Fourth grade is a VERY important year!  Traditionally, fouth grade has been identified as a BIG transition year.  From kindergarten to third grade, students are "learning to read."  However, when students arrive in fourth grade, the focus completely switches to "reading to learn".

With this in mind, fourth graders are expected to be able to read text and gain meaning from it.  This is very easy for some fourth graders, but very difficult for other fouth graders.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?  
After your child reads a passage, there is one simple question to ask him/her:  "Do you understand what you just read?" Ask your child to explain or summarize what he/she just read.

WHAT DO I DO IF MY CHILD IS HAVING TROUBLE "Reading to Learn?"

• Be sure the text is not too hard.  Kids can't understand the meaning of text if they are struggling to sound out words or the vocabulary is above their level.
• Use the "Read and Think Method."  Ask your child to read a small chunk of text.  After reading, have your child tell you what the chunk of text was about.  This will help your child to think about meaning more frequently while reading.  

Reading: 
Every week there is a story we focus on from our Journeys textbook. Through several readings of the story in a week, we will strenghten fluency and analyze the text and common core objectives. Reading comprehension tests are given on every other Friday. Skills focused on that week can be found in their folders or in their Reader's Notebooks.  

Grammar:
Each week we will focus on grammar skills and objectives that correlate with the story. Practice will be done in the notebooks or workbooks. Grammar tests are given every two weeks.

Writing: 
Writing will take place daily in a variety of ways: journaling, writing pieces through the writing process and in response to activities.