Typical 4^th Grade Schedule:

• 8:00-8:55:Math
• 9:00-9:50:Language Arts
• 9:55-10:45:Language Arts
• 10:50-11:40:P.E. ¹
• 11:40-12:20:Lunch
• 12:20-1:10:Spanish ²
• 1:15-2:05:Science
• 2:05-3:00:Music ³

1: three times a week
2: three times a week
3: three times a week
Art: twice a week
Drama: once a week
P.E.: three times a week

4th Grade Subject Overview

Language Arts

Course content in 4th grade is grounded in a balanced approach to language, including spelling, grammar, vocabulary development, literature, and writing. The reading program is designed to promote lifelong readers through units such as fiction, historical fiction and biographies. The girls explore a variety of literary genres through literature circles, journals, analysis of writer's intent, reflections, and other content enrichment. The writing component primarily follows the Writers' Workshop strategy. Students practice organizing their ideas effectively, as well as critiquing and improving on their writing, revision, and editing skills. Creative and expository writing assignments include poetry, fiction, personal experience, persuasive writing and a research paper.

Math

Students in 4th grade are expected to gain mastery of the basic multiplication/division facts by using a variety of manipulatives, math centers, and problem solving skills to practice and strengthen understanding of each concept. Real life scenarios are used to help girls apply their math skills and learn problem solving strategies built upon previously learned concepts. Particular focus is placed on geometry, fractions, probability, place value, and decimals. Basic algebra skills will be introduced through Hands-On Equations by using manipulatives to relate abstract ideas using concrete examples.

Science

4th grade Science is an entirely hands-on program using laboratory experimentation and discovery. Utilizing the scientific method, the students analyze information, make accurate notes, keep a Science journal, and employ a variety of materials to support scientific investigations.

Life Science
Students use microscopes and other magnifiers to observe living and non-living things through a study of “Microworlds.”

Earth Science
During a detailed study of various “Ecosystems,” the girls explore the idea that no organisms live cut off and independent from all others.

Physical Science
Students investigate nutrients in common foods during a “Food Chemistry” study. Another unit on matter is “Floating and Sinking,” in which the girls study concepts related to the property of buoyancy.

Social Studies

The 4th grade social studies curriculum focuses on the history and geography of Texas, using the text Texas: Adventures in Time and Place, library books, websites, literature, and artifacts to explore the history of Texas. Course content covers a timeline that begins with the first Native Americans and progresses through the European settlers, the struggle for independence, statehood, the civil war, and economic growth. Students use globes, atlases, and maps to build general geography skills and vocabulary, with particular emphasis on state climate, resources, culture, and geographic features such as canyons, plateaus, and aquifers. The 4th grade social studies program also strengthens research skills, as the girls collect information and use a variety of methods to present their conclusions and compare cultures.

Spanish

The Lower School Spanish Language Program is designed for the girls to develop an appreciation for Spanish language and culture. Language is contextualized and interdisciplinarily linked with other subjects that the students are currently exploring. 3rd and 4th grade students start to develop reading and writing skills at the sentence level, while strengthening their spoken communication skills in class with various conversation activities.

Art

The GSA Art Curriculum is designed to develop each girl's individual creativity and self-expression through a well-rounded study of art, which includes history/context, mechanics, and hands-on application. Students are exposed to a wide variety of particular art forms and mediums, which are introduced in an historical context and exemplified in the work of notable artists such as Modigliani, Botticelli, Matisse, Vermeer, Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol. Discussion and demonstration then focuses on mechanics, and each unit culminates in a technique-oriented project in which students create original work in that medium or art form.

Artistic mediums/processes covered during the year include pastels, drawing, acrylic painting on canvas, printmaking, pen/ink, and clay. Technical instruction includes classical lessons in drawing the head and body, uses of shadow and light, landscapes, and still life. Guest artists/lecturers provide real-world perspective by sharing their work and experiences.

Throughout the course of the year, girls of all levels enjoy plenty of opportunities to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and recognition through their art by participating in international artwork exchange programs, formal gallery exhibits and informal school displays of their work, charitable events, and multi-cultural collaborative art-centered occasions such as The White Buffalo Project. Middle School students are also encouraged to enter their work in various local/regional/national competitions.

Every year, each K-8 student creates her own self-portrait, and the annual Self-Portrait Show is a highlight for the GSA community. By exploring and creating art, students not only engage in creative self-expression, but also develop another perspective from which to appreciate their own culture and that of others.

Music

Piano
The GSA K-8 Piano program is designed to promote a life-long love of music. A student's course of study is tailored to her individual development/skill/experience level and consists of a unique combination of one-on-one and group lessons in both application and music theory, practice and experimentation time, performance opportunities, and a variety of activities involving listening, discussion, and written response. The Faber and Faber Piano Adventures series lesson book materials are supplemented with repertoire from numerous sources and disparate styles. The girls learn how to decode and respond physically to traditional western music notation and interact with multiple number systems simultaneously. Reinforcement through in-class and at-home practice is an essential component of progress, and students are taught both healthy physiological approaches and strategic practice methods such as identifying patterns and layers, counting whole and subdivided beats, setting and meeting reasonable/strategic goals, hands-separate work, and small-section drilling. As a student advances, more abstract and/or nuanced issues of musicianship such as structure analysis, compositional technique, tactile relationship with the keyboard, constructive critique, personal interpretation, and expressive choices are incorporated into discussions and lessons.

The girls participate in two school-wide concerts per year, as well as other performances as they arise. These events provide performance experience as well as opportunities to learn and practice appropriate performer and audience etiquette. Throughout the course of the year, piano students at all levels are exposed to and encouraged to share their responses to a wide variety of musics representing disparate traditions, time periods, and levels of formality. Music is explored in a synaesthetic and interdisciplinary context.

Strings
Strings class at the GSA is a goal-oriented activity, since learning music is first about making music. Posture, theory, and technique are presented as important tools to reach the goal of making music and having fun, which provides a foundation for deeper and often interdisciplinary learning experiences.
2nd grade and older students are offered the option to play the violin, viola, or cello. 3rd and 4th grade students play in four-part harmony and gain exposure to a wider array of musical styles, including fiddling songs, classical pieces, and material from folk traditions around the world. They tackle a new range of scales, rhythms, and bowings, and learn how these can be used to create a wider variety of moods and expression.

Health and Wellness

Lower School students learn about the following topics in their Physical Education classes: safety, nutrition, body systems and hygiene, dental health, harmful substances, human growth and development, and social and emotional health. The girls also develop skills such as volley throwing and catching, hand and foot dribble, shoot rhythms, cardiovascular/muscular strength and endurance, locomotor skills, and flexibility. Each of these topics will be introduced in the Physical Education classes at the kindergarten level and expanded upon each year thereafter. Handouts, worksheets, discussions, activities, and demonstrations will be used to teach various topics.

Community Service

The Girls' School encourages active participation in our community—on campus, in Austin, and around the world. Each grade participates in at least one volunteer project per year, and most participate in many more. Whenever possible, projects are linked to the classroom curriculum; for example, for the annual UNICEF collections, the 3rd and 4th graders calculate grade-level and school-wide statistics and then present them at a community meeting. Some of our recent community service projects are listed here.