Fourth grade writes all year long. We write every day in every subject. Many of our children enter their favorite written composition in the Forman Literary Magazine.

OUR FOURTH GRADE TEACHERS Planning Time 1:50pm - 2:40pm Lora Coonce - Team Leader I am pleased and proud to be teaching here at Forman for my fourth year. I have been teaching for eleven years, and have taught ESL and Bilingual. I am excited to be teaching fourth grade, because I love to write! A graduate of Indiana University in 1984. I majored in both Spanish and French and lived/studied in those respective countries for two years. Currently, I live in Carrollton with my two sons, ages 13 and 16. email:Lora.Coonce@pisd.edu Ext 21240 Maggie Curtis I went to University of Arkansas and majored in psychology before finding my passion for teaching!  I was an assistant last year at Forman and am so excited to be on the 4th grade team this year.  email: Maggie.Curtis@pisd.edu Ext 21243 Wendy Hise I am so excited to be here at Forman!  I have been teaching for quite some time and have been with Plano ISD for the past 6 years!  I have two young teens and 3 cats.  My children and I are avid readers so we spend our “extra” time reading.  We do not watch TV except for an occasional movie!  I am very involved at my church serving in the choir and through various outreach projects.  My job is not just a job to me, it is a passion.  I love helping children learn and reach for the stars! email: Wendy.Hise@pisd.edu Ext 21239 Raquel Johnson This is a year of firsts for me!  This will be my first year in the Plano school district and my first year as a public school teacher and I'm so happy to be making my debut at Forman Elementary.  I am originally from Chicago but am truly enjoying Texas hospitality.  My B.A. was earned at Spelman College,  I have an M.A. in English Lit. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, an M. Ed in Educational Administration from DePaul University in Chicago and did some post graduate in Educational Research at New York University.  It's obvious that I love learning and I'm hoping to pass on this enthusiasm to my students.  The fourth grade is my all time favorite group and I have taught at this level for nearly 12 years.  My vivacious four year old daughter keeps me busy at home and my favorite hobbies are reading, knitting, skiing and stained glass. email: Racquel.Johnson@pisd.edu Ext 21242 Molly Walker This is my second year at Forman! Im very excited to be on the fourth grade team. I'm from Piedmont, Oklahoma, a small community just west of Oklahoma City. I graduated college from Edmond, Oklahoma with a B.S. in Education. I have been married for over two years! My husband teaches fifth grade at Forman. In the little free time I have I love to hang out with my husband, friends and family. Although I don't get to see my family as much as I would like since they live in Oklahoma. I also enjoy listening to music, reading and shopping. Future plans include traveling, and a masters degree in a field that is yet to be determined. email: Molly.Walker@pisd.edu Ext 21286 ba

FOURTH GRADE CURRICULUM  

1ST NINE WEEKS
Fourth graders learn about how to use a map and how to travel to different locations. We travel in Texas, the United States, the World and on into Space.

All of our students are writing every day in every way. Writing will be a major focus all year long. We are learning to write from the basic sentences to extended stories about our favorite teachers.

Safety to and from school, drug safety, health safety, fire safety and safety at home are all subjects that are studied thoroughly during the beginning of school.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are all covered in some way this first nine weeks. Fourth graders will be awesome mathematicians this year as we use all of our skills in problem solving and hands-on activities.

2ND NINE WEEKS
This nine weeks has fourth graders digging into the earth. We learn about different kinds of rocks and minerals as we travel through Texas. Researching Native Americans who lived in the Texas region is exciting for our students. As part of the in-depth research, each class chooses a different tribe - Comanche, Jumanos, Caddos, Tonkawas, Karankawas. The classes then rotate to the other classes to present their research and show a model Indian village.

Writing is still very important in fourth grade. By now we have covered the narrative, explanatory, and persuasive styles of writing.

MULTIPLICATION FACTS - We keep using them and solving problems with them as we divide and begin using measuring and fractions.

3RD NINE WEEKS
Fourth graders continue their studies of Texas history by looking at Texas from the Spanish Missions to Texas as a Republic. Cultural diversity helps us to see how different people came to Texas and left behind a wealth of language, food and cultural excitement. We also look at our strange Texas weather. We know it can change in an instant.

All through this nine weeks we look at how different we all are and how special we all are. Self concept is important to each of us as we grow and change.

We really are getting ready for our TAKS writing test. We are "honing" our skills to show how wonderful we are as authors of many types of writing.

During this nine weeks we will hear the Plano Orchestra perform for our Fine Arts Field Trip.

4TH NINE WEEKS
As we begin looking at our last nine weeks, we begin to look at how we can help our environment. We study ways to help animals, earth, water and people. We research animals and their habitats and how we can keep them from becoming endangered species. We also study about how we can help Texas economy. We learn about people who have set goals for themselves and become good entrepreneurs (our big word). We become entrepreneurs as we study economy and what it takes to start a business. Body systems and taking care of ourselves enter twine in our study of all that is Texas.

TAKS Reading and Math tests come during this nine weeks and we are busy preparing , taking and resting when they are done.

Our culminating activity for the year is our Hoedown. We will have pioneer activities and games, lunch on the trail, boot scootin' and singing as we enjoy our day in Texas.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!