Pea Ridge School District

Fourth Grade: A Parent's Guide

Fourth Grade Learning Targets

Teachers in Pea Ridge follow the Science of Reading and strategies promoted by Arkansas R.I.S.E. (Reading Initiative for Student Excellence). Many family resources are available from the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on their R.I.S.E site, including milestones in learning to read by age and tips for what families can do at home to help growing readers.

Parents will receive updates about student progress in reading three times each school year (fall, winter, and spring) using NWEA MAP Growth reports and classroom assessments. We encourage parents to reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions about your child's reading skills and progress.

We use an additional resource: Lexia Core5. This tool helps us target student's individual learning needs so that each student grows as a reader every day!

Learn More: Lexia Core5 (Grades K-5)

Our students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade use Lexia® Core5® Reading—a fun, computer-based program that helps students improve their literacy skills. The activities in Core5 support and build on your child’s classroom curriculum and focus on developing reading skills in six areas: phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Here’s how Lexia Core5 Reading works:

Your child begins Core5 at a starting point that fits his or her needs and then engages in online activities throughout the week.
Online activities include direct instruction and immediate feedback as your child learns new skills.
Progress and performance in the program are reported directly to teachers so that they can provide assistance when needed.
Paper-and-pencil activities are also used for practice and may be completed in school or brought home.
Achievement certificates may be sent home to celebrate success and to show progress in the program.

Here’s how you can set your reader up for success:

Students should complete the tasks on their own. That means no hints or tips from grown-ups, friends, or siblings! This is important because Lexia provides extra support and instruction if students struggle with a task, and alerts teachers when further help is required.
Try to provide a quiet space for learning if students are working in Lexia from home. Headphones can be helpful but aren’t required.

We invite your to contact your child's teacher with any questions you may have.

Students receive instruction in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Literacy at Pea Ridge. Each year students experience this instruction through the context of building background knowledge in social science and science. The more students know about more topics, the better they comprehend what they read and the more likely they are able to make connections beyond the text they are reading.

In Fourth Grade, we learn about the topics below.

A Great Heart

We will examine the complexity of the human heart. Not only is the heart a biological wonder, it is also a symbol of human emotions. We will explore what it means to have a “great heart,” both literally and figuratively.

We will read:

Love That Dog, Sharon Creech

Our class will ask these questions as we read to learn more:

How does someone show a great heart, figuratively?
What is a great heart, literally?
How do the characters in Love That Dog show characteristics of great heart?
What does it mean to have a great heart, literally and figuratively?

Extreme Settings

We will examine how people react to extreme environments. Students will analyze what makes landscapes such as mountains challenging. We will ask the question: How do humans survive against the odds?

We will read:

Hatchet, Gary Paulsen

Our class will ask these questions as we read to learn more:

How does the setting affect the characters or speakers in the text?
What makes a mountainous environment extreme?
How does setting influence character and plot development?
How does a challenging setting or physical environment change a person?

The Redcoats are Coming

We will use a critical eye to see how the American Revolution was a foundation for American history. By focusing on identifying and understanding perspective and its impact on our understanding of events and decisions people make, students will improve their critical-thinking skills as both readers and writers. We will ask the question: Why is it important to understand all sides of a story?

We will read:

Woods Runner, Gary Paulsen

Our class will ask these questions to learn more as we read:

What were the perspectives of the two main sides of the American Revolution?
How did different people’s experiences affect their perspectives about the American Revolution?
How did different people’s perspectives affect their actions during the American Revolution?
What drove the Patriots to fight for their independence from Britain?

Myth Making

We will read and analyze myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as Native American tribes, to learn the purpose and importance of these stories in their cultures. Students will also enjoy reading Walk Two Moons, a beautiful tapestry of stories within stories, to reveal a modern-day myth that captures a snapshot of our human experience. We will ask the question: What can we learn from myths and stories?

Some of the books we are reading include:

Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
Pushing Up the Sky: Native American Plays for
Children, Joseph Bruchac

Our class will ask these questions to learn more as we read:

What are myths, and why do people create them?
What do myths and stories from different cultures have in common?