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Ms. McCusker Grade Four |
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FOURTH GRADE
The fourth grade experience has many interesting and exciting components. The curriculum follows the Diocesan approved grade four standards but is enhanced with challenging, hands-on, fun activities. Here are some of our featured events:
Estimation is one of the first mathematical concepts we address and, to get a real feel for the concept, students engage in a pumpkin seed estimation activity. The students get their hands dirty by estimating and then counting the seeds.
In our Religion curriculum we cover Holy Days of Obligation. We do an in depth lesson on All Souls' Day by researching saints, dressing in representational garb, creating a presentation, and celebrating Mass by processing into church dressed as the saints.
Another highlight comes during the Christmas season. Students read Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. This unit is packed with interesting, fun, educational activities and the unit’s highlight comes in December when we take a field trip to Trinity Repertory Company to see a live production of the Dickens’ work.
In addition to our Social Studies curriculum which focuses on the U.S. regions, students complete a unit on African-Americans/Civil Rights Movement. The students do research projects and presentations that enhance their appreciation of the Civil Rights Movement.
The students enjoy the unit on the solar system. Here they learn from each other. Each student is expected to become our classroom expert on some aspect of the solar system. Their study is followed by an educational trip to Roger Williams Park’s planetarium and museum.
During Lent, the fourth graders are privileged to put on a reenactment shadow presentation of the Stations of the Cross that is a poignant and moving experience for the entire school community. It is a fourth grade tradition that all students look back upon with fond memories.
Throughout the year we focus on creative writing with an emphasis on poetry. At the end of the year, we conclude our study with an exciting event. The students transform their room into a poetry café. We invite guests to dine and listen to our writing. I hope you have enjoyed reading about some of our grade 4 highlights with many, many more activities threaded throughout the year. They all make for a wonderful fourth grade experience.
