School News Madison's Trust Elementary – Go Mighty Macaws!

Welcome back 4th grade parents and students! We are looking forward to having a great 2016-2017

school year! Here are a few reminders as we begin our adventure!

1) Thursday Folders These will go out every Thursday and should be returned on Friday. If there are any questions regarding work that is sent home, please email us and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

2) School Forms You have received a large packet of school forms. Please have these filled out and returned to school with your child ASAP. It is very important that we have all of this information. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

3) Birthdays Per LCPS policy, please do not bring in any food items. Students may bring a small item, such as pencils, to share with the class.

* Also, if students would like to give out party invitations at school, they must have one for EVERY

student in the class.*

4) Nine Week Plans Nine week plans for each content area will be posted online.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Date: November 7th & 8th, 2016Time: Throughout the day

We hope that everyone will be able to attend, as this is a very important time with your child’s teacher that

makes for a successful year!

Let’s stay healthy!Absentee Email: mteattendance@lcps.org

Absentee Hotline: 703-957-4471 Although this is always a goal of ours, there are

definitely days where students need to stay home from school in order to recuperate. If your child is sick, please use the online absence excuse feature.

This really helps the office! Thank you!Phone Calls

The office phones are only to be used by students in the case of an emergency, not for routine matters.

Math Fact Frenzy!Xtra Math Program

There is substantial research that supports mathfact fluency as a primary indicator of successful

mathematical cognitive functioning. Students whocan instantly recall math facts are able to compute

more quickly and more efficiently. In order tosupport math fact fluency, the fourth grade will be using

the online program XtraMath in school. Your child’s teacher will be sending home more information,

including a login ID and requirements for at home completion. There is an app available, which we highly

recommend that students have available on their devices. Thank you for your support!

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

29First Day

of School!

30 31 1 2

5Labor Day:

No School!

6 7 8 9

12 13 14 15PTO

Meeting

6:30 p.m.

16

19 20 21 22 23

26 27 28

Welcome to FourthGrade!

Madison's Trust Elementary

September 2016

29 30

PTA EventBroadway Under the

Stars

Book Fair Week!

VIRGINIA STUDIES

WELCOME TOAN EXCITINGNEW SCHOOL

YEAR!

How Can I SupplementWhat Is

Happening In Class?

You are a vital link to the successof your child! For that reason, weinvite you to become an active partof your’s child’s studies.As each new chapter is started, youwill receive an SOLNewsletter. Eachnewsletter has two pages. The firstpage has an overview of the chapterand a list of places around the statethat youmay want to visit whileyour child is studying the chapter.It also has a list of topics for you todiscuss with your child at home thatwill help personalize theinformation we are learning in class.Finally, questions to use for chapterand end-of-year testing are includedby listing the SOL EssentialQuestions from the Department ofEducation.The second page of the newsletterhas the exact information your childmust master by listing the SOLEssential Knowledge from theVirginia Department of Education.Youmay wish to keep thesenewsletters in a three ring binder,folder, or other safe place so thatyou can use them to help your childreview throughout the year as weprepare for the state SOL test in thespring.

What Is My Child Learning This Year?Your child’s social studies curriculum is determined by theVirginia Board of Education. This year we will be learning allabout our wonderful state, Virginia.Virginia Studies includesgeography and history and is a valuable and exciting program.

VS.1 Historical and geographic analysisVS.2 Physical geography and native peoples of Virginia

VS.3 JamestownVS.4 Virginia Colony

VS.5 Virginia in the American RevolutionVS.6 Virginia in establishing the United States of America

VS.7 Virginia in the Civil WarVS.8 Reconstruction in Virginia

VS.9 20th and 21st century VirginiaVS.10 Virginia’s present day government, geography, and economics

What About Testing?There will be a state standardized test given in the spring

testing the Standards of Learning for Virginia Studies. Anoverview of the topics for these standards is listed above. To viewthe official standards and access additional resources, visit theVirginia Department of Education (DOE) website athttp://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/index.shtml.

How Will My Child BePrepared for the Test?

The textbook we are using for VirginiaStudies,Our Virginia: Past & Present, byFive Ponds Press, was specifically designedtomeet the Standards of Learning. Thereare a variety of materials and strategiesbuilt into the book to help studentsmaster the content, continually review thematerial, and practice test-taking skills.

R E P R O D U C I B L E 4

Parent

©2010, Five Ponds Press. All Rights Reserved

VIRGINIA STUDIES

CHAPTERONE:

GEOGRAPHY

What Questions ShouldI Ask to Help My ChildPrepare for the Test?

