Grade 4 Progress Report Information
Information for Parents and Guardians
Overview
The information below helps you understand how the curriculum your child is learning aligns to the progress report standards. The items listed under each standard outline the content students learn over the course of the year. Not all standards will be taught each quarter. Content not taught in a particular classroom or school (e.g., band, strings, World Languages) will be marked as “nt” (not taught) on the progress report.
Language Arts
PRS = Progress Report Standard
- Produce, expand, and rearrange simple and compound sentences, including prepositional phrases.
- Use coordinating, subordinating conjunctions to join words and phrases in a sentence.
- Use adjectives to compare and describe noun or noun phrases with specificity.
- Use modal words to convey various conditions.
- Use standard subject-verb agreement.
- Use standard noun-pronoun agreement.
- Participate in a range of collaborative discussions on grade four topics and texts. This includes:
- Listening actively and speaking using agreed-upon discussion rules.
- Respectfully building on others’ ideas and clearly expressing their own.
- Asking and answering specific questions to clarify.
- Using evidence, examples, or details to support opinions and conclusions.
- Actively engaging throughout the collaboration.
- Report orally on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience. This includes:
- Using descriptive details and appropriate facts to support themes or central ideas.
- Speaking audibly with appropriate pacing, prosody, and voice level.
- Using language and style as appropriate to the audience, topic, or purpose.
- Encouraging audience participation through planned interactions.
- Select, organize, and create engaging presentations.
- Use two or more interdependent modes of communication to convey the intended message.
- Develop general academic language and content specific vocabulary.
- Discuss meanings of complex words and phrases acquired through conversations and literature.
- Determine the meaning of complex words using frequently occurring root words and inflectional affixes.
- Use the context of a sentence to apply knowledge of homophones.
- Apply knowledge of morphology synonyms, and antonyms to determine the meaning of complex words.
- Develop breadth of vocabulary knowledge.
- Distinguish shades of meaning among verbs and adjectives.
- Use strategies to infer word meanings.
- Use glossaries, beginning dictionaries, and thesauruses to determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases.
- Use newly learned words and phrases in discussions and speaking activities.
- Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
- Construct and formulate questions about a topic.
- Identify search terms to locate information.
- Organize and synthesize information.
- Develop notes.
- Organize and share information.
- Avoid plagiarism and give proper credit.
- Use knowledge of syllabication and syllable types to decode and encode words.
- Use knowledge of morphology to decode words.
- Read high-frequency words with automaticity and accuracy.
- Read a variety of grade-level complex texts with accuracy, automaticity, appropriate rate, and meaningful expression in successive readings to support comprehension.
- Proficiently read and comprehend a variety of literary and informational texts.
- When responding to texts, draw several pieces of evidence to support claims, conclusions, and inferences.
- Regularly engage in listening to a series of conceptually related texts.
- Use reading strategies as needed to monitor comprehension.
- Summarize the theme of stories, dramas, or poetry and how characters respond to challenges.
- Describe the central conflict and explain the resolution.
- Analyze characters in-depth.
- Determine how an author uses language, characters, and settings to advance the plot.
- Identify the characteristics of different genres of literary texts.
- Identify the narrator of a story and the speaker of a poem.
- Differentiate between first-and third-person point of view.
- Set a purpose for reading.
- Compare and contrast details in texts.
- Explain the overall structure of stories, poems, and plays.
- Summarize the main idea of multi-paragraph texts.
- Summarize events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or technical texts.
- Distinguish between fact and opinion and explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support opinions.
- Explain how authors select an organizational pattern, using transitional words and phrases to support their purpose.
- Apply knowledge of text features and search tools and categorize information.
- Explain the author’s purpose for writing based on the connections between particular sentences and paragraphs.
- Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event or topic.
- Describe the relationships using words that pertain to comparison, sequence, or cause and effect.
- Recognize different forms of writing have distinctive patterns of organization.
- Write personal or fictional narratives that are logically organized.
- Write expository texts to examine a topic.
- Write persuasive pieces on topics or texts that express a clear opinion.
- Write in response to text(s) read.
- Engage in writing as a process to compose well-developed paragraphs. This includes:
- Providing an introduction that includes a clear topic sentence that connects to the central idea.
