Fourth Grade Spelling words go along with each reading story. Besides the words that are on a given list, bonus words are added. These words come from vocabulary that the students are exposed to in other curricular areas. We do a pretest at the beginning of the week and a final test at the end of the week.
The focus of the elementary Spanish program is on oral communication. Students repeat words after the teacher, follow simple commands, ask and answer questions, and write in the target language. Students also sing songs and play review games to reinforce vocabulary. Throughout the lower grades students practice their numbers, colors, greetings, and actions. As much as is possible the Spanish lessons incorporate content knowledge and vocabulary from what is currently being studied in the core curriculum classes.
The primary focus of computer classes at Saint Peter is to equip the student with the necessary skills to succeed in an increasingly complex technological society. Young students are exposed to various educational games in order to build basic skills computer skills as well as providing support for regular classroom instruction. Students continue to learn about the Microsoft Office Suite with a continued emphasis on Word. Students also continue to develop touch typing skills.
The year begins with reviewing place value and number sense. Then throughout the year we work with basic algebra for all operations. We learn to multiply and divide by one and two digit numbers. We collect, organize, analyze and graph data. We add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers and also add and subtract decimals. We measure and classify plane figures, as well as finding perimeter and area. We study customary and metric measurement and work on outcomes and probability. We play a variety of math games and weekly focus on problem solving.
The music curriculum is support through a series entitled "God Made Music.," which is published by Praise Hymn Inc. In this series students will explore various musical elements as they strengthen their knowledge of our loving God and Savior. Student learn to read, write and perform music while at the same time deepening their understanding of the role music plays in their lives. This is the first year that students can participate in band. They meet twice a week during school hours. The students are able to choose their instrument. They are expected to practice daily. Those not in band have music class.
The main goal of the fourth grade Religion curriculum is to get the children to read as much as they can from their Bibles. We do follow Concordia Publishing House Voyagers series, so we begin with the story of Creation and work through the Old Testament reading about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Ruth. Then we focus on New Testament stories, especially the stories of the Early Church. In October we study the life of Martin Luther. Memory work is weekly with students not only learning various Bible passages, but also the 10 commandments and their meanings. We begin our day with devotion and prayer and participate in weekly chapel services.
Our Science curriculum consists of six units-Earth's Land Resources (examines the Earth's surface and its natural resources; Properties of Matter (examines matter, its properties and how it is classified; Animals (examines the ways that animals meet their needs and how animals and other organisms are classified); Magnetism and Electricity (explores the properties of magnets and the behavior of electric charges in both static and current electricity); Weather and Climate (examines the changes in Earth's atmosphere that affect daily weather conditions); and The Body's Delivery System (introduces students to the respiratory, circulatory, excretory and immune systems).
Language includes grammar, writing, and phonics. The students work on types of sentences, parts of sentences, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and prepositions. We work continuously throughout the year on capitalization and punctuation. They also work throughout the year on various writing compositions including two major research papers.
The Fourth Grade Reading book is divided into six themes. The stories contained in them are nonfiction, historical fiction, fiction, biography, autobiography and fantasy. As we work through the stories, the students use comprehension skills along with critical thinking strategies such as sequencing, predictions, inferences, cause-effect, and comparing/contrasting. Students also work with new vocabulary words with each story. During the year we read five novels doing various activities with each book.
The regions of the United States are what we study in Fourth Grade. We begin the year by working on various map skills. Then as we study the different regions, we learn the capital cities, abbreviations, and location of each state in the region. Also in each region, we learn about its natural resources, its history and its economy. We also research the various buildings, monuments, and memorials that are found in Washington D.C. We spend part of the year learning about our state-Illinois. As a major project, each student picks a state to research. They do a written report, make a display, and then present everything in an oral presenta¬tion.
We do not work on handwriting as a separate subject. As the students do their various other subjects, corrections are made as needed with their handwriting. This is especially true when they take their spelling pretests.
Art is taught once a week. The students learn about composition, line, area, texture, value, color, and space. Many of their activities relate to other curricular areas such as reading, religion and social studies.
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