The following are the SOLEssential Questions for thisstandard. The answers to thesequestions are listed in the EssentialKnowledge, on page 2.• What are some ways thatrelative location can be described?• What large bodies of waterborder Virginia?• What states border Virginia?• What are the five geographicregions in Virginia?• How do the geographic regionsof Virginia differ?• Where are the geographicregions of Virginia located?• Which water features wereimportant to the early history ofVirginia?• How did water featuresinfluence the development ofVirginia?• How did the flow of riversaffect the settlement of Virginia?• What is a peninsula?• Where is the Eastern Shorelocated?

What Are We Studying Now?From the Atlantic beaches to the high plateaus of theAppalachian Plateau, Virginia is a spectacular state. Thischapter will develop our students’ understanding of thephysical geography of Virginia. It discusses how to describeplaces in relative terms, Virginia’s five geographic regions,and Virginia’s water features that were significant in its earlyhistory. For the exact knowledge that is expected of yourchild, refer to the SOL Essential Knowledge listed on page 2 ofthis newsletter.

Great Places to Visit to Enhance LearningThe best way to understand the geographic regions is to see

them and compare them. Throughout the school year,students will be learning about events that occurred acrossthe state. If you visit some of the sites your child is studying,be sure to point out the geographic features of the region youare visiting.

Talk About It!Tie what your child is learning at school into experiences

that will help make the information more meaningful. Thismakes it more fun to learn and easier to retain and rememberat test time. The following topics are great to discuss atdinner or in the car:• Challenge family members to describe the relativelocation of food on the table or landmarks on the street.• Discuss the regions and water features of our state byrecalling details from personal experiences.• Review the regions your family has visited or passedthrough on your way to somewhere else.• Determine in what regions you have family members.• Recall memories from vacations to Virginia’s rivers, thechesapeake Bay, or the Atlantic Ocean.• Examine family vacation photographs. What geographicfeatures are shown in the photos?

R E P R O D U C I B L E 5

Parent

©2010, Five Ponds Press. All Rights Reserved

R E P R O D U C I B L E 6

a) locating Virginia and its borderingstates on maps of the United States.• Relative location may be described usingterms that show connections between twoplaces such as “next to,” “near,” “bordering”• Bordering bodies of water: Atlantic Ocean,Chesapeake Bay• Bordering states: Maryland, West Virginia,Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina

b) locating and describing Virginia’sCoastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, BlueRidge Mountains, Valley and Ridge, andAppalachian Plateau.• Fall Line: the natural border between theCoastal Plain (Tidewater) and PiedmontRegions, where waterfalls prevent further travelon the river• Coastal Plain (Tidewater): flat land, locationnear Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay(includes the Eastern Shore), east of the FallLine• Piedmont (land at the foot of mountains):rolling hills, west of the Fall Line• Blue Ridge Mountains: old, roundedmountains, part of Appalachian Mountainsystem, located between Piedmont and Valleyand Ridge Regions, source of many rivers• Valley and Ridge: includes the Great Valley ofVirginia and other valleys separated by ridges(the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Valley andRidge Regions are part of the AppalachianMountain system), located west of Blue RidgeMountains• Appalachian Plateau (Plateau: area ofelevated land that is flat on top): located inSouthwest Virginia, only a small part of theplateau is located in Virginia

c) locating and identifying water featuresimportant to the early history of Virginia(Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, JamesRiver, York River, Potomac River,Rappahannock River, and Lake Drummondand the Dismal Swamp).• Peninsula: a piece of land bordered by wateron three sides• Atlantic Ocean: provided transportation linksbetween Virginia and other places (e.g., Europe,Africa, Caribbean)• Chesapeake Bay: provided a safe harbor andwas a source of food and transportation• James River: flows into the Chesapeake Bay.Richmond and Jamestown located along theJames River• York River: flows into the Chesapeake Bay.Yorktown located along the York River• Potomac River: flows into the ChesapeakeBay. Alexandria located along the PotomacRiver• Rappahannock River: flows into theChesapeake Bay. Fredericksburg located on theRappahannock River• Each river was a source of food and provideda pathway for exploration and settlement ofVirginia• Lake Drummond: located in the Coastal Plain(Tidewater) Region, shallow natural lakesurrounded by the Dismal Swamp• Dismal Swamp: located in the Coastal Plain(Tidewater) Region, variety of wildlife• George Washington explored and surveyed theDismal Swamp• The Eastern Shore is a peninsula bordered bythe Chesapeake Bay to the west and the AtlanticOcean to the east

Essential Knowledge for Chapter One (VS.2 a-c)

