Fourth Grade Curriculum

Fourth grade is the beginning of the intermediate years of schooling (grades four through six) and a developing year of readiness for transition to the middle school. Emphasis is directed toward accepting responsibility for work and action and emphasizing good basic skill development, so that academic “independence” will be achieved to match the social and emotional independent thrusts of the coming years.

Reading emphasizes the study of popular literature, covering a variety of genres. The focus is not only on reading accurately and fluently, but also on comprehension, relating the text to personal experiences, and identifying the author’s purpose. Students respond to literature through journals, literature groups, and other activities.

Writing is a part of every area of the curriculum. Students will write in all modes (narrative, imaginative, persuasive, and expository) following the model of the writing process. Ideas and content, organization, sentence fluency, convention, word choice, and voice are traits of writing, which will be learned and applied.

Math skill development involves expanded experiences in all areas, with multiplication and division as the primary focus. Emphasis is placed also on good problem solving skills, incorporating the traits of conceptual understanding, process and strategies, communication, and verification. A combination approach of visual learning, use of manipulatives, and traditional computation is used in instruction and practice.

Science, Social Studies, and Health units include, but are not limited to the following topics: landforms, ecosystems, plant and animal adaptations, regions and geography of the United States, western migration, Oregon, body systems, nutrition, and drug and alcohol awareness.

John Wetten Elementary
250 E Exeter
Gladstone, Oregon 97027-2162

Phone: 503 656-6564
Fax: 503 656-0917
webmaster (at) gladstone.k12.or.us