Language Arts: Fourth grade language arts continues use of the Open Court Reading Program. This is a curriculum that stresses direct instruction in the areas of:
• Phonemic awareness, phonics, and word knowledge • Comprehension skills and strategies • Inquiry skills and strategies • Writing and language arts skills and strategies
In addition, students select books from a variety of genres for independent reading and reporting. Through the writing process, children work to improve their skills in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, letter writing, and research. Both mechanics and creativity are stressed. Daily spelling lessons emphasize phonetic rules and patterns. Vocabulary is an integral part of the curriculum across all content areas. Instruction continues in cursive writing with the goal of consistent, accurate penmanship in all written work. Math: Math topics include number sense, multiplication, division, fractions, geometry, measurement, patterns, representations, and probability. In addition, computation skills are constantly reinforced. The Vermont Math Portfolio Process builds strengths in the area of problem solving. Students are required to solve, represent, and communicate their work in a variety of open-ended situations.
Science: Fourth grade students study physical, earth, and life sciences. They experience science in a variety of ways; through the use of journals, experiments, observations, investigations, and research. Social Studies: Fourth grade students focus on the State of Vermont and its people. They study Vermont’s geography, history, government, and culture from early times to the present day. Local, national, and world events are used to help children broaden their knowledge and understanding of Vermont and its relationship to the world.
