4th Grade


  • Our goal is to make sure each child has the opportunity to     learn, grow, and be successful...it's going to be an AWESOME year!!!
     
    Math
    Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at grade 4 are comparing and ordering fractions and decimals, applying multiplication and division, and developing ideas related to congruence and symmetry.
     
    Throughout mathematics in Grade 3-5, students build a foundation of basic understandings in number, operations, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking; geometry and spatial reasoning; measurement; probability and statistics.  Students use algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as generalizations connected to concrete experiences; and they concretely develop basic concepts of fractions and decimals.  Students use appropriate language and organizational structures such as tables and charts to represent and communicate relationships, make predictions, and solve problems.  Students select and use formal language to describe their reasoning as they identify, compare, and classify two or three-dimensional geometric figures; and they use numbers, standard units, and measurement tools to describe and compare objects, make estimates, and solve application problems.  Students organize data, choose an appropriate method to display the data, and interpret the data to make decisions and predictions and solve problems.

    Science
    The study of science includes planning and implementing field and laboratory investigations using scientific methods, analyzing information, making informed decisions, and using tools to collect information. Students also use computers and information technology tools to support scientific investigations.

    Topics of study include: density, states of matter, mixtures, forms of energy, conductors & insulators, forces, the water cycle, soil properties, weathering & erosion, natural resources, food webs, plant & animal adaptations, inherited traits & learned behaviors, and life cycles.

    Science is a way for students to learn all about the natural world. They should know how science has built a vast body of changing and increasing knowledge described by physical, mathematical, and conceptual models, and also should know that science may not answer all questions...but we'll always have fun trying!

    Social Studies
    Students examine the history of Texas from the early beginnings to the present within the context of influences of the Western Hemisphere. Historical content focuses on Texas history including the Texas Revolution, establishment of the Republic of Texas, and subsequent annexation to the United States. Students discuss important issues, events, and individuals of the 19th and 20th centuries. Students conduct a thorough study of regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere that result from human activity and from physical features. A focus on the location, distribution, and patterns of economic activities and of settlement in Texas further enhances the concept of regions.

    Reading
    Being a great reader makes all other subjects easier. Throughout the year, students will be developing their reading skills through novels, passages, and other various texts. Fourth grade students will:
    • Identify and analyze author’s purpose and organization
    • Expand vocabulary by understanding prefixes, suffixes, Latin root words, and multiple meanings
    • Distinguish between main idea and details and produce a paraphrased summary of a passage
    • Connect, compare, and contrast different texts
    • Sequence events
    • Identify cause, effect, fact, and opinion
    • Analyze characters, plot, and setting
    • Recognize the different genres and the features of each
    • Read with fluency
    • Draw inferences, conclusions, and generalizations

    Writing
    In 4th grade, the students develop their writing skills, and consistently practice the concepts of topic focus, idea elaboration and organization, inner (feelings, thoughts, conversations, descriptions) and outer (actions) elements, smooth transitions, "hooky" introductions, and memorable conclusions. The students acquire the ability to add spark to their stories to make them vivid to the reader. They also learn to work in groups, and practice revising and editing together as they become independent writers with a more formed criteria. Feedback in teacher-student and student-student conferences is provided on a regular basis.

    In the Language Arts field, main grammar concepts are taught, reinforced, and practiced to meet the curriculum and Writing STAAR test standards. Spelling patterns, prefixes and suffixes, punctuation marks (commas, periods, quotation marks, colons) and their uses, capital letters, parts of speech (especially nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs), sentence structures (simple, compound and complex), and run-on sentences are constantly reviewed throughout the year.

    The students enter 4th grade with simple writing abilities like writing sentences or paragraphs, and they finish the school year writing two full pages of a narrative composition that has a beginning, middle and end (with events in logical order and elaborated details), well developed characters and setting, and an inspirational conclusion. Usually, an end-of-the-year project takes place in the last couple of months to give the students the opportunity to graduate as “AUTHORS.”