THE ACADEMY The Academy of St. Johns Country Day School is an intensive program for students in Grades 4 and 5, emphasizing earlier recognition of, and advancement along, the college preparatory track. The program redefines the Lower School experience, preparing students for the transition to Middle School and the increased independence, academic rigor, and emotional maturity it requires. Across subject areas, the Academy curriculum reinforces the qualities St. Johns seeks to instill—respect for self and others, integrity, and self-confidence—while recognizing and enhancing individuals’ unique aspirations and strengths. Completing The Academy programming provides each student a pathway to success as they discover more about themselves and who they wish to become on their educational journey.
GRADE 4 Language Arts
In Grade 4 reading, students attain meaning and comprehension through advanced sequencing to include flashbacks, foreshadowing, conflict and plotline. Students will understand character, setting, and plot within literature, develop an understanding of predicting outcomes, and learn how to use this knowledge in reading. In writing, students will understand and practice formal writing (e.g., research projects, formal essays) and creative writing (e.g., fiction, short story, dialogue, poetry). They will develop and maintain writing mechanics to include complete sentences, spelling, capitalization, parts of speech,
S T. J O H N S C O U N T R Y D AY S C H O O L
punctuation, paragraph structure, vocabulary, and organization. They will also identify the importance of word choice and voice. Grade 4 Language Arts Standards ◆ Students can read with understanding, fluency, and expression. ◆ Students can determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases. ◆ Students demonstrate knowledge of standard English usage, mechanics, and spelling. ◆ Students can organize and write a multi-paragraph essay on a specific topic in sequential order with transition words and phrases. ◆ Students can communicate through writing to persuade, inform, and entertain. ◆ Students understand and can apply the eight parts of speech in order to enhance their writing. ◆ Students employ both contextual and decoding strategies to bring meaning to a passage as a whole through summarization. ◆ Students can determine the main idea and supporting details of a selected text. ◆ Students can derive meaning while reading by expressing reactions and personal opinions to a selection, make inferences, and draw conclusions based on evidence from the text. ◆ Students can retell, answer or formulate questions, predict outcomes, and challenge both the text and the author after reading a given passage in both fiction and nonfiction.
CURRICULUM GUIDE
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