4th Grade – 1 Year

Description

Language Arts A&B:

Semester A

The 4th grade Language Arts curriculum integrates reading, writing, speaking, listening, and the study of vocabulary and grammar in a way that engages today’s learners and supports them in building a broad and diverse set of literacy skills.  Students study classic literature as well as more contemporary forms, including media and multimedia products. Writing assignments in semester A focus on narrative and persuasive modes and emphasize the use of reasoning and details to support opinions. Each writing assignment spans several lessons and guides students through a writing process that begins with prewriting and ends by emphasizing one or more aspects of conventions of standard written English. Students also learn how to participate in collaborative discussion and peer review sessions. In each lesson, engaging and relevant models and step-by-step instruction guide students toward mastery and appreciation of 21st century communication in all its forms and functions.

Semester B

Like semester A, semester B provides an integrated curriculum.  Whereas the first semester focuses on skills needed to read fiction and other literary prose, semester B teaches specific skills for reading poetry, drama, informational text. In the second semester of the course, students learn how informational text differs from literary text and how different forms of information text differ from each other. Writing assignments emphasize expository writing and guide students through research projects. Near the end of the semester, students learn how to present information orally and using multimedia.

Science A&B:

Semester A

Grade 4 Science includes the three main domains of science which are physical, life, and earth and space science.  Learners will use various kinds of experimenting, including field studies, systematic observations, models, and controlled experiences.  The course begins with the explanation of the scientific method which the students continue to use and build upon throughout the course.  The big picture of the earth is examined as students review the life on planet earth, salt and fresh water, and fast and slow changes that occur on the planet.   Students go beyond planet earth, though, as they study galaxies, the solar system and other planets. Students examine the ways that forces and motion can be measured and the concept that a single kind of matter can exist as a solid, liquid or gas.  Grade 4 science uses many modes of instruction including video presentations, enrichment activities, and hands-on experimentation.

Semester B

Semester B of Grade 4 Science focuses on the relationship between heat, light, sound, and electrical energy and the way they can be transferred between each other.  Learners distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans as they examine technology and the role it plays in science.  Students also look at life cycles of animals, plants, and humans and how they interact with each other.  The course ends by looking at the ways that humans interact with the environment.   Students will use research skills, watch videos, and get their hands dirty as they complete projects that require them to dig through dirt and trash in order to learn broader lessons that have to do with helping the environment.

Social Studies A&B:

Semester A

In grade 4 Social Studies learners will use their understanding of social studies skills to explore their local states and communities.  They will begin the course by learning the topography of their particular area.  Students will do this by creating a detailed landscape model.  This project will be hands-on and require students to do research of their communities.  Learners will also research local animals and gain an understanding of local Native American ground in their part of the country.  This course walks students through the research and report writing steps that will be vital to their continuation of social studies. They will continue to focus on their individual states as they do projects based on local geography, state capitols, as well as nearby natural wonders and landforms.  The semester concludes with an introduction to Colonial history.  The course uses video, enrichment activities, and project-based learning to enhance the student’s social studies skills.

Semester B

Semester B of grade 4 Social Studies picks up where semester A left off by looking further into frontier life of the early American settlers.  Students examine  the difficulties that early settlers faced when reaching America.  They apply knowledge of historical thinking, chronology, turning points, individuals, and themes of local and Unites States history in order to understand how history has shaped the present and will shape the future.  They will continue the focus of local history by doing research projects on settlers from their particular states and on how their state became a part of the Union.  The transition from the pony express to the transcontinental railroad is a major theme that shows how quickly the United States developed.  Students end by creating a time capsule that demonstrates what was important to early settlers from their particular states.

Math A&B:

Semester A

Grade 4 math uses a varied amount of instructional material to reinforce and teach new math skills to the 4th grade learners.  Instruction includes creative videos, mathematical storytelling, practical math applications and repetition to reinforce skills throughout the course.  Three areas are focused on and students will finish the course with a strong knowledge in these content areas.  The first is developing an understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication, and developing the understanding of dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends.  The second is developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions with whole numbers.  The third will be addressed in semester B.

Semester B

Semester B of grade 4 math has learners continuing to work with fractions. They will learn to multiply fractions and convert them to decimals. Students will also begin to learn to equivalent measurements of length, weight, mass, and capacity. They will also learn helpful skills in understanding time, distance, and money. Students will develop an understanding that geometric figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry. Lessons on rectangles, line plots, angles, figure drawing, polygons, and symmetry will be taught. Semester B continues to use varied forms of instruction that allow students to learn these skills in a practical manner.