North Carolina's fourth grade standardized social studies curriculum includes the study of geography, politics and history, with a primary focus on how these topics pertain to North Carolina. Students learn about the Native Americans of North Carolina, early immigration into the state and major geographical landforms. Current political, economic and social institutions within the state are also covered by the curriculum, according to North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction.
Fourth graders in the state improve their reading skills through a range of assignments, from fiction to poetry and drama. Different reading strategies are taught for each type of text. The state focuses on active listening, media and technology, as well as speaking, utilizing both digital and hand-written formats for projects and oral presentations. Curriculum includes science fiction, novels, legends, journals, autobiographies, haiku poetry and plays, according to North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction.
North Carolina fourth graders learn about overarching science qualities, such as the nature of science, scientific inquiry and the scientific method, as well as technology and social and personal perspectives. Specific curriculum includes the teaching of animals, plants, weather and climate, geology and minerals and magnetism and electricity. Students also study a variety of human body processes, including digestion and how animals and plants consume energy to function.
Major concepts taught to North Carolina fourth grade students include whole number computation, multiplication, non-negative rational numbers and physics basics such as length, time, mass and capacity. Geometry is also taught as students learn symmetry and congruency, transformation and perimeter and area. Fourth graders also study the statistical concepts of mean, median, mode and range.