Welcome to Fourth Grade! |
We have some exciting changes in store for fourth grade this year and we're confident that these changes will enhance your child's education. All fourth graders rotate as a class to the other fourth grade classrooms for instruction in social studies, science, and math. Course ObjectivesThe theme for fourth grade is Exploration, and it truly is a year of discovery. Fourth graders are still developing their skills for "reading to learn." They confront a large amount of content information in this school year so it is important that they learn and practice good organization skills; time management; study skills, and more. Fourth graders have three end-of-year standardized tests (SOLs) in the subjects of reading, math, Virginia history. MathThe Investigations program allows students to work deeply with numbers and mathematical concepts to develop a true understanding of numbers and their meaning. It will be an adventure as it is a new way of learning for the students -- and a new way of teaching. However, it is a strong program based on real research, and we believe we will see excellent results with our students. Attached you will find a course overview. For additional information, go to the Arlington County curriculum website under math (www.arlington.k12.va.us) Social Studies Do we just study Virginia in fourth grade? On the surface, the answer is yes. We will study Virginia's geography and history all year. We will use our understanding of Virginia to also develop broader social studies concepts. Study skills and organization will also be an important part of this year's social studies classes. Students will learn to keep an Interactive Notebook. In this notebook, students will keep a record of what is learned and what they think about what they are learning. Students will be assessed by daily work in the Interactive Notebook, tests, quizzes, study guides and worksheets, individual and group projects, and class discussion. - Map Skills
- Geography and Regions
- Resources and Products
- Native Americans in Virginia
- Early European Settlements
- Colonial Virginia
- Virginia and the American Revolution
- The New Nation
- Westward Expansion
- Civil War
- Reconstruction
- 20th Century
Science and Health Science (Resources Used Hartcourt Science Foss Kits/www.hartcourtschools.com) Health (Resources Used: Harcourt Textbook/www.hartcourtschools.com) - Physical changes
- Emotional and Intellectual Maturation
- Organs of the Reproductive System
- Human Fertilization and Prenatal Development
- Family Responsibility and Student�s Role in Family
- Everyone is Unique
- Substance Abuse and Dangers
- Human Emotions
- Doing the Right Thing
Language ArtsLanguage Arts contains three broad areas: reading, writing, and word study. For reading, we will concentrate on reading good literature and making meaning from that reading. Reading instruction will include a variety of formats, such as: -
Whole class instruction, when the entire class is reading the same material and responding individually in writing or discussion; -
Literature Circles, which resemble book groups, when a smaller group of students reads the same work and students have different roles each session that they meet (i.e. summarizer, questioner, passage picker, illustrator); groups meet twice a week with the teacher to discuss their work and reading; -
Guided reading, which is also small group work when the teacher is explicitly teaching a skill or strategy to use in reading; -
Readers' Workshop, which is more individualized, with students reading works of their own choosing, responding to that reading in their notebooks, and sharing with the teacher and others. -
Read Aloud, which encourages good listening skills; and -
Readers' Theater and choral reading to increase fluency and expressiveness.
Writing is based on a workshop model. Students learn and practice the writing process (pre-writing, drafts, revision, editing, and publication). There is time for writing every day and every writer is celebrated. Frequent consultations with the teacher and peer editors will help all students become better writers and editors.
Word Study is what many parents think of as "spelling." This year we will work with the Words Their Way program, which allows students to work at the level that is right for them and guides them in creating spelling rules and conventions that are meaningful.
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
- Reading Strategies
- Elements of Fiction
- Genres of Literature
- Reading for Information
- Writing Process
- Writing Mechanics
- Styles of Writing
- Writing Formats
- Oral Speaking
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