Fourth Grade

List of 11 items.

• Reading & Literature

  • Improve word recognition and expression in oral reading
  • Increase sophistication of independent reading skills and produce individual book projects
  • Develop comprehension strategies
  • Summarize information and re-tell stories
  • Understand story elements: symbolism, plot, character, development, and tone
  • Participate in whole-class and small group literature groups and dramatic read alouds

• Writing & Language Arts

  • Use Writer’s Workshop to strengthen writing
  • Focus on the writing process with greater independence and effectiveness
  • Practice strategies to improve spelling and grammar
  • Expand proofreading and editing skills
  • Use print and online dictionary and thesaurus resources
  • Practice public speaking skills

• Social Studies

  • California, United States, and world geography
  • European motives for exploration and the impact of settlements on native Californians
  • Early California history
  • Dust bowl and World War II in California
  • Black Panther Party
  • California artists and musicians
  • Analysis of primary and secondary documents for point of view and bias

• Mathematics

  • Increasing facility with number facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
  • Developing problem solving strategies, organization, and note-taking skills
  • Regrouping addition and subtraction; two-digit multiplication and division
  • Fractions, probability, statistics and graphing, measurement and geometry, algebraic concepts, and decimals

• Science

  • Collisions and transformations
  • Waves and information transfer
  • Earth’s changing surface: erosion and earthquakes
  • Natural disasters and mitigation to protect communities

• Spanish

  • Participate in class reading of El capibara con botas book and related activities
  • Subject pronouns (yo, tú, él/ella/elle, usted, nosotros, ellos/ellas/elles)
  • Regular and Irregular verb conjugations
  • Build conversational skills
  • Spelling and vocabulary
  • Articles (masculine, feminine)
  • Expand understanding of culture through the study of geography and people of Latin American countries
  • Develop listening and speaking skills through guided conversations with peers

• STEAM

  • Perimeter and area challenges
  • Shapes, vertices, and symmetry
  • Hour of Code
  • Balancing weight problems (pre-algebraic puzzles)
  • Student-led programming instruction
  • Equipment care
  • Google Docs: sharing, collaborating, and printing

• Fine Arts

  • Drawing: contour lines, proportion, portraiture, landscapes
  • Painting: watercolor techniques
  • Clay
  • Printmaking: Andy Warhol/pop art
  • Self portraits: Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo 
  • African masks and shields

• Music

  • Fourth and fifth grade choir
  • Intro to American folk music, Irish folk music, and North Indian classical music
  • Intro to Caribbean percussion rhythms
  • Intro to Caribbean folk and African repertoire
  • Basic music terminology
  • Singing scales and arpeggios

• Physical Education

  • Developing muscle strength and endurance
  • Understanding the relationship between practice and performance
  • Experiencing leadership and cooperation

• Community Engaged Learning

  • Design Thinking project to improve our local community