Faculty and Curriculum

What Children Learn – Fourth Grade

Religion – Students have opportunities to grow in their faith as they study stories from the Bible and apply their learning to their lives. They are exposed to the key concepts of the Lutheran Christian faith and study Bible stories that span Biblical history from Genesis, through the life of Jesus and the beginning ministry of the apostle Paul. Weekly memory work assignments are an important part of our study.

Reading – Students are exposed to a variety of genres of both fiction and nonfiction texts throughout the year. Instruction focuses on comprehension strategies, vocabulary instruction, phonics review, and fluency development. Supplementary materials accommodate the individual abilities and needs of students.

Language – Language studies include both grammar and writing. In grammar we study sentence structure and the parts of speech. Students become stronger writers through regular practice in drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. A number of genres are studied including narratives, essays, reports, poetry, and persuasive writing.

Spelling – Students are involved in a variety of word study activities as they apply different spelling strategies in their writing. Weekly spelling tests support their continuing development.

Handwriting – Students continue to practice writing cursive using the D’Nealian method. By the end of the year, students are expected to legibly write a majority of their work in cursive.

Math – Students apply their prior knowledge of math facts to larger numbers. They add and subtract large numbers with regrouping, and multiply and divide by two digit numbers. Students also study fractions, measurement, geometry, and probability. All basic concepts are applied in regular problem solving experiences.

Social Studies – Students study the regions of our country. They learn about the resources, landforms, customs, and people of each region. They also briefly study government and what it means to be a citizen of the United States.

Science – Students study Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science. Hands– on investigations and projects are a large part of our curriculum.

Art – Weekly art projects allow students to express themselves in a variety of different ways with a variety of different mediums. We utilize the Arts Attacks curriculum.

Music – Each class of students in grades K– 8 meets once each week for a general music class. In these classes, students learn to read musical notation, play a variety of classroom percussion instruments, develop their singing voices, improvise, compose, and express themselves through music. They also listen to and analyze music from a variety of genres, styles, cultures, and historical periods.

Our school also offers opportunities for students to sing in choirs. Kindergarten and first grade combine in the Cherub Choir, and grades 2-4 sing in the Praise Him choir. Fifth through eighth graders have the option of participating in the Contemporary Choir. The choirs sing in church services, the annual Christmas concert, and a variety of other venues. Kindergarten through fourth grade participates in a musical every spring.

Students in fifth through eighth grade also have opportunities to participate in instrumental ensembles. The tone chime choir plays for church services, a Christmas concert, and a variety of other venues. Our band program is part of a community Christian school effort.

Computer and Technology – Each grade has an orientation to learning.com our network, rules and our special site sptigers.info. All grades do unit of keyboarding (typing) skill development each year.

Computer ethics and safety are included each year. We use resources from Learning.com or easy tech, Cybersmart, netsmartz, iSafe, and Renaissance Learning.

In fourth grade, keyboarding, visual mapping, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, graphing, emailing, presentation, web design and searching are emphasized.

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St. Paul's Lutheran School - 1780 Career Center Road - Bourbonnais, IL 60914