Fourth Grade Curriculum

Religion: Our emphasis this year will be on the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. The seasons on the liturgical year will be an integral part of our studies, and prayer (spontaneous and recited) will be a part of every day. We will also be using the Bible in our study of scripture.

Language Arts: Our series does an excellent job of integrating the necessary skills for one to become a strong reader. The stories in the reader are designed around a particular “theme,” which will be integrated with science, social studies, math, and writing. We will also be striving to work within the idea of Four Block Learning, which includes independent reading, guided reading, writing, and creative work with words. As a part of the independent reading curriculum, the children are expected to read a recommended number of Accelerated Reader points (depending on each child individually) per quarter. Creative writing and journaling will play an important role as we strive for word building and clear communication in using the written word. We will also look at spelling skills by obtaining a list of integrated words with a weekly assessment.

Math: Our Trailblazers series works with everyday problem solving through teamwork in collecting data, investigations, discussions, manipulatives, and presenting their findings. It continually checks on math facts and challenges them in creative math games.

Social Studies: We will study the different regions of the United States and the specific state of each region. The students will be tested over state location, capital, and postal abbreviation. We will end our year by studying Missouri history. To culminate our study of Missouri history, we will be taking a trip to Jefferson City. During this trip the students will have the opportunity to visit the Governor’s Mansion, Capitol Building, historical Lohman’s Landing, and to see the House and Senate in session. We also discuss current events using Scholastic News magazines and the Kansas City Star throughout the year.

Science: Our instruction will focus mainly on the EarthWorks curriculum for the first half of the year. This program is centered around the study of animals and their habitats, as well as their effect on the environment. Our visit to EarthWorks is scheduled for November. This will be a day of working in one of the five different habitats at the EarthWorks site, where the students will perform experiments, solve problems when natural disasters happen in their habitat, and become acquainted with animals living in their habitat. During the second half of the year, we will focus on an in-depth study of the Earth, oceans, weather, light, and sound.