Welcome to the Fourth Grade Curriculum Page!

4th Grade Language Arts

Reading - “Developing effective reading skills is like a carefully constructed spiral, always circling to higher levels.”  Literacy (Language Arts) in 4^th grade at Meadow Glens is part of a spiral that began at 1^st grade and will continue throughout the student’s education in District 203.  The curriculum is based on six comprehension strategies:

• Connect Known to New

• Determine Importance

• Ask Questions

• Form Sensory Images

• Infer Meaning

• Synthesize Ideas

• Solve Reading Problems

  To develop this strategies we use the following activities in the classroom:

• Mini-Lessons

• Read Aloud

• Shared Reading

• Guided Reading

• Independent Reading

• Word Study

• Novel Studies

Writing - Students in 4^th grade will be able to write for a variety of purposes by planning, drafting, editing, monitoring, and publishing.  4^th grade uses the 6-Traits program which includes:

• Conventions

• Ideas

• Organization

• Word Choice

• Voice

• Sentence Fluency

Writing Formats include:

• Narrative

• Persuasive

• Expository

• Poetry

• Research

• Journals

Spelling - Students will demonstrate competency in Spelling through the use of Spelling Patterns and Rules.  Weekly spelling lists will be composed with words taken from missed Pre-test words, other pattern words, and student selected words. 
 

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4th Grade Math - 

The environment in every mathematics classroom will provide the following:  active and responsible engagement in the learning of mathematics, an atmosphere of risk taking, in-depth investigation and analysis of intriguing situations and problems, ample opportunities for reflections and interaction, and connections to everyday life.

First Trimester

  Number and Operation

• Multiplication
• Arrays
• Breaking numbers apart
• Clusters

  Division

• Sharing
• Partitioning

Second Trimester

  Number and Operation

• Division
• Multiplication
• Estimation
• Understanding big numbers

Third Trimester

  Geometry

• Two dimensional shapes
• Three dimensional shapes
• Geometric terminology
• Spatial sense
• Problem Solving

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4th Grade Science

First Trimester

  Mystery Powders

     The key objective is for students to utilize the scientific method to identify unknown powders through a series of tests.  Students must apply the scientific method and articulate their rational for the conclusions they draw.

Second Trimester

  Rocks & Minerals

     The key objective is for students to become aware of various rocks and minerals.  Through hands-on exploration, students will classify and chart the properties of rocks and discover how the different types of rocks are formed.

Third Trimester

  Fast Plants

     The key objective is for students to experience the complete life cycle of a plant.  They will use the scientific method to test a variable's affect on a plant's growth.

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4th Grade Social Science

Our fourth grade Social Science program is geography based.  We study regions of the United States according to the 5 themes of Geography.  To focus our thinking and discussions more specifically on each region of the U.S., we ask questions based on the themes.

• Location - Where is the region?
• Movement - What formed the region?  How has geography affected interaction between this region and others?
• Place - What are the unique human-made and natural characteristics of the region?
• Human Interaction - How have people past and present interacted with the environment?  How do people adapt to, change and depend on this region?

Along with the regions of the United States, we also study economics, Illinois history and current events. 

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4th Grade Health -

Cardiovascular System

The key objectives are for students to learn the parts and functions of the cardiovascular system and the importance of staying physically fit.