The student will demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography of Virginia by:

©2010, Five Ponds Press. All Rights Reserved

WHAT ARE THE SCIENCE STANDARDS OF

LEARNING?Your child’s science curriculum is determined by

the Virginia Department of Education. Students infourth grade work on preparing for the state-wideScience Standards of Learning Test. This test isgiven at the end of fifth grade and covers all thematerial learned in Grades 4 and 5.A complete list of the science SOLs is available at:

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_ docs/science/review.shtml

HOW CAN I HELP AT HOME?As each new topic is introduced, you will receive

an SOL Science Update. In this newsletter you willsee the Standard of Learning being taught in class,along with the Essential Knowledge, Skills, andProcesses. These come directly from the writtendocuments provided by the State Department ofEducation. In addition, at the end of each chapter,you will receive a Chapter Review sheet thatsummarizes the key concepts and vocabulary thatwere explored. You may wish to keep the newsletters and the

review sheets in a binder or folder so that you canuse them throughout this year and next year whenpreparing for the cumulative SOL test at the end of5th grade.

WHAT IS MY CHILD LEARNING THIS YEAR?

Here’s what we will be studying in fourth grade:4.1 scientific reasoning, logic, and the nature of

science4.2 characteristics and interactions of moving

objects4.3 characteristics of electricity4.4 basic plant anatomy and life processes4.5 plants, animals, and non-living components

interaction within an ecosystem4.6 weather conditions and phenomena4.7 organization of the solar system4.8 relationships among Earth, the moon, and

the sun4.9 important Virginia natural resources

LEARNING AT HOMEYou are a vital link to the success of your child! For

this reason, we invite you to become an active part ofyour child's learning. The textbook your child isusing, Exploring Science: All Around Us, wasspecifically designed to meet the Standards ofLearning. Use it to help start discussions, review material

covered in class, and to preview future topics.Science really IS all around you, so we hope you willenjoy exploring these new topics with your child.

SCIENCEUPDATE

GRADE FOUR

LET’S BEGIN!

WELCOME TO AN EXCITING NEW YEARThe science program in fourth grade is packed with all sorts of wonderful and engaging topics.

R E P R O D U C I B L E 1

Copyright 2012, Five Ponds Press. All Rights Reserved

HOW CAN I HELPAT HOME?

The first chapter focuses onbuilding the sound scientific skillsthat will be used throughout theschool year. At home, it would bemost helpful if you start to considerparts of daily life in a scientificmanner. Take every-day events such as:

• grocery shopping• cooking dinner• checking the weather• making decisions• watching the news• reading the newspaper• fixing something around thehouseStart thinking aloud about these

events, while using scientificlanguage. Help your child see thatscience is indeed, all around us!

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF MY CHILD?In order to meet this standard, it is expected that students will

• differentiate among simple observations, conclusions, inferences, andpredictions, and correctly apply the terminology in oral and written work.• analyze a set of 20 or fewer objects or pictures. Sort them into categories toorganize the data (qualitative or quantitative), and construct bar graphs and linegraphs depicting the distribution of those data based on characteristics orproperties.• usemillimeters, centimeters, meters, kilometers, grams, kilograms, milliliters,liters, and degrees Celsius in measurement.• choose the appropriate instruments, including centimeter rulers, meter sticks,scales, balances, graduated cylinders, beakers, and Celsius thermometers, formaking basic metric measures.• measure elapsed time using a stopwatch or a clock.• make predictions, inferences, and draw conclusions using a variety of sourcessuch as picture graphs, bar graphs, and basic line graphs.• analyze the variables in a simple experiment. Identify the independentvariable and the dependent variable. Decide which other variable(s) must beheld constant (not allowed to change) in order for the investigation to represent afair test.• create a plausible hypothesis, stated in terms of cause (if) and effect (then),from a set of basic observations that can be tested. Hypotheses can be stated interms such as: ―If the water temperature is increased, then the amount of sugarthat can be dissolved in it will increase.• organize and analyze data from a simple experiment. Construct bar graphsand line graphs depicting the data.• judgewhich, if any, data in a simple set of results (generally 10 or fewer innumber) appear to be contradictory or unusual.• present results of a simple experiment using graphs, pictures, statements, andnumbers.• construct a physical model to clarify an explanation, demonstrate arelationship, or solve a need.

SCIENCEUPDATE

GRADE FOUR

CHAPTER ONE

BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATIONWe begin with basic science skills!

R E P R O D U C I B L E 2

Copyright 2012, Five Ponds Press. All Rights Reserved