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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