- Developing, selecting, and organizing ideas using precise language.
- Using transition words and prepositional phrases to vary sentence structure.
- Providing a concluding statement or section.
- Select, organize, and create engaging presentations.
- Use two or more interdependent modes of communication.
- Maintain legible printing.
- Maintain legible cursive.
- Sign their first and last name.
- Use knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology to spell accurately.
- Use phoneme and grapheme correspondences to decode and encode grade-level high-frequency words.
- With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing.
- Self-edit and peer-edit the writing for capitalization, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraphing, and Standard English.
- Use commas in series, dates, addresses, and letters in writing.
- Use commas and quotation marks to indicate dialogue in writing.
- Use apostrophes to form contractions and to show possession in writing.
- Use conventional spelling.
- Consult reference materials to check and correct spelling.
HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Explains how people and events of the past have influenced the present
- Interprets artifacts and source documents to understand historical events
- Makes connections between the past and present
- Sequences events in Virginia history
- Describes archaeologists findings at Werowocomoco/Jamestown
- Describe the lives of American Indians in Virginia today
- Explains the reasons for English colonization
- Identifies importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of London in establishing the Jamestown settlement
- Describes interactions between English settlers and native peoples
- Describes hardship faced by settlers and changes that took place to ensure survival at Jamestown
- Describes the influence of prominent English people and the impact of the arrival of Africans and English women to Jamestown
- Describes everyday life in colonial Virginia
- Identifies reasons why the colonies went to war with Great Britain, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence
- Identifies various roles of Virginians in the Revolutionary War Era
- Identifies key events in Virginia during the American Revolution
- Explain why George Washington is called the “Father of our Country” and James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution”
- Identifies events and differences between Northern and Southern states and explain major events and differences that divided Virginians and led to secession, war, and the creation of West Virginia
- Describes Virginia's role in the Civil War, including the major battles, roles of various Virginians, and Virginian leaders
- Identifies effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia
- Describes how national events affected Virginia and its citizens including women’s suffrage and the Great Depression
- Describe the impact made by Maggie L. Walker, Harry F. Byrd, Sr., Oliver Hill, Sr., Arthur R. Ashe, Jr., A. Linwood Holton, Jr., and L. Douglas Wilder
Reads maps and understands the impact of geography on culture
- Analyzes and interprets maps to explain relationships to historical events
- Locates Virginia, bordering states and five regions on maps
- Describe physical characteristics of Virginia’s five regions
- Locates and identifies water features important to early history of Virginia
- Identifies and locates the current state-recognized tribes
- Locates three American Indian language groups on a map of Virginia and locates current state-recognized tribes
- Describes how American Indians adapted to climate/environment
- Describes how geography influenced decision to settle Jamestown
- Describe how the culture of colonial Virginia reflected the origins of American Indians, European immigrants, and Africans
- Explains the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital
- Explains the influence of geography and technological advances on the migration of Virginians in the first half of the 1800s
Recognizes the structure of government and the relationship among rules, laws, and becoming a good citizen
- Identifies importance of Charters of the Virginia Company
- Identifies importance of the General Assembly (1619)
- Identifies reasons why colonies went to war with Great Britain
- Identifies the ideas of George Mason and Thomas Jefferson as expressed in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
- Identifies effects of segregation and “Jim Crow” on life in Virginia
- Describes events linked to desegregation and massive resistance
- Identifies three branches of Virginia government & function of each
Understands economic concepts and the impact of economics on culture
- Describes the economic influences on the decision to settle at Jamestown
- Identify the importance of the General Assembly (1619) as the first representative legislative body in English America
- Explains the importance of agriculture and its influence on slavery
- Describes how money, barter, and credit were used in the Virginia colony
- Identifies the effects of reconstruction on life in Virginia
- Describes importance of railroads, new industries, and growth of cities
- Describes economic and social transition from a rural to urban society
- Describes major products and industries important to Virginia's economy
