4th Grade Curriculum
History
ECCS fourth graders will study the historical periods of the Middle Ages,
Renaissance, and Reformation from the Veritas
Press history cards. They will learn the history of the Christian church
from St. Augustine in 386a.d. through the Feudal System, Renaissance, and the
Reformation lead by Martin Luther. The
focus will be on the early Christian church history through the invention of
the printing press leading to the Reformation and how those events affect us
today. Fourth grade history will point students to the extraordinary God we
serve and will help them recognize how He has used people throughout history to
accomplish His plan. Each student will also realize his or her individual role
in history. This will be accomplished with the integration of historical facts,
literature, creative writing, devotional application, scripture memorization,
and writing. Fourth graders will learn to recite the history timeline from St.
Augustine to John Knox and the time periods in which they occurred. Students will be expected to use neat cursive
handwriting as well as correct grammatical and recitation skills. Students will
learn, understand, and become able to clearly communicate how God created many
people during this era in history to fulfill His purpose of spreading His Word.
Students will learn and understand how God’s Word was preserved by the monastic
orders, translated into Latin, and finally printed by Gutenberg, thus allowing
the masses to have copies of the Bible. Students will understand how these
events lead to the Renaissance, culminating in the Christian Reformation which
shaped the world, Western civilization, and the Christian church as we know it
today. Students enjoy the traditional
fourth grade projects and events, including building a Viking ship and
participating in a Medieval Feast with their family and friends.
Bible
ECCS acknowledges that the Bible, the infallible Word of God, is our only
source of faith and practice and that the chief end of man is to know God and
enjoy Him forever. ECCS fourth graders will make a
thorough study the Old Testament books of Chronicles through Malachi and the
amazing book of Job using the Veritas
Press Bible cards. Throughout this study students will learn the history of
God’s people from the prophesies of Elijah to the culmination of the Old
Testament. This will be accomplished
through the use of drills, chants, songs, worksheets, class projects as well as
at-home projects. The focus will be on
the fall of Israel and Judah and the many warnings God sent through His
prophets. Lessons will be strengthened by the memorization of one Catechism and
a related memory verse each week as well as an additional memory verse relating
to our historical time period. Our ultimate goal is that seeds will be
planted that will germinate and grow, resulting in each child developing a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ. Fourth graders will
be able to recite the timeline from Elijah Confronting Ahab to Malachi and the
scripture references for each. Students
will be able to recall memorized scripture for life application as well as class
application. Students will demonstrate a
working knowledge of the biblical facts taught through the thirty-two Bible
cards. Students will exhibit this knowledge through classroom discussions as
well as through written evaluations.
Students will be able to communicate clearly how God warned the nation
of Israel, who the prophets were that He sent, the fall of Israel, and the
promise God gave His people of restoration and of the coming Messiah. Students
will be expected to use neat cursive handwriting as well as grammatically
correct writing and speaking skills.
Additionally,
students memorize a catechism question and answer and memory verse each week.
Latin
Students continue their study of Latin by completing Schola Latina Book 1, Lessons 13-24. They have Latin class
three days per week.
Math
The 4th grade Mathematics
curriculum is one in which the students learn the foundational skills required
for this age range and be able to use these basic skills thereafter. They will be able to build upon prior
learning to continue a solid foundation in beginning mathematics. The students will see how the subject of
Mathematics and God are very similar:
numbers never change and their value stays the same, just as God stays
the same and remains constant in our lives.
The students will use a combination of math games, drills, problem
solving sets (written practice), chants, mental math and tests to ensure their
understanding of Mathematics. Fourth graders will demonstrate a working
knowledge of all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
facts. They will use this knowledge of
all facts in every new and previously taught concept. The students will continuously build upon
their foundation of mathematical knowledge to learn new concepts. They will see and apply mathematical
computations in their every day lives and understand how math is everywhere in
our world. They will use neatness and
pay special attention to details in solving mathematical problems as all things
are done to glorify God.
