Unit 8: Personal Financial Literacy and Spiral  Review!

In this geometry-focused unit, students will deepen their understanding of two-dimensional figures and angles through classification, measurement, and construction activities. They will classify shapes based on attributes such as parallel and perpendicular lines and angle sizes while identifying and constructing basic geometric elements like points, lines, line segments, rays, and angles. Students will also explore symmetry by identifying and drawing lines of symmetry in various figures and apply their knowledge of angles to distinguish between acute, right, and obtuse triangles . Using protractors, students will measure and approximate angles to the nearest degree, illustrate angles as parts of a circle, and understand degrees as units of angular measurement. They will also develop skills in constructing angles of given measures and solving problems involving adjacent angles to determine unknown measures. 

Learning Targets

• I will classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines.

• I will determine the approximate measures of angles in degrees to the nearest whole number using a protractor.

• I will identify points, lines, line segments, rays, angles, and perpendicular and parallel lines.

• I will identify and draw one or more lines of symmetry.

• I will apply knowledge of right angles to identify acute, right, and obtuse triangles.

• I will draw an angle with a given measure.

• I will  illustrate the measure of an angle as the part of a circle whose center is at the vertex of the angle that is “cut out” by the rays of the angle.

• I will illustrate degrees as the units used to measure an angle, where 1/360 of any circle is 1 degree and an angle that “cuts” n/360 out of any circle whose center is at the angle’s vertex has a measure of n degrees.

•  I will determine the measure of an unknown angle formed by two non-overlapping adjacent angles given one or both angle measures.

Some questions you can ask your child to support their thinking:

• What attributes can we use to classify two-dimensional figures?

• How can we identify parallel and perpendicular lines?

• How can we identify acute, right and obtuse angles?

*Please make sure your child is practicing their basic multiplication facts and fact fluency each night for 15 minutes. This is a major skill that 4th graders are expected to have mastered by the end of the year.

Unit 8: Myself as a Reader and Writer

In this unit, students will reflect on their growth as a reader and writer throughout the school year. Students will use self-awareness skills to understand their own strengths and purpose when reading and writing. 

Novel Study: Winnie's Great War by Lindsey Matlick

Novel Study: Teacher's Choice to finish the year!

While engaging in a class novel study and other authentic texts to match the genre study, students will: 

Learning Targets:

• I will reflect on my growth as a reader through analyzing data. 

• I will reflect on my growth as a writer. 

Essential Questions: 

• How have I grown as a reader? 

• How have I grown as a writer?

Unit 3: Argumentative Writing

In this unit, students will compose an argumentative text (opinion essay) using genre characteristics and craft: 

• I will use characteristics of informational writing in a real life context.

• I will revise drafts to improve sentence structure and word choice by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging ideas for coherence and clarity.

• I will incorporate all steps of the writing process to state and support my claim in an opinion essay.

• I will use proper capitalization in my writing. 

Students will: 

• Set Personal Writing Goals

• Edit/ Revise

•  Compose an extended constructed response based on a text they have read. 

Unit 7: Organisms

In this topic, students learn about organisms. First, in Experience 1, they investigate plant structure and function. Then, in Experience 2, they investigate physical traits of organisms. Students explore how different structures help organisms to survive in their environments.

Big Ideas: 

• Structures and functions of plants enable them to survive in their environments.

• Some physical traits are inherited whereas others are acquired.

• An adaptation is an inherited trait that helps an organism survive in its environment.

Essential Questions

• Why does a plant have a growth spurt?

• What features help the plants survive in their environments?

• How do plants’ structures help them survive?

• How does the coating on a leaf help a plant survive?

• How does a tortoise change to survive?

• How do inherited and acquired traits help organisms survive?

• How are physical traits related to survival?

Anchoring Phenomenon: Why does a plant have a growth spurt?

Unit 6: Revolution in Texas

In this unit students will analyze the causes, major events, and effects of the Texas Revolution. Students will also summarize the significant contributions of individuals such as William B. Travis, James Bowie, David Crockett, Juan N. Seguín, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Susanna Dickinson and Enrique Esparza.

Big Ideas: 

• Examine the conflict between Texas settlers and the Mexican government. 

• Explain the causes and effects, and explore the individual contributions of the Texas Revolution.

Essential Questions:

• What were the causes and effects of the Texas Revolution? 

• What was the most important event of the Texas Revolution and why?

• How did individuals contribute to the Texas Revolution?

• How did the actions of _________________  affect the course of history? (Fill in the blank with any of the suggested individuals from 4.3B)

Learning Targets: 

• I will analyze the__________________ of the Texas Revolution

  • Major events

  • Causes and effects

• I will explain the purpose and importance of _____________________

  • The Texas Declaration of Independence

  • The Texas Constitution

• I will explain the meaning of various patriotic symbols and landmarks of Texas.

• I will summarize the significant contributions of individuals of the Texas Revolution.