Our Current Units of Study

Reading - Unit 1: Nonfiction Text Structures - Expository, Narrative and Hybrid

This unit, Launching and Nonfiction Text Structures: Expository, Narrative, and Hybrid Nonfiction, spotlights strategies and the use of text structure to help students determine importance, find main ideas and supporting details, and summarize. Additionally, it builds on previous year’s experiences with expository and narrative nonfiction to further develop students’ ability to read to learn with strategies for figuring out new vocabulary and analyzing multiple texts on the same topic.  Students can apply the information gained through reading in the upcoming opinion writing unit by forming opinions on the topic in which they are now knowledgeable. By fourth grade, most students are quite familiar with the routines and expectations of reading workshop; however, we will set aside time to establish routines and expectations that will empower students to take ownership of their reading lives and become avid readers; such as, procedures for working as a classroom community, reading independently, setting goals, and most importantly, working with partners. This partnership will be an essential foundation for strong book clubs later in the year.

Math - Unit 1: Building a Math Community Through Real Data 

The focus of this unit is building an effective math environment. Representing and interpreting data will be the content used to begin the development of a classroom culture where students respect and value each individual’s contribution to the classroom. We will spend time setting up classroom expectations. This includes developing classrooms norms, routines and expectations. Explicit modeling and practice for students includes sharing their thinking, actively listening to others, connecting to others’ ideas and asking questions to clarify understanding.  

Science - Unit 1: The Universe  

This unit focuses on the patterns of the sun, moon, and earth.  Students should be able to explain daytime vs. nighttime in relation to the earth’s rotation, as well as explain the basics of the moon’s phases.  First, students will explain the characteristics of daytime and nighttime in relation to the earth’s rotation.  Students will be able to explain the difference between rotation and revolution.  Students will be able to name ONLY the basic phases of the moon (New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Third Quarter).  Students will finally be able to define the concepts of waxing and waning in relation to the phases of the moon (i.e., waxing: the visible portion appears to grow larger; waning: the visible portion appears to get smaller). At this time students are not required to know ALL of the phases of the moon by name.  During this unit, students will be given the opportunity to develop and use models, as well as analyze and interpret data.

Social Studies - Unit 1: Pre-Colonial Era & Colonization 

The objective of this unit is to investigate how and why North America was discovered by Europeans and what ultimately happened to North Carolina as a result. Unit 1 introduces the settlement of North Carolina and leads up to North Carolina’s role in the Revolutionary War. Common student misconceptions could be the various cultures and lifestyles of Native Americans and other cultural groups.