Grade Four

Grade 4 students are challenged with daily activities to help them learn academic, social, and physical skills. There is a combination of seat work and activity centers progressing from individual, to small group, to large group lessons.

Language Arts
    The Spelling program is based on textbook work with a weekly pre-check and post test given. Students will read on a daily basis from chapter books of their choice, and the daily newspaper. They will also be grouped by appropriate levels to participate in Literature Circles where they will read the same novel and learn to be Discussion Director, Summarizer, Word Wizard, and Illustrator. The groups meet to share ideas and discuss their readings.  Students are also grouped to participate in Guided Reading groups with a focus on reading non-fiction books which complement Science and/or Social Studies themes. There will also be whole class novel study of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Each student will keep a Reading Log in which they record each chapter book they read this year.
    Each student will have a writing folder and will write in various forms for many purposes (personal journal, stories, poems, research, letters, opinions, etc.). Some of the themes the Grade 4 students have explored in writing are: My Summer Vacation, Haunted House, Remembrance Day, Greek Myths, Reflections on Reading, Story Starters, Great Canadian Mail Race, and many more.

Math
    Grade 4 students work with math manipulatives in small groups or partners. They learn skills through direct teaching, exercises in textbooks, scribblers, worksheets, math games, and computer games. Students are also involved in Math Investigations where they are challenged to solve problems, to display their solutions on posters and then share their solutions in small groups before presenting them to the whole class. There are pop quizzes, and students collaborate with the teacher to formulate end of unit tests. Some of the units students have worked on are: Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Geometry, Measurement, Fractions, Probability and Graphing and Patterns.

Science
    The science program is activity based, with a variety of hands on activities. Students are challenged with problems to solve, experiments to conduct , and guided discovery. Lessons are supported with reading material and worksheets where students record discoveries, organize data and use scientific language to answer questions and express their understanding. Students also do science research and create posters. There are 4 units of study: Habitat and Communities, Sound, and Rocks and Minerals.   Grade 4’s will begin work on the study of Monarch Butterflies along with planting Milkweed plants in our school garden to promote a habitat for these butterflies to live in.

To see our project on Manitoba fish, click here.

Social Studies
   Grade 4 focuses on the study of Canada. Students take turns giving an oral report on Canada News where the student tells the class something about a place in our country and mark it on a classroom map. This may be about a current or historical event or discovery, or about an interesting plant, animal, landform, architecture, weather phenomenon, etc. Students learn about mapping skills and do a research project on a country presenting their findings on computer programs, such as Comic Life and Power Point.  Students also research a province or territory and present their facts on a Cereal Box Project.

*Our grade four students participated in Red River Regional Heritage Fair Challenge to take Reggie on a tour of Manitoba's "big things." Click here to see where we sent Reggie, the bison.

Art
   Students are encouraged to have a sketchbook where they learn to draw what they see, either from visuals or live form. Grade 4 students have also created a haunted house from boxes and new and recycled materials, and designed a musical instrument, as well as clay and plasticine sculptures and collage. Students are also taught an extensive unit on watercolours. They learn about colour mixing as we only work with the 3 primary colours. They are taught many techniques such as washes, glazing, charging, masking, adding salt and others.

Students are also encouraged to use their creativity and to move during Creative Movement classes.  These classes are held in the gym, using music, poetry, and other areas of study as inspiration to move creatively.  These classes are in addition to the Physical Education program.

Here are a few samples of student water colours

 
Classroom Helpers
     Students in grade 4 are taught to be responsible for their classroom and classmates by rotating through jobs such as plant care, pet care, joy maker, chairs, mail, teacher’s helper, lobby, floor, job captain, etc.

Health

     During health classes students are taught a number of topics such as Growing as a Group, Making Positive Decisions, Growing Up Drug Free, Celebrating You and Me, Family Life, No Bullying, Heart and Respiratory System.  As well, Grade 4 students will be taught Yoga, using yoga mats and holding sessions in either the classroom or the gym.