Grade 4

This page lists the skills and topics students will be studying in fourth grade. Please contact your child’s teacher if you would like to volunteer some of your expertise about a specific topic that is taught during the year. Talk to your child about the units of study to reinforce the concepts. If you have any questions about the curriculum or about your child’s learning please contact your child’s teacher.

Reading/Language Arts

Attitudes and Habits

• Reads outside of school day at least 20 minutes five times per week
• Reads and appreciates fantasy, folktales, authors, mysteries and biographies
• Responds in a variety of written and oral ways to reading material

Vocabulary and Phonics

• Uses language context, base, and compound words, prefixes and suffixes to determine the meaning
• Uses word relationships - synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
• Develops and uses new vocabulary for reading, speaking, and writing
• Uses Try It Slips, Priority Word list, dictionaries, etc.

Comprehension

• Marks up the text (using highlighters or Post-it® notes) to aide understanding
• Makes predictions using facts, verifies or changes predictions as new information is added
• Retells and discusses reading material Summarizes narrative (fiction) text using characters, setting, problems, major events and resolution
• Summarizes expository (nonfiction) text by identifying the topic, main idea, and relevant supporting details
• Compares and contrasts selections, understands sequence of event, and draws conclusions
• Uses appropriate rate of reading
  • skims to get overview
  • scans for specific information
  • rereads to aide understanding
  • adjusts rate to match level of text difficulty
• Thinks and reads to distinguish between fact and opinion, fact and fiction, and to determine writer's point of view
• Uses journaling and “think marks” to prepare for discussion about material read
• Asks questions of self during reading
• Sustains self during an extended silent reading time

Study Skills

• Uses glossary and dictionary to understand entry words and guide words
• Uses parts of a book (table of contents, copyright, etc.)
• Uses an encyclopedia (electronic and text)
• Uses maps, diagrams, charts, tables, time lines, and illustrations
• Uses library resources to locate information
• Takes notes to answer questions about a research topic
• Writes a report using factual information
• Uses strategies to activate prior knowledge (i.e. K-W-L)
• Uses strategies to gain meaning from expository (nonfiction)text (i.e. Think-Aloud, K-W-L)
• Makes specific preparations to take test
• Follows oral and written directions
• Uses an assignment notebook to keep organized and up-to-date
• Studies material outside of school to prepare for tests

Listening

• Enjoys stories and poems
• Obtains information
• Follows directions
• Evaluates information

Speaking

• Speaks in front of group
• Communicates information in organized manner – sequenced detail
• Responds to stories heard or read
• Participates in group discussions
• Retells and discusses text
• Participates in dramatizations, choral readings, Reader’s Theater

Writing

Mechanics of Writing

• Uses Priority Words (1-150) and other spelling words correctly in writing
• Writes three indented paragraphs related to a topic that are organized, are consistent, appropriate to topic, purpose, and audience
• Uses a variety of sentence structures, display subject-verb agreement
• Uses capitalization appropriately for proper nouns, sentences, and titles
• Uses punctuation appropriately including periods, commas, apostrophes, and quotation marks
• Uses proofreading to correct errors

Written Forms

• Personal narrative
• Tales and stories
• Poems
• Research writing
• Biography

Writing Process Stages

Planning

• Identifies audience and purpose
• Brainstorms ideas
• Determines format

Rough Draft

• Chooses appropriate format
• Selects appropriate details
• Organizes details into appropriate form
• Focuses and develops topic
• Checks whether there is a variety of sentence lengths
• Critiques peer drafts

Revising

• Rereads
• Revises sentences
• Makes the subject/verb agree and pronoun/reference agree
• Checks whether purpose has been met
• Checks for consistency of verb, tense, point of view
• Checks repeated or plain words
• Checks for use of transition words
• Checks whether voice comes through in piece of writing
• Organizes thoughts in coherent paragraphs

Editing

• Checks for correct capitalization, usage, punctuation, spelling
• Interacts with a peer to check for completion and accuracy
• Edits to see if the writing is ready for others to read
• Publishing Activities
• Publishes in a final form
• Shares writing

