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Religion
Texts Used:
- Jesus Our Guide, Faith and Life Book 4, Catholics United for Faith, 2002 (T2304)
- Jesus Our Guide, Activity Book, Faith and Life Book 4, Catholics United for Faith, 2002 (T2304A), Optional
- Jesus Our Guide, Resource Book, Faith and Life Book 4, Catholics United for Faith, 2002 (T2304B), Optional
- St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism #1, Catholic Books Publishing, 1962 (T2232)
- Kolbe Academy Answer Key to the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism #1 (T2232A), Optional
Course Description:
Grade Four Religion introduces the student to God's plan for the salvation of His people from sin. It shows us how we participate in that salvific act. This course explains to the student in clear and unmistakable terms the many ways God helps us in our pilgrimage here on earth. God, His Law, and His Church help and guide us.
The suffering of man is demonstrated through the fall of man, Cain and Abel, Joseph in Egypt, the slavery of Israel in Egypt, and the Exodus to the Promised Land. King David and King Solomon are looked at, leading to the promise of a new king, fulfilled in Jesus.
The material from the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism #1 will overlap in many places with that of the Faith and Life Series. You may choose to follow the framework of the Baltimore Catechism rather than that of the Faith and Life Series, but you should choose one and only use the other for supplementary material. There are many wonderful activities at www.catecheticalresources.com that can be used in conjunction with the lessons in this book.
Reading
Texts Used:
- Catholic National Reader, Book Four (T1864)
- Kolbe Guide to the Catholic National Reader, Book Four (T1864A)
Course Description:
Fourth Grade Reading presents a selection of readings appropriate to the level of the student. The program is based on mutual response: teacher reading and students listening; student reading and teacher and other students listening. Vocal reading skill is to be practiced and developed; to this end, the child should read orally every day.
The Catholic National Reader (CNR), Book Four is the primary reader for this level. The CNR is quite challenging so if necessary, proceed more slowly than the course plans suggest. It is not unusual for a student to be reading the book that is a year below his grade level. In this course, the student will continue to develop a love for reading, understand how learning develops from good reading habits, understand the assimilation of word meanings and vocabulary from reading, identify characters, plots, and the point or objective of the author, and write book reports.
Phonics
Texts Used:
- Phonics, Level D, Pearson Education, 2912 (T1204)
- Kolbe Academy Answer Key to Phonics, Level D, 2012 (T1204B) – optional
- Resource Manual for Phonics Level D, 2012 (T1204A) – optional
Course Description:
Grade Four Phonics introduces the student to a gradual sophistication of use in the skills developed from the previous phonics courses. Uses of the apostrophe, possessives, contractions, prefixes & roots all expand the student's ability to read, write and speak with use of simple but important and expanded phonics skills. Syllables, silent letters, diphthongs, vowel pairs and digraphs, alphabetical order, and dictionary skills are also included in this course.
Phonics Level D begins with easy material, and the child should be able to read the instructions and follow the directions with very little help. Much in the word study book reinforces what the student learns in English and Spelling.
English Grammar
Texts Used:
- Voyages in English 4 (T1004A)
- Voyages in English 4, Teacher’s Edition (T1004B), Optional
Course Description:
English Grammar for Grade Four implements the functions of all the parts of writing to develop in the student the ability to write clearly and persuasively. This is partially accomplished by using the method of "imitation," reading the stories that go along with the Voyages in English text and then imitating the methods used in the stories to develop the writing skills of the student. This year in grammar brings all learning from the previous three years into focus and applies it in a progressively more difficult, but rewarding way.
The teaching of English should be cumulative. In Grade Four the student will review what he learned in previous grades and build on it. Everything learned in English should be applied and reinforced in the student’s reading, composition, spelling, and phonics. Topics covered include writing paragraphs, letters, invitations, and book reports, punctuation and capitalization, poetry, irregular verbs, contractions, abbreviations, and possessives.
Vocabulary and Spelling
Texts Used:
- Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level Orange, 2006 edition (T1429)
- Teacher's Edition for Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level Orange (T1429A)
Catholic National Reader, Book Four, (T1864), Optional
Course Description:
Grade Four Vocabulary & Spelling develops the student's capacity to pronounce, spell, use, look up in the dictionary, understand, and remember the definitions of words, their diacritical marks, and syllabication. It also develops the student's ability to work with synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and analogies.
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop, Level Orange is the primary book used for the course. The Catholic National Reader (CNR), Book Four is used during each week for additional vocabulary work. If doing both the vocabulary book and the words from the CNR is too time consuming and challenging, eliminate the words from CNR and do only the vocabulary book.
Classical Composition
Texts Used:
- Classical Composition Vol. I: Fable Stage Teacher Manual (CCFS), (T1551A)
- Classical Composition Vol. I: Fable Stage Student Workbook (CCFSSW), (T1551)
Course Description:
Classical Composition instructs the novice writer as though he or she were an apprentice to the great master writers. Instruction is based on imitation. Beginning by making the student aware of the structure of sound writing, and proceeding by giving the student the tools to imitate it, the course ends by equipping the student to design his own sound writing. The course begins by acquainting the student with models from which he can gain a sound grasp of structure. Then sentence and word variation, figures of description, rhetorical devices, and stylistic considerations are introduced slowly – all in service of the message to be communicated. At the end of the full course a student should emerge as a writer who can ascertain the purpose of any given writing task and employ the best means of completing the task to communicate the message.
