What children will study this year:

This course is taught by an Art Specialist. It is the goal of the elementary art program to develop an understanding of art that will lead to a lifetime of art appreciation. Students will continue to learn about and create visual artworks by:

• Exploring the elements of art: line, shape, color, texture, value, space and form.

• Exploring the principles of art: pattern, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm and movement. They will specifically learn more deeply about contrast, emphasis and repetition in fourth grade.

• Examining how art is a form of visual communication.

• Communicating ideas through their artwork and determining meaning in the artwork of others.

• Analyzing how artists use the principle of art, repetition in their work, while creating it on their own.

• Experimenting with creating different types of contrast in artwork.

What you can do at home to help:

• Talk about special family times. Discuss how a family story might be shown in an artwork such as a story quilt.

• If taking a family outing, consider visiting a museum or cultural event in another community, state, or country.

• Take notice of where you encounter repetition in your everyday life. The schedule of your day, a hobby, such as knitting, practicing sports or a musical instrument. Talk about how repetition looks, or how it affects you.

• Look at different works of art. Ask the questions: What is the focal point in the artwork? What do you notice first? Do this when reading a story. What is the main idea in the story?

• Garden, choosing flowers with contrasting colors, sizes, or textures.

• Look at book illustrations, posters, CD covers, and sports logos. What do you think the artwork communicates?

• Take your child to a local art museum. The Twin Cities and surrounding area has a wide variety of art to view in person. Visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Museum of Russian Art.

• Attend special art events at the  North Suburban Center for the Arts, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Caponi Art Park, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Silverwood Park.

GRADE 4 ART UNITS

Unit 1: Communication

What families can do at home to help:

• Look at picture-only books together. Create words for the story to follow it.

• Take a favorite short story or poem, and create an illustration for it.

• Create an art journal and draw something every day that relates to that day. This could be something small, such as a doodle, or more finished and detailed work of art.

• Play the game, Pictionary. How can you best communicate a word in a drawing?

Unit 2: Contrast & Emphasis

What families can do at home to help:

• Visit a garden, perhaps the Como Zoo Conservatory or Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. What different kinds of flowers are planted together? Are they similar, or do they contrast with each other? What looks interesting?

• Create a mosaic, using torn paper scraps, or small tiles. Create one main focal point of interest, in order to create emphasis in your work.

• Create an illustration for a story that you have read. Think of the main idea of the story. Use that as your main focal point in your illustration. Then, create as many other details as you can, making your illustration more interesting.

• If going on a special trip, create one sketch a day. Draw a picture of the most interesting thing you did each day. Create a title for each picture.
  
  

Unit 3: Rhythm and Movement

What families can do at home to help:

• Be a print maker! Find interesting objects to press into paint or ink, and print onto a sheet of paper. How does repeating the object create interest in your art?

• Look at different works of art. What kinds of things can you find in the artwork that are repeated? Shapes, colors, textures, lines, etc. How does the artwork look when things are repeated?

• Attempt knitting, crochet, knot tying, or bracelet making, creating something with thread, yarn, or string. How does the repetition of the way these materials are manipulated help to create a finished object?

What children will study this year:

Technology skills are learned within the context of math, social studies, language, and science curriculum objectives. Students learn to use computers to help prepare them to live in the technology-rich society of the 21st century.

• Work with multiple tabs
• Read and follow onscreen computer prompts
• Save and retrieve files
• Review/use copy, cut, paste, select all and undo in a variety of environments
• Format text; re-size, change font, bold, text color, center align, tab key, copy and paste, cut and paste, delete, check spelling
• Click and drag text and graphics
• Insert, add, flip, rotate, and move graphics
• Zoom to view page layout
• Type text in text box
• Manipulate text boxes
• Correct posture for keyboarding
• Use arrow keys to move around in text
• Use information from a variety of sources to create multimedia presentation for communicating ideas
• Acknowledge copyrights
• Practice keyboarding skills
• Coding on Scratch Website

What children will study this year:

How to express emotions in a healthy way by:

• demonstrating an understanding of individual differences.
• knowing and using conflict resolution skills.
• The attributes of the District #11 Education for Character Plan.

Age appropriate personal safety strategies such as:

• bus safety,
• playground safety,
• bike safety,
• fire safety,
• personal safety, and
• societal violence and prevention strategies.

