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Fourth Grade

Fourth grade is an exciting year of growth as students become the leaders of the lower school. Students have ongoing opportunities to grow and prepare for middle school. This exciting year is filled with many activities that encourage team building and critical thinking. Along with these dynamic experiences, students are also challenged academically in a nurturing and supportive Christian environment.
  • Literacy

    Reading-

    Literacy skills are taught and reinforced throughout the entire fourth-grade curriculum and during a designated reading and literacy block. The reading program teaches students the skills they need to read to learn. The year begins with reviewing comprehension skill strategies (making connections, summarizing, inferences, and characterization) and transitions to whole-class reading instruction. Students also participate in small-group literature circles incorporated with engaging novel studies. Throughout fourth grade, students learn to recognize literary devices within a text (simile, metaphor, idiom, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, and onomatopoeia) in various genres.

    Phonics and Spelling-

    During the first half of the school year, students focus on reviewing spelling patterns and rules. For the second half of the year, students are expected to spell high frequency words and words with taught spelling patterns correctly in their written work.
  • Writing

    Using the Collaborative Classroom, Being a Writer Curriculum, fourth graders write in various genres and forms for different audiences and purposes. Students experience writing in multiple forms, including non-fiction, narrative, personal, fictional, expository, opinion, and poetry. Fourth-grade students also utilize resources in the Dozier Library to perform research to assist with writing reports and group projects.
  • Grammar

    Students learn grammar and sentence structure through Shurley English. This program teaches skills using catchy songs and jingles. This instructional method helps students commit to memory the many rules of the English language. By the end of fourth grade, students will be able to diagram sentences with the appropriate parts of speech, recognize different types of sentences, and use appropriate grammar in both oral and written language.
  • Mathematics

    The foundation of our K-4 mathematics program is Math in Focus, a curriculum focused on problem solving through real-world and hands-on experiences. Students are taught to think critically about math by moving from concrete (manipulatives) to pictorial (bar models) to abstract (formulas/algorithms) learning. To achieve mastery, students will learn the “why” behind each mathematical concept before learning the “how”. The ability to apply knowledge to routine as well as non-routine math problems is an integral part of demonstrating mastery of math concepts.

    Fourth graders enter with a strong foundation in all math facts, allowing them to expand their abilities to perform more complex operations. Advanced multi-digit multiplication, long division, and multi-step word problems are just a few of the concepts tackled early in the year. Students also learn how to collect and interpret data and expand and apply their knowledge of fractions to decimal numbers.

    Math Facts-

    We believe success in math cannot be achieved without mastery of math facts. Therefore, each grade level has its own expectations for math fact mastery guided by Wesleyan’s Math Matters program. Research shows students who are able to recall math facts quickly free up working memory that can then be devoted to higher-level problem solving.
  • Social Studies

    Using Social Studies Alive! curriculum, students will explore and understand important events and figures in history while participating in hands-on activities that encourage personal connections and critical thinking. Beginning with a study of Indigenous tribes and nations, students will learn about our nation’s history, including the Age of Exploration, Colonization, and the American Revolution.

    Geography-

    First through fourth graders participate in the Passport Club. This program is run by Wesleyan parents and encourages children to learn the locations of several countries each month. Parent volunteers assess students once a month to see if they can locate given countries on a map. Each month, students also can explore one feature country in depth, learning about its land, history and culture through videos, books, and food.
  • Grammar

    Grammar focuses on mastering complete sentences-parts of speech, subject/predicate, simple compound, complex sentences.
  • Mathematics

    The foundation of our K-4 mathematics program is Math in Focus, a curriculum focused on problem solving through real-world and hands-on experiences. Students are taught to think critically about math by moving from concrete (manipulatives) to pictorial (bar models) to abstract (formulas/algorithms) learning. To achieve mastery, students will learn the “why” behind each mathematical concept before learning the “how”. The ability to apply knowledge to routine as well as non-routine math problems is an integral part of demonstrating mastery of math concepts. Fourth graders enter with a strong foundation in all math facts, allowing them to expand their abilities to perform more complex operations. Advanced multi-digit multiplication, long division, and multi-step word problems are just a few of the concepts tackled early in the year. Students also learn how to collect and interpret data, convert measurements, and expand and apply their knowledge of fractions to decimal numbers.

    Math Facts-

    We believe success in math cannot be achieved without mastery of math facts. Therefore, each grade level has its own expectations for math fact mastery guided by Wesleyan’s Math Matters program. Research shows students who can recall math facts quickly free up working memory that can then be devoted to higher-level problem solving.
  • Photo of Emma Grace Burns
    Emma Grace Burns
    4th Grade Chair, Lead Teacher
    Georgia Southern University - Master of Arts
    Auburn University - Bachelor of Science
  • Photo of Haley Badciong
    Haley Badciong
    Teaching Assistant
    Auburn University - Bachelor of Science
  • Photo of Kelsey Bondeson
    Kelsey Bondeson
    Faculty Fellow
    University of Georgia - Bachelor of Arts
  • Photo of Jessica Krauth
    Jessica Krauth
    Teaching Assistant
    Georgia State University - Bachelor of Arts
  • Photo of Sarah Kate Moody
    Sarah Kate Moody
    Math Resource Teacher
    Georgia State University - Master of Science
    Boston College - Bachelor of Arts
  • Photo of Ahreum Park
    Ahreum Park
    Lead Teacher, Lower School Diversity Coordinator
    University of Tennessee- Knoxville - Master of Education
    University of Tennessee - Knoxville - Bachelor of Science
  • Photo of Jean Peake
    Jean Peake
    Literacy Specialist
    Auburn University - Bachelor of Arts
  • Photo of Meghan Smith
    Meghan Smith
    Lower School Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator, Lead Teacher
    University of Texas - Master of Arts
    Roanoke College - Bachelor of Arts