Grade IV

List of 10 items.

• + Central Subject: Ancient Greece

  The Greek study includes: mythology; 5th Century B.C.E. Athens and Sparta, daily life, and architecture; pottery and its decoration; archaeology; the Bronze Age in Crete and Mycenae with the hero tales; the Iliad and Odyssey; Greek plays; geography; and the Olympic Games. A partial bibliography includes appropriate translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey; D’Aulaires’ Greek Myths; Theras and his Town; Evslin, Greek Myths; Coolidge, Greek Myths and The Trojan War; Longman Series, Aspects of Greek Life and See Inside a Greek Town; and Usborne, The Greeks.  Online resources and multimedia materials enhance the curriculum.
  
  

  Our methods of study include discussions and reading, compositions, research, dramatizations, crafts, painting, mapping, projects, and museum visits.

  
  
  

• + Language Arts

  Reading: The reading curriculum focuses on the development of skills such as comprehension, fluency, visualization, determining main idea, and beginning reference skills.  We will strengthen these skills through oral and silent reading of Ancient Greece-related materials, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, genre studies, and daily independent reading. 
  
  

  Writing: Students develop writing skills such as mechanics, sequencing of ideas, summarization, content and style, and research writing.  Students compose in many forms, such as original stories, expository paragraphs, and poems. Our work in writing includes spelling rules and generalizations, plus spelling and vocabulary work lists from our academic curriculum and children’s own writing. Our study includes beginning grammar (parts of speech, sentence structure punctuation) and beginning paragraphing. We begin keyboard instruction.

• + Mathematics

  Grade IV Math is rooted in problem solving with an emphasis on developing a deep understanding of the underlying ideas. We use the Illustrative Math curriculum in grades K-IV as our primary resource. In Grade IV, students build a strong foundation for working with multi-digit multiplication and division and develop the concept of fractions through exploration with different models and contexts. They also analyze and categorize polygons based on geometric properties. Throughout, we encourage children’s curiosity, experimentation, and interest in mathematics while building their confidence and strengthening their skills.

• + Science

  (Three 45-minute classes per week)

  
  

  Grade IV uses inquiry to gain an understanding of structural design and invisible forces. Students start the year by exploring the engineering design process through a series of design challenges. These challenges progressively teach concepts about structural shape, strength, durability, and material selection. Students practice the science skills of measuring, recording observations, and asking questions. Grade IV students work both independently and as members of teams, practicing the social skills of effectively communicating, problem solving, and being good community members. As the year progresses, they will investigate the forces of magnetism, electricity, light, and sound. They complete the year by connecting what they have learned to their CS curriculum by designing and constructing a Tiny House for the gods.

• + Physical Education

  (Two 45-minutes classes per week)
  
  

  The fourth grade Physical Education curriculum provides students with an opportunity to continue to refine their skills in increasingly complex situations. There continues to be an emphasis on small-sided, low stakes game environments to foster optimal growth in skills, knowledge, and behaviors as they pertain to gameplay. In these environments, students continue to improve their basic locomotor and manipulative skills, build off their skills in more complex game situations, and begin to acknowledge the transferable skills and concepts throughout the various units they experience. In addition, students continue to build a healthy attitude toward competition as we focus on communication, fairplay, and game etiquette. In fourth grade, students continue to become more conscious of their attitude toward all types of physical activities as they consider how each physical activity feels for them and the benefits they have on their body.

• + Music & Performing Arts

  (Three 50-minute classes every per week)
  
  

  In Grade IV music, students develop singing, listening, rhythm, speech, movement, acting and sight-reading skills. Students learn to sing and decode lyrics, and they practice polyphony by working on rounds (canons). Students engage in rhythm games and movement activities with body percussion and engage collaboratively in various musical settings. They build on their abilities to sing while accompanying themselves on ukuleles and mallet instruments. During the spring semester, students also wrote their own original lyrics in 12-bar blues form, played soprano recorder and “J-Sax” (a starter saxophone), and they worked on their intonation by harmonizing over a melodic line, using both lower and higher harmonies.  At various points in the spring semester, students continued to develop their performance skills as they worked toward putting on a dramatic presentation of an ancient Greek myth.

• + Library

  (One 50-minute class per week)
  
  

  Library class in Grade IV builds upon students’ natural love of reading by helping them discover a wide range of genres, formats and themes as they develop and expand their identities as readers. This includes practice in using the online library catalog, understanding the organization of the library, and learning to become independent library users. In Grade IV, students typically begin the class with a chance to Quiet Read or choose their next great book. At multiple points in the year all students participate in Genre Studies, with guidance from both the librarian and the gradehead, during which each student chooses a book within a certain literary genre. Students read the book independently, learn the characteristics of the genre in class, and create a project that often includes writing, visual artifacts, and a presentation of the project. Genre Studies provide a structure for students as they explore many different kinds of stories and discuss the various books they have been reading.

• + Art Studio

  In the fourth grade, in addition to continued experiments and skill building in painting and drawing, and other mediums, children knit a multi-step, multi –patterned & colored Shady hill hat.  They learn stencil printmaking and make Greek stencil designs to print on their chitons for the Olympics and the 4th grade play. They also work in the ceramics studio making teapots and plates.

• + Woodshop

  Fourth graders come to shop in groups of 8 or 9 in each group. The term begins with the design and construction of a box. The students work on design challenges, drawing three-dimensionally and thinking about measurement and angles when designing their boxes. Good craftsmanship is encouraged. Students learn to use L-squares and handsaws to make accurate right angle cuts. They are taught to set nails, putty and sand. As spring approaches, we discuss the factors that help us identify from what culture an artist may come. They learn to make rounded wooden handles, beveled edges, use screwdrivers and pop rivets. When painting their shields the students consider the elements of ancient Greek design in choosing color, patterns, content and positive and negative space for their images.

• + School Community

  The entire Lower School (B- Grade IV) meets together in the Assembly Hall for a half hour each Friday morning. The music component of assemblies includes community singing, performances by Shady Hill students, and performances by visiting artists. Outside presenters come from the arts, sciences, and humanities and make connections to the wider world. Music at the assembly extends the music curriculum and deepens students’ understanding of music as cultural expression. Classroom sharing is also an important focus of assemblies. The emphasis is on sharing works-in-progress from all areas of the Lower School. Preparation for sharing is part of the learning process, and sharing in front of a larger group in a safe, supportive environment helps children develop confidence in public speaking and effectively presenting their work.