Curriculum

Religion

Fourth graders will learn through stories, activities, Scripture, prayer, discussion and reflection about their Catholic faith.  Catholic values are discussed and integrated not only in Religion, but in all learning.  Publisher Silver Burdett Ginn Religion offers a helpful website at http://www.blestarewe.com
The focus is on:

• God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit
• participation in liturgy and other forms of worship
• the Commandments and Beatitudes
• service
• use of Scripture to learn more about God
• Family Life and healthy living
• sacrament of Reconciliation

Language Arts/Reading

The Language Arts Program includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and the study of literature.  The components of the program emphasize the development of those skills that allow students to read with fluency, comprehend and interpret written materials, communicate well, and listen and speak effectively.  The skills acquired and understood are applied and reinforced in all content areas.  The textbook used for reading is Seeing is Believing by Scott Foresman.  The publisher offers information and activities at their website http://www.sfreading.com.

Reading/Literature

Through the series, children experience authentic literature in the form of poetry, folktales, nonfiction, fiction, biographies, fantasies and plays.  Reading fluency will develop and improve as students are presented with the following skills:

• understanding cause and effect
• understanding setting and plot
• identifying figurative language
• sequencing events of a story
• analyzing details
• using context clues and other resources to enhance vocabulary
• identifying the characteristics of genres
• stating the author's purpose
• creating graphic organizers
• self-correcting while reading
• drawing conclusions/making inferences

Writing

Fourth grade students use writing to convey meaning
Students will:

• write legibly using cursive
• write  sequential paragraphs on a given topic
• apply grammar and mechanics
• spell correctly
• learn and use correct parts of speech, tenses and punctuation
• construct an outline
• use the writing process including pre-writing, writing, revising, editing, and final draft
• write in multiple forms –narrative, descriptive essays and persuasive essays

Listening/Speaking

Fourth graders will listen for understanding, follow directions and respond appropriately to the speaker.  Students will use acquired language and vocabulary to express opinions.
Students will:

• present material orally
• make presentations to individuals and small groups
• participate in small & large group discussion
• express ideas clearly when speaking

Mathematics

Fourth grade students develop proficiency in conceptual understanding, computational and procedural skills, and problem-solving ability through the use of the McGraw-Hill Mathematics Program, a standards based curriculum that diagnoses prerequisite skills, monitors progress and provides a variety of summative evaluations.  McGraw-Hill Publishers offers information and activities at their website http://www.mhschool.com
Students will:

• demonstrate multiple problem solving strategies
• compare and order whole numbers, money, decimals and fractions
• identify place value in whole numbers and decimals
• recognize and use negative numbers
• recognize prime numbers
• relate fractions and decimals
• add and subtract whole numbers and fractions
• multiply and divide 2, 3, 4, and 5 digit numbers
• divide by two digit divisors
• make and use graphs
• describe and use patterns
• compare and construct geometric shapes
• measure and compare units of length, capacity and weight
• explore probability

Science

Students use concrete, hands -on experiences to understand science in the physical and natural world around them, They learn through observing, predicting, questioning and explaining.  Publisher Houghton Mifflin offers an on-line textbook for home use at http://www.eduplace.com/services/ as well as other information and games at http://www.eduplace.com/sct/
Students will:

• explain relationship of living things to their environment
• describe characteristics of magnets
• describe and use simple electrical circuits
• identify and classify weather patterns and clouds
• identify effects of water and rock cycles
• compare properties of solids, liquids and gases
• describe factors affecting ecosystems
• recognize ecological needs and make plans to help

Social Studies

Fourth grade students acquire social and cultural understanding of the world around them.  Publisher Houghton Mifflin's website is http://www.eduplace.com
The focus will be:

• immigration
• regions of the U.S.
• geography/map skills
• government/citizenship
• Illinois history
• economics

Technology & Reference Skills

Fourth grade students will study, retain and use information from a variety of sources.
Students will:

• retrieve materials using a library classification system and individual reference tools
• define a research topic through key work searches
• combine text and use of other tools to create a project
• use tool bar and menus for productivity navigation
• create and use a database
• understand copyright violations
• create a multimedia presentation