Fourth Grade at Yorkshire Academy
Starting Fourth Grade at Yorkshire Academy is always exciting! Private education is sometimes described as being stuffy and strict, but that couldn’t be further from the truth at Yorkshire.
We strive to make our Houston upper elementary school as fun and engaging as it is educational. If you’re looking to enroll your child in a new school for fourth grade, make sure Yorkshire Academy is on your list!
At Yorkshire Academy, we focus on the core academic courses but combine them with enrichment activities to help your child enjoy every aspect of their learning. Every day offers different learning opportunities as we consistently provide a safe, secure, and challenging environment. It’s well documented that students learn best in classrooms with low student/teacher ratios. Yorkshire Academy is fortunate to be able to offer lower student/teacher ratios than most elementary schools. We have a variety of special events throughout the year, including field trips, academic competitions, art shows, community service projects, Science Fair, our annual spring musical, and much more.
Exploring Fourth Grade Education
Yorkshire is a great place to do what I love, which is teach! It has the most supportive and encouraging administration that enables me to be the best I can be for the students I love! It is a very special and unique community in the caring environment it fosters for students and teachers. Yorkshire Academy is the place to be!
kim cooley, fourth grade teacher
Comprehensive Curriculum Guide
Yorkshire Academy is well known throughout Houston for an excellent curriculum that covers all the critical bases. We make sure your child has a good foundation to start middle school and high school in the coming years. Here’s a brief overview of what’s included in our premier private education:
- Language Arts: Upper Elementary Language Arts students participate in all aspects of language through various resources that ensure each child’s success. Students develop an appreciation and understanding of grammar through exposure to all genres of literature. Students follow the writing process resulting in excellence in written expression. Deep novel studies during literature circles encourage confidence in making evaluations in a safe environment and making valuable cultural connections. Art projects are integrated with each novel study to speak to all learning preferences.
- Literature Circles: Literature circles are a major component of the fourth grade language arts curriculum at our upper elementary school. Yorkshire’s literature discussions can remind you of college classes. Yorkshire Academy students have access to class sets of novels that comprise a wide variety of literature representing different countries and cultures. Fourth and fifth grade students engage in a cooperative, social setting, which encourages confidence in making evaluations in a safe environment.
- Social Studies: Students will focus on the five regions of the United States and Texas. We’ll use these areas to break down relevant topics in economics, geography, political science, and history. Our teachers use History Alive! and current events to provide your child with a broad look at yesterday and today.
- Science: We expand on what students learned in third grade with more in-depth lessons in physical science, life science, and earth science using student-centered, inquiry-based STEM initiatives. Students love our hands-on approach to learning science. They also benefit from the SEEDS program (Students Engaging in the Environment through Discovery and Science) and participating in the science fair.
- Math: Our accelerated math curriculum uses a blend of Go Math!, Greg Tang math, and other resources to create a specialized math program that builds a strong foundation of number sense and a deep conceptual understanding of mathematics. Math is perhaps one of the most essential components of our upper elementary school curriculum.
Organization and Responsibility
At Yorkshire Academy, we work toward helping students become independent, organized and responsible. We do this by keeping to a regular schedule, using planners, and having reasonable, but high expectations for each student. We’ll work with your fourth grader to develop these skills that will carry them through life.
Extensive Enrichment Programs
Yorkshire’s enrichment program is beyond compare. Yorkshire teachers pour time and resources into our enrichment programs such as music, art, computer, library, Spanish, physical education, and social emotional learning. All elementary students at Yorkshire Academy participate in the annual spring musical. Additionally, fourth graders are the stars of the Nutcracker play, as well as the background artists for the musicals. They also excel in the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Art Show. In addition to the aforementioned enrichment classes, students may participate in PSIA (Private School Interscholastic Association) both at a district and statewide level in many subjects including Math, writing, prose, spelling, and more.
Using Technology to the Fullest
In each of the subjects we teach, we strive to incorporate technology. We teach our young students all platforms, as well as coding so that they are prepared to transition to middle school. At Yorkshire Academy, we utilize applications such as Google Classroom, online curriculum, Kahoot, and much more to get students acquainted with technology as a learning tool.
Beyond Classroom Learning at Yorkshire Academy
Attending fourth grade at Yorkshire Academy is more than just memorizing dates and retaining math facts. We also incorporate numerous engaging activities throughout the year. We go on several field trips, such as Camp Olympia, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, and Taste of Texas. We’re also proud to be an Ocean Guardian School, which means we organize projects dedicated to protecting and conserving the local waters and the world’s oceans. While it’s easy to envision school as a series of homework and tests, Yorkshire Academy takes steps to broaden students’ horizons much further than that!
Providing Before and After School Care
Before and after school care is available if needed. Yorkshire students can be dropped off as early as 7:00 a.m. and picked up as late as 6:00 p.m. The after school care program includes Homework Club from 3:00–4:00 p.m. Yorkshire Academy also offers the Memorial Afterschool Program (MAP), which includes afterschool classes such as chess, piano, art, golf, Tae Kwon Do, coding, soccer and many more.
Look No Further for a Premier Private School
If you’re looking to enroll your fourth grader in a premier private school, Yorkshire Academy is the place for you. We’ve built a strong reputation around Houston for quality instruction and compassionate teachers. Contact us today to schedule a tour of our upper elementary school.