Throughout the year, students participate in physical education, music, library, computer class, Spanish, and art. Students also attend a variety of educational field trips.
Reading: The fourth grade-reading program reinforces and builds on the foundation created in the primary grades. The program is organized around the belief that stronger readers and writers are stronger students. Students will learn comprehension skills, as well as critical thinking and vocabulary development by reading a wide variety of quality literature. All students are given level appropriate opportunities for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It is important to create an atmosphere where reading is enjoyed. Independent reading is encouraged so that lifelong readers are created. The Accelerated Reader program is used as a supplementary tool to strengthen reading comprehension.
We use the reading of class novels in conjunction with Scholastic Story Works Magazine in fourth grade. Students are exposed to a wide variety of genres to allow the opportunity to connect with many types of texts.
Math: The fourth grade mathematics curriculum continues to develop the understanding of mathematical concepts, the learning and efficient use of computational skills, and the selection and application of appropriate skills and problem solving strategies. Currently we use Houghton Mifflin Math textbook. Math is a subject which requires practice to master certain skills.
English: In English, our curriculum focuses on the eight parts of speech: noun, verb, pronoun, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, and interjection. Our text book is Houghton Mifflin English. We review daily using DLR – Daily Language Review, which is a daily practice of punctuation, capitalization and other skills associated with written language. The students review reference materials, synonyms, antonyms, and other important skills as well. Students will write about a wide variety of unusual and exciting topics. We perfect our paragraph skills and end our year with a five paragraph theme. Poetry, short stories, and paragraphs are modeled and written in fourth grade.
Social Studies: Social studies in fourth grade focuses on the regions of the United States and map skills. Our text book is Scott Foresman Regions by. By the end of the year, students will know and identify our states and capitals.
Spelling: The purpose of the fourth grade spelling curriculum is to stress the spelling skills, dictionary and proofreading skills of the student. Our goal is to create more proficient writers. Our spellings lists come directly from the text and novels we read. Students must show knowledge, understanding and mastery of the vocabulary words in their writing. Students will express their knowledge and understanding through weekly spelling tests and sentence dictation. Strong spelling habits are encouraged in all subject material.
Science: Our fourth grade science curriculum covers life science, physical science and earth science. Our text book is Houghton Mifflin Science Fusion. This curriculum has a student consumable book and a technological component that allows families to access the book as well as enrichment materials online. A science journal is kept to help reinforce various concepts. Activities and demonstrations are used to make the science come alive in the classroom.