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4th Grade
Lisa Van Houten
Zip Code: 33936
Contact Lisa Van Houten

Page Last Updated Aug 19, 2009
Number of Visits: 487

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New News.......
Science Fair: Displays Saturday, May 2nd
Projects Due: Friday, May 1st
Important Dates:
March 26th:  Parent infomation Meeting
                    Topic , Question, Hypothesis and
                    Materials list Due
March 31st:  Procedures Due
April 17th:    Data Due
April 24th:    Conclusion Due
May 1st:       Final Projects with science board
May 2nd:     Projects on display in the cafeteria
May 4-6th:   Oral presentations
Guidelines:

1.  Choose a topic which interests you.  Narrow your topic.  Look for relationships found within your topic.  Think of a question about a relationship.  The question should point out a cause and effect relationship.  This will be the purpose of your investigation.

            Example:  Topic à plants

·         Narrowed topic à plants and fertilizer

·         Relationship à how plants are helped by the use of fertilizers

·         Question à Will fertilizer “x” or “y” cause petunias to grow taller

 

2.  Discuss your idea with your teacher.

 

3.  Research your topic.  Find out as much as you can about your topic.  Use many different sources.

 

4.  Define the purpose of your project.  Describe the problem you will be investigating.  Decide on your hypothesis.  Your hypothesis is a statement of what you think will be the outcome of your investigation. 

5.  Make a list of all the materials you will need.  Plan your experiment carefully.  Keep in mind the amount of time you will have.  Determine which variables you will need to control to make sure your experiment will be fair and your results will be accurate.

 

6.  Conduct your experiment.  List each step carefully.  This will be your procedure.  Your procedure should be so complete someone else could easily duplicate your experiment.  You need to repeat your experiment three times.  Keep the data you collect organized.  Use charts, tables, graphs, and pictures.  The data shows the results of your investigation. 

 

7.  Draw your conclusions.  Did you prove or disprove your hypothesis?  Write a paragraph explaining your conclusion. 

 

8.  Organize all your written information, charts, graphs, pictures, etc.  Begin to prepare your backboard.  Organize your information into the given categories: 

 

·         Title:  should be in the form of a question

·         Question:  the purpose of your investigation

·         Hypothesis:  statement about what you think the outcome of your investigation will be

·         Research and Background Information that you find on your topic

·         Materials:  complete list of all the materials you used

·         Procedure:  step-by-step list of the steps in your investigation

·         Results:  where you include charts, graphs, diagrams, pictures, etc. that show the results of your investigation

·         Conclusion:  a paragraph about what you learned from your investigation and did you prove or disprove your hypothesis

 

9.  Prepare a neat display.  Check carefully for complete sentences, correct grammar, correct spelling, and neat writing.  All your categories can be printed on the computer.  You need to bring the materials used in your investigation as a part of your display. 

 

**  Remember… a Science Fair Project is an investigation based on a question.  It is not a model or a display.  That means no volcanoes or models of the solar system!

*See Attachment for complete science project rubric for grade guidelines

Daily homework:
Every night students need to study their spelling, vocabulary words, multiplication facts,Voyage math page, and read AR for 20 minutes!
 Evidence of practice is required by turning in spelling words written 3 times each, writing a complete sentence for each vocabulary word, listing math facts 1-12, recording page number of pages read for AR each day (remember AR is counting for 30% of their reading grade this quarter) and completion of the Voyage connection page(daily).  This work may be turned in daily or at the end of the week if need be.  I have notice some students are not turning this work in regulary which in turn has drastically effected their weekly test scores.  Please make sure this is a priority for your child.

In addition students must complete their morning math review (if this is not completed for morning work it will go home for homework),and weekly project for reading/Science/Social Studies; these may also be sent home at times if not completed in class. However,students that manage their time wisely in class usually have plenty of time to get these things done.
Spelling and Vocabulary Words
Beyond
Spelling words
Unit 5 Week 2
1.      humid
2.      level
3.      balance
4.      talent
5.      radar
6.      limit
7.      finance
8.      finish
9.      famous
10.    spoken
11.    famished
12.    rehearse
13.    habit
14.    bison
15.    cider
16.    decay
17.    promise
18.    razor
19.    pity
20.    easel

Unit Five-Week Two

Vocabulary Words

1. People who are selfish are concerned mainly with them elves.

Example: The boy was too selfish to share his snack with the birds.

2. Someone who is bumbling makes mistakes and is clumsy.

Example: The bumbling clown’s act made us all laugh.

3. If you are cranky, you are irritated easily.

Example: The baby was cranky because she needed a nap.

4. A commotion occurs when there is great noise and activity.


Example: When the batter hit a home run in the ninth inning, there was a commotion.

5. When you are exasperated, you have no patience and are annoyed.

Example: He was so exasperated at the way the show ended, he turned off the television.

6. A specialty is something that you do or know very well.

Example: The specialty of our favorite restaurant was the bean burrito.

7. To be famished is to feel extreme hunger.

Example: After our hard work on beach clean-up day, we were famished.

Welcome Students and Parents!!!!




