• Saint Mary School
  • Buffalo Grove, IL - (847) 459-6270

RELIGION

The main theme for fourth grade religion is: “God’s Law Guides Us.”

Students will learn about the Catholic faith through stories, activities, scripture, prayer, discussion, and reflection. The text used for instruction is “We Believe”.

Emphasis is on:

  • Growing in Christ Jesus

  • The Ten Commandments

  • The Liturgical Calendar/Year

  • We are Called to Holiness/ Life of Virtue

  • Lives of the Saints

  • Life through Jesus’ example

MATH

Students will utilize the text of

Everyday Mathematics, as well as other supplemental materials, to master understanding of skills with the following emphases:

  • Place Value

  • Multi-digit multiplication

  • Understanding and classifying geometric figures by their properties

  • Fractions and fraction equivalence

  • Multiplication of fractions by whole numbers

  • Large Numbers and Estimation

  • Perimeter and Area

  • Percents, Reflections, and Symmetry

  • 3D Shapes, Weight, Volume, and Capacity.

  • Circle, line, and bar graphs

  • Time to the minute

  • Two step words problems

Writing

Students will apply their knowledge of grammatical skills and the five step writing process to become reflective, creative, and articulate communicators in written form.

Types of writing that will be developed include:

  • Essential Question

    • Five paragraph writing with topic sentence and concluding sentence

    • Synthesizes a response to a central theme based on a fiction text or a non-fiction concept studied

  • Five step process writing

    • (pre-writing/ brainstorming with thinking maps as graphic organizers, drafting, revising, editing, publishing)

    • Narrative Writing

    • Expository Writing

    • Persuasive Writing

  • Poetry

    • Couplet

    • Cinquain

    • Acrostic

    • Diamante

    • Free verse

    • Limerick

    • Haiku

SCIENCE

Life Science Trimester 1

Students will construct arguments that plants and animals have internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, and behavior.

Earth’s Features Trimester 2

Students will make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, wind, or vegetation.

Students will also analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.

Physical Science Trimester 3

Students will study how energy can be moved from place to place. Students will also be able to describe human uses of energy. Finally, students will investigate Earth’s place in the universe










ELAR

Reading

Students will read grade-level novels to apply the skills learned throughout the year. Novels such as: Frindle, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Wonder. Students will read texts from every genre using the Journeys Common Core: Catholic Schools Edition.

  • Cause and effect

  • Plot (problem, main events, solution)

  • Figurative language

  • Sequence of events

  • Analysis of details

  • Context clues/ vocabulary

  • Characteristics of fiction & non-fiction

  • Author’s purpose

  • Use of thinking maps to organize information

  • Reading fluency

  • Dictionary skills

Language Arts/ Grammar

Students will develop mastery in the following grammatical concepts:

  • Sentences

    • types of sentences

    • identifying subjects/ predicates +run-ons/ fragments

  • Nouns

    • common vs. proper

    • forming plural nouns

    • forming possessive nouns

  • Verbs

    • present/ past/ future verbs

    • linking verbs

    • main verbs/ helping verbs

    • progressive forms of verbs

    • irregular verbs

  • Adjectives, adverbs & prepositions

    • demonstrative adjectives

    • comparing with adjectives (er/est, more/most & good/bad, etc.)

  • Adverbs

    • comparing with adverbs (er/est, & good/ well, etc.)

  • Prepositions and prepositional phrases

  • Pronouns

    • subject & object pronouns

    • pronoun-verb agreement

    • possessive pronouns

    • contractions

    • relative pronouns & adverbs

  • Capitalization, punctuation & spelling

    • capitalizing proper nouns & titles

    • abbreviations

    • commas

    • quotations

    • editing mistakes in capitalization, punctuation & spelling

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The goal of the P.E. and Health curriculum at Saint Mary School is for students to gain a greater awareness about what constitutes their physical, mental and social well-being. The program mission is to provide the knowledge and skills that will enable students to become literate. This will allow them to make responsible decisions and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the rest of their life, which benefits students of all ages and all aspects of their growth, development and learning. This will allow the students to become proficient movers, demonstrate strong character, collaborate effectively with their peers, think critically and become advocates for family and friends in promoting the value of exercise and making healthy lifestyle choices.

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Students will develop their social and cultural understanding of the world around them. They will utilize the text of Houghton Mifflin: States and Regions, as well as other supplemental materials.

Theme emphases are:

  • The Government

    • Branches and their roles

    • Constitution

  • Map skills/ geography

  • The United States, its land and people

  • The Regions of the United States

    • Southeast

    • Northeast

    • Middle West

    • Southwest

    • West

SPANISH

To prepare students to communicate effectively in an increasingly global community.

The Spanish classes focus on the three modes of communication:

Interpersonal-communicating effectively with native speakers in oral fashion.

Interpretive-reading and comprehending authentic texts made for native speakers.

Presentational-expressing yourself effectively and correctly in Spanish in written form.

¡Buen viaje!

Element 1-Homestay Countries, Cities & Languages

Element 2-Packing

Element 3-Trip Plans

Element 4-Travel Details

Element 5-Echanging Letters With Host Family

Element 6-Preparing a Photo Album

Element 7-Arrival

Element 8-Homestay House & Daily Routines

Element 9- Getting Around Town

ART

The art class at Saint Mary is an interactive experience. Students are encouraged to strive for a "growth mindset.” Students use all forms of artistic mediums to do a variety of artistic projects.

Students are evaluated using pass/fail, based on the following guidelines:

  • effort/participation

  • creativity

  • craftsmanship

MUSIC

Students will have the opportunity to participate in music activities and to develop an appreciation for music.

Emphasis is on:

  • Singing in groups and performance opportunities

  • Involvement in choirs.

  • Exploring a variety of musical styles

  • Understanding tonality through singing and listening activities.

Developing vocal skills, understanding how the voice works


PRE-FOOTER
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