FOURTH GRADE

OVERVIEW

READING

In fourth grade, students read skillfully with meaning and purpose using appropriate comprehension and vocabulary strategies. Students read, discuss, reflect, and respond, using evidence from text, to a wide variety of literary genres and informational text. Students read for pleasure and continue to choose books based on personal preference, topic, theme, or author.

WRITING
At this stage, students become more aware of the conventions of writing and of language usage. They are able to select and sometimes adapt basic forms and conventions to meet specific requirements. Their understanding and use of figurative language introduces imagery and tension to their writing. Informational and task-oriented writing reflects understanding of specific purpose, often requiring gathering and synthesizing information from a number of sources to express and justify an opinion.
A Quick Check:

Does the student:
• Display an awareness of the interdependence of the topic, audience, purpose, and form?
• Identify and work towards the specific requirements of a prompt or assignment?
• Use more than one resource for planning and/or for checking accuracy of content and spelling?
• Write for a range of purposes including to describe; to tell a story; and to explain what, why, and how?
• Reflect on strengths and weaknesses of own writing and make observable efforts to improve?

MATH

In fourth grade, students become proficient with multiplication and division of whole numbers, while developing an understanding of fractions and decimals. In measurement, they develop an understanding of area. The concept of probability as chance is developed and fourth graders continue to expand their understanding of statistics using graphing and measures of central tendency. Students refine their estimation skills for computation and measurement and develop an understanding of the relationships between and among two-dimensional (plane) figures. They graph points in the first quadrant on a coordinate plane and extend and duplicate patterns. Students recognize a geometric transformation, such as a reflection (flip) and a translation (slide).

SOCIAL STUDIES

In fourth grade the main focus is on Washington State History, Geography, and Government.

The themes are:

A. Exploring Washington prior to Statehood

B. Living in Washington: Its Geography, Resources and the Economy

C. Being Citizens in Washington

D. Related Social Studies Skills

SCIENCE

In fourth grade students use their developing investigative skills to begin to compare systems. They examine cause and effect and ask what is fact and what is opinion in science. They are primarily exploring more complex systems in a more complex manner such as the changes of earth systems over time. The guiding question is "How do we investigate cause and effect in the earth system over time?" We work on the investigative skills of Determining Cause and Effect, Comparing and Contrasting, Recognizing Fact and Opinion, Synthesizing.