Fourth Grade
WELCOME TO FOURTH GRADE!
The Fourth Grade International Baccalaureate Program of Inquiry
The work of our curriculum revolves around the six transdisciplinary themes and their corresponding central ideas:
1. IB Human! - Humans migrate and adapt to geographical regions.
2. Road Trip! - Geospatial skills help us to understand places and regions.
3. Choose Your Hero! - Our beliefs and values determine our choice of heroes.
4. Rock Stars! - Natural minerals are changed by physical forces and engineered for human use.
5. As Seen on TV! - Capital resources and governmental systems impact our communities.
6. Energy Drink! - People share water and energy as essential resources.
Fourth Grade Curriculum
Language and Literacy Scandia students will read from a variety of materials. Specifice skills studied in fourth grade include base words, syllables, synonyms, suffixes, prefixes, homophones, and parts of speech. Students will learn and practice comprehension skills and the study skills of working with graphs, maps and diagrams. Writing exercises will focus on sentence and paragraph structure and elaborating with adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns.
Mathematical Thinking Mathematical thinking skills include learning about place value to 6 digits, solving addition and subtraction problems to 4 digits, multiplication and division using 2 digits, fractional computation with common denominators, decimals to tenths, and utilizing a variety of strategies to problem solve.
Health Students will learn about keeping themselves healthy and safe. Topics include: food groups, recognition of the major organs of the body, drug education, personal safety, bus safety, and decision making.
Media Students will identify and use media resources, with an emphasis on locating materials using the Dewey Decimal system.
Music Students will sing rounds and part songs in a group using a variety of music literature. Students will play and improvise simple rhythms, melodies and harmonic patterns on classroom instruments. Students will use a system to read musical notation and will have continued experiences with music from many cultures and time periods of music history.
Physical Education Physical education will be a part of your child's school routine. Students will participate and learn in an environment that emphasizes fair play, sportsmanship, and acceptance of individual abilities. Activies include: team sports, individual/recreational sports, multicultural games, and team building challenges. Students are tested annually in the area of personal physical fitness and will participate in a Track & Field Day at the end of the year.
Scientific Thinking Students will observe and investigate the characteristics of rocks and matter, energy and electricity, and the water cycle.
Social Studies Students will take an in-depth look at the history, geography and economy of the regions of the United States. Studies will include a special emphasis on map skills, (latitude, longitude, geographic terms) and time lines.
Visual Arts The four disciplines of art study include: art production, art criticism, art history, and aesthetics. Students will learn about and practice art skills including: illusion and depth, repetition/pattern, contrast/balance, and design.
Technology Students will continue to develop greater computer literacy, learning beginning keyboarding and applying word processing concepts.