Religion

We follow the Bible readings from the Family Altar.

Memory

We follow the memory work for the Family Altar, which is revised somewhat for fourth grade. Although memory is due on Tuesday and Friday, it may be heard any morning. The students may say it early if they wish. The Bible verse is heard by Tuesday, and the catechism is heard by Friday.

Reading

We work on reading fluency, both oral and silent. Vocabulary and book reports are also included here. There are four to five book reports during the year. The teacher approves the book before the student begins reading it for the book report. The teacher gives out instructions for the type of book report closer to the due date of the book report.

Spelling

We have a weekly spelling lesson of 20 words. There is a test at the end of each week. Shorter weeks may have an alternate spelling lesson. One word from the challenge words is an extra credit word on the test.

English

A weekly journal includes topics made up by the teacher, and some are chosen by the student. We learn all the main parts of speech and apply them to writing assignments. Daily Oral Language (DOL) is a morning activity that is done upon entrance to the room and is corrected together. This gives the students practice in proofreading.

Handwriting

Once we have reviewed the letters and the capital letters, all work (except journal, math, and assignments like crossword puzzles) is done in cursive.

Math

It is essential that students know math facts in fourth grade. This includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. There are some timed multiplication facts tests. We cover essential items that are needed for fifth grade readiness.

Science

There are three areas that we study during the year.  These areas are the human body, earth science, and life science.

Social Studies

We study the six regions of the U.S. The students learn the locations of the states and the names of their capitals, and they are tested on this and more with each unit. At the end of the year the students need to be able to locate all of the states with 90% accuracy. We also do a unit on Illinois.

Computer

We work on typing skills quite a lot. As the students reach the upper grades, it is essential that they are able to type their work. This is introduced to students later in the year. We also do additional keyboarding in the classroom on Alpha Smarts.

Music, Art and Physical Education

These classes meet once or twice each week.