Fourth Grade

Fourth graders are typically concerned with issues of equity. We address this developmentally by structuring our class meetings to focus on fairness and conflict-resolution strategies. We use role-playing and social skill- building activities. We encourage children to celebrate individual uniqueness and to respect the ways in which others are unique.

Fourth graders are ready to take a cognitive leap forward; it is an exciting time both academically and emotionally. They are starting to be able to grapple with abstract concepts, such as analyzing perspectives and motives in literature, historic and current news events, and, importantly, with respect to their interpersonal relationships. They are intensely drawn to their friends and peers, who are beginning to influence them, and there is a desire for increased independence. They do not always know, or want to acknowledge, that they still need nurturing and guidance from the adults around them. In fourth grade, we are helping them grow intellectually and emotionally as they begin to navigate and understand themselves better in relationship to peers and the larger grown-up world of politics and popular culture, about which they can be tremendously curious. We focus on issues of fairness, conflict resolution, and the development of a strong, independent voice.

For the Fourth Grade Theme, click here.

Classroom Structure

Literacy

We follow a literacy workshop model for both reading and writing. This model revolves around each student engaging in independent reading and writing, practicing skills explicitly taught during directed instruction, conferring with teachers, and sharing experiences with their peers. Although we have separate readers’ and writers’ workshops scheduled throughout the week, our reading and writing instruction are closely intertwined. Teachers use carefully selected texts to explore and study all aspects of writing, reading, word study, spelling and grammar. We will be reading different genres to learn a range of writing strategies, methods and styles. Throughout the year, classroom authors have many opportunities to share their work in class. We will be using a range of organizational tools to help plan and manage our work. Informal and formal assessments allow us to design individual, group and whole class lessons to meet our students’ needs. In addition, we will supplement our spelling and vocabulary curricula with the Spellwell and Wordly Wise programs as well as through individualized goals.

Math

Math goals of this age group are for students to build computational fluency with whole numbers, reason about mathematical ideas, and see themselves as mathematical thinkers. We use the Investigations curriculum. We begin the year with a study of multiples, factors and arrays and move on to discuss various mathematical concepts such as measurement, data analysis, probability, division, 2-D and 3-D geometry, fractions, decimals, algebra and patterns in our world.

Social Curriculum

A student’s social and emotional growth and wellbeing are as important to us as academic success. We utilize the “Responsive Classroom” materials as a foundation to build our social curriculum. The students reflect upon their learning experiences and use those as a starting point for how they should treat others. Children are asked to put themselves in each others’ shoes, especially during conflicts, and not simply apologize, but think about how they can care for a relationship after a conflict occurs. We emphasize that our classroom is a welcoming place that accepts and celebrates differences as well as similarities. We model all of these behaviors as we teach the students. We also create opportunities to share perspectives and lives that are not necessarily represented in our classroom. Students will determine ways to be active, responsible members of our society.