Our Curriculum
In language arts, students are expected to….
In mathematics, students are expected to…
In science, students will use, construct, and reflect on scientific knowledge through the hands-on units of Nature’s Recyclers, Matter, and Watery Earth.
In Nature’s Recyclers students are expected to….
In Matter students are expected to…
In Watery Earth students are expected to…
Fourth graders also have instruction in art, health, information literacy and technology (through the Media Center), music, physical education, and world language (Spanish and Arabic).
- Read a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts with accuracy, appropriate rate, expression and comprehension.
- Summarize the main idea(s) of narrative text and major ideas(s) of nonfiction text with relevant details.
- Clarify authors’ purpose and perspective and support with examples from the text.
- Use comprehension strategies to monitor his/her own comprehension and deal with obstacles to understanding; e.g., rereading, reading on, paraphrasing, confirming/rejecting predictions, generating questions, consulting dictionary, asking others.
- Connect the parts of informational material to the whole.
- Distinguish between fact and fiction.
- Explain authors’ use of word choice, style and voice to enhance their message.
- Respond to multiple text types by speaking, illustrating, and/or writing in order to clarify meaning, make connections, take a position, and/or show deep understanding.
- Use a variety of strategies and resources (context clues, concept mapping, analogies to known words, dictionary,
- Select books at an appropriate level for independent reading.
- Listen attentively and respond appropriately to the ideas of others in a group situation.
- Share own ideas and experiences.
- Express ideas clearly when speaking.
- Write with confidence.
- Focus writing by identifying audience, point of view, and format based on purpose.
- Generate, draft, revise, edit, and publish different forms of written expression.
- Exhibit individual style and voice to enhance the written message.
- Proofread for capitals, punctuation, words that have been omitted, run-on sentences and conventional spelling.
- Write in a variety of forms: story problems, descriptions, explanations, personal narratives, fictional narratives, friendly letters, summaries, poems, news stories, reports, personal reflections, and scripts.
- Use all five stages of the writing process.
- Vary the structural pattern, length and complexity of sentences.
In mathematics, students are expected to…
- Read, write, order and determine place value for number from thousandths through hundred millions.
- List multiples of numbers less than ten (e.g. multiples of 4: 0, 4, 8, 12, 16)
- List whole number factors of numbers (e.g. factors of 12: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12).
- Find equivalent fractions.
- Determine whether number sentences (equations) are true or false.
- Insert parentheses to make a number sentence true.
- Solve open sentences, such as 6xa=24.
- Use partial products for solving multi-digit multiplication problems up to 3-digit x 2-digit. (e.g. 234x6=200x6 + 30x6 + 4x6).
- Use a successful strategy for solving whole number division problems with one-digit divisors.
- Round whole numbers to the give place.
- Use successful strategies for adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers.
- Quickly recall addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts •
- Use and explain strategies for solving multiplication and division number stories.
- Compare and order fractions.
- Use a calculator to rename any fraction as a decimal or percent.
- Convert between metric measures.
- Find the area and perimeter of a polygon.
- Estimate the area of irregular shapes.
- Use a protractor to measure and draw angles.
- Describe properties of geometric solids, using vocabulary such as vertex, base, face, edge, and congruent.
- Name, draw, and describe points, angles, intersecting and parallel line segments, and lines.
- Describe and construct polygons, using vocabulary such as side, vertex, and angle.
- Identify acute, obtuse, and reflex angles.
- Draw and measure line segments to the nearest ¼ inch and ½ centimeter.
In science, students will use, construct, and reflect on scientific knowledge through the hands-on units of Nature’s Recyclers, Matter, and Watery Earth.
In Nature’s Recyclers students are expected to….
- Explain the role of decomposers in the nutrient cycle.
- Identify familiar organisms as part of a food chain or food web and describe their feeding relationships within the web.
- Compare and contrast food, energy and environmental needs of selected organisms.
- Investigate variables in plant development and mold growth.
In Matter students are expected to…
- Classify common substances according to observable properties.
- Investigate common physical changes in matter (melt, dissolve, evaporate, condense, solidify).
- Describe, investigate, and record variables that affect physical changes
- Describe how water exists on earth in three states (ice, liquid water, water vapor)
In Watery Earth students are expected to…
- Describe the water cycle.
- Identify freshwater and saltwater sources on Earth.
- Describe ways that living organisms need and use water.
- Gain appreciation for our community water system and evaluate effects of humans on Earth’s limited water resources.
- Know the five regions of the United States and name specific geographic or physical features for each of them.
- Explain how regions are created from common physical and human characteristics.
- Use cardinal and intermediate directions to describe the relative location of significant places in the United States.
- Describe the United States as a nation of immigrants who have come to our country for differing purposes and who offer unique contributions.
- Describe the effect of geography on industry and trade in various regions.
- Describe the effect that technology has on industry and agriculture over time.
Fourth graders also have instruction in art, health, information literacy and technology (through the Media Center), music, physical education, and world language (Spanish and Arabic).