Here are some things we can be thinking about and looking at to see what we can do to make sure these students are ready for fourth grade.
In a nutshell for fourth graders should know.
- using language and writing in various subjects.
- are able to understand why and how multiplication works.
- to support their statements about a text with facts and details.
In Language Arts he should know how to..
- Read many types of stories; describe what happened, how the characters were affected and what lessons they learned.(our general Language arts class, and any reading comprehension passage we do, along with readers theaters)
- Answer questions about reading material that covers history, social studies and science; also use information in illustrations, maps and charts to help answer questions.
- Give a class presentation on a topic using facts, details and specific vocabulary.(this is why we do so much in social studies with presentations, and the book in the bag)
- Participate in discussions by speaking clearly, listening, sharing opinions, building on other people’s ideas and asking questions.
- Use dialogue and description to write about what a character is thinking and feeling.(this is why they are doing readers theaters, so they can see and feel how the character is feeling by acting out the emotions)
- Gather information from online sources in addition to books and articles; use that information to write research papers.(This is why they are doing so much computer work and researching saints.)
In Math he should know….
- Explain what multiplication and division are.
- **Know the times tables up to 12 and multiply numbers by 10.
- Use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve word problems involving more than one step.
- Understand the concept of area and how it relates to multiplication.
- Understand and identify fractions as numbers that can be placed on a number line; compare two fractions (such as knowing that 2/3 is bigger than 3/5).( we haven’t done this yet, but this will be our next area of study)
- Express whole numbers as fractions and recognize fractions that are whole numbers (such as knowing that 4/1 is the same as 4).( have yet to do fractions, those are coming up, they did discuss it briefly in 2nd grade)
- Measure weights and volumes.(did this in science and math)
- Read charts and graphs; show data as a graph or chart.(did this in science and math)
Here is a link that you can find all of the third grade common core standards. You can see if they are ready for fourth grade by checking off the standards they have mastered and the ones they still needs to work on their are great resources online or we might not have covered that area yet. :)
