Fourth grade. It is like starting school all over again. In the primary grades, children are involved obtaining the basic fundamentals of learning how to read, write and do math. They learn the organizational routines of school. But in fourth grade, the rules of the game change.

The whole nature of what it is to be a student shifts. Developmentally, more children have moved out of the concrete operation stage and are starting to inhabit the world of abstraction. This change has key ramifications in the type of curriculum the students have. In reading, the children shift from learning to read to reading to learn. In the years leading up to fourth grade, fictional reading is the main thrust with non-fiction being in a secondary instructional role. Here, the roles are switched with learning content area reading skills becoming the focus. To navigate non-fiction well, students must employ a whole new set of reading skills that are not necessarily aligned with the skills they learned for fictional reading. In content area reading, students encounter new vocabulary and concepts in which prioritizing and inferring at a deeper level is required to make sense of what they read. At times, this isn't easy, particularly if English is not their primary language. In writing, students explore the various non-fiction writing genres as well as building on the fictional structures they have learned before. Persuasive, causal and explanatory pieces are introduced with the resultant need to learn how to organize information cogently and for a determined purpose and audience. Mathematically, children shift from concrete operations into an exploration of various methods and strategies by which they can derive an answer. In all subjects, being able to reflect upon and articulate their understanding is key.

Organization, and responsibility for learning, settles more firmly on the shoulders of the student. For some children, who are used to either a teacher or a parent providing the drive needed to get something done, this can be a paradigm shift. But, it is a needful one. Over the course of the year, students will learn how to organize their time for homework and long term projects. Communicating with teacher, in class or by various methods outside of class, becomes their responsibility when they have questions or concerns. On a basic level, how their day is scheduled changes dramatically. Library is no longer a designated time. Children get and return their books on their own. With the inception of the laptop program last year, computers are no longer a special but have become integrated into the classroom. Sharing one laptop with four other students, over the course of a week, requires care and responsibly on each child's part. Performing Arts Workshop (PAW) brings a whole new aspect of poetry, drama and singing into play.

Behaviorally, children in fourth grade are in an interesting transition year. More often than not, they begin the year strongly focused on building and maintaining same sex grouping. At the end of the year, some are starting to transition towards establishing opposite sex friendships, but not all. The need to belong to a group is strong. Students define who they are, in school, often through the lens of their friendships. Most often, this takes place in a supportive way, where friends provide mutual respect and affirmation. Through conversations, play and interactions, children constantly review and assess the correct rules of behavior for their gender. "Wow! That was a really good kick. I wish I could kick like that!" "What a cute shirt. It is so cool!" "They are so smart in math. They figure out what to do fast." Children figure out what works for them in the culture of their class, and school, as a whole. Squabbles are a natural part of the defining process and they sometimes bring intensity to a day's events. Mostly, things resolve and the children cycle through the normal permutations of their relationships. However, this is can be a key age for cliques. As teachers, we observe our students, and are watchful and proactive for those times when the normal ups and down turn into something out of the norm.

Yet, there is something absolutely glorious about children this age. Because the students are making intellectual, behavioral and academic shifts, they are primed to ponder "the big questions" and to think out of the box. They love connections and finding links between themselves and the world. They are capable of great sensitivity, kindness and enjoy the value of a goofy joke. Yes, the rules of the game do change but in such a way that makes school life all that more interesting and exciting.

Page written and maintained by Bridgette Fincher

June 24, 2003