Grade 4 Curriculum










Language Arts (English)

Reading and Literature

  • Read literature that reflects different countries and cultures
  • Identify theme, point of view, turning point, climax of a story, significant passages
  • Read, comprehend, and assimilate information from a variety of informational texts
  • Examine authors’ choice of words
  • Examine authors’ styles, making connections through literature circles
  • Recognize elements of symbolism
  • Understand elements of historical fiction
  • Compare and contrast characters; infer character motivation; make character webs
  • Map plot development
  • Write a clear, concise, and complete plot summary

Writing

  • Explore writing in a variety of genres: personal narrative, memoir, fiction, essay, poetry, persuasive essay
  • Write a cohesive paragraph
  • Support ideas using specific examples
  • Recognize and use metaphor, alliteration, simile, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, assonance
  • Compile personal poetry anthology
  • Write effective leads, strong endings
  • Write clear, well-constructed sentences
  • Use commas, quotation marks, contractions, possessives, compound words
  • Revise, edit, and proofread writing
  • Recognize and avoid run-on sentences
  • Recognize homonyms and learn when to use which

Mathematics

  • Continue to master addition and subtraction
  • Understand place value to 10,000
  • Master multiplication and division facts to 12 x 12
  • Multiply double-digit x double-digit numbers accurately and efficiently
  • Investigate conventional algorithms for multiplication and division of whole numbers
  • Use multiplication and division relationships to solve problems
  • Generate and use equivalent fractions
  • Order fractions
  • Recognize the meaning of the decimal point on the calculator
  • Distinguish between mirror and rotational symmetry
  • Determine area and perimeter
  • Practice measurement skills
  • Measure distances using map scale
  • Recognize prime numbers as those that have only one pair of factors and one array
  • Recognize and explore classes of numbers: odd/even, factors, multiples, squares, primes, composites
  • Identify factor pairs
  • Apply the commutative, associative, identity, zero, and distributive properties
  • Understand how division notation represents a variety of division situations including
    sharing and partitioning
  • Divide up to 3 digits by a single digit divisor
  • Understand and interpret remainders
  • Identify and apply appropriate operation(s) to solve problems
  • Look for and recognize patterns; use patterns to predict outcomes
  • Estimate to check accuracy

Tanakh

  • Read selections from Exodus
  • Begin to interpret Biblical Hebrew
  • Look at text from a number of different points of view
  • Use previous knowledge of commandments to interpret story’s meaning

Explore the following concepts:

  • Exodus from Egypt and transformation from family to nation
  • Developing relationship between God and Israel
  • Transition from slavery to freedom
  • Giving of the Torah
  • Introduction to the laws in Exodus
  • God’s fulfillment of promises to the forefathers and foremothers

Hebrew

  • Practice conjugating past and future tense
  • Practice the use of past, present, and future tenses in writing and speech
  • Write with correct sentence structure
  • Use indirect objects and possessives
  • Use synonyms and antonyms
  • Read independently
  • Match nouns and adjectives according to gender and number
  • Use words that identify time frame
  • Summarize and evaluate text

Science

Hands-on and inquiry-based

Earth Science — Meteorology

  • Build a weather instrument shelter
  • Make a water bottle thermometer, barometer, cloud in a bottle
  • Observe and record air temperature (Fahrenheit and Celsius), wind direction, cloud types
  • Design an experiment to find micro climates
  • Conduct condensation experiment
  • Identify cloud types: cirrus, cumulus, stratus; create cloud charts
  • Read a weather map; predict the weather from a weather map
  • Understand warm and cold air fronts

Life Science – Schoolyard Ecology

  • Explore the school yard and map environmental characteristics
  • Locate, observe, and record data on spiders and webs
  • Discover animal communities
  • Observe and study vernal pools
  • Recognize and take precautions against poison ivy and deer ticks

