Curriculum+&+Common+Core+Standards

The South Dakota Board of Education moved to adopt the Common Core Standards. Beginning in 2014, students from third grade and higher will be assessed in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The goal of the Common Core Standards is that all students leave high school prepared for success in college or a career through increased student learning and improved teaching. I teach ELA to all fourth graders and Mr. Trandem does the same for math. This allows each of us to focus on our specific area to provide the most meaningful education possible for our kids.

The ELA curriculum is designed to meet the Common Core learning standards in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. 4th grade uses a combination of tools to meet these standards. Just as important as WHAT we're learning is HOW we're learning. We use the [|Daily CAFE] which is an acronym for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary. The system includes goal-setting, posting of goals on a whole-class board, small group instruction for students with similar goals, whole-class instruction, and fine tuning with one on one conferring. CAFE becomes the backbone for our ELA program, which leads to...

We use our Cafe' Journals to document students' writing journey throughout the year. The students will have a weekly writing assignment. We start out small with mini lessons on descriptive writing, parts of a paragraph like "hooks" and conclusions, and "painting a picture" with vivid words. An example, instead of writing, "I like to read" we might write, "I love to curl up in a big over-stuffed chair in the corner of the family room with a good book." You will hear your students talk about //juicy words//. We use this term for words that precisely describe something. They tend to be words that we don't see or hear regularly. Beware! I've had parents report that juicy words have become a nightly topic around the dinner table.

The students will have a word list going home each Thursday. (The lists are also available on the wiki home page at the left side of the screen under "Word list".) Your child will bring this home over the weekend and categorize the list into sounds that should be returned to school Monday. Games to practice the week's focus sound are found on []. The students will have individualized spelling lists geared toward their needs with tests on Thursdays. Spelling words will be comprised of misspelled words from writing assignments and words the students choose to work on. If you notice words your child struggles with, please ask him/her to add it to their spelling list. Their spelling word lists will always be on the inside back cover of your child's Cafe' Journal. It may be beneficial to do random checks of previous spelling words at home. A word can always be added again if it continues to be a problem.

We also have Daily Oral Language (DOL) sentences to practice basic sentence editing. From our six sentences done throughout the week, I choose two to dictate to the students on Thursday. These should come home on Wednesday night to review.

Mr.Trandem handles the math assignments. The students are regularly assigned independent work but are given time to complete the work and feedback in class. If the students use their time wisely, they should not have a great deal of homework in math. Questions for math, you can email Mr. Trandem at casey.trandem@k12.sd.us. The students also rotate between the two classes for science (Mr. T.) and social studies (me).

Our classroom becomes a community where students feel safe to share and express their ideas. We practice having conversations about what the students think and WHY. And we practice defending our answers and sharing differences. Mistakes are celebrated because they provide opportunities to learn. Our classroom is student led as much as possible. One way that helps me wrap my head around Common Core teaching is the statement, "Whoever is doing the talking, is doing the learning." So the more active role the students have in the classroom, the better their learning.

**The Common Core Learning Standards for ELA identify 6 shifts in learning for students. These shifts are supported in the classroom and can also be supported at home by working with your child in the following areas:**
 * 1) **Read as much non-fiction as fiction.**
 * 2) **Learn about the world by reading.**
 * 3) **Read more challenging material closely.**
 * 4) **Discuss reading using evidence.**
 * 5) **Write non-fiction using evidence.**
 * 6) **Increase academic vocabulary.**

The following links provide additional information about the Common Core Learning Standards. SD Dept. of Education [|Common Core State Standards Initiative] [|Common Core State Standards] Common Core Fact Sheet Common Core Fact Sheet [|Implementing the Common Core State Standards]  [|Common Core Conversations]