Age appropriate nutritional requirements

The consequences of using drugs, alcohol and tobacco by:

• knowing the refusal skills needed to effectively cope with various situations

Strategies to prevent the spread of communicable diseases

The differences between communicable and non-communicable diseases

The changes that occur in the human body

Grade 4 Health Units

Unit: Character Education

What parents can do at home to help:

• Share appropriate strategies for conflict resolution with your child.
• Routinely talk with your child about his/her friendships.Share your family values with your child
• Have your child define the behaviors of a bully, what bullying looks like and what to do if he/she encounters a bully

• Discuss personal hygiene routines with your child.
  
  

What parents can do at home to help:

• Insist that your child wear protective gear when participating in activities such as biking, rollerblading, and skateboarding.
• Make a policy with your child on Internet safety.
• Ensure that your child knows his/her home telephone number and address.
• Create a home or apartment fire escape plan for your home. Make sure you include an outdoor meeting spot.
  
  

Research shows that many factors contribute to successful keyboarding development for elementary students. Below are the guidelines for implementing a successful keyboarding experience for Anoka-Hennepin students.

Outcomes Anoka-Hennepin elementary keyboarding instruction focuses on:

• Proper Posture
• Correct Technique
• Accuracy
• Speed

Proper Posture:

• Feet on floor, one foot slightly ahead
• Fingers curved
• Hands not resting on keyboard or table
• Sitting up straight, leaning slightly forward
• Head up looking at the screen
• Elbows are naturally close to body
• Center body in front of letters on keyboard
• Back straight

Correct Technique:

• Fingers resting lightly on home row
• Correct fingering for all letters, shift, tab, space, return, and punctuation
• One space after all punctuation
• Eyes off keyboard as much as possible

Grade 4 Keyboarding Unit

Unit: Keyboarding

What families can do at home to help:

• Practice Keyboarding

Bridges in Mathematics is a comprehensive math curriculum that addresses the Minnesota Standards for Mathematics in a manner that is rigorous, coherent, engaging, and accessible to all learners.

The curriculum focuses on developing children’s’ deep understandings of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and ability to solve complex and new problems. Bridges taps into the intelligence and strengths of all students by presenting material that is as linguistically, visually, and kinesthetically rich as it is mathematically powerful.

This year in fourth grade math, your child will learn to:

• demonstrate fluency with and facts
• use place value understanding to multiply a number by 10, 100, and 1,000
• understand factors and multiples, e.g., 1,2,4,5,10, and 20 are all factors of 20, and 20 is a multiple of each of those numbers
• multiply multi-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and properties of operations
• divide 2-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers using strategies based on place value and the relationship between multiplication and division
• read, write, and compare multi-digit numbers and round multi-digit numbers to any place
• add and subtract multi-digit numbers accurately and efficiently
• recognize and generate equivalent fractions
• compare two fractions with different numerators and denominators
• add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators
• multiply a fraction by a whole number
• write fractions with denominators of 10 or 100 in decimal notation
• compare decimal numbers with digits to the thousandths place
• know the relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units, including metric length, metric mass, customary weight, metric volume, and time
• find area and perimeter of a rectangle to solve problems
• measure and sketch angles with a protractor
• describe, classify and sketch 2-D shapes
• identify and draw lines of symmetry
• use translations, reflections and rotations to establish congruence and understand symmetries
• collect, organize, display and interpret data
  
  

Bridges in Mathematics Family Overview Letters:

Family Welcome Letter: An introduction to Bridges including an overview of the year. Available in English or Spanish.

Unit 1:  Multiplicative Thinking:  English or Spanish 

Unit 2:  Multi-Digit Multiplication & Early Division:  English or Spanish

Unit 3:  Fractions and Decimals:  English or Spanish

Unit 4:  Addition, Subtraction & Measurement:  English or Spanish

Unit 5:  Geometry & Measurement:  English or Spanish

Unit 6: Multiplication & Division, Data & Fractions:  English or Spanish

Unit 7: Reviewing & Extending Fractions, Decimals & Multi-Digit Multiplication:  English or Spanish

Unit 8: Playground Design:  English or Spanish

Your best source to answer questions and get assistance is your student's teacher. The resources here provide additional guidance and suggestions for how you can participate in your child's learning.

Click on this link to see the free apps that provide visual models featured in Bridges in Mathematics.

Games and Activities to do at Home

Bridges Math at Home  Look for additional fun daily math activities, collections of practice pages, family games and online games from the Math Learning Center.

Bedtime Math  The charitable mission of Bedtime Math is to help kids love numbers so they can handle the math in real life. Bedtime Math makes math part of the family routine. Every day, they serve up a quick bite of wacky math just for fun. Whether it’s flamingos, ninjas or pillow forts, children can see the math in their favorite topics. 

