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Fourth Grade |
| Welcome to Fourth Grade at St. Dennis | ||
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Fourth grade is a great age! Students have enough of the basics in reading and writing to allow them to do some really fun things. Learning takes a leap as students develop more abstract thinking skills and rely less on concrete examples. At right is a picture of our Fourth Grade teacher, Ms. McNally, as drawn by Hannah, one of her students. |
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Religion: Preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the main focus in Religion. Students will be learning about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, the Ten Commandments, and the Beatitudes. They will also learn about various saints of the church. |
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Reading: Students are becoming more mature readers in fourth grade. Students will work with using context clues, main ideas, elements of stories, vocabulary skills, and different genres of literature. Keeping students interested in reading is a challenge that can be worked on at school and at home. Language Arts/Spelling: By learning about grammar and parts of speech, students should be able to write cohesive sentences and paragraphs in order to communicate with others. Students will work with a variety of writing, including descriptive, persuasive, and informational essays. Spelling is also a necessary tool for communication. There will be a spelling test each week with words from the unit and dictation sentences. |
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Mathematics: Problem solving is a key element in mathematics today. Students will be exposed to a variety of methods to approach a problem. There will continue to be an emphasis on the need for knowing basic facts and computation skills. |
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Science: Life, physical and earth science topics will all be addressed in science. Using the scientific method and thinking like a scientist are concepts that are stressed. Activities will help the students question and learn about the world around them. |
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Social Studies: Map skills and basic geography will be focused on during the first quarter. The remainder of the year will deal with our state of Wisconsin - the land, the history, and the people. An awareness of current events is also an important aspect of Social Studies. |
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| Thoughts from our Fourth Grade Teacher: |
| "Education is more than merely learning to read and write... One of the essential roles in the education process is helping children prepare for their future. As adults, they will need to understand the importance of respect for others, working cooperatively, commitment to a task, and setting priorities... A classroom should be a place of gaining knowledge as well as learning about life. A classroom needs to be a balance of hard work, cooperation, respect for others and fun.
"...(At St. Dennis) Because we are a small community, there are no strangers. For the most part, faculty, parents and students are well known to each other. We are able to stress the idea of respect through prayer and an emphasis on the teachings of Jesus. ...St. Dennis School should be a place where God is present and acknowledged every day, where everyone feels safe, and where students experience the joy of learning which will carry them into their futures." |
| Ms. McNally, Fourth Grade Teacher |