Fourth Grade

Program Overview:

The fourth grade (9/10s) program focuses on developing a community of learners who are well-prepared for the challenges of Upper School. This year begins with an emphasis on building community as teachers and students establish routines, goals, and plans for learning as they continue through elementary school.

In the 9/10s, students build increased independence, responsibility, and advocacy. They have greater opportunities for academic choice and self-directed learning. They are encouraged to reflect on their own choices in the classroom and in the community. And as leaders and role models, 9/10s begin meeting regularly with their 4/5s “buddies.”

The core social studies curriculum in the 9/10s focuses on immigration and human migration, exploring how power, policy, and cultural identity shape communities over time. Students study immigration to the United States from 1920 to the present, analyzing push and pull factors, personal journeys, and the impact of laws and societal views. Through oral histories, primary sources, and cross-disciplinary projects, they examine the experiences of immigrant and Indigenous communities in New York City, including Seneca Village, Weeksville, Chinatown, El Barrio, and Jackson Heights, gaining a deeper understanding of how these neighborhoods formed, the challenges they faced, and the activism that has supported them across generations

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Literacy:

The Language Arts curriculum focuses on building a community of readers. Teachers and children offer input to build a classroom library. Novels, poetry, picture books, and informational texts are read aloud. Students choose books for independent reading, and a core focus of students’ library use is on nurturing a love of reading for reading’s sake. Student-led book groups in the spring build on the reading comprehension students have developed in the fall to focus on strategies for rich conversations about literature.

Writing workshop begins by teaching students to use the writing notebook and provides them with tools for revising their work before publishing. Students share their work with each other and their teachers to receive feedback. Students master strategies for improving content and learn the mechanics of writing, such as spelling and grammar, as they explore different styles of writing and publish their work.

Every year, the 9/10s are also fortunate to work with the Dorothy Carter Writer-in-Residence, a celebrated author who joins our classrooms each spring to inspire and guide students as they develop their voices as writers.

Library:

Library work helps students build their information-finding skills to become increasingly independent library users. Students also have an opportunity to hone their critical reading skills by evaluating picture books for the Irma S. and James H. Black Book Award, which is presented by Bank Street’s Center for Children’s Literature. For this annual award, children in the 8/9s and 9/10s select four finalists after evaluating 16 current picture books, guided by the librarian and their classroom teachers. The 6/7s and the 7/8s read the four finalists and vote, along with students from hundreds of schools around the world, on the winning book.

Spanish:

In the Spanish program in the 9/10s, students become actively involved in their language learning process through theme-based units that focus on culture, content, and context. Thematic units offer connections to the core curriculum, with a focus on climate and food.

Math:

In mathematics, our goal is to build a community of flexible mathematical thinkers. We focus on learning from mistakes and persevering through challenges. Our 9/10s math curriculum is designed to support students in making sense of math concepts. Students engage in hands-on activities, whole-class discussions, partner work to practice skills and concepts through games, and independent work. As the year progresses, children are expected to continually improve their ability to communicate their steps and processes, both orally and on paper. Areas of focus include:

• Place value understanding and rounding to one million
• Building fluency with multiplicative comparison, multidigit multiplication, and division with multidigit dividends and single-digit divisors
• Developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, decimal fractions, and decimals
• Adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators and multiplying fractions by whole numbers
• Analyzing and classifying geometric figures based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry

Science:

Students experience magnetism and electricity as related effects and learn of useful applications of these phenomena in everyday life. They learn about: magnetic fields; measuring the change in force between magnets; building, designing, and understanding open, closed, parallel, and series circuits. They also learn about energy transfer that results in heat, light, sound, and motion. Students are introduced to sources of energy and components that store energy.

In the fall, students explore how bodies grow and change over time, with a focus on the process of puberty and its varied timelines for how different bodies can change. They examined how gender is a social construct, understood in diverse ways across cultures, and considered how language and power shape our understanding of identity and health. Through discussions, reflections, and scientific learning, students developed an appreciation for the importance of respect, autonomy, and care for their own bodies and the bodies of others. This unit encouraged curiosity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of human development in a way that is inclusive, affirming, and grounded in science.

Art, Shop & Drama:

The integration of art into social studies, language, math, and science helps children make personal connections to their studies and continues to deepen their learning. The 9/10s curriculum includes:

• Art in the 9/10s begins with an introduction to symmetry and design in painting and continues with painting from observation and painting to tell a story. A clay project of a figure supports children’s growing desire for realism.
• In shop, students engage in projects that allow them to explore the nature of a “self-portrait” and express their sense of their inner self. Shop projects also present technical issues that offer students opportunities for creative problem-solving and skill building.
• Students spend the year making fictional films. Students storyboard and work in groups to direct, shoot, and act in their own original movies. They learn rudimentary editing techniques using iMovie and explore sound and special effects techniques. Theater games, group pantomime, and improvisation sessions are interspersed into the film units.

Music:

The music curriculum in the 9/10s focuses on these interconnected elements:

• Singing continues to be the foundation of the music curriculum and all students participate in weekly chorus rehearsals.
• Music literacy and instrument playing build on the recorder playing and reading skills acquired in the 8/9s. Students gain more fluency in reading and ensemble playing and explore instruments such as xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiel, as well as percussive instruments and hand chimes.
• Movement/folk dances help students discover the connections between patterns in music and physical movement, while learning the art of collaboration, self-regulation, and listening.
• In music appreciation, students learn about jazz, including its history, styles, and notable musicians.
• Chorus is held once a week and music is held twice a week.

Physical Education:

For 45 minutes, three times a week, students meet in the gym and on the rooftop play area and learn to develop their strength and endurance through age-appropriate activities that provide the basis for a lifelong appreciation of movement, play, and fitness. The emphasis of physical education classes in the 9/10s is to develop social skills and appropriate team play. Students are introduced to skills and equipment and participate in a variety of team sports, including lead-up games in team handball, football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball. Students participate in stretching, aerobic, and upper-body strength exercises to increase fitness and prepare for fitness exams. Students also play competitive games and recreational tag games for a balanced approach to group play.