Grade 4

Math Curriculum

Go Math:

Fourth grade students will learn math via the Go Math Program.  The beginning focuses on the four main operations of mathematics (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing).  Later on in the year, the students explore different concepts involving fractions, geometry, and measurement.  The Go Math Program is designed to improve students' higher order thinking skills and develop a deep understanding of the concepts.  The key for student success in fourth grade is having a mastery of their math facts.  

In Grade 4, instructional time should focus on three critical areas: (1) developing understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication, and developing understanding of dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends; (2) developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers; (3) understanding that geometric figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry.

  1. Students generalize their understanding of place value to 1,000,000, understanding the relative sizes of numbers in each place. They apply their understanding of models for multiplication (equal-sized groups, arrays, area models), place value, and properties of operations, in particular the distributive property, as they develop, discuss, and use efficient, accurate, and generalizable methods to compute products of multi-digit whole numbers. Depending on the numbers and the context, they select and accurately apply appropriate methods to estimate or mentally calculate products. They develop fluency with efficient procedures for multiplying whole numbers; understand and explain why the procedures work based on place value and properties of operations; and use them to solve problems. Students apply their understanding of models for division, place value, properties of operations, and the relationship of division to multiplication as they develop, discuss, and use efficient, accurate, and generalizable procedures to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends. They select and accurately apply appropriate methods to estimate and mentally calculate quotients, and interpret remainders based upon the context.
  2. Students develop understanding of fraction equivalence and operations with fractions. They recognize that two different fractions can be equal (e.g., 15/9 = 5/3), and they develop methods for generating and recognizing equivalent fractions. Students extend previous understandings about how fractions are built from unit fractions, composing fractions from unit fractions, decomposing fractions into unit fractions, and using the meaning of fractions and the meaning of multiplication to multiply a fraction by a whole number.
  3. Students describe, analyze, compare, and classify two-dimensional shapes. Through building, drawing, and analyzing two-dimensional shapes, students deepen their understanding of properties of two-dimensional objects and the use of them to solve problems involving symmetry.

Cooperative Problem Solving:

Twice a month, students will work in groups to solve challenging math problems. Students will work on collaboration, questioning, and presentation skills in addition to developing critical thinking skills. 

Problem of the Day:

Students are given a daily word problem that is repeated practice of previously learned material. Problem of the day helps students build automaticity in math, through continuous practice. Students use a math rubric to self-assess their work and the work of their peers.

Fact Fluency:

Your child will practice and memorize grade appropriate math facts in multiplication & division. 

English Language Arts Curriculum

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must read widely and deeply from among a broad range of high-quality, increasingly challenging literary and informational texts. Through extensive reading of stories, dramas, poems, and myths from diverse cultures and different time periods, students gain literary and cultural knowledge as well as familiarity with various text structures and elements. By reading texts in history/social studies, science, and other disciplines, students build a foundation of knowledge in these fields that will also give them the background to be better readers in all content areas. 

ReadyGen & Guided Reading:

Fourth graders will develop their reading and writing skills through the ReadyGen Program.  Students will be immersed in authentic fiction and non-fiction texts.  Students will learn a variety of reading strategies that develop their reading skills such as fluency, accuracy, comprehension.  Through the ReadyGen Program and Guided Reading, we hope that each individual student will become a lifelong reader.   

Fountas & Pinnell: 

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Systems are accurate and reliable tools PS 86 teachers use to identify the instructional and independent reading levels of students. This assessment tool is also used to document student progress through one-on-one formative and summative assessments

Writing: 

Through the writing process students will develop their skill through a variety of writing pieces.  Early in the year, the students will explore non-fiction by writing a biography about a famous scientist.  The students will also have the opportunity to become their very own animal researcher.  In the middle of the year, the focus of writing shifts to narrative fiction writing.  Students will write a variety of fiction that includes personal narrative stories and create their own traditional fiction story.  In April, the students will become poets, and explore the different styles of poetry.  Finally towards the end of the year, fourth graders will dive deep into opinion and persuasive writing.  

THE NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K–12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students’ interests in science and prepare them for college, careers, and citizenship.”

Click on the NGSS link here to learn more about the standards.

Amplify Science is a K–8 science curriculum that blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers. Each unit of Amplify Science engages students in a relevant, real-world problem where they investigate scientific phenomena, engage in collaboration and discussion, and develop models or explanations in order to arrive at solutions.

Fourth Grade Amplify Science

The Amplify Science Grade 4 Course includes four units that support students in meeting the NGSS. The following unit summaries demonstrate how students engage in three-dimensional learning to solve real-world questions and problems.

 

Unit 1: Energy Conversions: Blackout in Ergstown. Students take on the role of systems engineers for Ergstown, a fictional town that experiences frequent blackouts, and explore reasons why an electrical system may fail. They obtain information from science books and system models to learn about types of energy, energy sources, energy transfer, and energy conversion. They define engineering problems related to the town’s electrical system and design wind turbines using what they have learned about energy and matter.

 

Unit 2: Vision and Light: Investigating Animal Eyes. Students investigate why there is a decline in the number of Tokay geckos living in one area of a rainforest in the Philippines. They plan and conduct investigations and analyze data related to animal senses to figure out cause-and-effect relationships between environmental changes, the parts of an animal’s vision system, and the animal’s ability to see well. They make models and write explanations to share what they learn about how animals’ body structures perform functions related to senses and survival.

 

Unit 3: Earth’s Features: Mystery in Desert Rocks Canyon. In the role of geologists, students investigate a fossil and the geologic history of the area where the fossil was found. Students write scientific arguments about how the fossil formed and what the environment of that area was like in the past. They gather evidence for their arguments by finding patterns in rock layers, reading science books, and using digital and physical models. They analyze rock layers to draw conclusions about times of stability and times of change in the environments of a particular place.

 

Unit 4: Waves, Energy, and Information: Investigating How Dolphins Communicate. Students take on the role of marine scientists investigating how bottlenose dolphin mothers and their calves use patterns of sound to communicate across distances. Students ask questions about sound and gather evidence from physical models and a digital model. They investigate sound waves at the nanoscale and also investigate observable properties of sounds, such as volume and pitch. They use mathematical thinking to make sense of the wavelength and amplitude of waves.