Fourth Grade

Reading and Writing Fourth graders are reading for pleasure and information. By using the strategies and skills developed in previous grades, the students can now focus on building connections, utitilizing their personal concepts and new thought development. Fourth graders will continue to use text evidence to explicitly answer questions about a text. Students will be reading from a variety of stories, chapter books and nonfiction material to increase the ongoing development of comprehension strategies and skills. Fourth graders will read independently. Fourth graders will be reading many different kinds of stories. Texts will include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and dramas. They will continue to build their vocabulary and increase the number of words they recognize. Fourth Graders will continue to develop word attack skills. Fourth graders will continue to develop skills when encountering unknown words by breaking the word apart and looking at the meanings of the parts (prefixes, suffixes and roots). They will also be using dictionaries to look up new words. They will use many different skills to help them understand what they have read. Fourth graders will develop concepts and personal thoughts about what they have read. Fourth graders will develop ideas through discussion of their feelings and reaction to what is being read. They will be able to identify character, setting, and plot. The will discuss the motivation behind a character's actions in a story and how the setting adds to the plot. Fourth graders will use comprehension skills and strategies independently. Fourth graders will be using specifically taught comprehension strategies to allow monitoring of understanding, making sense of text and solving problems while they are reading. Students will also be using comprehension skills to deepen their understanding of the logic behind the text. Fourth graders will learn research and inquiry skills. Fourth graders develop inquiry and exploration skills that focus on the production of genuine research. These concepts will be developed from literature read and explored during class. Fourth graders write their own personal or imaginative narratives, information articles and “how to” pieces. Fourth graders focus on organizing their writing in logical ways. They learn to describe things in a “step-by-step” manner. They will write stories from their own experiences and from their imaginations. They also write biographies, research reports, folktales, letters, plays, and poetry. Fourth Graders use a variety of planning strategies for their composition. Fourth graders plan before they write their compositions. When writing stories, they make decisions about characters, events, and when and where things take place. They organize information logically and select the details they wish to include. Students use these plans to write their compositions. Fourth graders revise their writing. After completing a composition, fourth graders share their work with small groups or the class. They receive suggestions and compliments from their classmates and instruction from the teacher. Using this advice and instruction, they improve their compositions. Fourth graders edit their work. Fourth graders edit their work for correct use of spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. Fourth graders continue to build upon the cursive writing skills taught in third grade.		Mathematics Major Concepts • Place value through the hundredths place • 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication • 3-digit by 2-digit divisions • Addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators • Addition and subtraction of decimals • Parallel and perpendicular • Plotting points for shapes drawn on the coordinate grid • Transformations of geometric shapes • Bar graphs and line graphs • Median, range, and mode • Probability • Using variables • Order of Operations • Proportional change Skills to Maintain • Multi-digit addition and subtraction • Basic multiplication and division • Circle graphs • Writing number sentences to match story problems • Names of 2-D shapes

		Parent Support Reading • Minimum of 20 minutes daily, independent reading at your child’s reading level • Build vocabulary using dictionaries and thesauruses • Read to your child and ask questions about the story • Research information on topics of interest and use the library • Write letters, reports and journal entries based on informed judgments • Read and interpret maps, charts and graphs Math • Practice multiplication and division facts • Solve multiplication problems • Practice measuring objects • Find the area and perimeter of 2-dimensional objects • Find patterns in nature, clothes, buildings, etc. • Discuss the graphs found in the newspaper • Record the weekly temperature on a grid