 Fourth
Grade Student Profile
WHY ARE THERE LEARNING STANDARDS FOR OUR CHILDREN?
Every day our world becomes more complex and demanding. To succeed beyond
high school, students must be better prepared than at any time in the
history of our state. Our expectations for our students and our schools
are higher than they have ever been.
To meet these expectations, the State Board of Education has adopted
a curriculum for all Texas schools - the Texas Essential Knowledge and
Skills (TEKS). These learning standards will help ensure that all students
meet the challenges ahead of us as we move into the next century:
 Each student
must become a more effective reader.
Each student
will have to know and apply more complex mathematics
Each student
needs to develop a stronger understanding of science concepts, especially
in biology, chemistry, and physics.
Each student
must master social studies skills and content necessary to be a responsible
adult citizen.
Each student
must master a wider range of technology.
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills identify what Texas students
should know and be able to do at every grade and in every course in the
foundation and enrichment areas at they move successfully through our
public schools.
The enclosed information summarizes the TEKS at your child's grade level
in the four foundation areas of English Language Arts and Reading, Mathematics,
Science, and Social Studies.
If you would like to see all of the TEKS that your child will learn,
ask a teacher or principal to show you a copy; or order the TEKS from
the Texas Education Agency; or, see http://www.tea.state.tx.us/resources/curric.html.
ENGLISH,LANGUAGE ARTS, &
READING
In fourth grade language arts, your child will learn:
LISTENING/SPEAKING:
Students will:
listen to gain
information and supporting evidence
monitor their
understanding of a spoken message and appropriately seek clarification
interpret speaker's
messages (both verbal and nonverbal), purposes and perspectives
monitor their
own understanding of the spoken message and seek clarification as needed
READING:
Students will:
read and comprehend
a variety of fourth-grade-level texts
adjust reading
rate according to the purpose of reading
monitor their
own comprehension and reread, use reference aids, search for clues,
and ask questions when understanding breaks down
use multiple
reference aids, including software, to clarify and seek information
study word meanings
across content areas and through current events
respond to readings
and ideas through journal writing, discussion, and media
paraphrases and
summarize text
represent text
information by generating outlines, timelines, and graphics
offer observations,
make connections, react, speculate, interpret, and raise questions after
reading
WRITING:
Students will:
capitalize, use
punctuation, and spell correctly in "Published" pieces of
writing
evaluate written
compositions using assigned and established criteria
conduct research
and raise new questions for further investigation
write to express,
discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and problem solve
compose journals,
letters, reviews, poems, narratives, and instructions
VIEWING/REPRESENTING:
Students will:
understand and
interpret visual messages and media
analyze and critique
media
produce visual
images, messages, and meanings that communicate effectively
Note: Students of limited English proficiency (LEP) enrolled in Spanish
Language Arts and/or
in English as a Second Language will be expected to learn these same knowledge
and skills through their native language, and students in English as a
Second Language will apply these skills at their proficiency level in
English.
