Grade 4: "Making Bridges"

Thinking Skills

SCIS emphasizes skills for students to be productive, self-directed learners who can independently pursue excellence and life-long learning. Integrated into all subject areas is the emphasis on the processes of high-level thinking.

• Critical Thinking Skills: Observe, analyze, classify, compare and contrast, sequence, determine cause and effect, find patterns, predict, infer, draw conclusions, find the main idea, summarize, evaluate, decision making, problem solving, goal setting
• Creative Thinking Skills: Fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration

Mathematics

Students will experience a rich problem-solving environment filled with hands-on activities involving real life applications in the following areas:

• Number Sense: Whole number, fraction concepts
• Geometry: Geometric shapes
• Probability
• Algebra: Equations
• Problem solving strategies, and the ability to communicate thinking and understanding of concepts and procedures

Language Arts: Writing, Listening, Speaking

The skills of listening, writing, and speaking are essential for students to discover, develop, clarify, and communicate thoughts and feelings. Students will practice and set goals for the following:

• Writing and speaking for a variety of purposes and audiences
• Using the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, publishing)
• Increasing knowledge and application of the six traits that make writing effective: Ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and the conventions of spelling, grammar, and mechanics
• Oral communication skills
• Interpersonal communication skills

Language Arts: Reading

With an emphasis on critical thinking, students will explore diverse literature genres from around the world. Teachers will utilize a variety of grouping formats (individual, small group, whole class) and teaching strategies in order to meet the individual needs of students.

• Reading for different purposes, increasing word skills and comprehension
• Emphasis on fluency and expression when reading
• Promoting independent reading

Social Studies

At SCIS, with a student population rich in cultural diversity, students develop social responsibility by understanding and appreciating their own cultures and background as well as respecting and understanding the history, geography, culture, societal organizations, and economic systems of other societies.

• Geography: Physical and political maps
• History: World explorers, native cultures
• Civics: Country and political divisions
• Economics: Early economic systems
• Culture and Heritage around the world

Science and Health

Knowledge of science is necessary for all students to understand the world in which they live, value the systems and processes that support life on our planet, and to make responsible decisions as citizens. Students will develop solid scientific processes and construct their own understanding of their world through discovery, inquiry, and interactive investigations. Topics covered at Grade 4 include the following:

• Biology: Rocky shores and ocean beaches, structures of life
• Earth Science: Water, tides, oceans of air, natural disasters
• Physics: Measurement, sound
• Health Science: five senses, nervous system, drug education, safety

Homework

Students in Grade 4 should expect to have approximately 40 minutes of homework each school night and occasionally on weekends. This is at the discretion of the teacher and may include unfinished work, skill practice, reinforcement activities, research, and projects.