Reading

6. Below is some information that a class of fourth-graders from Arkansas, USA, have placed on their Internet page. Read the materials and compare them to your ex-primary school's circumstances and outline what could be picked up in our context.

About Our School - Chestnut Academy, Fourth Grade

Chestnut Academy Mission

Chestnut Academy is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory school committed to educational excellence for students from pre-school through the twelfth grade. The school seeks to develop the total child, with an emphasis on high character standards and moral values, which enable its students to become mature and responsible young adults who are equipped to shape the future.

Chestnut Academy Values

"Honour Above All"

Our Core Values are Responsibility, Integrity, Respect, Excellence

Responsibility Accountability, Commitment, Perseverance	Respect Authority, Community, Others, Self
Integrity Courage to stand for Right, Fairness, Honesty, Trustworthiness	Excellence Academics, Arts, Athletics, Personal Conduct

W

Who Are We?

e are 89 young ladies and gentlemen who are in the fourth grade at Chestnut Academy, Arkansas. We have four teachers (Mrs. Adkins, Mrs. Baumgardner, Mrs. Hall, and Mrs. Smith.) We also have two guinea pigs named Baby Oreo and Pumba, lots of parrots named Jack, Rose, Ben, Boxer, Lightning, Nibbles, Coke, Everest, Bailey, Moo, Pepsi, and we are always having babies!

When you first come into our fourth grade building, you are entering our "Cozy Corner!" We have soft music playing, lamps, rugs, pillows, books, flowers, waterfall, sweet smelling things - all to make a calm and inviting atmosphere! We love to sit out there in read! It can really get you in the mood!

And you should see our classrooms during reading time! We have Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling and lamps around the room, soft music playing, and we get to lie on the floor or wherever we are the most comfortable to read!

I know it sounds like it is always really calm and relaxing in fourth grade, but it's not!!! Our teachers are really crazy! They put red bows in their hair and danced on the stage because we all made our Accelerated Reader goals the second nine-weeks!!! We have lots of parties and have lots of fun! Sometimes, our teachers put on the Temptations or Aretha Franklin and we dance around the room to "My Girl" or "Respect." Our teachers really love us a lot, and we love fourth grade!

Everyone in fourth grade has a job with our Website and we are adding stories every day! Be sure and check around to find them!

http://myschoolonline.com/calendar/1,1873,9034-119551-8-1699,00.html

Fourth Grade Curriculum

The fourth grade year is the bridge connecting the lower school to the middle school. Students enjoy a rigorous and demanding curriculum with an emphasis on organisational and study skills. Teachers are departmentalised with the children experiencing the excitement of "changing" classes and teachers for the first time for core subjects. There is a strong commitment to character and moral development with an emphasis on our core values of respect, responsibility, integrity, and excellence.

Reading The Accelerated Reader program used with our fourth grade students emphasises reading comprehension. Using computers in each classroom and our library, the fourth graders are guided through an individualised program. Skill development includes vocabulary, literacy appreciation, dictionary usage, and word-building skills. Each nine weeks a novel is used across the curriculum to enhance skill development. Spelling lessons are taught weekly to reinforce phonic development. Novels studied include:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Indian in the Cupboard, The Night of the Twisters, The Wizard of Oz.

English Students learn grammar and writing techniques through the Shurley method. They learn the eight parts of speech and overall sentence structure. Students discover how all sentence parts fit together to make sense and express an idea. Formal and creative writing opportunities are used to allow students to expand, improve, and edit their own writing skills.

Mathematics Our fourth grade mathematics program provides students with the time and opportunity necessary to build a solid foundation in beginning mathematics. This program uses a cognitive structure that builds on students' prior learning. Students review and refine their computational skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Students also expand concept development in the areas of place value, geometry, measurement, and fractions. They continue to develop and revise problem solving strategies. Manipulatives, games, activities, and calculators are used to enhance the math curriculum. Our program emphasises consistent, honest effort, which is necessary to produce genuine learning with a high level of retention.

Science and Social Studies

The fourth grade curriculum correlates our units of Science and Social Studies. We study our earth and its features while relating this information to the United States. Through individual and cooperate group research, students learn the states, their capitals, locations, and natural resources. Using an interactive and hands-on curriculum emphasising thinking skills and strategies to explore the world is the cornerstone of fourth grade science. Students use the science process skills and the scientific method as they study the world in which they live and the plants and animals with which they share the earth. Experiments, demonstrations, reports, projects, presentations, guest speakers, co-operative learning groups, and the Internet are integrated throughout each unit to strengthen the student's knowledge base and application of that knowledge.

Library The library program for fourth grade features individual "free-flow" circulation and Accelerated Reader testing. The library skills/literary appreciation unit includes a review of skills taught in third grade: arrangement and location of all sections, call numbers, and card catalogue skills. Fourth graders are also taught to do automated catalogue searching and to use electronic encyclopaedias. Fourth graders are expected to do more independent reading, with an emphasis on Accelerated Reader books, which include Charlie May Simon selections.

Activities Art, music, physical education, and computer lab are taught for a complete nine-week period by specialised instructors. Students receive forty minutes of instruction and experimentation daily. In addition, Spanish instruction is offered once each week for all fourth grade students.