Games for Young Minds  Kent Haines, the developer of this website, has done a lot of legwork pulling together games and resources for families that are fun and mathematically power.

Which One Doesn’t Belong  This website is dedicated to providing thought-provoking puzzles for adults and students alike. There are no answers provided as there are many different and correct ways of choosing which one doesn't belong. Enjoy! 

Caregiver Resources

DREME Family Connections  DREME describes home-school connections to help young children see and understand that math is an important part of daily life. 

Four Boosting Messages Everyone can learn math at high levels, according to recent research.  This eight and a half minute video from Stanford University looks at evidence to support a growth mindset for all math learners.

Learning Progression Videos  The Making Sense Progression videos describe the phases of strategies children progress through as they develop number sense and construct understandings of critical mathematical ideas.

Math Learning Center Apps   Families can access these apps without a user name or password, and the apps can be used with iPads, Chrome or a computer's web browser. There’s a tutorial on the website for the apps, but most of the students will know what to do!

Supporting Your Child in Math   This website offers a variety of resources to support families in understanding why we teach math differently today.  These resources provide families with strategies for instilling positive beliefs about mathematics.

Talking Math With Kids  Talking Math with Your Kids is about supporting children’s early mathematical development.  Parents know that we need to read 20 minutes a day with our kids.But teaching math to your kids doesn’t have to be intimidating.  It can be fun. Just as children say goodnight to the moon, they can say hello to numbers, shapes and measurement.

Bridges Math at Home  Look for additional fun daily math activities, collections of practice pages, family games and online games from the Math Learning Center. 

What children will study this year:

Students visit the Library Media Center once in a digital day cycle for literature appreciation, information literacy instruction and book check-out.

As fourth graders, students continue to use the on-line catalog to access library materials both print and on-line, practice the formal research process, and make personal reading choices that are a "good fit."

• The location of books he or she is interesting in.
• The library has an organization scheme which can be searched using the on-line catalog.
• There is a process for conducting research.
• Borrowing books requires responsible book care.
• Books are a shared resource and need to be returned when due.

Program and Grade Level Understandings articulate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave the K-12 program in Anoka-Hennepin. The grade level understandings demonstrate what students should understand and be able to do when they leave each grade level. The grade level understandings increase in complexity as students progress through the K-12 program.

Unit: Research

What families can do at home to help:

• Visit your local library
  
  

What children will study this year:

• Singing: Performance testing on singing alone with accurate pitch and rhythm is accomplished.

• Pitch: Students read, write, sing, create and play melodies using:  do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti and high do. Fa and Ti are added in grade four. Students learn the letter names of the staff line (e, g, b, d, f) and spaces (f, a, c, e) and use them to play melodies on classroom instruments.

• Improvisation: Practice improvising (making up on the spot) melody and accompaniments using classroom instruments and voice is a continued emphasis.

• Elements of Music: Students continue to analyze how compositions are put together and demonstrate knowledge of expressive qualities in music.

• History and Culture: Students learn to recognize and describe various sounds of instruments, music from many cultures including Minnesota American Indian and various styles of music, both vocal and instrumental.

What families can do at home to help:

• Have your child share and teach songs to family and friends.

• Review letter names of the lines and spaces on the music staff.

• Have your child compose his/her own songs, then sing and play them.

• Have a family member or a friend sing part songs with your child.

• Listen to music around you. Describe, evaluate, and compare and contrast music with your child. Your child should be able to identify and describe instrument sounds and musical styles, as well as respond to global music.

GRADE 4 MUSIC UNITS

Simple Meter - Syncopation

In this unit, students will continue to sing and play using known rhythms and add syncopation - short sound, long sound, short sound - (Syn-co-pa).  Students will continue to experience music in simple and compound time.  Students will continue to develop an understanding that music is present in every culture, is a reflection of culture, and promotes an appreciation of other cultures, through the use of singing, playing, creating, moving, listening, improvising, and conversing. Students will develop their ability to respond to music in a variety of ways. Students will create and perform an original 16-beat composition, using known rhythms.

Hexatonic Scale (Fa)

This is a unit in which students will utilize Do’-La-Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do. Through singing, reading, notating, creating, improvising, playing, moving, and listening, students will become more proficient with the above pitches. This will be accomplished using the instructional format: prepare, present, practice, and assess. Students will continue to develop their ability to respond to music in a variety of ways, while identifying the musical elements covered in the previous units. 

