982 Durham Road
Madison, CT 06443 Main Number: (203) 245-6440
Fax: (203) 245-6446
Health Office: (203) 245-6442
Attendance: (203) 245-6442 School Hours: 8:50-3:25
Building Hours: 8:00-4:00
Early Dismissal: 1:00
Fourth Grade Curriculum Overview
Language Arts
The Language Arts curriculum emphasizes strengthening skills in the following areas: writing, speaking, reading, vocabulary building, spelling, and listening. The fourth grade curriculum emphasizes on expository writing as well as some poetry writing, narrative and other genres.
Writing: The writing program we use is called Empowering Writers. The focus in the fall in winter is on Narrative Writing. We build off of and enhance skills learned in grades 1-3. In the early spring the writing focus begins to shift to Expository writing. We begin with paragraph writing and continue form there.
Reading: Reading instruction varies. Whole class and small group instruction are used to target specific reading skills. We use appropriate 4th grade novels to encourage and facilitate the use of various reading strategies. The student read silently during SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) and are read to during Read-Aloud time as well
Reading Enrichment: This year I will be offering a Nutmeg Challenge Program open to all readers. The state of Connecticut nominates ten books each year and students vote on the book they like the best. I will be running the Nutmeg Challenge to encourage all students to read the 10 Nutmeg Nominees!
Spelling: The spelling program we use in fourth grade is a phonetics based spelling. The packet is handed out on Monday and is due on Wednesday. The spelling test is on Friday.
Mathematics
The Mathematics program is called Growing with Mathematics and its goal is to help students develop good problems solving skills. This is to be accomplished with acquiring knowledge of number facts, developing confidence in mental computation, expanding the ability to estimate in all aspects of mathematics and being able to communicate mathematically. Students also participate in a daily Math Chat which enables them to think and express mathematical ideas verbally.
Review of basic operations and number sense
Measurement & Time
Addition & Subtraction
Place Value
Multiplication & Division
Probability & Data Collection
Fractions
Decimals
Geometry
Area & Perimeter
Mathematical Applications & Problem solving
Social Studies
The fourth grade social studies curriculum covers United States History through the Revolutionary War. Reading, map skills, project work and note-taking skills are an integral part of the social studies program. A colonial celebration takes place in the spring, as well as other social studies related trips. Some of the main themes of study are:
The United States Constitution
Native Americans
European Explorers
Colonial times in America
The American Revolution
Science
The science curriculum has three important parts: investigation, demonstration, and experimentation. This inquiry approach allows students to discover scientific knowledge and leads to a higher understanding of concepts. The science curriculum is also set up as a rotating curriculum. Each teacher in the fourth grade teaches one unit. The students rotate through the units and are exposed to various teaching styles. This is to help them to become acquainted with the switching of classes and teacher that takes place next year in fifth grade, at the middle school. The units of study and the teachers leading those units are:
