tests in ELA and Math. However, the
skills and strategies necessary to succeed on these tests will be taught through the curriculum and reinforced in the
homework.
Homework/Tests Policy: Homework will be given every night in most of the content areas. Homework is a vital
reinforcement of the days material and therefore, it is expected to be completed in a timely manner. Also, all tests
must be signed by a parent/guardian and returned the next day.
Trips: The 4th Grade/5th Grade team will be planning trips throughout the year. We hope to have at least four trips
this year and we welcome any curriculum related suggestions!
Teacher-Parent Communication:

Email is the most effective way to get in touch with:

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Mrs. Sanchez (lsanchez2@schools.nyc.gov)

Ms. Ho (kho@schools.nyc.gov)

Mrs. Pavone (mpavone@schools.nyc.gov)

Ms. Disla (mdisla@schools.nyc.gov)

Weekly Newsletters will be emailed by Monday afternoons*.

Thank You,
Mrs. Pavone and Mrs. Sanchez
Ms. Disla and Ms. Ho