The full course is set forth in substance and sequence in the Fable Stage Teacher Manual, a complete, self-contained course that is part of a series. The Student Workbook compliments each lesson. English Composition I: Fable Stage is suitable for introducing classical composition to 4th or 5th graders. It may also be used with upper grammar school students whose writing background has not included classical composition instruction.
Classical Composition Vol. I: Fable Stage Teacher Manual and the corresponding Student Workbook are the primary texts for this course. The child should write every school day, utilizing Fridays for writing instruction or practice, if the parent wishes to stay with the schedule as written. Parents are free to double-up on lessons depending on the rate at which their children absorb the lesson and according to the schedule they have established for their home school. The final week of every quarter is written to double-up on the lessons in order to finish out the course in the traditional thirty-six (36) weeks. Quarterly exams have also been supplied to be used as the parent decides. The lessons are set forth on a 10 day cycle by the publisher, but as Kolbe parents you may adapt the pace and coverage to your own schedules.
FAMILIES HAVE TWO OPTIONS FOR FOURTH GRADE HISTORY
History (Option 1)
Texts Used:
- Founders of Freedom, Land of Our Lady Series, Volume I. Neumann Press, 1997, (T7304)
- Kolbe Academy Answer Key to Founders of Freedom, (T7304A), Optional
Course Description:
Grade Four History concentrates on the ancient and medieval world events that led up to the founding of the United States of America. The flow of history in this course will be drawn from the beginnings of history through to the foundations of the American drama.
Topics covered include the beginning of civilization, from Adam and Eve, the development of civilization in Greece and Rome, the beginning and challenges of Christianity, the role played by monks and missionaries, feudalism, the Magna Carta, religious orders, and the troubles in Europe, leading to the approach of the New World.
History (Option 2)
Texts Used:
- Famous Men of Greece Book, John Haaren & A.B. Poland, edited by Memoria Press 2006, (T7814)
- Famous Men of Greece Student Guide (T7814A), Optional
- Famous Men of Greece Teacher Guide (T7814B), Optional
Supplemental Material:
- D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths (T3420)
- The Children’s Homer (T3440), also in Elementary Literature
Course Description:
Grade Four History is designed to introduce the student to the great figures of ancient Greek history and myth, and to trace the historical rise and lasting influence of the Greek civilization. The textbook should be supplemented with material from other sources, particularly encyclopedias for the writing of brief research reports. As you read Famous Men of Greece, it is to the student’s advantage to read about the incident or the god/goddess in D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. This can give the student more details and help to reinforce in his memory persons, places, and incidents of Ancient Greece.
Figures covered include the Greek gods, Cadmus, Perseus, Hercules, Jason, Theseus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus, Miltiades, Leonidas, Socrates, Xenophon, Philip of Macedonia, Alexander the Great, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Ptolemy, and the fall of Greece.
Geography
Texts Used:
- Map Skills, Level E (T5804)
- Map Skills Answer Key for Level E (T5804A) - Optional
Course Description:
Fourth Grade Geography continues to apply the geography lessons to the world around the child. The Glossary at the back of the book contains definitions of terms found in the text. The textbook should be supplemented with material from other sources, particularly local maps, a map of the United States, a globe, an atlas, and sources found on the Internet. Geography does not need to be done every day and can be eliminated if the student is being challenged by the basics in other subjects.
The topics covered include map keys and grids, mileage markers and map scale, natural boundaries and landforms on maps, different map types, including land use, vegetation, climate, rainfall, population, transit, natural resources, and historical maps, knowing which type of map to use, climate and time zones, Mercator and Robinson map projections, and latitude and longitude on a globe.
Mathematics
Texts Used:
- Saxon Math 5/4, Third Edition, 2004, (T4054)
Course Description:
Fourth Grade Math introduces to the student a program of "foundational" elements upon which the successful mathematical equations are worked out. This program contains a thorough review of addition, subtraction, and single digit multiplication and division. The subsequent arithmetic content includes number concepts, estimation functions, two- and three-digit computations, decimals and fractions. The basic skills of algebra and geometry are introduced. Continual and incremental practice with word problems, measurement, scale, and graph reading, as well as arithmetic, provides the opportunity for students to learn and remember the foundational skills and concepts of mathematics.
Science
Texts Used:
- Harcourt Science, 4th Grade*, Harcourt Publishing, 2005, (T4824)
- Kolbe Academy Answer Key for Harcourt Science 3/4, (T4824A), Optional
- Harcourt Science Workbook 4th Grade*, Harcourt Publishing, (T4824B), Optional
- Harcourt Science, 4th Grade* Workbook Teacher Manual, (T4824C), Optional
*Harcourt Science, 4th Grade is used in both 3rd and 4th grade
Course Description:
Fourth Grade Science continues the basic introduction to the life, earth, and physical sciences. The most important part of teaching science in the early years is helping the student see the wonders of God’s world, and making him unafraid of the subject when he pursues science in more depth later. Children learn more from doing the experiments and investigations alongside the reading of the textbook.
The Harcourt Science series has the availability of several online learning tools to anyone who purchases the textbook. The first is provided by the publisher, Harcourt. There are several supplementary activities for the student and teacher on this website. Another website is provided by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This website allows you to select the topic you are studying in the book, and will take you to a page of selected website links that can help you to enhance and further develop the topics that your child is studying. The online resources are a wonderful addition to the activities provided within the text itself.
Topics covered include in Life Science: the components, habitats, and conservation of ecosystems, rain forests, and coral reefs; in Earth Science: the atmosphere and weather prediction, the water cycle and the ocean floor, and the Earth, moon, and other planets; in Physical Science: electricity and magnetism, motion and forces, and simple machines, including levers, pulleys, and wheels.
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