4th Grade Curriculum

 

Reading and Oral Comprehension

  • Use explicit information to identify the main idea or primary purpose of a text or part of a text.
  • Identify explicit details from a passage and provide answers to “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how” questions about the text.
  • Use implicit information from a passage to make inferences about the motives or behaviors of characters.
  • Use implicit information from a passage to summarize or draw conclusions.
  • Draw connections between and among various pieces of information in a text.
  • Synthesize explicit and implicit information to make predictions or draw conclusions about a text.
  • Describe the main idea of a passage.
  • Describe a supporting idea in a passage.
  • Compare and contrast elements from two texts.
  • Synthesize information from texts to make predictions or draw conclusions.

Vocabulary

  • Identifies the correct definition of a word in the context of a sentence.
  • Identifies the synonym of a word or phrase in context of a sentence, phrase or passage.
  • Distinguishes among subtle shades of meaning in choosing an appropriate word or words to fill in blank(s) in a sentence.
  • Efficiently use a dictionary for specific word meanings.
  • Efficiently use a thesaurus to enhance written assignments.

Phonics and Spelling

The structural conventions of the English language are focused upon. Students examine prefixes, suffixes, inflectional endings, and words that are related by spelling pattern and meaning, thus focusing on comparing words and on discovering structural patterns and relationships among words.

Phonics builds decoding skills which helps students in their reading. Spelling develops encoding skills which helps students in their writing.

Literature

Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature. They begin to find ways to clarify ideas and make connections between literary works. Students are encouraged to learn and practice different strategies for getting involved with literature. Active reading strategies include predicting, questioning and visualizing. Students are also expected to circle, highlight, underline and take notes. This is complimented with an extensive independent reading program and with materials from SRA Reading Laboratories. This provides our students with a range of reading levels that enable all students to learn independently and at their own pace.

Writing

Fourth graders write clear, coherent and focused essays. The writing exhibits the student’s awareness of the audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence and purpose. Students progress through The Steps in the Writing Process and demonstrate Traits of Effective Writing.

  • The Steps in the Writing Process
    Prewriting.
    Writing the first draft.
    Revising.
    Editing and proofreading.
    Publishing.
  • Traits of Effective Writing
    Stimulating ideas.
    Logical organization.
    Personal voice.
    Original word choice.
    Smooth sentences.
    Correct and accurate copy.

Grammar Skills

  • Capitalization of proper nouns.
  • Capitalization of the first word of a sentence.
  • Capitalization in titles and forms of address.
  • The proper use of the comma.
  • The correct use of the apostrophe in contractions and possessives.
  • Proper punctuation for dialogue and letter writing.
  • Correct end punctuation.
  • Correct pronoun use, including pronoun-antecedent agreement.
  • Correct verb form and tense, including subject-verb agreement.
  • Rules of correct and effective expression at the sentence level.
  • Rules of diction within the context of a sentence.
  • Rules of sentence boundaries, including avoiding run-ons and fragments.

Forms of Writing

Students write narrative, expository, persuasive, and descriptive texts.

Paragraphs and Essays

Building paragraphs
Writing Expository Essays
Writing Persuasive essays
Descriptive Writing
Narrative Writing

Personal Writing

Journal Writing
Writing Personal Narratives
Writing Notes and Letters

Subject Writing

Biographical Writing
Writing News Stories
Writing Book Reviews
How–To  Writing
Writing Business Letters

Story, Play and Poetry Writing

Writing Stories
Writing Plays
Writing Poems

Report Writing

Writing a Summary
Writing Observation Reports
Writing Classroom Reports
Multimedia Computer Reports

Social Studies

Unit

Social Studies

Corresponding Literature

Early California History

The physical and human geography of California.
The major nations of California Indians, including their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends, and religious beliefs; and describe how they depended on, adapted to, and modified the physical environment by cultivation of land and use of sea resources.
The early land and sea routes to, and European settlements in, California with a focus on the exploration of the North Pacific.
The Spanish exploration and colonization of California, including the relationships among soldiers, missionaries, and Indians.
The placement and function of the Spanish missions

Morning Girl
By
Michael Dorris.

