4th Grade

In District 68, we offer students a comprehensive educational experience that provides students with a range of programs and services to meet their educational needs. This grade level link is designed to provide you with an overview of the curriculum we offer our students.

Reading/Language Arts Curriculum

District 68 uses Balanced Literacy as the instructional framework during the reading instructional block. Click on the Balanced Literacy link for an in-depth description of Balanced Literacy as well as the components found within the Balanced Literacy block.  Reading instruction takes place for 90-minutes daily.

Common Core State Standards

Illinois, along with 45 other states, adopted the Common Core State Standards to be used to guide teachers in what students at each grade-level need to learn in English/Language Arts.  Each set of grade-level standards consists of literature, informational text as well as listening and speaking standards.  The primary grades have standards for foundational skills.  Grade-level standards build on knowledge and skills learned the previous year and create a stair-step progression across the K-8 instructional years.

Reading: Literature

 

  • 4.RL.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • 4.RL.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
  • 4.RL.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
  • 4.RL.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
  • 4.RL.5 Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
  • 4.RL.6 Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
  • 4.RL.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
  • 4.RL.8 (Not applicable to literature)
  • 4.RL.9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
  • 4.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Reading: Informational Text

 

  • 4.RI.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • 4.RI.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
  • 4.RI.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
  • 4.RI.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
  • 4.RI.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
  • 4.RI.6 Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
  • 4.RI.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
  • 4.RI.8 Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
  • 4.RI.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
  • 4.RI.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Reading: Foundational Skills

 

  • 4.RF.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
  • 4.RF.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

Writing

 

  • 4.W.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
  • 4.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • 4.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
  • 4.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
  • 4.W.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
  • 4.W.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
  • 4.W.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
  • 4.W.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
  • 4.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Speaking and Listening

 

  • 4.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
  • 4.SL.2 Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
  • 4.SL.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.
  • 4.SL.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
  • 4.SL.5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
  • 4.SL.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation.

Language

 

  • 4.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • 4.L.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • 4.L.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
  • 4.L.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • 4.L.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • 4.L.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

Link to Common Core State Standards Website: http://www.corestandards.org

Comprehensive Curricular Resource

During the 2012-13 school year, District 68 underwent a R/LA curriculum review.  After much research and numerous curriculum pilots, the Journeys Common Core Edition was selected as our comprehensive curriculum resource.


Mathematics

Math in Focus is a rigorous curriculum that is well-aligned to the Common Core Standards.  Students are exposed to fewer mathematical concepts in great depth at each grade-level.  Like the Common Core Standards, Math in Focus curriculum aligns to content standards and embeds mathematical practice standards throughout the curriculum.  This rigorous curriculum provides children with rich educational opportunities through direct instruction by the classroom teacher where visual models and problem-solving are used regularly.  Children also have time for guided practice, and differentiated grouping practices.  Such approaches help to ensure the needs of all children are being met during their daily 60-minute math block.  Throughout the year, children learn both the how and why of mathematics and in doing so, learn math concepts and skills that will help them demonstrate mastery.  

Overview of the parent presentation on Math in Focus (Fall 2011)


Scope and Sequence of key concepts: 

  • Number Sense and Numeration Whole Numbers
  • Decimals Fractions Place Value Estimation
  • Understanding  Operations Addition
  • Subtraction Multiplication Division
  • Geometry and Spatial Sense       
  • Measurement, Time, and Money
  • Data Analysis and Probability
  • Real World Connections
  • Communicating  Mathematically
  • Reasoning          
  • Problem Solving

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

  1. Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems.
  2. Gain familiarity with factors and multiples.
  3. Generate and analyze patterns.

Full Standards

Number and Operations in Base Ten

  1. Generalize place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers.
  2. Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.

Full Standards

Measurement and Data

  1. Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
  2. Represent and interpret data.
  3. Geometric measurement: understand concepts of angle and measure angles.

Full Standards

Geometry

  1. Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.

Full Standards

Mathematical Practices

  1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
  3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
  4. Model with mathematics.
  5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
  6. Attend to precision.
  7. Look for and make use of structure.
  8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Number and Operations—Fractions

  1. Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering.
  2. Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers.
  3. Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions.

Full Standards


Science

Instructional Program

Life Science - Interdependence of Living Things

Physical Science  - Electricity

Earth Science  - Systems of the Universe

During the 2013-2014 school year, a science learning team will be launched to evaluate next generation standards.

By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

  • Identify the components of an ecosystem
  • Build food chains and food webs representative of a given ecosystem and discuss energy transfer
  • Describe the dynamic relationships of living things within an ecosystem
  • Identify physical features of animals and plants that help them live in an environment  
  • Identify conductors and insulators
  • Build circuits and describe the pathways of electrons through circuits 
  • Discuss transfer of energy
  • Investigate earth in the solar system in relation to other planets (e.g., their orbits, rotation, and revolution)
  • Describe the patterns of motion of planets, moon, and other objects in the solar system
  • Examine the role of the sun within the solar system
  • Describe the location of the solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy

Social Studies

Significant Question: 

Students will explore the concepts of perspective, population density, conservation, natural geographic resources, mass production, culture, and civil rights as they examine the interdependency of the regions of the United States.

By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

  • Understand how the regions of the U.S. depend upon each other
  • Understand the relationship between geographic locations and their people
  • Describe the different groups of people and cultures that have inhabited Illinois and other regions
  • Identify important historical people and events in Illinois and other regions
  • Locate major land forms, waterways and major cities in Illinois and America
  • Distinguish between political and physical maps and utilize them fully
  • Be knowledgeable in current events as they pertain to their every day life
  • Determine ways to conserve water and other natural resources
  • Contrast perspectives of individuals on issues facing the U.S.
  • Compare and contrast ways to govern
  • Examine density in regions across America
  • Discuss how farming has changed from 1800-2000
  • Distinguish among the roles of political scientist, historian, geographer, and economist in exploring society

Physical Education and Health

By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

  • Begin to develop the capacity for self-directed learning by selecting a personal health and fitness related goal
  • Identify offensive and defensive strategies in soccer, floor hockey, basketball, and volleyball
  • Understand athletic terminology such as the names of mus­cles
  • Understand the difference between aerobic and non­ aerobic activity
  • Understand the importance of stretching before and after activity
  • Use a variety of motor activities to enhance left and right brain development
  • List choices and activities that positively influence health, illness prevention, and safety
  • Demonstrate respect for others' feelings, rights, and prop­erty
  • Explain the roles of school and community members for health-related  services

Music

By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate proper vocal technique while singing a reper­ toire of patriotic, seasonal, spirituals, rounds, cumulative, ballads, and folk songs
  • Identify treble clef lines and spaces
  • Read and perform pieces on the soprano recorder
  • Identify members of the orchestral families visually and au­ rally
  • Create pentatonic melodies using the question and answer technique
  • Show a basic understanding  of an opera

Art

By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

  • Develop and experiment with their creative powers
  • Develop a visual language which consists of elements of design (line, shape, color, texture, space) and principles  of design (repetition, variation, rhythm, bal­ance, and        emphasis)
  • Relate art history to their own artwork

Additional Programs and Services

* Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com

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