Fourth Grade Curriculum

English Language Arts (ELA): MAISA
The fourth grade language arts curriculum is centered around units of study that continue to develop skills in vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. Students are actively participating in the process of reading, writing, speaking and listening. There are ample opportunities for reading and responding in a large group, small group, or independently. Children practice comprehension strategies that include: summarizing, identifying the main idea, sequencing, making predictions, reading for specific detail and drawing conclusions. Children learn to listen to and retell stories and through reading are encouraged to form ideas, opinions and feelings about writing. Within the structure of writing workshop students learn to build habits and develop strategies that proficient writers use on a daily basis. Children are encouraged to express their ideas in written form, utilizing the writing process. Students learn about the crafting techniques that are common to narrative, informative, and persuasive/ opinion writing. They further develop and strengthen their writing by cycling through the process of planning, revising, editing, and publicly sharing their opinions with a real audience. There will be integrated social studies/science informational texts to enhance the reading and writing units. (See Social Studies Grade 4 Unit 3 for correlation) Grammar, usage, mechanics and spelling and language usage are introduced and practiced within the context of daily writing activities. Children read and write in a variety of genres and curriculum areas.

Math: Math Expressions
Math Expressions Common Core combines elements of standards-based instruction with the best traditional approaches. Through drawings, conceptual language, and real-world examples, it helps students make sense of mathematics. NSF-funded* and research-based, Math Expressions is proven to be effective in raising student achievement. Put your students on the path to becoming lifelong learners—and lovers—of all things math with our trusted Common Core math curriculum. 

Science: Energy Transfer, States of Matter, View From the Earth, Organisims in their Environment
Energy Transfer concentrates on heat, magnetism and electricity as energy transfers. The interaction of magnetic materials is explored through investigation. Students explore electrical circuits and apply their knowledge to build and electromagnet.

Previous units have laid the foundation for a more in-depth study of the states of matter. Students explore the physical properties of solids, liquids, and gases through measurement and observation and investigation into the changes of states and apply what they discover to heat transfer and energy.

Students make long-term observations of the position of the sun and moon in the sky to develop an understanding of relative distances, the appearance of movement across the sky, and relate it to day and night, Earth’s orbit, the spin of the Earth, and the visible shape of the moon. The unit concludes with a look into fossils and evidence of environment and changes in the history of the Earth.

Students take a deeper look into the requirements of plants and animals to survive, the roles animals play in their environments, and how some animals and plants have variations that give them an advantage for survival. Students apply what they know and explore the effect of change on the environment.

Social Studies: United States Studies
The fourth grade social studies curriculum introduces students to geographic, economic, governmental concepts through the lens of the United States. They study the physical geography of the United States as well as the cultural characteristics of regions of the country. Students analyze human systems in the United States by exploring the interaction between the people and their natural environments, the movement of people, products, and ideas, and the distinguishing features of various regions within the country. By focusing on the characteristics of the U.S. economy, students learn fundamental economic concepts and apply these to their own lives. They study economic ties between the United States and other places, and discover how their country is an interdependent part of the global economy. Students are introduced to the purposes, structure, and function of our federal government. They also examine the relationship between the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic republic. Students examine current issues facing the United States and practice making and expressing informed decisions as citizens.