Island of the Blue Dolphin
By
Scott O’Dell.

Zia
By
Scott O’Dell.

Night of the Full Moon
By
Scott O’Dell.

Pioneer America

Native American Indian Population decrease and relocation
Continued westward expansion
The pioneers
The settlement of the plains
The Mexican – American War and the Alamo

Little House on the Prairie
By
Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sarah, Plain and Tall
By
Patricia MClachen.

Patty Reed’s Doll
By
Rachel Laugaard.

Westward to Home: My America Series.

So Far From Home
By
Adelaide Simmons.

West to the Land of Plenty
By
Lara Wilder.

 

The Gold Rush

Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment.
The story and lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction.
How the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the types of products produced and consumed, changes in towns (e.g., Sacramento, San Francisco), and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people.

The California Gold Rush
By
May McNeer.

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: Dear America Series

 

West to the Land of Plenty
By
Lara Wilder.

Students prepare a report and project based on research. This offers students the opportunity to gather information and to use information from almanacs, newspapers and periodicals. They are encouraged to include illustrations, charts, maps or other material within the text to facilitate the meaning of their research. A project in the form of a visual aid is also presented to the class which reinforces the chosen topic.

Current Events

Each week fourth grade students receive a copy of the Time For Kids magazine World Report Edition. This is used to discuss current events and to complete relevant activities about the weekly news topics.

Mathematics

The following content strands are emphasized:

Numeration

Reading, writing, and comparing whole numbers through millions, decimals through thousandths, negative numbers to -20, and fractions.
Understanding relations between fractions, decimals, and percents.
Locating fractions and mixed numbers on a number line.
Generating equivalent fractions.

Operations and Computation

Using paper-and-pencil algorithms to add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi digit whole numbers and decimals.
Using mental arithmetic to compute exact answers and to estimate.
Rounding from millions to hundredths.
Modeling multiplication with arrays and area.
Doing operations with fractions.

Data and Chance

Creating, reading, and interpreting graphs.
Identifying landmarks in data sets, including range, median, mode, and mean.
Listing all possible outcomes in simple situations.
Using fractions to quantify probabilities.
Using experimental results to make predictions.

Geometry

Locating points on a coordinate grid.
Drawing and measuring angles.
Classifying angles as acute, obtuse, or right.
Classifying lines as parallel, intersecting, or perpendicular.
Recognizing and using transformations, including reflections and rotations.
Understanding the relationship between reflections and line symmetry.
Building 3-dimensional shapes.
Describing, comparing, and analyzing 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional figures.

Measurement and Reference Frames

Using tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, temperature, and time.
Developing personal references for inches, centimeters, feet, meters, and yards.
Estimating lengths and weights.
Finding areas and perimeters of rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles.
Finding volumes of rectangular prisms by counting cubic units.
Calculating elapsed time.
Using correct units in all measurements.
Calculating distances using map scales.

Patterns, Functions and Algebra

Using letters and other symbols for unknowns.
Simplifying expressions containing parentheses.
Creating, extending, and describing patterns.
Using formulas for finding the area of simple geometric figures.
Determining rules that relate numbers in pairs.
Finding missing numbers in tables.
Translating among verbal, numerical, and graphical representations.
Understanding and writing number models for number stories

Science

Science is an integral part of the FASSV curriculum, and is taught in both programs simultaneously. The fourth grade features:

  • Environmental Education; Water
    Creek Habitat.
    Aquatic plants and animals.
    Habitat Awareness.
    Water Conservation.
    Hydro-Electric Power.
  • The Living World
    Native Plants and Animals of California.
    Organisms live and grow.
    Habitats/ adaptations.
    Invasive Species.
    Conservation of California’s resources.
  • The Human Body
    The Digestive System
    Respiration
    Circulation
  • Space
    The Solar System.
    Planet Mars.
    Mission to Mars at Chabot Space and Science Center.
  • Matter
    Chemical Substances.
    Chemical reactions.
    Properties of Solids.
    Liquids.
    Gases.