Rhodes School District 84.5

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade consists of four individual classrooms. Our classrooms strive to reach all learners, and have various supports and programs in place for English Language Learners, Special Education, Dual Language and Enrichment. All students cover the same curriculum topics, but may do so in a variety of ways depending on their classes, needs and individual programming. Students enrolled in the Dual Language program also receive a 50/50 English/Spanish instructional delivery model.

Fourth grade's core curriculums are Reading, Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. Students' needs in the areas are addressed through a variety of leveled programming including Title 1 Classes, Rhodes Academy, Enrichment Classes and Special Education classes. Additionally, students receive daily Physical Education. Students are also enrolled in Art, Computers, Library, Music, and Spanish one class per week.

Reading/Language Arts

Our Reading and Language Arts curriculum is called ReadyGen and it focuses on key skills needed for grade-level reading comprehension. These skills include understanding the main idea/detail, plot elements, characterization, cause and effect and theme.

The Language Arts portion of the curriculum is two-fold. All students have weekly spelling lists that are leveled to fit their educational needs. Additionally, students participate in writing projects in all modes of writing: informational, opinion, persuasive and text-based writing. Topics, genres and rubrics are taken from the ReadyGen curriculum.

Math

Our Math curriculum is called GoMath and it focuses on key skills needed for grade-level math readiness. The large areas of study are place value, two and three digit multiplication, dividing by one-digit numbers and fractions. Additionally, students use these taught strategies to solve single and multi-step word problems.

All students work towards automaticity with both multiplication and division facts in order to more fluently complete grade level work.

Social Studies

Fourth grade social studies focuses on the state of Illinois. There are four main units of study: Government, History of Illinois, Economics and Geography of Illinois. Students explore these topics through articles, videos, notes, primary source material and projects.

Students also study Democratic Values and Civic Virtues through a lens of important Illinois citizens. These eight topics are: honesty,cooperation, multiple perspectives, mutual respect, freedom, liberty, equality and individual rights.

Science

Fourth grade science covers four main units of study: The Human Body, Sound, Energy and Earth Science. Students explore these topics through videos, notes, hands-on experiments, articles, books and more! We use the online resource MysteryScience to help drive our instruction and assessments.

Assessment

In the Fourth Grade, students participate in a variety of standardized testing and assessment opportunities. They are:

AIMSweb (Reading Composite given 3 times per year)

Oral Reading Fluency (Reading record taken 3 times per year)

NWEA MAP Testing (Nationally normed assessment in Reading and Math given 3 times per year)

Illinois Assessment of Readiness (State normed assessment in Reading and Math given over several weeks each Spring)In addition to these standard tests, each classroom gives a variety of formative and summative assessments that track student progress throughout the year in all subject areas. These include skill/concept quizzes, weekly spelling assessments and unit tests. Teachers use assessment data to better understand student skill mastery and learning needs. Families receive the results of these assessments throughout the school year, at Parent/Teacher conferences and with report cards on a quarterly basis.

Teachers can be contacted via DOJO and email. Please visit our Staff Connection to contact your child's teacher.


Mrs. Korntheuer/Mrs. Kaplan Website

Fourth Grade Curriculum Maps