At a Glance: Fourth Grade at St. Peter s School

At a Glance: Fourth Grade at St. Peter s School Fourth Grade Special Events, Traditions and Celebrations Hanukkah Play After learning about the celebration of Hanukkah, Fourth Grade students are cast in various parts of the performance. They are required to memorize their lines and accurately respond to cues relating to their timing and position. The stories that comprise the plays change each year, but the central theme of the origin of Hanukkah remains consistent. State Dinner Each Fourth Grade student selects one of the fifty United States to research. The project includes the creation of a report poster about their findings and an oral presentation to their classmates. The students select a food or dish that is representative of their state and prepare it for a large dinner with the entire Fourth Grade and their families. French Fashion Show Performed by the Fourth Grade, entirely in French, the children come in costume and teach the student body, faculty and families about French language and culture. Wax Museum Fourth Grade students select a special person in history to study in depth. This research culminates in a day spent as that person. The theater becomes a Wax Museum where each Fourth grade student dresses in costume and orally presents a memorized speech as their historical person. The students also created a detailed timeline using imovie. The movie includes pictures, music created in Garageband voice recording and transitions. The entire school community is encouraged to visit the museum. Egg Drop Each Fourth Grade student designs a container that must protect a raw egg when it is dropped from the third floor of the school onto the yard below. The entire school

community gathers to watch the show. Seaport Museum Trip As a culminating experience for the study of exploration, the Fourth Grade visits the Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. During this visit the children learn about difficulties associated with early exploration. Further investigation of various ships and boats from the past concludes this trip. Brandywine Battlefield Trip The students travel to the site where one of the battles during the Revolutionary War was fought. They learn about the lifestyles and clothing from that time as well as the battle itself. A guided tour of the battlefield and Washington s quarters in incorporated. The Wagner Free Institute of Science During this trip, our Fourth Grade students learn more about animal adaptations. They see examples of animals and how they adapt to their environment by changing colors and shapes to blend in or mimic other things. Students also learn about the different types of rocks and how they are formed. The highlight of this trip is a museum-wide scavenger hunt. Fourth Grade Curriculum Details Art Drawing o Self portraits o Human figure drawing more complex Clay sculpture o Learn how to make an armature to support a clay mask, head or figure Plaster Sculpture o Form human figure with foil, plaster strips and sculpt mold Papier Mache/sculpture o Small Papier mache reliefs Mixed Media o More complex 3-D sculptures using mixed media Wood Sculpture o 3-D vertical wood sculpture Print making Collage Paper work Wire Sculpture o 3-D aluminum wire sculpture Weaving, Stitchery and Embroidery o More complex weaving on 12 by 16 cardboard loom o Construct a hand loom and weave a variety of materials onto it o Reinforce skills and learn new techniques Artist Series o Creating a plaster and paper pulp standing figure

o Henry Moore French Grammar o Spelling o Verb to wear, to like, and to want o Adjective placement o Review of gender o Review of plurals o Sentence formation o Negatives o Adjective agreement o Partitive article o Review of definite and indefinite articles Vocabulary o Review of classroom words o Review of greetings o Clothing o Months and days o Weather o Colors o Seasons o Animals o Numbers to 100 o Adjectives o Basic prepositions o Food and drink o Likes and dislikes Culture o French holidays and traditions o French food and meals o French currency o French fashion Language Arts Spelling o Sight words o Commonly misspelled words o Theme words o Vocabulary words from the weekly stories Vocabulary o 10 words from the weekly stories o Word Masters Grammar and mechanics o Weekly lessons o Daily edits Writing

