Grade 4

List of 12 items.

• Art

  All art classes utilize the elements of art of line, color, shape, texture, space, and form. A variety of media is explored throughout the year including watercolors, clay, tempera paint, and recycled materials.  Students study artists such as Jim Dine, Kustav Klimt, and Kelsey Montague. In grade 4 special emphasis is placed on making art as an enriching life long activity.

• Math

  •Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems. Gain familiarity with factors and multiples. Generate and analyze patterns.

  •Operations in Base Ten: Generalize place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers. Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.

  •Operations and Fractions: Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering. Build fractions from unit fractions. Understand decimal notation for fractions and compare decimal fractions.

  •Measurement and Data: Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements. Represent and interpret data. Understand concepts of angle and measure angles.

  •Geometry: Draw and identify lines and angles and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.

• Music

  The fourth-grade music program emphasizes vocal and instrumental production. Students sing in Solfege using Curwen hand signals to reinforce pitch and reading of notes.  Emphasis is placed on music analysis and creation. In addition to the recorder, all students in grade four play either a brass, woodwind, or stringed instrument.  Emphasis is placed on proper technique and playing as part of an ensemble. Fourth grade performs several times a year in our fall and spring musical concerts and in a whole-class mini musical staged with movement and song.   

• Phonics

  •Phonics and Word Recognition: Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.

• Physical Education

  Movement and exercise are an important part of the school day. All grade levels have Physical Education three days a week. Physical Education classes develop fitness and skills and focus on life-long health and wellness.  In grade 4 skills in throwing, catching, kicking, dribbling, volleying, and striking are emphasized.  The year concludes with a unit on life-long sports focusing on helping students make healthy choices.    

• Reading

  •Key Ideas and Details: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

  •Craft and Structure: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area. Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations. Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.

  •Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text. Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes, topics, and patterns of events.

  •Fluency: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

• Research Lab

  The Lower School Library is a place of discovery.  All Lower School students visit the library regularly and can explore their interests by delving further into books and online sources for deeper learning.  During Research Lab class, students learn a variety of research, technology, and digital citizenship skills.  In fourth grade, some examples of specific units and topics include: research skills, paraphrasing, citing sources, typing skills, nonfiction reading comprehension strategies, using assorted Microsoft Office products, analyzing media messages, website reliability, safe online sharing, preventing cyberbullying, creating strong passwords, and understanding copyright.  Of course, students also enjoy reading for pleasure and look forward to checking out books to enjoy at home. 

• Science

  Topics of study: Circulatory System, Chemistry, Properties of Matter, Acids, and Bases, Electricity, Weather

• Social and Emotional Learning

  All homeroom teachers start the day with a morning meeting, which builds community and sets students up for a successful day. These morning meetings include four components and are based on the Responsive Classroom best-practices: 1) greeting everyone by name, 2) sharing important information about our lives and listening actively to our peers while asking clarifying questions, 3) a brief activity around social-emotional learning, and 4) watching community announcements and reading a short message that reviews the schedule for the day.    
     
  In addition, to morning meeting, all homerooms include a “Social Emotional Learning” block in the schedule in which students actively learn and practice a core set of social and emotional competencies: “C.A.R.E.S.: cooperation, assertiveness, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.   
  
  

  Our Lower School counselor visits each class once per week for a focused SEL lesson as well.    

• Social Studies

  Topics of study: Geography, Middle Ages, Ancient China, Revolutionary War, Maryland History

• Spanish

  Students in Grade 4 continue their language study with additional time spent speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish. Students present information on familiar topics using simple phrases and sentences and begin writing short sentences on topics related to everyday life. 

• Writing

  •Text Types and Purposes: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

  •Language: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

  •Production and Distribution of Writing: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.