Grade 4

Classroom Teachers for 2024
4DL – Dom Loverso
4ML – Mel Lowther
4N – Zoe Needham
4D – Neiks Doble

What’s on in our week
Monday – Environmental Science
Tuesday – Library
Wednesday – Phys Ed, Performing Arts, Chinese
Thursday – Art, Sport
Friday – Assembly, Environmental Science

Grade 4 Curriculum

Literacy

Reading

At Grade 4 level, students are exposed to a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction texts across many genres. The focus is on reading to learn and determining what we can take away from a text, by expanding our vocabulary, asking and answering questions, making connections, and drawing inferences. Students explore the author’s purpose, and their choice and use of specific words, images and other text features and how this influences the reader.

Spelling

Spelling focusses on the learning of spelling rules and etymology with daily practice and revision through games and activities. Students then apply them within their writing.

Writing

Writing in Grade 4 covers a broad range of text types, including response, recount, narrative, persuasive, information, biography, procedure and poetry. Students begin to consider their audience when they write. The explore how texts are structured and the specific text features required and we look to strengthen ideas and the impact on the reader through:

creating arguments, justifying reasons and providing evidence to back up each idea
adding descriptive details and dialogue
using figurative language
using deliberate word choice
developing complex sentences
structuring strong paragraphs with a clear idea and topic sentence
varying the length of sentences
directing the reader on how to read writing through the use of punctuation

Numeracy

Mathematics

Learning Mathematics in Grade 4 involves students building on their prior learning and experiences. They engage in a range of approaches to develop their understanding of and fluency with concepts, procedures and processes by making connections, reasoning, problem-solving and practice. Students aim to connect what they know to help them to employing mathematical strategies and solve problems efficiently.
Students further develop proficiency in mathematics as they:

consolidate their knowledge with arithmetic operations, and draw on number facts, fractions and decimals, to deepen their appreciation of how numbers work
develop and use strategies for multiplication
choose and use efficient mental and written strategies when modelling problems and communicating solutions
use algorithms to generate sets of numbers, recognising and describing patterns that emerge
reflect on the reasonableness of measurements, the results of calculations, and how they represent mathematical information
measure and estimate common attributes of objects using appropriate metric units
develop and use surveys to obtain data that is directly relevant to their investigation question.
draw on their reasoning skills to analyse, categorise and order chance events and identify independent and dependent events
investigate variability by conducting repeated chance experiments and observing results.

Integrated Studies

In Grade 4 we begin to look at how society and our role within it. We explore why we have rules and how they help us to get along. Caine’s Arcade is an immensely popular task where students create arcade games and present them to their peers across the school. This project helps to build confidence and public speaking skills.
Students also learn about First Nations History and build on their understanding of our Indigenous culture. They also explore other countries and cultures around the world.

Extra-Curricular Highlights

Students in Grade 4 begin to enjoy playing a larger role in the school. Along with the opportunity to continue choir, guitar and/or keyboard lessons, they also have opportunity to represent their age group in Athletics and the Cross Country. An adventure camp awaits our Grade 4 students at Cave Hill Creek and of course there is the Easter Hat Parade and the School Concert as well.

Wellbeing

At Maiden Gully Primary School, we believe that Wellbeing begins with relationships and one another individually and as members of a group, with a focus on inclusion, respect, tolerance and kindness. Throughout Grade 4, students explore their strengths, strategies to deal with emotions and how to resolve problems with others and when to seek help. They work on the choices they make and how it affects them and others.
Students participate in three wellbeing programs, the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program, Smiling Minds, and Play is the Way.
The RRRR learning materials are designed to develop students’ social, emotional and positive relationship skills.
Play is the Way is a practical methodology for teaching social and emotional skills using guided play, cooperative games and empowering language. It is a process that gives students a way to develop, improve and entrench the personal and social capabilities. Smiling Minds is a life-long, evidence-based tool to deliver the essential mental fitness skills needed to underpin good mental health and resilience from an early age.

Home Partnership

Daily Home Reading

Students are expected to read 20 minutes per night for at least 5 nights each week and fill in their diary for each night they read. The diary must be kept in their bag and brought to school each day. We ask parents to encourage your child to focus on accuracy and fluency when reading. Whilst you may not listen to them read aloud every night at this age, try to ask students to summarise what they have read, then discuss important facts and new information they have learnt. This will assist your child to develop their comprehension.

Communication

The Compass Parent Portal is one of our major communication methods between Teachers and parent/carers. Upon meeting your child’s classroom teacher on the commencement of school year, you will be given an email or printed invitation to connect. If you are new or unfamiliar to Compass, your child’s teacher or the Office staff will be able to assist you in signing up. Please check your child’s profile regularly for any updates.

Numeracy at Home

The parents role in helping to explore maths in everyday life is crucial to learners seeing themselves as capable mathematicians. How can you help?

Play board, card and strategy games together, particularly games that involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Involve your child in undertaking projects around the house that require planning, measuring, researching and budgeting.
Encourage them to use discuss time duration using calendars and when telling the time. For example, “We’re leaving in 10 minutes, what will the time be?” or “how many days until …”

Using money to save, budget, calculate change, find the best buy
When travelling, follow maps (digital) and locate landmarks

Playing addition games like car cricket when travelling.