Literature
Literature in the ECCS fourth grade serves to increase the students’ love and
knowledge of, and appreciation for great books. We seek to instill a love for
and appreciation of great literature throughout the ages. Our literature selections for fourth grade
focus on life during the medieval period, fantasy, adventure, and history. As we incorporate each book into our school
year, we apply a biblical worldview as we read the books orally and discuss the
content material with a focus on vocabulary development, oral and silent
reading skills, and reading comprehension. Fourth grader objectives include
integrating literature with history, overall improvements in reading abilities,
and providing a continued increase in the students’ love for reading great
books. We will accomplish this by providing rich reading materials taught in
tandem with enriched projects and advanced vocabulary words to learn, memorize,
and apply. Through our twelve book
selections, we give students the opportunity to practice and thus improve their
oral and silent reading skills. Classroom discussion will also increase reading
comprehension abilities. As the students
enjoy and interact with the colorful and enchanting characters in the books, it
will be our desire that their love for and enjoyment of reading will continue
to grow. Ultimately, it is our desire
that their love for and understanding of great works of literature will pique
their appetites for further reading and lead to an appreciation for and love of
God’s Word. Students will be expected to read fluently, clearly, and with
expressed emotion.
The highlight of the year is the students' reading of the oldest
English epic poem in existence--Beowulf. In addition to Beowulf, the
students read Beorn the Proud, Old Yeller,
The Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Tuck Everlasting, The Door in
the Wall, Thunderstorm in Church, Ink on His Fingers, Medieval Tales, Robin
Hood, and Prince Caspian.
Grammar
ECCS fourth grade students are taught
grammar using The Shurley Grammar Level 4
curriculum. In order to teach and impart the skills of effective
communicators the curriculum seeks to provide a review of the basic foundation
of effective communication built upon study skills, parts of speech
recognition, sentence classification, and writing. Students enjoy reciting
grammar jingles which will imprint the building blocks of grammar into long
term memory.
Fourth graders will continue to development
the skills of speaking and writing clearly so that they may communicate the
Gospel with excellence. The students will continue to practice classifying and
using many parts of speech—nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, article
adjectives, and prepositions. Fourth graders will be required to write
sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization. They will continue to
practice writing sentences, letters, paragraphs, poetry, summaries, reports,
and short stories. They will also continue to correctly use other language
skills such as using contractions, understanding antonyms and synonyms,
recognizing affixes and plurals. They will be
required to demonstrate a consistently neat use of cursive writing. They will
regularly present oral recitations of literature, scripture, and drills. The
correct use of the English language will enable them to read, understand, and
apply the Bible to their lives as individuals seeking to live for Christ.
Spelling/Vocabulary
ECCS
seeks to inspire in students a desire to incorporate the phonics skills learned
in K-3rd grades into spelling across the curriculum. Fourth graders continue the Spaulding list of
grammar spelling words that has been used in first through third grades. Students will drill words each week in a
say-spell-say method and complete a variety of activities that integrate spelling
throughout each subject. Fourth graders
will also study a series of vocabulary words from Vocabulary from Classical Roots. In a desire to integrate subjects
where possible, the spelling words are then matched to the vocabulary units
where roots, prefixes and suffixes match the listed text. Students engage in seat work, partner work,
and teacher guided group work to further their knowledge of weekly words. Students are encouraged to use their spelling
words correctly when writing across the curriculum. Fourth
graders will be able to state in their own words that God gave us a written
message (the Bible) and why, we should write clearly. They will understand the basic structure of a
word pulling from their previous knowledge in K-3rd grade as well as
Latin roots. Students will be able to
apply their knowledge of Spaulding sounds and Latin vocabulary roots to spell
accurately and consistently across all subjects. Students will also be held accountable for
neat writing across the curriculum. They
will write short stories with the spelling words, as well as spell them
correctly in a variety of worksheets, class activities, drills, and tests to
demonstrate their knowledge.
Science
Through the ECCS Science for Classical Learners 4 curriculum, fourth grade students
will learn the foundational facts of science as they explore the scientific
method in their studies of living organisms, plant and animal cells, vertebrate
and invertebrate animals of God’s Creation. It will be of the utmost importance
that students acknowledge that God is the Creator of the world and everything
in it. This course will take the learner through a study of plants and how
these fit with all of creation. They will continue to recognize that God is the
source of all life, truth, and scientific knowledge. God’s wisdom, omnipotence, and sovereignty
will be woven into each lesson. Fourth graders will review the foundational
facts of earth science by studying the basic facts of single and multi-cellular
organisms, photosynthesis, metamorphosis, and taxonomy based on the scientific
method. They will become familiar with classifications of plants and animals.
They will define and determine the characteristics of vertebrates and
invertebrates, discovering and investigating insects, fish, amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals. Then students will learn the importance of all
these elements of creation and their relationship to God’s plan and provision
for man on Earth. The students will conclude that man, made in God’s image, was
and is the crowning achievement of Creation.
