VIII. GRADE 4 PROGRAM
Grade 4 Program LANGUAGE ARTS – INTEGRATION OF READING AND WRITING SKILLS TO CONTENT The Language Arts Program builds upon basic reading, writing, and speaking skills and concepts taught at earlier levels, while beginning to integrate these basic skills into various content areas. Emphasis is placed on word attack skills so students can develop their reading fluency. Students work to understand and identify main ideas to further develop comprehension skills. They are taught to interpret a variety of reading materials to look for context clues, to make inferences and predictions, and to draw conclusions. Through our reading materials themes such as tolerance and respect for differences of others are explored. Vocabulary development is emphasized through trade books, along with a supplementary vocabulary text. Grammar and spelling skills are taught in isolation and are then integrated into students’ daily writing. The writing program coordinates with students’ reading. Identifying main ideas and supporting details are then transferred into creating topic sentences and expanded details. Emphasis is placed on creating paragraph unity and using transition words to create coherence. By the end of Grade 4, students are expected to write a well-developed descriptive paragraph. Students also develop critiquing and proofreading skills as they share their writing with classmates and the school community. Instructional Materials t t t t t t t
“Vocabulary Workshop,” by Orange, Sadlier-Oxford “Holes,” by Sachar “Number the Stars,” by Lowry “Perloo the Bold,” by Avi “Junior Great Books,” The Great Books Foundation “Spelling Workout, Pearson Learning Teacher-created materials
MATH – DEVELOPMENT OF FOUNDATIONS The Math Program focuses on developing basic computational skills and reasoning processes. A goal is to have students automate their basic math facts in order to apply them to more complex math processes. After a brief review of addition and subtraction, students move into multiplication, division, and fractions. Units of geometry, measurement, and graphing are also covered. Emphasis is placed on developing different types of written and oral word problems. Manipulative materials and math games are used to heighten students’ interest in math concepts. Students are clustered and grouped based on work pace, standardized testing, beginning-of-year inventories, and teacher recommendations. These clusters are fluid and flexible. Instructional Materials t t t t
Singapore – main program and base of our program Houghton-Mifflin Math manipulatives Teacher-created materials designed to meet each individual child’s needs
SOCIAL STUDIES – EXPLORATION OF CONNECTICUT The Social Studies Program is designed to promote an understanding of our home state. Students learn about landforms and Connecticut’s physical features, its first inhabitants, its development into one of the 13 original colonies, its role in our nation’s fight for independence, its economy, and the role Connecticut plays today. The influence of immigration and the effects of the development of Conneticut and the U.S. as a whole are explored. This exploration and study provide the foundation for the culminating project, the state research paper. Each student researches a state and, following established research guidelines, writes a two- to three-page paper. The students are then given the opportunity to practice their oral presentation skills at the States Fair. Instructional Materials t t
2012- 2013 Lower School Program Guide
“The Connecticut Adventure,” Gibbs Smith Teacher-created materials
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VIII. GRADE 4 PROGRAM
SCIENCE – LIFE SCIENCE In Grade 4, science lab is focused on life science topics. During the course of the year, students study vertebrates, the human body, and trees. A multitude of hands-on experiments and projects accompany each unit and there is a great focus on the scientific method and the process of writing a detailed lab report.
During the year, Grade 4 takes science-related field trips on occasion. Textbooks t
Teacher-created materials
During the study of vertebrates, students take a closer look at each class of animals and the characteristics that define them. To help students better understand these concepts, they have complete labs or activities to explore and express these differences. For example, when studying fish, they create a three-dimensional model of a fish that highlights their internal and external characteristics. To culminate the unit, students work to create a new species of vertebrate based on what they already know about each class. Students also write persuasive letters to the World Wildlife Foundation to protect the animal they created. The purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate the importance of being advocates for animals and how students could apply their knowledge about animals to a real-world situation. Next, students study the human body, nutrition, and healthy life styles. They complete activities to explore the covering, skeletal, muscular, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, and digestive systems, as well as the major organs of the body. Students take a closer look at their skin and hair by using microscopes, make detailed models of the skeletal system, enjoy a “taste” lab, compare their heart rates before and after exercise, disuss the different components of blood, and take a comprehnsive test to determine if they are more “left brain” or “right brain.” To culminate the unit, students research healthy eating habits, present their findings to each other, and enjoy a hands-on healthy snack lab! The class begins its study of trees by discussing the difference between living and non-living things. Labs include tree and leaf identification, the process of photosynthesis, the parts of a seed, how seeds travel, and seed germination. This unit also includes a research project. Students gather information about their state tree and present it to their peers during the Grade 4 State Fair. 2012- 2013 Lower School Program Guide
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