Diatonic Scale (Ti)

This is a unit in which students will utilize Do’-Ti-La-Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do; the full diatonic scale. Through singing, reading, notating, creating, improvising, playing, moving, and listening, students will become more proficient with the above pitches. This will be accomplished using the instructional format: prepare, present, practice, and assess. Students will continue to develop their ability to respond to music in a variety of ways, while identifying the musical elements covered in the previous units. 

Critical Response

The overarching goal of this unit is that students will analyze, evaluate, respond and connect to music from many different cultures. Students will realize that music is a form of communication, and there are meaningful connections between music and other aspects of life.

What children will study this year:

• Manipulative Skills: Underhand throwing and rolling, overhand throwing and catching, dribbling with both hands and feet, volleying and striking.

• Students will begin to learn about their heart, muscles and bones and the function they play in their body.

• Nutrition and the role combination foods play in meals.

• Students will be exposed to rules and strategies for the different units.

• Fitness Testing: One mile run/PACER, sit up test, pull up test and sit and reach test

• Analyze Fitness test results on an individual basis 

• Teamwork 

• Sportsmanship

In order to participate safely and successfully, students should have tennis shoes for physical education activities and recess.

Adaptations and modifications will be made for students on an as needed basis. 

What families can do at home to help:

It is important that youth of today develop regular exercise habits and activities that will be continued throughout life. In order for our children to become truly fit, these fitness activities must extend beyond the school day. Family and friends can have a major impact on a child's level of physical activity in many different ways.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION UNITS

Unit: Cardiovascular Fitness, Locomotor, Soccer, Underhand Throw/Roll

Students will participate in a variety of cardiovascular fitness/endurance activities and learn how to change their heart rate with activity. Students will learn how to find their pulse in several locations, calculate heart rate, and recognize differences in their heart rates. Discussion in class will include sportsmanship, safety and teamwork. Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye and eye/foot coordination through various units which include: Football, Soccer, Bowling and Tag Games.

Unit: Muscular Fitness, Non-locomotor, Overhand Throwing/Catching, Dribbling, Volleying and Striking

Fourth graders will build upon their knowledge of muscular fitness during a variety of activities. Students will understand the differences between the three components of fitness (strength, endurance and flexibility). Each student will have a chance to complete the four fitness tests to gain a deeper understanding of their own fitness level (One mile run/PACER, sit ups, pull ups and sit and reach). Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye coordination and spatial awareness through various units which include: Basketball, Volleyball, Tumbling, Floor Hockey and Fitness Testing.

Unit: Nutrition, Jump Rope, Striking, Track and Field

Students will be introduced to combination foods. Students will learn to identify combination foods as well as identifying food groups within the combination food. They will learn how lifelong activities promote personal health and develop an understanding of different activities that they can participate in at any age. Activities in this unit will focus on hand/eye and eye/foot coordination through various units which include: Jump Rope, Pickleball and Track and Field events.

Grade 4 Science Units:

• Students will use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of the object.
• Students will plan and carry out multiple investigations to identify what happens to energy when objects crash.

Unit: Earth & Physical Science

• Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
• Students will obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.

• Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
• Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
• Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
• Students will obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
• Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
• Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.
• Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time.
• Students will obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
• Students will analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
• Students will generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.

What children will study this year:

The fourth grade social studies program is hands-on and content-rich. During the school year, children in fourth grade learn about the the geography of North America while incorporating elements of history, economics, and citizenship and government.

Children also learn and apply basic social studies skills, including:

• Applying the five themes of geography (i.e. location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region)
• Analyzing how climate and geography affects regions
• Reading and using a variety of maps
• Reading and making maps, graphs, diagram and charts.
• Applying basic citizenship skills (e.g., working together in groups to solve problems, rights and responsibilities of citizens, forms of government, national symbols)
• Identifying cause and effect, identifying point of view, making generalizations and forming conclusions and predicting outcomes.

What families can do at home to help:

Unit Information for Families - Academic Standards, what students should know and be able to do, and vocabulary.

Unit: Spatial Thinking: This unit will focus on map skills and on the use of maps for historical inquiry. Students will be introduced to the five themes of geography. Themes will be expanded upon as they relate to unit activities. Students will practice spatial thinking using maps, globes, images and timelines.

What families can do at home to help:

Unit: Geographic Investigations: Students will use the inquiry process to investigate questions about agriculture using maps and other geographic resources. They will collect, record, and analyze data from maps, aerial photos, satellite images, charts, and graphs. They will look for patterns and relationships in order to answer questions about geographic issues. They will learn about economics of agricultural by investigating methods of increasing productivity and how markets work. They will apply the information gathered in order to make a reasoned decision.

What families can do at home to help:

• Practice states and capitals