- Explains how advances in transportation, communications, and technology have contributed to Virginia’s prosperity and role in the global economy
MATHEMATICS
Represents numbers accurately and understands number relationships
- Identifies place value, compares, and rounds numbers through the millions
- Compares and orders fractions and mixed numbers
- Represents equivalent fractions
- Reads, writes, represents and identifies decimals through thousandths
- Rounds to the nearest whole number, tenth, and hundredth
- Compares the value of two decimals
- Writes the decimal and fraction equivalents using a model
- Identifies the division statement that represents a fraction
Computes numbers with fluency and makes reasonable estimates
- Estimates sums, differences, products, and quotients of whole numbers
- Adds, subtracts, and multiplies whole numbers
- Divides whole numbers, finding quotients with and without remainders
- Solves singlestep and multistep problems with whole numbers
- Determines common multiples and factors including LCM (Least Common Multiple) and GCF (Greatest Common Factor)
- Adds and subtracts fractions having like and unlike denominators
- Adds and subtracts decimals
- Solves practical problems involving addition/subtraction of fractions and decimals
Measures with accuracy and estimates measurements
- Estimates, identifies and measures weight/mass, length, and liquid volume and describes results
- Identifies equivalent measurements between units of weight/mass, length, and liquid volume
- Determines elapsed time in hours and minutes
Analyzes characteristics of geometric figures and demonstrates an understanding of spatial relationships
- Identifies and describes points, lines, line segments, rays, and angles
- Identifies intersecting, parallel, and perpendicular lines
- Investigates congruence of plane figures after geometric transformations
- Recognizes images of figures resulting from geometric transformations
- Defines and identifies polygons with ten or fewer sides
Uses data to describe, interpret, and predict events
- Predicts the likelihood of an outcome of a simple event
- Represents probability as a number between 0 and 1
- Collects, organizes, displays, and interprets data from a variety of graphs
Represents situations and relationships with algebraic symbols
- Recognizes, creates, and extends numerical and geometric patterns
- Recognizes and demonstrates the meaning of equality
- Investigates and describes the associative property
SCIENCE
Investigates and demonstrates understanding of the natural world in a systematic way like a scientist and applies these skills and knowledge to solve problems
- Understands observations, conclusions, inferences, and predictions
- Classifies and groups objects/events according to characteristics
- Develops hypotheses based on cause and effect relationships
- Identifies independent variable, dependent variable, and constants in an experiment
- Selects and uses appropriate instruments to measure distance, volume, mass, temperature, and elapsed time
- Collects, records, analyzes, and displays data using bar and basic line graphs
- Communicates data using graphs, pictures, written statements and numbers
- Makes predictions and inferences and draws conclusions based on data
- Constructs models to clarify, demonstrate, and solve
- Uses current applications to reinforce science concepts
Demonstrates understanding of the concepts of physical science including matter, force, motion, and energy
Investigates and understands the following:
- motion an object's direction and speed
- changes in motion related to force and mass
- friction as a force that opposes motion
- kinetic energy
- conductors and insulators
- basic circuits (open and closed, parallel and series)
- static electricity
- electrical energy ability to be transformed
- simple electromagnets and magnetism
- historical contributions in understanding electricity
Demonstrates understanding of the concepts of life science including life processes and living systems
Investigates and understands the following:
- structures and functions of typical plants
- plant reproduction
- photosynthesis
- animal and plant adaptations
- organization of populations, communities, and ecosystems
- flow of energy through food webs
- habitats and niches
- influence of human activity on ecosystems
- variety of animals and plants in Virginia
Demonstrates understanding of Earth’s patterns, cycles, changes, and Earth/Space Systems
Investigates and understands the following:
- weather measurements and meteorological tools
- weather phenomena (fronts, clouds, and storms)
- planets in the Solar System, their order from sun and size
- characteristics of the Earth, Moon, and Sun
- phases of the moon
- Earth’s seasons
- historical contributions to Earth Moon Sun system
- watersheds and water resources in Virginia
- minerals, rocks, ores, and energy sources in Virginia
- forests, soil, and land in Virginia
HEALTH
Acquires, interprets, and understands health concepts
- Identify structures and functions of the immune system
- Describe benefits of healthy behaviors
- Identify, describe, and analyze nutrients and how they impact growth and development
- Evaluate a meal plan and determine the impact of serving sizes and sugar content on health
- Identify malnutrition and over nutrition and identify the effect on the immune system
