Fourth Grade Curriculum

Our fourth-grade curriculum meets the developing students’ new certainty and are awareness of relationship dynamics; issues of fairness are paramount at this age.  

Fourth graders' new energy and enthusiasm are met and channeled by their core curriculum: Local Geography and History; Cartography; study of the animal kingdom; introduction to fractions and decimals; independent composition and letter writing. The curriculum introduces the Fourth Grade child to mythological figures and folklore that offers great contrasts and clashes, tales about gods, goddesses, and heroes with vibrant personalities who face action-filled challenges and the comedic as well as tragic consequences of their actions.

In Morning Lesson, fourth graders learn past, present, and future English verb tenses, which parallels the study of tenses in their World Language classes. In addition to studying the parts of speech, they learn the function and use of prepositions, articles, conjunctions, and interjections. Students learn the structure of paragraph development: the topic sentence, supporting examples or statements, and a concluding sentence. The students retell stories in short oral and written summaries, building skills by using descriptive, sensory-rich language. Simple research, including citing book sources, is introduced in the context of the animal study research project. Students characterize animals through class discussion and later individually in a report and presentation on an animal of their choice. Students write descriptively on several themes: impressions of local landscapes in the Geography block, accounts of individual historical journeys through California Geography and History, and episodes from California history. Additionally, the students practice personal writing by journaling and composing letters.  

In Math, students study proper and improper fractions, mixed numbers, and decimal fractions in all four operations, emphasizing multisensory, hands-on activities and the use of manipulatives.

The Science curriculum brings the comparative study of the human being to the animal world. Animal studies include modeling, drawing, and writing about animals. Fourth Graders study their habitats and dwellings and learn about animals that thrive in local ecosystems. This study includes practical animal care on our farm.

In Fourth Grade, the Music curriculum expands to include Strings class. The children choose a stringed instrument: violin, viola, or cello. Most students supplement the course with private lessons, which are offered on a scholarship basis if needed.

In addition to the curriculum taught by the Morning Lesson Teacher, Fourth Graders receive instruction in Spanish, German, Handwork, Eurythmy, Games and Movement, Farming and Gardening, and Music.