My mission is to treat each child with respect and dignity, to accept each child with understanding, and to have faith in his/her abilities. I want to help my students learn to value themselves, others, and develop a love and enthusiasm for learning.  Finally, I want to help students attain his/her full potential while striving for his/her personal goals.





 
 I am delighted to welcome you and your child to the fourth grade. I want to introduce myself and share my excitement for the school year.

I am originally from Michigan, however last year I moved down here to Florida. Now I am very proud to call myself a Floridian! I began my first year in Florida teaching 4th grade (full-time gifted) in Cape Coral, where I learned how amazing fourth graders were!!! I also taught fifth grade back in Michigan but really enjoy 4th grade even more! I addition to teaching, I have been married for almost nineteen years and  I am a mother of two. My daughter and son will be starting their senior and junior year of high school at Charlotte High School this year. Lastly, I am a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in political science. Then I returned back to school for an additional two years to earn my Teaching Certification in Elementary Education with an additional major in social studies.  Currently I am work on my Master's in Gifted Education.

It is my goal that your child's fourth grade experience is filled with personal growth as a thinker and a citizen.  I am eagerly looking forward to starting this journey with you!  There will be many important ways that you can be involved in your child's learning experience. You are their first teacher and the most important one.  Our classroom doors will be always open!  You are always welcome to visit, volunteer, or observe the dynamic learning that will hopefully be taking place.
  
This year, your child will face many challenging learning opportunities.  As you may know, fourth grade is a pivotal year in which it is the first year students are tested in writing, reading, and math on the F-CAT.  We will be devoting a great deal of time working to develop and perfect these skills!

I also will work on social learning and hands-on experiences. I will strive to integrate community and student choice in a democratic classroom setting. I view my role in the classroom as a facilitator and collaborator with your student and it is my objective to find connections between your child's interest and the state curriculum.

I look forward to getting to know you and your child.  Please contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas that you want to share.





  • Field Trip Money Due March 31st
  •  Make sure to sign planners daily
  • When you sign your child's planner you are indicating that they have AR read for 20 minutes, otherwise please leave me a note (*note that until we get AR up and running as long as their reading for this time, this will serve as their AR time)
  • AR reading and studying multiplication will always be apart of daily homework
  • ****Make sure to send a written note for the office if you need to change your child's means of normal transportation for the day, we are not allowed to send your child home another way without written consent.
  • **Make sure to contact the office if your child needs to be absent for the day
  • If you ever have any concerns, please email me at lisaev@leeschools.net




 
What We Are Studying:

Reading: 8:00-10:00
  • We have a new reading series this year in which all students will be studying the same unit at various levels of their achievement.  In our class, they will be geared to on grade level and above grade level. 
  •  Whole Group: we start out our day by working 30 minutes in whole group to develop listening, viewing and speaking skills.- This is where we read aloud, discuss reading strategies (i.e. model ways that good reader use to derive meaning from the text such as making prediction, sequencing, visualization, inferring, summarizing etc.) for understanding, building meaningful connections, (to our own experiences, to other things we have read and learned, and develop relationships to the real word) and finally develop higher level thinking skills to synthesis information and analyze what have learned.
  • Small Group Centers: Then students apply what they have learned. Each center works on a specific skill.  Students stay with their assigned group and rotate every 15 minute to each of the four learning stations.
  • Literature Study: Our last 30 minute of our reading block we will devote to reading a novel. We will apply all of our reading strategies as we read aloud together each day as a class.  There will be fun projects to go along with the reading to bring the characters and their experiences to life. 
Spelling:
  • 20 words per week base on Treasures Reading,Beyond Level, Series

 
***Writing:
  • We will begin learning all the components of a good expository essay (an essay that explains something)
  • Students will learn how to develop and organize their ideas.
  • Introduce daily WOW words for a great vocabulary!
  • Daily quick writes to practice amazing grabbers to get the reader's attention
  • Develop daily practice to create excellent use of conventions and grammar into their writing
  • Explore a weekly poem to develop a way with words
Social Studies:
  • Presidential election, Native Floridan tribes, American Indians
  • Florida Studies
Science:
  • Learn scientific thinking through the Scientific Method




DAILY HOMEWORK:

AR:
Student will need to AR read for 20 minutes to make their AR goal.  AR will  be figured into the student's final reading grade. A list of AR book titles can be found at :
http://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.aspx

MATH FACTS
It is very important that students practice their math facts daily.  They will be tested every week on their multiplication skills.  Students will be given five minutes to complete one-hundred multiplication facts (0-12).
The follow site is an option to use to help practice:

http://www.multiplication.com/



To be announced in planner:




Daily Schedule


 
 7:30-8:00               Morning Work  (8:00 School Begins)

 8:00-10:00              Reading

10:03- 10:41            Writing

10:46- 11:11            Lunch

11:15-11:50             Finish up Writing/Grammar

11:55-12:35             Specials

12:40-1:30               Math

 1:30- 2:00                PPA/ Science/Social Studies

 2:00-2:05                 Clean up/Prepare to go home

 2:05-2:15                 Dismissal









 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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