- Describe how diseases are spread and compare and contrast communicable and non-communicable diseases
- Compare short and long-term consequences of alcohol, tobacco, inhalant, and other drug use
- Identify effective refusal skills
- Identify emotions associated with loss and grief
- Explain the difference between teasing and taunting
- Describe steps to resolve a conflict
- Examine impact of self-concept on health and academic achievement
- Describe effect of air pollution on health
Identifies valid and accurate health information, products, and services to make healthy decisions
- Describe how the immune system defends against germs
- Explain how physical, rest, and sleep affect health
- Compare serving sizes and sugars to the recommended dietary allowance
- Describe why individuals choose to use or avoid ATOD, describe the effects of peer pressure, demonstrate refusal skills
- Explain ways to take responsibility for personal health and health consequences of not following safety practices
- Describe coping skills, identify adults who can help manage emotions, and describe how to exhibit self-control
- Explain the affects of teasing and taunting and identify strategies for reporting
- Identify harmful or abusive relationships and the importance of seeking assistance from a trusted adult
- Identify obstacles to effective communication
- Describe how a healthy self-concept is an essential life skill
- Explain the consequences of air pollution
Demonstrates appropriate health practices and behaviors to promote a safe and healthy community
- Identify ways to boost the immune system
- Compare recommended serving size with actual size
- Create a plan to meet activity, rest, and sleep requirements
- Analyze prevention resources for avoiding ATOD and determine the importance of resistance/refusal skills
- Describe the importance of early detection of health problems, identify accurate and inaccurate health information, and analyze health resources
- Identify strategies and resources for managing feelings, resolving conflict, and practice communication skills
- Describe relationship of self-concept, academic goals, and participation
- Identify problems and solutions for community health issues and discuss the benefits of and opportunities for volunteering
- Develop strategies to reduce air pollution
ART
Engages in the creative process to develop artworks and express meaning
- Develops ideas for artworks before beginning
- Reflects on art and art making by describing and explaining own artwork
- Expresses personally relevant ideas in artworks
Applies art media and techniques appropriately to produce artworks
- Uses a variety of art materials to produce artwork
- Explores methods of representing subject matter
- Follows appropriate steps in art making
- Uses art materials safely and appropriately
- Demonstrates control and craftsmanship with art materials
Demonstrates an understanding of art by engaging with art history, culture, criticism, and aesthetics
- Engages in discussions about artworks from different places and times to inform art making
- Responds to own and other’s artwork
- Uses art vocabulary appropriately to identify and describe artwork
- Uses and applies knowledge from other subject areas when creating artwork
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Develops and Demonstrates competency in motor skills
- Demonstrate locomotor, nonlocomotor, and manipulative skills
- Create and perform a partner dance, an educational gymnastics sequence, and a jump rope routine
- Demonstrate use of pacing, speed, and endurance in a variety of activities
- Provide feedback to improve performance
Applies basic anatomy and physiology and movement concepts and principles, to improve motor skills
- Identify and describe the major components of the cardiorespiratory system, skeletal system, and muscles groups
- Locate radial and/or carotid pulse
- Identify bones and muscles needed to perform one activity or skilled movement
- Identify the concept of closing space
Applies knowledge of fitness and active lifestyles to evaluate and plan for personal fitness
- Describe the components of health-related fitness
- Analyze baseline fitness data, create a SMART goal, identify activities to meet fitness goals, and reflect on post-testing data and SMART Goal
Demonstrates skills and behaviors leading to personal and group success in physical activity, both in and out of school
- Identify a group goal and strategies needed for successful completion
- Identify and demonstrate conflict resolution strategies and etiquette
- Define integrity and describe its importance in physical activity
Demonstrates knowledge of the basic nutrition and fitness concepts of energy balance
- Identify calories per macronutrient and describe how the body uses each macronutrient
- Explain the uses of salt and sugar and the harm of excessive intake
- Calculate the calories per gram of macronutrients for a variety of foods
- Explain the importance of hydration and compare hydration choices
- Explain the role of intensity level for energy balance
GENERAL MUSIC
Develops and demonstrates skills in singing
- Sing melodies with expanding range
- Maintain individual part when singing in two-part ensembles
- Sing expressively using dynamics and phrasing
- Improvise vocally
Develops and demonstrates skills in playing instruments
- Maintain individual part while performing ensemble compositions and accompaniments
