Upper Elementary
Upper elementary grades represent a transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Building on a solid literacy foundation, students are encouraged to deepen their comprehension skills and pursue their curiosity by reading different texts on various topics. Our program encourages students to integrate science and social studies through reading, while also using inquiry-based activities to deepen understanding. In math, students develop greater fluency with higher operations including multiplication and division, and begin to work with fractions and decimals. Our social emotional skills reinforce healthy relationships and welcoming diverse perspectives, while helping students to build self-regulation skills to prepare them for the transition ultimately to middle school.
Our curricula include:
Students should receive reading instruction every day. Some days may include shared reading and a whole-class discussion of comprehension; guided reading in small groups with leveled texts should be included at least twice per week. Daily independent reading should be assigned at the child’s reading level and may be continued as homework. We use Fountas & Pinnell to monitor student reading levels. The following is a guide for where students should enter and exit each grade level. Please keep in mind that all students develop at their own pace, and your teacher can provide more information on your child’s assessment and progress.
| Grade Level | Beginning of Year ------> End of Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Grade | L, M, N+ | M, N, O+ | N, O, P+ | O, P, Q+ |
| 4th Grade | O, P, Q+ | P, Q, R+ | Q, R, S+ | R, S, T+ |
| 5th Grade | R, S, T+ | S, T, U+ | T, U, V+ | U, V, W+ |
| Red = approaching grade level, Green = on grade level, Purple = exceeding grade level | ||||
The writing block includes time for students to workshop more extended writing pieces, including creative writing. Phonics instruction is integrated through spelling and vocabulary throughout reading and writing instruction.
A daily math block should include lessons from the Eureka Math/Engage NY Math program. Each lesson includes fluency practice; modeling using pictures, charts, and manipulatives; time to solve problems; and time to discuss solutions.
In each Amplify Science unit, students are asked to inhabit the role of a scientist or engineer in order to figure out scientific phenomena through a 21st century, real-world problem context. The units of study include:
| Grade | Unit 1 (Sept. – Oct.) |
Unit 2 (Nov. – Jan.) |
Unit 3 (Feb. – April) |
Unit 4 (May – June) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gr 3 | Balancing Forces | Inheritance and Traits | Environments and Survival | Weather and Climate |
| Gr 4 | Energy Conversions | Vision and Light | Earth’s Features | Waves, Energy, and Information |
| Gr 5 | Patterns of Earth and Sky | Modeling Matter | The Earth System | Ecosystem Restoration |
Social Studies includes activities to think like historians and raise questions, think critically, consider many perspectives and gather evidence in support of their interpretations through the practice of chronological processing, decision-making and historical research and analysis. The units include:
| Grade | Unit 1 (Sept. – Oct.) |
Unit 2 (Nov. – Dec.) |
Unit 3 (Jan. – Feb.) |
Unit 4 (Mar. – April) |
Unit 4 (May – June) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gr 3 | Introduction to World Geography and Communities | Case Studies of World Communities (cases selected by the teacher from: Africa, Asia, South America, The Caribbean, Europe, Southeast Asia, Oceana/Australia) |
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| Gr 4 | Geography of NYS | Native Americans | Colonial & Revolutionary Periods in NYS | Freedom and the New Nation: Federal, State and Local Govt | Making the Empire State: Immigration, Industrialization, Westward Expansion |
| Gr 5 | Geography & Early Societies of W. Hemisphere | European Exploration | Case Studies of W. Hemisphere (cases selected by teacher from: Mexico, Canada, US, and a Caribbean or S. American country) |
The Western Hemisphere Today | |