Fourth Grade is an exciting, challenging year as students make the transition from the primary to the intermediate grades. In math, students move from learning basic facts to using these facts as tools for reasoning and multiple-step problem solving. In their writing, fourth graders build on the basics of sentence and paragraph structure that they learned in earlier years by adding more detail and depth to their work. Students learn to write for a variety of purposes and audiences. The religion curriculum fosters a deepening of students’ faith through the study of the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Works of Mercy. Students learn investigative techniques in science as they explore the properties of water and earth materials. In social studies, students develop basic geography skills when they study U.S. regions. Through literature and technology, they learn about the lives of pioneers on the Oregon Trail. Guided instruction and cooperative learning are tools that help fourth graders become more analytical readers.