WHAT IS FOURTH GRADE?

Fourth grade is Camp Tecumseh,
Conner Prairie, literature
circles, writers� workshop,
thinking like mathematicians,
thinking critically about the
world and what is happening on
our planet. Fourth grade is
trying things we never did before
like Swedish food and Swedish
dancing, overnight trips without
mom or dad, turning into
archeologists on a mock dig site,
visiting new places, performing
in a musical, standing up for the
environment and even making a
pair of pants by sewing them by
hand.

Fourth grade starts off with a 3
day, 2 night trip to Camp
Tecumseh. We learn about the
pioneer settlers who first came
to Indiana. We experience
pioneer cooking, schooling,
exploring, and how the early
settlers made log cabins.

Other field trips include going
to the Mexican Fine Arts Center
Museum to learn about Dia de los
Muertos (Day of the Dead) and
visiting the Swedish American
museum to re-live the experience
many immigrants had during the
1800�s. Fourth graders also
become archaeologist for a day as
they excavate a mock dig site at
the Spertus Museum in a study of
early people and how scientists
use artifacts to piece together
history. We go back in time to a
living museum as we travel to
Conner Prairie in the spring.
Students encounter
people �living� in the early
1800�s at Connor Prairie and can
ask the people questions as they
watch them carry out task of
their daily lives. Students
often participate in these
activities.

During the school year frequent
trips to theatre companies
provide opportunities for
students to view live
performances of plays that deal
with social or historical
issues. The year ends with an
overnight trip to sleep in
caves! These are just some of
the �firsts� that students will
experience in the fourth grade.

The fourth curriculum is very
cross-curricular. Language Arts,
Social Studies, and Math are
interwoven so students have the
opportunity to apply what they
are learning to all content
areas. The depth of study in a
particular area may vary due to
student probing and interest.
Language Arts consist of writing
that is meaningful to the
students, not what is dictated by
the teacher. This writing is
intertwined with grammar and the
mechanics presented during
writers� workshop sessions.
Language Arts is also reading an
extensive amount of trade books
and short stories which students
analyze and discuss. Students
learn to identify literary
elements and compare and contrast
the use of these elements in the
literature read in fourth grade.

Social Studies blends into the
Language Arts time as students
study and read stories about
early settlers and the events
that led up to the Civil War.
Social Studies gives students the
chance to learn about the history
of Indiana, slavery, the Civil
War, geography, and notable
people of all ethnicities who
have impacted history. Sometimes
other eras from the past are
studied because we read a book
from a particular time in
history. For example, the
students chose to read Number the
Stars. While reading this book,
students began background
research for World War II and the
dictatorship of Hitler. Via
student centered learning, the
fourth graders continued their
investigation of the horrible
events that made up the Holocaust.

Math class is an opportunity for
each child to progress at their
individual ability. Students
work on long division and multi-
digit multiplication; along with
computing time and measurement,
decimals and fractions;
collecting and analyzing data;
and expanding their knowledge of
geometry. Students take their
computation skills and new
knowledge and apply it to word
problems and real world problems
that challenge the children to
use their critical thinking
skills.