Fourth grade
Fourth grade focuses on helping our girls learn to read critically for information and to write clearly and coherently. We strive to develop math confidence and skills, and emphasize using class time productively, and organizing homework and class assignments. Fourth graders are progressing toward the time when she will begin to acquire information independently and to assume responsibility for mastering materials presented.
Language Arts
Writing: The emphasis of this class is to create situations wherein the student will write frequently and with enthusiasm. We use the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing program as our foundation in teaching writing. The traits are: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and presentation. Our goals are to increase fluency and clarity in the student's writing and provide the student with many opportunities to develop confidence as a writer.
The writing process approach provides the student with time to develop her ideas. Writing well involves selecting an appropriate topic, using convincing details, arriving at a strong and integrated voice, and polishing for publication. Students are encouraged to discuss their work, offer one another suggestions, and remind one another of solutions to editing problems. In addition, students will frequently be introduced to or reminded of a particular technique in writing. They will be provided with many published pieces modeling examples of the traits.
Word Study: The Scholastic Spelling Workbook is the essential text to our Word Study program. We teach orthography, the correct sequences of letters in the writing system, and vocabulary as well as dictionary, thesaurus, and study skills.
Reading: Daybook for Critical Reading and Writing is the primary text to our reading program. It is used to reinforce active reading skills such as questioning, predicting, inferring and sequencing. Reading with purpose allows critical thinking.
Literature: Students are asked to read selected books that are representative of diverse literary genres. The theme of identity threads throughout the literary and history units. While reading and practicing comprehension skills, students engage in literature discussions. Discussion skills and strategies are expanded upon as the year progresses. After completing their reading, each student completes a response project that measures her basic understanding of character, setting, plot, theme, conflict, and resolution. These projects are designed to meet the strengths of various learning styles. Students will have the opportunity, for example, to write book reports, design dioramas and make captions for important scenes, construct graphic representations of character and plot, and give dramatic presentations of their favorite passages.
History
The history of California is addressed from different cultural, social, political, economic, and literary points-of-view. Students explore how the concept of identity manifests itself in history, literature, and their own lives. Appropriate non-fiction, the Houghton Mifflin text, Oh California, and library resources anchor a close examination of themes important to the California experience: geography, economics, government, social development, and culture. Diverse resources including library materials, computers, guest speakers, and field trips are utilized to widen and reinforce each student's historical understanding.
Mathematics
The fourth grade math curriculum, anchored by Burke’s mathematics benchmarks that closely follow the National and California Mathematics Standards, is designed to equip students with sound concept development, critical thinking and efficient problem-solving skills. Several of the excellent resources used to achieve these benchmark goals are: Houghton Mifflin Mathematics, Singapore Primary Mathematics, TERC and Problem Solving in Mathematics from The Lane County Mathematics Project. We also use Math Detective, which offers students important practice in deconstructing story problems and DynaMath, a magazine filled with high-interest, relevant activities. These resources support the curriculum by using a three-step approach – Concrete -> Pictorial -> Abstract – enabling students to encounter math in a meaningful way and to translate mathematical skills from the concrete to the abstract.
Our program is tailored to different learning styles: problem solving about common life situations, sharing ideas through discussion, establishing links between past experiences and explorations of new concepts (spiral development), cooperative learning through partner and small-group activities and practice through games. Ongoing review throughout the year, test preparation, and regular assessment are invaluable tools to help us evaluate your daughter’s progress.
Specifically, the topics covered in fourth grade are: place value, multiplication, division, measurement, fractions, geometry, decimals, graphing and probability.
Science
The science program encourages observation, communication, comparison, and organization of fundamental concepts. Hydrology is the main fourth grade theme. Oceanography, therefore, is a major topic.
Other topics include geology, ecology, environmental studies, and animals. Much of this is accomplished through hands-on experiments, creating practical models, building habitats, and drawing accurate representations of scientific diagrams.
Units of study are supplemented with field trips, speakers, and outside resources. Merrill’s Accent on Science is a resource text, and SuperScience is a science magazine used in addition to our regular curriculum.
Current Events
Current events are regularly discussed. Many of the subjects center around the students’ own copies of Scholastic News, which include scientific and historical articles as well as current news topics presented in a child-friendly format. Later in the year, the fourth grade engages in a lively media literacy discussion that centers around how to become discriminating media observers.
Class Meetings
Throughout the year regular class meetings are held to discuss the issues and concerns of the students. Since the social tenor of the class is so crucial to the learning process, impromptu class meetings are certainly held if the need arises.
Homework
Homework will provide practice and/or discovery with material already covered by the teacher in class. Students should spend no longer than one hour each night on homework. As the year progresses, long-term assignments such as book reports will be given.