Physical Science – Exploring Waves

  • Create human and rope waves and recognize wave patterns
  • Construct a wave-making machine
  • Model water waves using a ripple tank; understand how waves go around barriers and affect boats
  • Construct megaphone that amplifies sound
  • Know and understand terminology: crest trough, vibration, amplitude, volume, pitch
  • Study how sound travels through solids, liquids, and gases
  • Construct a banjo

Social Studies

Theme: Countries and Cultures Around the World

Major activity: World “cruise” to countries in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa

  • Explore how the land affects the people and how the people affect the land
  • Examine how culture sets people apart and binds people together
  • Understand and appreciate commonalities and diversity of different countries
  • Examine cultures through literature
  • Explore similarities and differences among focus countries
  • Understand significant map lines
  • Read maps and plan route to the next destination (country to be studied)
  • Identify the hemispheres
  • Use multiple sources to synthesize information and ideas
  • Organize information and ideas for written and oral presentations
  • Develop and practice map skills; read and interpret maps
  • Read for understanding and assimilate information from multiple sources for a research project
  • Identify main ideas and important details using “hot spotting” and highlighting techniques
  • Follow and understand current events using Time for Kids magazine as a resource
  • Use test-taking skills and strategies to prepare for tests

Fine Arts

Music

  • Explore music from around the world in conjunction with social studies units
  • Read music; write music in correct notation
  • Learn to play the recorder
  • Learn about percussion support through drumming and playing Orff percussion instruments
  • Compose a musical blessing for the new year

Art

  • Study and make contour drawings
  • Create repeat pattern drawings from existing and self-invented patterns
  • Draw animal foreground and background in op-art (optical illusions) from the 1960s
  • Fabric unit: make Batik challah cover
  • Pattern unit: make copper hamsahs
  • Make ceramic spice box and tzedakah box in conjunction with study of Shabbat
  • Practice techniques of shading and making objects look 3D using geometric shapes and ebony pencils
  • Practice with prismacolor pencils in color; do drawing on nature theme
  • View original paintings by Chinese brush painting artists; use ancient ink and bamboo brush techniques on rice paper to create paintings

Library

  • Solve the problems posed in True Lies and More True Lies
  • Be exposed to prize winning literature (Jewish Book Award, Newberry Medal) and to Nobel Prize winning Jewish authors
  • Compare the Mexican, French, Italian, and Chinese versions of the Cinderella story
  • Contrast the traditional version of fairy tales with those from Dr. Gardner’s Fairy Tales for Today’s Children (stories with realistic expectations and emphasis on resolving problems oneself)
  • Use computers for research
  • Evaluate a website
  • Use links from school library website to discuss the poetry of Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Langston Hughes, Judith Viorst
  • Explore theme of prejudice: discuss preconceived ideas about people of color and poor people and pre-conceived ideas others may have about Jews

Physical Education

Two-year curriculum for grades 4 and 5

  • Begin every class with warm-ups: running, jumping jacks, stretching
  • Work on skills, sportsmanship, critical thinking, teamwork, and game rules related to soccer, flag football, field hockey, floor hockey, basketball, volleyball, whiffleball (introduction to baseball)

Tefillot (Prayers)

Review and practice prayers previously learned and add new ones:

  • Learn additional parts of baruch sheamar
  • Read yishtabach; chant hatzi kadish
  • Read and chant the two blessings before the Shema and the blessing after the Shema; read and chant second and third sections of Shema

Social Competency

Schechter’s emphasis on Jewish values promotes derekh eretz, behavior that is respectful and considerate of others. The Second Step Program involves weekly discussion in general studies classes on topics that include the following:

  • Empathy training: identifying feelings; conflicting feelings; similarities and differences; preferences; perceptions; predicting feelings; communicating feelings
  • Impulse control: interpersonal problem solving; recognizing impulses; identifying a problem; choosing a solution; keeping a promise; giving and receiving compliments; making conversation; dealing with fear


[back to top]