Fourth Grade

Fourth graders receive daily instruction in language arts with classroom teachers. Reading specialists join the class daily to provide opportunities for small-group work and to support word study, reading and writing across the curriculum. Students learn strategies for reading non-fiction texts in connection with their social studies units. Through class discussions, they work on following themes and character development throughout different novels. Students review rules for spelling multisyllabic words, study prefixes and suffixes, and develop vocabulary knowledge using various programs such as Megawords and Wordly Wise. The writing program emphasizes writing conventions and various writing structures and purposes. The focus spans a range of genres.  

The Grammar School mathematics program develops mathematical thinkers who value collaboration and communication when investigating big ideas, identifying patterns and explaining relationships. Students learn to think flexibly and persevere through productive struggles as they develop the growth mindset needed for problem solving. Concepts and skills build from grade to grade in each of the major domains: counting and cardinality, operations and algebraic thinking, numbers and operations in base ten, numbers and operations with fractions, measurement and data, and geometry. Students are given ample opportunity to construct their own understanding of foundational concepts and computation strategies through hands-on experiences and rich opportunities for discourse, as well as the use of concrete materials, pictorial models and contextual problem solving. Our teachers and math specialists promote the type of learning environment that encourages risk-taking and celebrates mistakes as students revise and develop their thinking. 

Fourth grade mathematicians eagerly tackle challenges and a variety of rich tasks that allow them to practice applying all that they know about the four operations with multi-digit numbers. They continue to use properties of operations as well as special relationships between numbers to find slick and sophisticated strategies for mental computation. Students enrich their understanding of a base ten number system by applying place value concepts to strategies for multi-digit multiplication and division and build a conceptual understanding that ultimately connects to a procedural understanding. Throughout the year, problem-solving strategies and creative thinking are indispensable partners as students engage in collaborative tasks rich with opportunities for discourse and critical thinking. A comprehensive unit on fractions and an introduction to decimals covers equivalent fractions, using multiplicative reasoning to find common denominators as well as exploring the connections between fractions and division. Algebraic reasoning is an overarching theme throughout as students work to identify patterns in number sequences, build proportional reasoning through ratio tables and use equations to represent contexts and diagrams. 

At CGPS, the social studies curriculum explores events from the past and present that build upon previous grade levels’ strategies and content. For fourth graders, they ask the essential question, “What is our relationship with this place?” The continuum of the curriculum begins with the local, moves to the state and then eventually to the national level. In particular, fourth graders start the year with a study of Central Park and eventually a class design of a new imaginary park based on their learned knowledge. The year concludes with an individualized National Park inquiry project where students apply their social studies skills to a park of their interest. Throughout the year, fourth graders access both primary and secondary sources, develop their research and note-taking skills and consider multiple perspectives. Field trips involve exploring Central Park and Zoom trips to the geographic places of study such as museums around the state and with National Park Service rangers.

In fourth-grade science, students begin the year by participating in team-building activities, making accurate scientific observations, and conducting experiments using the Scientific Method. Students study the layers of the earth and various landforms as they discover the forces that form and change the earth. Students participate in weathering and erosion experiments, perform streak and hardness tests, and use common objects and materials to simulate the rock cycle. Fourth graders return to engineering to use design thinking to creatively solve problems. They investigate global and local water issues, focusing their attention on access to clean drinking water. Then they use the engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create and Improve), to collaboratively design and test an innovative device to help secure clean drinking water.

World language exposure encourages empathy for learning a new language, development of problem-solving skills and an understanding of and openness to cultural differences. All Spanish classes are full-immersion experiences with focus on verbal and written acquisition. Units include a writing project with the goal of describing themselves, which helps young Spanish learners explore pronouns and the vocabulary for different character traits; a unit on hobbies; and a unit on activities they like and do not like to do, introducing high frequency verbs. Throughout the year, students use the website Quizlet in order to review the vocabulary and play cooperative games.

The fourth grade art curriculum fosters independent thinking and a more formal approach to drawing. Students use sketchbooks throughout the year to record their thoughts and ideas and to plan future projects. Students also work with clay using hand-building techniques to create a personal memory tile of their Grammar School experience Fourth grade projects often incorporate a range of materials and found objects, encouraging students to think unconventionally.

In addition to continuing with their instrument of choice from the third grade, fourth graders join Orchestra and Band. In general music class, fourth graders learn about musical form by singing, moving and playing in a rondo. Students play ostinati (repeated musical patterns) on barred instruments (such as xylophones, metallophones and temple blocks) while singing in both unison and canon. They learn to hear, sing and visually recognize the diatonic scale, as well as sing confidently in both the pentatonic and diatonic major scales. They learn to read, write and aurally recognize quarter, half, eighth and sixteenth notes, quarter and half rests. The fourth grade music curriculum also focuses on good habits for healthy singing such as sitting or standing with upright posture, singing in a "flute voice" and breathing deeply. At the end of the year, students prepare four songs for the Fourth Grade Promotion.

An integral part of the student experience in the Grammar School is helping students to build skills to support their social-emotional development. Our school psychologist and school social worker collaborate with teaching teams to support students in this capacity. They are available on an as-needed basis, as well as to proactively educate students about topics such as feeling identification, building coping skills, social problem solving and conflict resolution. Concepts are introduced on an individualized basis, with the goal of best supporting the students and responding to their needs as they develop.

The fourth grade physical education curriculum incorporates a variety of individual, partner and group activities that introduce and continue to develop sport-specific knowledge. By using lead-up drills and game simulations, students are taught offensive and defensive strategies which are developed as they progress toward mastering game concepts. Cooperative team games and fitness activities are also integrated into the curriculum throughout the year. These lessons focus on building character and encourages students' awareness of sportsmanship, kindness and respect for others.