The Fourth Grade is an exciting transition year filled with academic rigor, building of independence skills, strengthening of cross-curricular studies, and an introduction to a period-based schedule. Students are actively engaged every second of the day through a combination of traditional and technological learning methods.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS:
The English Language Arts program encourages students to be active learners and participants in all aspects of their reading, writing, and grammar lessons. Students are engaged through a variety of texts including historical fiction, narratives, informational text and poems. These mentor texts are used not only to drive daily instruction, but to provide the framework for students to use in their own writing development. Despite strong reading skills being built in earlier years, there is always room for improvement. Students explore their strengths and weaknesses through small group activities, peer and teacher conferences, and the differentiated approach offered in iReady. Students use Chromebooks to read, research, and record text evidence to support their identification of the main idea/supporting details and author's purpose/opinion. Our goal is to foster a love of reading and writing that matches the student's individual needs and interests.
MATH:
Fourth grade math skills, with the support of our NGLs Ready Math program, combine the review of previously taught skills with the scaffolding required to master new and more complex concepts. Students enhance their number sense and algebriac thinking through weekly skill building activities in iReady and differentiated morning work packets. Students learn to multiply and divide large numbers using area models, partial products and quotients, and then use these skills to gain a strong understanding of the standard algorithms. Geometry, measurement, and fractions are taught through real-life problems and students are encouraged to solve these problems in different ways and to explain their reasoning. The implementation of math mysteries and center-based review to keep skills fresh is just part of what students love about their fourth grade math class. Students support one another in their learning and celebrate others successes just as much as their own!
SCIENCE:
The action-packed science curriculum in fourth grade uses a blend of Inspire Science and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to immerse students in their enhanced learning of energy and ecosystems, weather, changes in matter, electricity, and motion. This program offers many opportunities for hands-on learning, discovery of scientific concepts, and the exploration of science in the real world. Students don't just learn about these topics, they are encouraged to create, to question, to connect, and most importantly to understand the scientific method behind it all!
SOCIAL STUDIES:
In fourth grade our social studies curriculum focuses on where we live right now - New York! Students travel back in time to learn about the history, geography, people, and the events that have helped shape our region into the populous area that is today. Students use a variety of resources to gather information, to compare and contrast primary accountings of turning points in our history, and to explore how they can demonstrate good citizenship.
RELIGION:
The focus of the fourth grade religion curriculum is to support the strengthening of each child's character and Catholic identity. Through daily prayer and frequent attendance at Mass, students are encouraged to live like Jesus, to serve God, and to strengthen their relationships with God. Students read the bible, discuss the Gospels, and participate in research that strengthens their appreciation and respect for all God's people and creations.