Welcome to 4th grade!!

Fourth grade is going to be a great year for you and your child. Fourth grade is an important transitional year for students. They will sharpen and refine the many concepts introduced in the primary grades. Students are expected to assume more independence and responsibility for their own learning. They will develop work habits and study skills that will enable them to ask questions and seek help from teachers, organize self, materials, and notes from school to home and back smoothly, and work both independently and with cooperative groups effectively and resourcefully.

Here are some fun topics special to fourth grade for each subject.

Math

• Decimals
• Long Division
• Fractions
• Two-digit by two-digit or two-digit by three-digit multiplication

English

• Author’s purpose
• Story Elements
• Main Idea
• Inferences
• Nonfiction text features

Social Studies

• Regions and Products of Virginia
• Woodland Indians
• Revolutionary War
• Civil War
• 20th Century Virginians

Science

• Space
• Weather
• Force and Motion
• Electricity

Here are some of the wonderful opportunities that your child will get to experience this year.

Colonial Holiday – This in-school field trip is a fun day directly correlated with the student’s social studies curriculum.  The students get to dress up in colonial attire and experience what life was like for someone living in the Virginia Colony.  They learn what school was like for colonial children,  traditions during the holidays, and the chores of the colonists.

Holiday Lights Garland – A holiday tradition for the 4th graders.  It is a wonderful keepsake to remember their 4th grade year.

Pamplin Park – So much history is right in our own backyard!  This Civil War battlefield in Dinwiddie was one of the last major battles before the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House.  Pamplin Park focuses on getting students to experience what life was like for the “everyday” soldier during the Civil War.  They can look forward to marching on a battlefield in a mock battle and learning what soldiers did when they weren’t fighting.

History Lives – Ever been to a living wax museum? Students get to choose a famous Virginian and become that person for a live living museum.  They become an expert on that historical figure, dress up like that figure, and present a speech for parents and students to enjoy.  One of the highlights of the fourth grade year for our students!