I am delighted to begin this exciting year with your child. Fourth grade marks a pivotal year in academic and personal growth. This year is the first year of the intermediate grades. Therefore, students take on greater responsibilities, embrace higher academic expectations, and develop independence as learners. It is a year filled with challenges, discoveries, and meaningful progress—and I am honored to team up with parents to guide with you on your child’s journey this year.
My Teaching Philosophy: As a fourth-grade teacher, I believe in setting high expectations within a structured yet flexible classroom environment—one filled with warmth, encouragement, and a good dose of humor. Each student who walks through our door is unique, bringing their own talents, perspectives, and potential. It’s my responsibility to nurture that individuality while ensuring every child feels safe, respected, and supported.
I’m committed to creating a learning space where mutual respect is the foundation. Mistakes are not only accepted—they’re celebrated as essential steps in the learning process. One of my favorite classroom signs reads: “Mistakes are proof that we are trying!” This helps students embrace growth and become the individuals God intends them to be. In our classroom, we follow the school-wide SOAR expectations:
- We are Safe
- We are Responsible
- We are Respectful
The Weekly Schedule is linked here.
Religion
Religion and Christian values are embedded throughout the day. Our Religion book is Word of Life. Here is a link: Word of Life by Augustine Institute. These are the units:
- Unit 1: We Believe: United in Faith and Truth
- Unit 2: I Believe in God
- Unit 3: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God
- Unit 4: I Believe int he Holy Sprit and the Holy Catholic Church
- Unit 5: I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins and Life Everlasting
- The Liturgical Year will be celebrated throughout the year
In addition, these things will be taught throughout the year:
- A Variety of Prayer Experiences – adoration, meditation, rosary, etc.
- Conflict and Resolution, Socialization Skills
- The Second Step, a social-emotional curriculum
- Mass
- Scripture Study
- Community Services
Religion is integrated throughout our day, An example of this is in Handwriting, when we write scripture verses in our best cursive penmanship.
Literacy
Spelling: The Zaner-Bloser program is used along with words that will be
integrated throughout the curriculum. Two assignments are given each week. The test is usually on Thursdays.
Literature: Fourth graders are shifting from “Learning to read” to “Reading to Learn.” Literature books that provide a rich exposure to language and vocabulary that will help influence their writing ability. In Reading, the focus is to read with comprehension, read and following direction, discriminate from fact and opinion, recognize story elements such as character, plot, and setting, and evaluate the author’s purpose and point of view. Students will also be able to make predictions and inferences as well as, use logical sequencing to retell stories. We work
hard on using back up from the book to support our answers.
Book Reports: Each month, students will be required to complete a book report. The first report is a book talk, followed by a written report, then a project. They will be due toward the end of the month, allowing plenty of time for reading and preparation. All books need to be approved by me at least two weeks before their due date. Here is a link to the Book Report schedule.
Writing: Writing is a constant in all subject areas. The Six Traits of Writing,
the Four Square pre-writing method, and multiple organizers will be modeled and used throughout the year. The focus will be mainly on narrative and expository writing. Students will also learn about comparing and contrasting, character sketches, descriptive stories using conversation, poetry, outlines and research papers, and friendly letters. We use the Sliver Burdett text book to learn how to use a thesaurus, dictionary, encyclopedia and other non-fiction books for research purposes. Students will also learn in depth about nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prefixes, suffixes, homonyms, homographs and figures of speech.
Math
Fourth grade use the GO MATH program as well as many other sources to pull from such as xtramath.org, IXL,com and Daily Review. It is essential that students know their addition, subtraction and multiplication facts with accuracy and speed. Please assist them with this at home. This will help as we build our knowledge base in Math.
The following will be covered this year:
• Addition and subtraction with whole numbers, decimals and fractions
• Multiplication and division of one and two digit numbers
• Measurement
• Time
• Money
• Probability and data
• Graphing
• Geometry
Science
The Next Generation Science Standards are covered this year, using STEM challenges, researching, presentations and experimenting with hands-on opportunities for the students to learn these objectives for fourth grade. The units that are covered are:
• Physical Science – Sound and Light energy, force and motion with flight
• Life Science – Salmon’s environment, life cycle, reproduction, interior and exterior of body
• Earth Science – Earth’s layers, Volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens), weatherizing and erosion
• Engineering and Technology – 3D Mythical Creatures
Social Studies
Fourth graders have new Social Studies books this year: Young Citizens by Nystrom Education. These are the units covered:
- Chapter 1: How are People Connected in our Community?
- Chapter 2: How did Washington develop over time?
- Chapter 3: What is it to Live in Washington Today?
- Chapter 4: How Did the United States Develop Over Time?
- Chapter 5: What is Life like the United States Today?
- Chapter 6: How are People Connected Throughout the World?
Class Pet Later we will be getting a class pet hamster. Families will be able to sign up to care for the hamster on the weekends. Stay tuned for that!