Fourth Grade
Reading Workshop
As a Teachers College Reading and Writing Project school, readers at PS 39 participate in:
Our teachers assess student progress through a variety of formal and informal methods and tools, including TCRWP Running Records, which determine each student’s Independent Guided Reading Level. These benchmarks are based on the expectation that students will enter kindergarten as emergent readers and finish eighth grade reading at level Z. PARENT RESOURCES: https://www.sfusdela.org/uploads/1/7/5/8/17589979/parent_caregivers_glossary_reading_skills.pdf https://readingandwritingproject.org/resources/supports-for-familes |
Writing Workshop
Teachers College Writing Workshop encourages young writers to emulate the work of professional authors.
Students are exposed to authentic mentor texts and receive instruction to navigate through the writing process. Utilizing various writing tools, writers create different genres throughout the year. PARENT RESOURCES: https://www.sfusdela.org/uploads/1/7/5/8/17589979/tips_for_parents-caregivers__writing.pdf https://readingandwritingproject.org/resources/supports-for-familes |
Word Study
Math
Our new math curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics from Kendall Hunt, takes a constructivist approach which means that instead of feeding children information to store, the curriculum is implemented in a way that allows children to construct knowledge and build concepts from one unit to another.
Instead of math being a subject to learn in school, our goal is to teach children that math is an intrinsic part of the universe around us and a tool they can use to understand it. PARENT RESOURCES: https://im.kendallhunt.com/k5/families/kindergarten/units.html k12.kendallhunt.com/sites/default/files/k12upload/IM_Grade4_UnitPlanningMap.pdf |
Social Studies
The Passport to social studies curriculum was developed by a team of DOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with Social scientists and cultural partners.
The passport curriculum provides students with the tools to build the necessary skills for critical thinking, geographical reasoning and persuasive writing. PARENT RESOURCES: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/subjects/social-studies |
STEM
The program is designed to show that scientific concepts are interconnected and multifaceted. Each unit focuses on a specific learning goal in the form of an overarching unit question. Rather than following linear steps in an experiment, the program leaves room for students to make connections across concepts and make their own discoveries.
Students will use the MIT App Inventor platform to learn Android App Development using advanced Block Coding. Students will learn how to design 3D objects on the Tinkercad platform. PARENT RESOURCES: https://amplify.com/programs/amplify-science/ https://dashboard.codespark.com/login |
Art
The art room and program is a place of discovery, critical thinking and, most importantly, joy.
All students participate in art weekly and the goal for every student is to create art that is meaningful to them. Our art curriculum and philosophy is rooted in social justice and social-emotional learning. Throughout the year, students will explore themes that help them understand themselves and the world around them. Students will hopefully learn that art has the power to change the world. Some themes that have been focused on are:
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Physical Education
Our PE curriculum is based on the SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) National Standards as well as the NYS standards. This culminates in the NYC Scope and Sequence which lays out expectations for grade levels.
Elementary school physical education is based on a generalist approach where students learn skills that can be applied to many different activities. Our goal is to create children who are confident and independently lead active lifestyles. Some of the aspects of our physical education program that we focus on are:
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Social and Emotional Learning
The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning is a school-wide initiative to teach social and emotional learning to our school community members.
The Anchors of Emotional Intelligence is based on developing our five key RULER skills. There are four anchor tools that we use: the Charter, Mood Meter, Meta-Moment, and Blueprint. These anchor tools allows a common language and strategies that incorporates learning at school and at home. The 4Rs curriculum (Reading, Writing, Respect & Resolution) engages the imagination and creativity of children in grades PreK-5 to help develop critical skills including empathy, community building, and conflict resolution. PARENT RESOURCES: http://ei.yale.edu/ruler/ https://www.morningsidecenter.org/4rs-program |