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GRADE FOUR IS a time of tremendous growth in the life of a child. The students enter the class in September emerging into independent thinkers. The teacher's role is to guide them towards making choices and taking responsibility, giving them the tools they need to be open to learning and to expressing their opinions in a coherent manner.
We integrate our social studies and reading programs. The students study New York State history and read historical fiction novels to foster an interest and to create personal connections to the subjects. Our major topics are the geography of the state, the Algonquians, the American Revolution, the Erie Canal, the Underground Railroad and Immigration. We supplement our readings with other novels, such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. We also read about the ecology of woodlands and coastlines which support the work done in Science class.
Math is always an exciting time in Grade Four. Here is the year when all of the early grade preparation comes full circle. The students use the multiplication tables they worked so hard to memorize in multiple-digit multiplication and in long division. They also study the relationship between fractions and decimals. As the year progresses, the Grade Four becomes aware of the role mathematics plays in the world around them, creating an exhilarating math experience.
This is a time of tremendous social growth. Just as the students become increasingly independent in their academic work, friendships take on greater depth as well. Our class has a community meeting once a week, during which they have an opportunity to address issues that have come up and to find ways of working through those situations together, with the teachers simply acting as guides. By June of the Grade Four year, the students are ready to go forth and to handle the challenges of the Grade Five!
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