Mathematics

Mathematical Process

• Communicates mathematical thinking, both orally and in writing, by using numbers, words or pictures
• Analyzes and solves simple and more complex story problems

Number Operations and Relationships

• Understands and applies strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• Solves one and two-step problems
• Rounds and estimates whole numbers
• Reads, writes and orders fractions and decimals
• Reads, writes, and identifies place value of numbers to millions

Geometry

• Identifies, describes, and compares two and three-dimensional figures

Measurement

• Counts, compares and makes change to $10.00 using a collection of coins and dollar bills
• Understands and solves area
• Understands and solves perimeter
• Determines and compares elapsed time
• Tells time to the minute

Statistics and Probability

• Reads, uses and draws conclusions from the data in graphs and tables

Algebraic Relationships

• Applies patterns to determine relationships
• Recognizes equalities and inequalities using <, >, and =
• Solves equations with variables

Social Studies

• Understands the major features of Wisconsin maps, world maps, globes, graphics, diagrams, and photographs
• Understands the geographic features of Wisconsin and the forces which shaped them
• Understands the Native American culture of Wisconsin
• Shows an understanding of European exploration in Wisconsin
• Understands differences that exist in environment and lifestyles in various geographic settings in Wisconsin
• Understands the major industries in Wisconsin - from past to present
• Understands government at the local, state and national level in our country

Science

Earth Science

Rock Cycle

• Understands how rocks tell us about the past, present, and future formation of Earth
• Identifies igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks
• Describes the rock cycle

Earth’s Science

• Understands how the Earth’s surface is shaped and reshaped by way of weathering, erosion, and deposition
• Explores volcanoes and earthquakes

Water Cycle and Weather

• Explores hurricanes and tornadoes
• Explores how the Earth’s water affects weather

Earth’s Cycles

• Explores how daily and seasonal cycles tells us about our Earth, Moon, and Sun
• Understands the rotation and revolution of the Earth
• Explores day and night, seasons, moon phases, and eclipses
• Identifies stars and constellations

Life Science

Plants and Animals

• Explores how grouping makes it easier for scientists to show relationships and identify organisms
• Identifies some characteristics scientists use to classify: number of cells and cell structure, habitats, and nutrient/energy acquisition
• Identifies plant structure that enables plants to make their own food and reproduce

Ecosystems

• Identifies how living and non-living things interact with each other and with their environment
• Describes energy transfer in ecosystems
• Recognizes constant changes in a balanced system
• Recognizes changes cancel each other out

Human Body

• Identifies how organ systems provide cells of the human body with nutrients
• Studies the following systems: skeletal, muscular, and nervous system
• Becomes familiar with the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems
• Explains how the body can defend itself against disease-causing organisms

Physical Science

Matter

• Identifies the states of matter
• Identifies qualitative and quantitative properties of matter
• Explores density, buoyancy, physical and chemical changes

Heat

• Understands thermal heat
• Compares heat vs. temperature
• Identifies types of heat transfer
• Describes convection

Electricity and Magnetism

• Studies electrical charges, static electricity, electric currents and circuits
• Studies magnetic fields, electromagnets, generators

Sound and Light

• Identifies how light and sound travels
• Identifies attributes of sound and light waves
• Explores production of sound waves, electromagnetic spectrum, reflection, refraction, absorption
• Explores optical tools

Force and Motion

• Describes ways in which the motion of an object can be described, changed, and measured
• Identifies forces of fraction, gravity, kinetic, and potential energy

Simple Machines

• Describes how simple machines make work easier
• Identifies simple machines
• Identifies complex machines

Media and Technology

• Identifies and defines basic computer technology
• Demonstrates proper care and correct use of media equipment
• Saves and backs up files on a computer hard drive, storage medium, or file server
• Identifies common types of computer software
• Demonstrates how to open and run a software programs
• Creates, saves and retrieves electronic files
• Incorporates graphics and pictures in a document
• Identifies and defines basic word processing terminology
• Produces a document using a word processing program (Microsoft Word)
• Edits a word processing document to produce a finished product