- Perform and improvise accompaniments, ostinati and melodies
Responds to music with movement
- Perform and improvise movement to a wide variety of music
- Participate in choreographed movement and dances
Develops and demonstrates music literacy skills
- Identify, read and notate rhythmic patterns, melodies and symbols
- Compose and notate a simple fourmeasure pentatonic melody
- Compose music using contemporary media and technology
Applies critical listening skills when responding to and connecting with music
- Compare and contrast music and music performances from a variety of styles, periods and cultures with music terminology
- Identify selected compositions and composers from four periods of musical history
- Analyze individual music performances and reflect on success and areas for improvement
WORLD LANGUAGES
FLES
Communicates effectively in the target language in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes
Recognize repeated words, taglines, or short quotes from jingles, ads, movies, songs, rhymes, chants, or book titles, including content vocabulary
- Read and understand repeated words, taglines, or short quotes from jingles, ads, movies, songs, rhymes, chants, or book titles, including content vocabulary
- Follow classroom instructions, routines, and schedules when listening and reading
- Greet and leave people in a polite way when speaking and writing
- Ask and answer some simple questions, such as personal information, food, seasons, or any other content-related topic when speaking and writing
- Use words and list/assign preference to items related to content when speaking and writing
- Provide simple information related to content in other classes using a graphic organizer when speaking and writing
Interacts with cultural competence and understanding
- Identify and name typical products and practices from native and other cultures, such as seasons, rooms in a house, or school schedules
Immersion
Category 1 & 2 Languages* (French, German, Spanish)
Communicates effectively in the target language in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes
- Identify the topic and a few main ideas from familiar fiction and non-fiction material/texts when listening or reading
- Exchange information on a variety of general and academic topics when interacting or corresponding with others
- Present with some detail on familiar content topics
- Create fiction and non-fiction texts on familiar content topics
Interacts with cultural competence and understanding
- Identify similarities and differences in familiar products, practices, and perspectives of own and other cultures when listening to or reading authentic materials/texts, recognizing similarities and differences in reflection of ideas, settings, and expression
- Meet needs in familiar situations when interacting or corresponding with people/peers from other cultures
- Express preferences with details on topics of interest within own and other cultures
- Write with detail on topics of interest in own and other cultures
Category 3 & 4 Languages* (Japanese, Korean)
Communicates effectively in the target language in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes
- Identify the topic and a few main ideas from familiar fiction and non-fiction materials/texts when listening
- Read and understand phrases and basic information related to personal everyday life and content taught from familiar texts
- Exchange information on a variety of general and academic topics when interacting with others
- Exchange a variety of written personal and content information when corresponding with others
- Present with some detail on familiar content topics
- Create texts with some details related to a familiar content topic
Interacts with cultural competence and understanding
- Identify similarities and differences in familiar products, practices, and perspectives of own and other cultures when listening to authentic materials/texts recognizing similarities and differences in reflection of ideas, settings, and expression
- Identify similarities and differences in everyday products and practices of own and other cultures when reading
- Meet needs in familiar situations when interacting with people/peers from other cultures
- Exchange information, directions, and plans with teachers and peers
- Express preferences with details on topics of interest within own and other cultures
- Write with some detail on topics of interest in own or other cultures
*Language Categories 1, 2, 3, & 4 follow US Department of State Foreign Service Institute guidelines for language acquisition. Languages are placed into categories based on the level of difference from English, such as pronunciation and/or writing systems.
BAND/STRINGS
Demonstrates skills playing selected instrument as an individual and a member of an ensemble
- Demonstrate correct body and hand positions, finger patterns, tone production, articulation, phrasing and expression
- Demonstrate appropriate ensemble skills
Develops and demonstrates music literacy skills
- Read, write and perform music with various rhythmic patterns and meters
- Identify key signatures and scales
Develops and applies critical listening skills as an individual and a member of an ensemble
- Sing simple melodic tonal patterns
- Demonstrate the ability to appropriately match tone, intonation and volume with others