MATHEMATICS
In fourth grade mathematics, your child will learn:
NUMBER, OPERATION,
AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING:
Students will:
read, write, compare,
and order whole numbers through millions
read, write, compare,
and order decimals through hundredths
model fractions
greater than one
generate equivalent
fractions using models
compare and order
fractions using concrete and picture models
relate fractions
and decimals for tenths and hundredths
add and subtract
whole numbers and decimals to hundredths
model factors
and products
represent multiplication
and division
recall and apply
multiplication facts
multiply with
two-digit multipliers
divide with a
one-digit divisor
use addition and
subtraction to solve problems
round to tens,
hundreds, or thousands
estimate products
and quotients
PATTERNS, RELATIONSHIPS,
AND ALGEBRAIC THINKING:
Students will:
use patterns to
remember multiplication facts
solve division
problems using fact families
use patterns to
multiply by 10 and 100
describe the relationship
between two sets of data
GEOMETRY AND SPATIAL REASONING:
Students will:
use formal language
for angles
identify parallel
and perpendicular lines
describe shapes
and solids with vertices, edges, and faces
demonstrate translations,
reflections, and rotations
verify congruence
and symmetry
locate and name
whole numbers, fractions, and decimals on number line
MEASUREMENT:
Students will:
estimate and measure
weight and capacity
measure length,
perimeter, time, temperature, and area
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS:
Students will:
interpret bar graphs
list possible outcomes
of a probability experiment
use a pair of numbers
to describe the probability of an event
PROBLEM SOLVING:
Students will:
identify the mathematics
in everyday situations
use a problem-solving
model
select or develop
an appropriate problem-solving strategy
explain and record
observations
relate informal
language to mathematical language and symbols make generalizations from
patterns
SCIENCE
In fourth grade science, our child will learn:
FIELD AND LABORAORY INVESTIGATIONS:
Students will:
demonstrate safe,
environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices
learn to use and
conserve, dispose and recycle resources
SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY:
Students will:
plan and implement
descriptive and simple investigations, ask well-defined questions, formulate
hypotheses, select and use appropriate equipment and technology, collect,
analyze and interpret information, observe and measure, and communicate
valid conclusions
construct graphs,
tables, maps, charts to organize, examine, and evaluate information
CRITICAL
THINKING, PROBLEM SOLVING, AND DECISION MAKING SKILLS:
Students will:
analyze, review,
and critique scientific explanations/hypotheses/theories, including strengths,
and weaknesses, and draw inferences on promotional materials for products
and services
evaluate research
on scientific thought, society, and the environment
connect science
concepts with history of science and contributions of scientists
TOOLS AND MODELS:
Students will:
collect information,
measure, and compare using tools, including safety goggles, microscopes,
sound records, computers, hand lenses, thermometers, meter sticks, balances,
and compasses
represent the natural
world using models and analyze their limitations
demonstrate that
repeated investigations may increase the reliability of results
SYSTEMS, CYCLES, PATTERNS,
AND CHANGE:
Students will:
identify and describe
roles of organisms in living systems and parts in nonliving objects and
predict and draw conclusions when part of a system is removed
identify patterns
of change and use reflection to verify symmetry
MATTER AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
Students will:
observe and record
changes in states of matter caused by heat and conduct tests, compare
data, and draw conclusions about physical properties of matter-states,
conduction, density, and buoyancy
ADAPTATIONS:
Students will:
identify characteristics
that allow survival and reproduction of species
compare adaptive
characteristics of species and identify and compare species that lived
in the past to existing species
distinguish inherited
and learned characteristics providing examples
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE EVENTS:
Students will:
identify and observe
effects of events that require time for change to become noticeable
PROCESSES OF THE NATURAL WORLD:
Students will:
test properties
of soils, effects of oceans on land, and the Sun as our major source of
energy
SOCIAL STUDIES
In fourth grade social studies, your child will learn:
HISTORY:
Students will:
compare similarities
and differences of Native American groups in Texas and the Western Hemisphere
before European exploration
explain causes
and effects of European exploration and colonization of Texas and the
Western Hemisphere
explain causes
and effects of the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas, and the annexation
of Texas to the United States
describe political,
economic, and social changes in Texas during the last half of the 19th
century.
Describe important
issues, events, and individuals of the 20th century in Texas
GEOGRAPHY:
Students will:
use geographic
tools to collect, analyze and interpret data
describe political,
economic, and physical regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere
explain the location
and patterns of settlement and the geographic factors that influence where
people live in Texas
describe how people
in Texas adapt to and modify their environment
ECONOMICS:
Students will:
explain basic
patterns of work and economic activities of early societies in Texas
describe the characteristics
and benefits of the free enterprises system in Texas
identify how Texas,
the United States, and the world are economically interdependent
GOVERNMENT:
Students will:
compare how people
organized governments in different ways during the early development of
Texas
identify important
ideas in historic documents, such as the Texas Declaration of Independence
explain the basic
functions of the three branches of state government
CITIZENSHIP:
Students will:
explain important
customs, symbols, and celebrations of Texas
explain the role
of the individual in state and local elections
identify leaders
in state and local government and tell how to contact them
CULTURE:
Students will:
identify the contributions
of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY:
Students will:
describe the impact
of science and technology on life in Texas
SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS:
Students will:
apply critical-thinking
skills, communicate effectively, and use problem-solving and decision-making
processes
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