o Write letters o Narratives o Expository essays o Biographies o Fables, myths, folktales, pourquoi tales, tall tales o Current event articles o Poetry o Types of writing o Editing and revision o Journal entries WordMasters o Children learn 75 new challenging vocabulary words and work with them using analogies. Declamation o Children memorize and declaim poems monthly Reports o Read nonfictional text o Take notes o Write an organized report about their findings Advance Written Literary Response Techniques: o Write longer developed summaries o Poetry o Journals/diaries o Narratives o Recipes or directions/instructions with illustrations o Write creative responses to literature o Engage in dialogue with the author or a character Literature Genre Variations o Apply information to new settings o Discuss ethics or morality and themes o Compare/contrast historical event to the present o Reread text for meaning o Refer to text to qualify a remark or support an opinion Use of reference materials to support understanding Notice literary elements: o Alliteration, rhyme, similes and metaphors, figurative language Advanced Vocabulary understanding: o Incorporate theme vocabulary into discussions o Write and define terms o Provide antonyms and synonyms o Use context clues to cloze sentences (fill-in the blanks.) Advanced Literary Understanding Skills: o Answer questions orally and discuss story elements o Analyze characters o Note similarities and differences

o Distinguish fact from opinion o Follow story sequence o Recognize cause and effect o Follow a series of instructions o Conclude accurately o Infer meaning o See humor or sarcasm o Author s perspective and purpose Math Data charts/graphs Range, median, mode Ordered pairs Place value Time Estimation Addition and subtraction of large numbers and money Multiplication o Introduce multi-digit by multi-digit o Multiplying money Division o Introduce long division o Dividing money Averaging numbers Fractions and decimals o Adding and subtracting like fractions o Equivalents o Simplest form Greater than, less than and equal to Geometry Pre-Algebra Word problems o Solving using different strategies o Decipher important versus distracting information Music Singing o Sing in unison, in canon and partner songs Playing Instruments o Students use Orff instruments o Students can bring in their own instruments for projects and performances o Students learn recorder Music literacy o Sixteenth notes o Fa and ti are learned using Kodaly method and Orff process Movement

o Interpreting music through creative movement, dance and drama Listening o A variety of music from folk to classical to world music is used in the classroom Improvising and composing o Students create their own recorder songs with partners Form o Identifying repeats, da capo Performances: o Declamations o Celebration of Light o Grandparent s Day o Graduation o Opportunity to perform in recitals o Present English Country and international folk dancing at May Day Science Life Science/Structures of life o Explore growth, survival and reproduction of living organism o Compare properties of seed and fruits o Grow plants hydroponically Earth Science/Earth Materials o Experience with 12 of the most important rocks and minerals o Discover what rocks are made of o Identify the properties of materials and rocks Egg Drop o Students design a contraption that can safely land a raw egg on the ground from a third floor o Implement two trials and redesign if necessary o Take scientific notes Thinking Process o Advanced organizing o Comparing and contrasting o Communicating o Observing o Journaling o Investigating Social Studies US geography o States and Capitals Early settlement o The lost colony of Roanoke o Jamestown: The first successful colony o Native Americans: How they were affected by settlement Revolutionary War and Independence o Causes of the war

o Major battles o Revolutionary leaders o Declaration of Independence o Victory and Peace o Constitution Sports Fitness o Exercises and Stretching o Jump Rope o Running/Distance Running o Jumping/Skipping/Galloping o Relays o Presidential Fitness Challenge 200m run, 400 m run, ½ mile run, mile run, pull-ups, sit-ups, pushups and shuttle run o Track and Field 220m, 440m, mile run, broad jumps, hurdles Manipulative Skills o Baseball/Softball Throwing, catching, hitting, base running o Soccer/Basketball Dribbling, passing, shooting o Parachutes o Beanbags o Hula Hoops o Scooters o Floor Hockey o Volleyball o Lacrosse Technology Using the computers o Computer vocabulary o Identify and use menu items o Saving documents o Finding and opening saved documents o Printing o Guided internet use for research Keyboarding o Practice finger placement Applications o MS WORD o MS PowerPoint o Academic games o Kid-friendly data bases and search engines o imovie

o Garageband o KidPix It is important to note that our faculty is constantly assessing the content of the curriculum. Adjustments are made to keep the curriculum relevant and to address immediate needs. At times, over the course of the summer month s faculty will completely rework or make minor adjustments the content of a curriculum.