Fourth Grade is a year of change for 9 year olds as students become involved in group projects, and focus on honing the organizational skills necessary to adapt to the increasing workload.  Students are gaining the ability to become independent thinkers. They are encouraged to take ownership of their learning by using a variety of reference books, selecting grade-level chapter books, as well as utilizing technology-based resources.  The fourth grade focuses on project-based learning, which is an “across the curriculum” approach that implements multiple subject areas into one project.

Reading
Fourth grade students will read and respond to classic and contemporary works of children’s literature, legends, tall tales, poetry and a variety of nonfiction selections including biographies, autobiographies, essays and news stories. They will show evidence of comprehension through predicting, inferring information, drawing conclusions, summarizing and relating selections to their own experience. They will  analyze the feelings, actions and personality traits of characters. They will also express opinions about nonfiction selections and support their opinions with references to the text.

Word Analysis and Vocabulary
The students will identify patterns for dividing words into syllables. They will use phonetic, contextual, syntactic and structural analysis strategies to decode and to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. They will complete grade level analogies, use and spell grade level homophones in sentences and spell a wide range of grade-level words, including commonly misspelled words, in their writing.

Writing
The students will write a variety of narrative, expository and persuasive pieces, as well as poetry. Students will use Writer’s Notebooks to collect seed ideas for personal narratives.  In the expository writing, the students will clearly develop a central idea, using specific details and appropriate elaboration. Grade four students will also respond to interpretive questions about fiction, poetry and nonfiction selections.

Math
Grade four students will develop comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations and basic skills as well as acquire skills to carry out procedures accurately, efficiently, and appropriately.  All students will demonstrate the ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems and will develop the capacity for logical thought, reflection and explanation. There is an emphasis on real-world math applications and problem solving. The curriculum focuses on number sense, geometry, algebra, data and measurement.

Science
The students in fourth grade will learn about how electrical and magnetic energy can be transferred and transformed, how sound and light are forms of energy, how organisms can survive and reproduce only in environments that meet their basic needs, and how geology and earth materials have properties that can be identified and described through the use of simple tests.

Social Studies
The grade four curriculum focuses on the regions of the United States.  The essential question is: How do geography, climate, and people shape the historical development (culture, economic and politics) of a region?