reading is practiced with an emphasis on increasing independence. Continued exploration of sound production encourages students to focus on creating a beautiful tone. Regular opportunities for solo and group performances help build confidence, while individual practice routines are encouraged and supported. Physical Education The fourth grade physical education program offers a diverse range of activities designed to develop well-rounded student-athletes. Students focus on mastering fundamental skills like throwing, catching, striking, kicking, and dribbling, preparing them for participation in various sports. Students refine their locomotor skills – running, jumping, skipping, sliding – and conquer challenging obstacle courses that test their agility and balance. Students are then introduced to different games and activities that promote teamwork and sportsmanship both in the gymnasium and on the school’s eight turf fields. Students also practice jump rope routines, master basic stunts and tumbling routines, and explore and practice on the Cook Road gymnasium’s rock climbing wall and ladder challenges. Students utilize the expansive facilities at our disposal. Students also continue to develop their ice skating skills through lessons on the ice at the McCann Ice Arena. Science Fourth graders work on building their scientific vocabulary and describe scientific concepts in their own words. They explore three different branches of science including, environmental science, life and earth science. The curriculum builds on the knowledge the students have gained in the previous grades to focus on a deeper understanding. They work on exploring the components of various systems and explaining the relationships between them. They formulate predictions based on cause and effect relationships. Experience is guided by student interest through an inquiry-based lens. Visual Art Fourth grade students continue to build skills in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, fibers, and printmaking while using line, shape, texture, form, and color more deliberately. Students practice value and monochromatic color schemes through understanding and creating tints and shades. Students identify the concept of radial symmetry, and study self-portraiture (both two-dimensional and three-dimensional) in more depth. A fourth grade project might include, but is not limited to, using plaster to create a self-portrait sculpture, or creating a monochromatic painting inspired by feeling and emotion.
Students will learn how to read and analyze different thematic maps, such as climate maps, land use maps, and population maps in order to draw comparisons between different regions of the United States. Using Nystrom’s Encompass program, which focuses on hands-on geography to increase engagement, students will work cooperatively and analyze primary and secondary sources in order to explore our world. Project Work Students use the Project Approach to gain knowledge of what they think they know and begin to ask questions for what they want to know. Using the Liggett Approach to education as their basis, students will build upon their research and discovery as they document their learning using models, illustrations, videos, writing and presentations. Project topics vary from year to year depending upon student interests. Presentations are frequently prepared and given to various audiences as a culmination of project work. These presentations come in many formats. Some examples of fourth grade projects from previous years include: • Land and water formations • Famous African-Americans and history • Biography interviews • Movie night at the “Golden Knight Awards” • Poetry Café Health Health is integrated in all other core subjects (especially in science) whenever possible. Students also attend an annual symposium on issues involving topics such as social awareness and positive interactions. Some of the topics covered related to health include building relationships, good decision making, bullying, self-esteem and advocacy, human growth and development, and good health practices. At this grade level, a unit on pubertal development is also introduced by facilitators, including the Director of Medical Services. Music Musical and dance compositions are compared to poetic forms in literature. This expands into a study of meaning in pop and rock music lyrics. Students explore each of the diatonic modes and independently compose duet and ensembles. Orchestra Students build on their skills by refining posture and bowing techniques, developing a more advanced bow hold. Rhythms become more complex, and note
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Lower School | Fourth Grade
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