Fourth Grade
Favorite resources and curricula.
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For our family, fourth grade feels like a huge shift in learning. Our fourth grader is much more independent in his studies and is learning to manage his time so he gets his increased school work-load complete with ample time for his hobbies and activities. While social connections are always important, I have found myself, as a homeschool parent, much more intentional about fostering and supporting my soon-to-be tween’s social-emotional health.
Recommended Fourth Grade Resources:
Language Arts
Continue literature studies. I aim for one formal lit book a month. I choose these books by looking at a variety of book lists and compiling a list that might be a good fit for us. There are many great novel study resources out there. This video by Rainbow Resource flips through a bunch. Our favorites are those by Novel-Ties guides (I share these in my literature highlights on Instagram).
Continue with formal spelling instruction or transition to word study instruction. My go-to spelling recommendations are All About Spelling and Spelling Connections (workbook only). Check out my Spelling Guide for routines and instructional strategies. For word study, we are enjoying Word Roots. For more teacher-centered approaches, check out Morpheme Magic or Structured Word Inquiry (this is more of a method than a curriculum/program).
Continue with a systematic, explicit writing program. My recommendations are currently under review and will be updated soon. For now, I do like the thematic writing programs from the Insitute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). Check out my Writing Guide for evidence-based writing instruction recommendations and my Notebooking Guide for ideas for incorporating narration, drawing, and writing into your content areas.
Math
Explicit, systematic math instruction — Math With Confidence Fourth Grade is my go-to recommendation. You can see a full video flip-through of MWC 3 here.
Beast Academy Online is a great supplement for pulling in additional critical thinking skills, logic, and math reasoning.
Social Studies
Continue or begin a social studies routine. You can opt for a “mastery” or cycle approach where you cycle through different historical periods. You can also opt to focus on interest-based social studies, utilizing unit study resources. We have dabbled in both, following my kiddos’ interests. Programs we have enjoyed include:
History Quest (we enjoyed the audiobook & guide)
Story of the World Vol 1: Ancient Times, Story of the World Vol 1: Middle Ages, or Story of the World Vol 3: Early Modern, and check out the SOTW resources, such as the activity guides and student review pages.
Unit Studies using Nomad Press Guides. Check out these examples of our unit studies on ancient Rome and ancient Greece.
American History using a History of US. Check out the related teacher and student guides (often available on eBay). Please note that there is an elementary and a high school version of the guide, so look for the “5th-grade” guides for elementary school.
Another resource we love is History Plus, an online video-based resource with monthly themes and short, 5-10-minute daily videos.
Science
Continue or begin a science routine. You can opt for a “mastery” approach where you do a deep dive on one area of science for the whole year (or break into semesters), a spiral approach where you cycle through different branches of science each year, or a unit study approach. Similarly to social studies, we have dabbled in all three methods, following my kiddos’ interests. Programs we have enjoyed include:
Nancy Larson Science Fourth Grade (for more on NLS, check out my blog post here)
Blossom and Root Science and/or Nature Study offerings
Unit Studies using Nomad Press Guides
Science Mom online classes (Earth Science is free!)
Science is Weird is a fun supplemental option
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