Curriculum Overview
Mr. VanDerWerken


FOURTH QUARTER


Social Studies
SKILLS AND CONCEPTS:
  • The U.S. and World Power
  • Global Conflict
  • The U.S. Today
  • Our Partners in the Hemisphere

(A Canadian/Latin America research project will be assigned this quarter.)

Science
Motion and Design
(Conduct investigations to build an understanding of forces and motion in technological designs):

Determine the motion of an object by measuring its position over time;
Evaluate how pushing/pulling forces can change the position and motion of an object;
Explain how energy is needed for machines to move:

  • Moving Air
  • Gravity
Determine that unbalanced forces move an object or changes its direction;
Determine factors that affect motion:
  • Force
  • Friction
  • Inertia
  • Momentum
Build a model to solve a mechanical design problem:
  • Devise a test for the model
  • Evaluate the results of the test

 

Health
Concentration on Personal Fitness;
Family Life Unit will be taught this quarter.
Math
Students have daily math classwork/homework. I give time for students to start (and sometimes students will complete) their work in class. This helps clarify any problems the student has with the assignment. I would encourage parents to make sure their child brings home their book/work, even if they finish their work in class. You can check your child's work to be sure they understand the math concept that we did that day.
SKILLS:
  • Numeric and Geometric Patterns
  • Solve one step equations and inequalities using whole numbers
  • Constant or varying rates of change
  • Problem Solving throughout the quarter with objectives taught this quarter
  • Enrichment
END OF YEAR REVIEW
END-OF-GRADE MATH TEST!
Reading
READING THEMES: "Traveling On," "Think Of It." Students will also utilize the Accelerated Reader Program. Students need to read at least 20 minutes per night. They can read their accelerated reader, or any story book that interests him/her. Although, I don't require a daily parent signature for the home reading, I am asking parents to routinely monitor their child's nightly reading. I'm planning on reading one story from our textbook per week (Mon.-Wed.). Then on Thursday or Friday, take a comprehension test on the story.
GENRE:
  • Fable
  • Drama
*In addition to our whole group instruction, we will also have guided reading in small groups.*

SKILLS: Target Clues; Paraphrasing; Theme; Steps In A Process; Plot; Making Judgments; Visualizing.

END OF YEAR REVIEW
END-OF-GRADE READING TEST!

English / Grammar
SKILLS: Prepositions; Conjunctions;
    And More On:
  • Sentence Structure
  • Capitalization
  • Punctuation
Writing
For the second semester, I am focusing on writing strategies to enhance the students' clarification writing proficiency. I plan to model the writing prompt with the class Mon.-Wed., and then let the students do the writing prompt independently on Thur./Friday. Ideally, I would like the students to type and edit their writing assignments on Thur./Friday, on the class computers in html format. Their finished stories will then be placed on their writing page in the "Aspiring Writers" section of my web site.
SKILLS: Review of All Writing Processes Taught This Year: Writing in a Journal, Writing a Report, Narrative Writing, Clarification Writing, and Descriptive Writing. A Young Author Book will also be done this quarter!
Wordly Wise
ALL THE LESSONS FROM WORDLY WISE HAVE BEEN COMPLETED!
Spelling
LESSONS: Twenty-two-Twenty-five. There will be a trial test on Monday, and a final test on Friday. Students who achieve a 100% on the trial test, need not take the final test. The spelling words are taken from our stories in our reading textbook.