2024 - 2025 Class 4 Skills Practice

Our Class 4 Math & Language Arts Skills Practice classes are live, interactive. Math Skills Practice meets twice per week with the teacher and Language Arts Skills meets once per week with the teacher.  Students are invited to interact with the teacher and ask questions as part of class time.

Daily Rhythm for Class 4 Math & Language Arts Skills Practice*

1. Welcome Song
2. Mental Math
3. Review/Introduce the Day’s Concept
4. Practice the Concept Individually or in Groups
5. Games/puzzles if time or when appropriate
6. Assignment
7. Closing Verse

Arithmetic Strategies

During this block we will review and strengthen the horizontal arithmetic strategies from second grade (addition and subtraction), the vertical strategies from third grade (addition, subtraction, and multiplication), and division with remainders. Through this practice we will also be strengthening all the arithmetic facts through 12.

Measuring Length and Distance

This is our opportunity to review and strengthen concepts of measuring length, mainly using the United States customary system of measurement (though we can throw in some play around centimeters and meters, which is more thoroughly introduced in the 5th grade). We will practice measuring, converting, the four operations with measurement, perimeter, and area. This block will be a nice precursor to the Local Geography block in our Main Lesson.

Time

We will strengthen our concepts of time from grades 2 and 3 and even add the 24-hour clock into our understanding of time. This is an excellent time (no pun intended, but accidental puns are always welcome) to make a calendar for the new year or to give as gifts. This will also give me a chance to bring back concepts that were a struggle and review them as well as a chance at fun with puzzles and games. I like to call this block Time/Times, because it is a great chance to firm up multiplication tables and add in some beyond the 12s. Further, we can get really comfortable with the concept of multiples-specifically Least Common Multiples. This work will help in their fraction studies this year.

Factors

We will take these 3 weeks to explore the world of factors to prepare us for both long division and equivalence during the next Main Lesson Block.

Money

Third and fourth graders are so curious about money, and it is a great way for them to learn to be a part of the world during and after the 9-year change. Money is covered in 3rd grade Main Lesson for this reason. I’d like to spend a nice long 4 weeks working through this very practical concept as we move toward the end of the year. At home, this may be a time to consider how we as parents can help further this interest into a way for them to earn and save money, maybe even opening an account for them at the bank. In class we will work through the 4 operations, story problems, and making sure they are comfortable with money concepts.

Measuring Volume and Weight

This is our last block that is a review and strengthening of third grade math. It’s also another chance to apply these concepts briefly with what we’ve learned about fractions.

Review, Puzzles, and Games

While we will be doing puzzles and games to strengthen all of our skills and mathematical thinking throughout the year, I’d like to end the year in a playful, celebratory way after all of the math work we’ve done. This will also give us a chance to strengthen up our arithmetic facts and any lingering confusion from third grade concepts. I foresee some activities with area here. :)

Form Drawing

We will sprinkle in form drawing throughout the year, advancing as the year progresses. This type of drawing helps strengthens many skills and will help prepare them for 5th grade geometric form drawing.

Language Arts  

During these times, the Main Lesson will be focused on Math, so we will focus a bit on Language Arts. We can strengthen grammar, spelling, and writing concepts through games and activities.

Expectations

Teachers provide math homework to do outside of class. Class 4 students can expect to spend 1 - 1.5 hours outside of this class on homework.

Students do not need to be enrolled in Lotus & Ivy Main Lesson Class to enroll in Lotus & Ivy Math & Language Arts Skills Practice; however, most students in the Math & Language Arts Skills Practice class are also in the Main Lesson class and the Main Lesson content feeds the Math & Language Arts Skills Practice content. If registering a la carte for Math & Language Arts Skills Practice, we recommend you follow the same Main Lesson block rotation at home.

We recommend that you select the Math & Language Arts Skills Practice that is taught by the same teacher who is teaching the Main Lesson class you chose. For example, Ms. McGee teaches the 10am ET Main Lesson and the 11:30am ET Math & Language Arts Skills Practice. Math & Language Arts Skills Practice will be mostly Math practice with some additional form drawing and painting but will become Language Arts practice when a Math Main Lesson is being taught.

Class 4 Math Topics

Regular review of arithmetic facts
The four processes with multiple digits
Review of measurement
Unit conversion
Multiplication facts beyond the 12s
Long division
Review division with remainders
Multi-digit multiplication
Fractions
Factors
Least Common Multiple
Greatest Common Factors
Equivalent Fractions
Reducing fractions
Addition, subtraction, & simple multiplication with fractions
Improper fractions & mixed numbers
Finding the common denominator
Estimation
Word problems
Math games & puzzles
Mental math & strategies

Please Note: There are three math main lesson blocks for Class 4.  These are taught as part of the Lotus & Ivy Main Lesson Classes.  Both our main lesson classes and our Math Skills Practice classes, together, are part of the full Lotus & Ivy curriculum, which provides a solid, whole-child, and rigorous math education.  We encourage students to enroll in our Math & Language Arts Skills Practice program, in addition to our main lesson classes, because it gives children a year-long course in age-appropriate math and language arts topics in addition to the math and language Main Lessons.

*Subject to change