Forestville Academy

Fourth Grade, at Forestville Academy, is an exciting and challenging experience. Students describe their year as: "Fourth grade is the best. We learn so much and we get to go on lots of fun trips." "Fourth grade was my favorite year. I liked learning about the missions and doing all of the stuff when we went on our mission trip." "I can't believe that I can write so much. I used to be bad at it but now I am really good." " I liked all the books we read. I really liked Fever and The Island of the Blue Dolphins. And The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was so exciting, and then we had our own tea with cakes and cookies. It was so fun." "I wish I could stay in Fourth grade forever." The reading curriculum is enriched with special projects that encourage students to explore units on business, medicine, survival and communication. These units are supported with interesting field trips and class presentations. Math is taught supportively and students have enriching experiences using math manipulatives in centers. Language Arts and Writing Skills are practiced through daily writing and specific exploration of narratives, responses to literature, summaries and poetry. Science provides hands-on experiments with electricity, magnetism, earth study, population and ecosystems and geology. Social Studies is taught with hands-on experiences in map making, studying world geography, the study of early American Californians, the westward expansion of the U.S.A. and the gold rush to California. Students are taught to develop a power point presentation on a mission of their choice. A highlight is the environmental history experience where students participate in candle making, basket weaving, cooking and other crafts done by neophytes in California missions. The year culminates with a trip to Sacramento, Sutter's Fort, and a train ride. Students also have a chance to participate in a Gold Rush play presented for parents.