Demographics
The curriculum unit is designed for fourth grade students in Richmond, Virginia. I teach in a state which does not follow Common Core standards but instead uses the Virginia Standards of Learning. My school, Mary Munford Elementary School, is in the west end of the city of Richmond, Virginia. It is a part of Richmond Public Schools. The students mostly come from middle-class homes with a lot of parental support, but there are also immigrants, students from low-income homes and a few homeless families. My school also serves low-incidence autistic students. The range of skill level in fourth grade is huge. A few students barely speak English, some perform two years below grade-level, and other students perform in the 99th percentile on norm-referenced tests for reading and math. My students’ general knowledge also varies greatly. Some students read constantly and have opportunities to travel around the United States and to other countries, while others rarely leave Richmond.
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