Fourth Grade - Mrs. Benfer

A variety of interactive lessons are used to satisfy New York State Standards, prepare students for standardized tests, and meet fourth grade curriculum requirements.

Students are required to participate in three New York State standardized tests. The New York State English Language Arts Test is given in January to assess skills in reading, writing and listening. The New York State Mathematics Test is in May to assess a variety of mathematical skills including graphing, fractions, computation, and reasoning. In the month of May, New York State testing assesses the students' science understanding and problem-solving skills. Students that study religion are also required to take an Archdiocese Religion test towards the end of the school year.

In reading, the class focuses on a variety of skills including: comprehension, author's intent, sequencing and main ideas. To support the grade group's language arts program listening skills, vocabulary, and writing skills are reinforced in the reading program to help prepare the children for the ELA exam. To increase enthusiasm in reading, we alternate between trade books and our textbook. Skills are taught using both books.

In social studies, the class follows the New York State curriculum which stresses New York state. We work on geography skills, the history of New York state, the Native Americans, the American Revolution, the French and Indian War, and New York State government. The current focus is on landforms and the exploration of New York state. The class is working on a presentation celebrating New York and all its natural resources and places of interest. We use Scott Foresman's New York textbook as well as other primary and secondary sources.

Try visiting the Scott Foresman web site as well @ http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/index2.html for some fun social studies activities.

In science, we cover a broad spectrum of areas which include earth science, life science, and physical science with hands on activities and experiments.

The religion curriculum is Walking by Faith which concentrates on the law of love. Bishop Dunn encourages the children to follow different virtues such as compassion, caring, respect, cooperation, patience, courtesy, courage, understanding, wisdom, and generosity.

The fourth grade class participates in field trips to enhance their curriculum throughout the school year.