“The best things about 4th grade are reading and Bible classes. I like reading because the teachers give me great books to read, and they fit my reading level. I like Bible because we get to learn about great heroes of faith and some stories that I have never heard, but teach me a lot of useful things.”
“I like 4th grade because we get to participate in intramurals.”
“The thing that I like best about 4th grade is the the loving and helpful friends I have made. I always have friends to talk to and someone to always help me.”
These students really say it best. In fourth grade students are challenged to learn about where they come from, read a variety of books that match and challenge their reading level, and learn multiplication and long division. Mr. Bird, Mrs. TerHaar and Mrs. Jacobs also try to foster lasting friendships rooted in the love of Jesus. The use of laptops and iPads also create an unlimited amount of tools to help the students answer questions they are investigating.
Bring on the Books
AR Book Finder : We’ve upgraded our Accelerated Reader program to a new online version! Now teachers, students, and parents can look for books based on reading level. There are over 130,000 different titles based on reading level, interest, and topic! Click the link to begin your adventures!
click here to find out how to download books from the library on snow days www.kdl.org/downloads/help
Special Projects/Field Trips:
- Lansing field trip to capitol building and Impressions 5 Museum
- Kent County Road Rally
- Lighthouse Project
- Wax Museum
- Realistic Fiction Stories
- The United States Geography Books
4th Grade Curriculum
Reading
The Daily 5, CAFE, and Literature
Read to Self, Work on Writing, and Read to Someone are three of the Daily 5 framework areas that are used in fourth grade. Students read Good Fit Books in the following genres: Fantasy, Folk Tales, Non-fiction, Poetry, Legends, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, and Biographies. Mini-lessons are taught using CAFE skills that correlate with each genres. Some of the highlights of the fourth grade reading curriculum include reading Michigan legends, literature circles with realistic fiction texts, and a wax museum presentation with biographies.
Grammar
McGraw Hill Language Arts
In fourth grade students learn about types of sentences and parts of speech. Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, and Pronouns are the five major units. Students are engaged with English concepts by singing jingles and practicing their skills in writing.
Writing
Writer’s Diner (Six Traits)
Students learn how to write good leads, descriptive details, and endings. They will publish a piece of their writing in each of the following areas: personal narrative, poetry, and research reports.
Social Studies
We use Scholastic News for current events and cross-curricular topics.
Our Michigan Adventure (Hillsdale Publishers)
Fourth graders explore the history of Michigan from the Native Americans, explorers, settlers, Civil War soldiers, World War Two supporters, to the citizens today. They also learn the geography, government structure, symbols, and natural resources of our Great Lakes State!
Bible
Walking with God and His People (Christian Schools International)
The fourth grade curriculum briefly reviews the Old Testament lessons taught in third grade before beginning a study of Israel from the time of the judges until Israel’s exile. These units show students numerous examples of God’s faithfulness to His people. This in-depth study of the Bible begins with two flexible units: a study of Paul’s epistle to the Philippians and a unit on the writing of the Bible.
Math:
Everyday Math
Number & Numeration
- Review order-of-magnitude relationships among place values
- Find and represent equivalent names for fractions and decimals
- Name fractional parts
Operations & Computation
- Develop fact power
- Solve subtraction number stories
- Solve comparison number stories; use comparison diagrams and write number models
Data & Chance
- Collect, order, record, and display data
- Find median, mode, range, maximum, and minimum
Measurement & Reference Frames
- Find perimeter and area of polygons using U.S. customary and metric units of length
- Use ordered pairs of numbers in the first quadrant of a coordinate grid
Geometry
- Identify examples of transformations
- Identify types of lines, angles, and plane- and solid-figures
Patterns, Functions, & Algebra
- Find and use rules for number patterns
- Evaluate numeric expressions using order of operations
Science
Battle Creek Science
Energy Transfer
This unit concentrates on heat, magnetism and electricity as energy transfers. The interaction of magnetic materials is explored through investigation. Students explore electrical circuits and apply their knowledge to build an electromagnet.
States of Matter
Previous units have laid the foundation for a more in-depth study of the states of matter. Students explore the physical properties of solids, liquids, and gases through measurement and observation and investigation into the changes of states and apply what they discover to heat transfer and energy.
The View From Earth
Students make long-term observations of the position of the sun and moon in the sky to develop an understanding of relative distances, the appearance of movement across the sky, and relate it to day and night, Earth’s orbit, the spin of the Earth, and the visible shape of the moon. The unit concludes with a look into fossils and evidence of environment and changes in the history of the Earth.
Organisms in their Environment
Students take a deeper look into the requirements of plants and animals to survive, the roles animals play in their environments, and how some animals and plants have variations that give them an advantage for survival. Students apply what they know and explore the effect of change on the environment.