Moving to 4th Grade

Changing grade levels is difficult. I still remember crying my eyes out the first time I had to change grade levels. It was devastating! It’s hard to sort through years worth of blog posts, resources, and articles to find just what you need to get started. Since it’s such a challenge, I’ve written this post about moving to 4th grade to help get you started. Even if you’ve been a fourth grade teacher for awhile, you’ll probably find something useful!

A couple years ago I wrote a blog post for teachers who were new to third grade or transitioning back to third grade. If you’re moving to 3rd grade, be sure to check out that post.

In this post:

• Pacing Guides
• Fourth Grade Morning Work
• Reading
• Writing
• Guided Math & Workshops
• Social Studies & Science
• Classroom Management
• Top Ten Resources

Pacing Guides

It’s hard to start the year without a plan, so you can download example fourth grade pacing guides here.

Covid and distance learning has changed so many things for teachers. It’s incredibly hard to know how to get started when you don’t know what you’re planning for. To provide even more support, I’ve shared a First 30 Days for reading and math. What makes this plan special is that it can be used for in-class instruction, distance learning, or a combination of both. You can find that post here.

Fourth Grade Morning Work

A good morning work routine is one of the most important parts of the day. It sets your pace and allows students to feel organized and prepared. This post shares some of my favorite ideas for morning work. It also mentions how to incorporate a soft start to your day.

Reading

After years of blogging, there is simply no way to narrow down all of my reading and writing blog posts to just one! However, I was able to whittle it down to just a few. Keep in mind, all of these lessons are available as a print and digital resource.

Reading Workshop

In this post you can get a good overview of what should happen during reading workshop. The post also discuss the differences between reading workshop, guided reading, and literature circles.

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Teaching Reading Through Social Studies and Science

This post shares several ideas on ways to integrate your science and social studies standards with reading. Time is always a problem, so this is a big help.

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Making Sense of Reading Assessments

Depending on where you’re coming from, reading assessments may look different. They may also be quite overwhelming! This post breaks down the how and why of various reading assessments.

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Upper Elementary Guided Reading Groups

Reading groups in the upper elementary classroom are complex to say the least. This post is a great way to get started.

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Introducing Reading Workshop

This post shares procedural lessons to allow your students get started on the right foot.

Writing

Introducing Paragraphs

This is one of my all time favorite ways to begin teaching writing! I highly recommend starting the year by teaching students how to write paragraphs through these back to school books!

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Narrative Writing

Here is a blog post that shares how to teach students to write personal narratives. I do have blog posts for other writing genres, but this seems to be teachers’ favorite genre to start the year with.

If you are looking for a general overview of HOW to teach writing, don’t skip this post!

Guided Math & Workshops

Math Workshop/Guided Math

This post describes how math workshop can be used in a fourth grade classroom.

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Math Centers

You don’t have to incorporate math centers in fourth grade. If you do utilize centers, you don’t have to use them everyday. There is so much flexibility! This is a great post to show how to use math centers in an upper elementary classroom.

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Teaching Math Workshop Procedures

I highly recommend this post! It’s SO important in order to have success during the year. There are step-by-step lessons to teach math workshop with routines and procedures.

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Math Manipulatives

These aren’t just for the little ones. Big kids need them too! However, you don’t need to spend a fortune, and there are important things to remember when using manipulatives.

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Memorizing Multiplication Facts

There are few topics in math that cause more anxiety (for students and teachers) than math facts. This post helps take that away. There are TONS of fun ideas and freebies to make learning multiplication facts fun AND meaningful!

Social Studies & Science

Transform Your Social Studies and Science Instruction

This is a series of blog posts that cover several different instructional ideas for teaching social studies and science. The series discusses vocabulary, presenting content, exploration activities, assessment, and more!

Classroom Management

A Starting Place for Distance Learning

This is your go-to, can’t-miss, starting place for distance learning.

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Classroom Management Strategies

Includes free and editable behavior log.

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Classroom Focus Wall

This is a great post for setting up a focus wall and math bulletin board.

Top Ten Resources

This Reading Workshop Bundle is probably my favorite product! It’s one of those that really does have everything! There are 180 reading comprehension lesson plans and printables to go with each lesson plan. I’ve also included fluency practice, vocabulary, and reading homework.

 

My Fourth Grade Math Units is a compilation of YEARS of work! This bundle includes 10 math units with hands-on lessons, skills practice, and task cards!

 

 

I honestly don’t know what I’d do without my Weekly Word Problems. I now use the updated version with the constructed response practice for my morning work. It’s one of my favorites!

 

 

Once again, I’d be lost without my Fluency Passages! I use these for weekly fluency and comprehension homework. The best part is that the entire pack is integrated with science and social studies!

 

My Language Arts Morning Work is an excellent spiral review. This will help keep tricky grammar and reading skills fresh all year. (I know the cover of this one says third, but I’ve linked the 4th grade version. My fourth grade cover is in the middle of being updated:)

 

 

Writing can certainly be tricky, which is why I love having the Writing Bundle ready to go! This contains three writing units that are aligned to the Common Core Standards: informational, opinion, and narrative!

 

 

I love these Multiplication Facts Booklets! Teaching multiplication facts is a year long process, so I incorporate these booklets all year long. The are a great way to teach conceptual understanding and memorization of multiplication facts.

 

I use the Prefix of the Week packet along with my Homophone of the Week for weekly vocabulary and word work. This makes a cute bulletin board and comes with different booklets!

 

 

I use this Math Constructed Response packet at least once a week. This is one of those concepts that needs to be practiced all year long, rather than taught as an isolated test prep skill.

 

 

I’m cheating a little here! I actually have a few 4th grade assessment packs, and I love them all! I especially like the language arts assessments, because it’s often difficult to find reading assessments that include the passage and assess one standard at a time.

You are going to love 4th grade! One of the best things about moving to 4th grade is that students are young enough to still love school and have a desire to please their teacher. Yet, they are independent enough to participate in really fun activities. Plus, the older students are awesome at catching my corny jokes! Like all students, they need love, consistency, and strong procedures for optimal success. Don’t sweat the test! Your preparation starts from Day 1 and with good instruction your students will be ready!

Don’t hesitate to ask any questions! I’m always happy to help.

• Classroom Set Up-Here’s a few classroom pictures.

To learn more about how I plan for the year, you can check out this post on planning for the year.