Upper Elementary « Curriculum
Children in these grades 4-5 have achieved a level of competence in reading, writing and math skills that are now consolidated and expanded. This is a time of moving from concrete thinking into the abstract. Students build on the early research skills they have acquired and apply them to long-term projects in science, language arts and multi-cultural studies. The curriculum continues to be discovery-based. Students learn keyboarding at this time and final projects are often done on a word processor. Completed major projects are shared with parents in large group presentations so that students become confident communicators. At this level, students participate in their own goal-setting and in parent-teacher conferences.
Curriculum Details
Fourth/Fifth Grade Language Arts
4th Grade: Development of fluent reading skills; literary structure: characters, setting, detail, style, plot; literal and inferential comprehension; creative and expository writing through writing process approach: paragraphing; writing mechanics: capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech; spelling; research note-taking; poetry; vocabulary development; Handwriting Without Tears; listening, speaking and presentation skills.
5th Grade: Literary Structure: Development of fluent reading skills;
Literal and inferential comprehension; creative and expository writing through writing process approach: paragraphing and essays; writing mechanics: punctuation, parts of speech; vocabulary development; spelling; Handwriting Without Tears; listening, speaking and presentation skills; fact vs. opinion, figurative language.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Math
4th Grade: Reading and writing place value to 1,000,000's; computation of +, -, x, _ ;
fractions: operations and mixed numbers; decimals: introduction to hundredths; money; expressing mathematical thinking; measurement; problem-solving strategies; graphs; geometry; oral and written mathematical explanations.
5th Grade: Place Value to 1,000,000's; expanded notation; multiplication with multiple digits; factors, multiples; division with 2 digit divisors; prime numbers;
powers of ten, squared, cubed numbers; decimals to fractions; money; fractions and decimals concepts and operations; geometry: 3-D; area, perimeter, volume; problem-solving of mathematical situations; expressing mathematical thinking; Oral and written mathematical explanations.
Fourth/Fifth Grade History/Geography
This is a 2-year cycle of study.
Year One: Archaeology; prehistoric peoples: Australopithecus to Cro-Magnon; ancient civilizations: compare and contrast Mayan and Egyptian civilizations: daily life, art, government, religion, agriculture and architecture; Comparative study of Ancient Egypt and Greece; needs of people framework; world geography.
Year Two: California history and geography; Native American peoples; The Age of Exploration; The Missions; California today; state government system; The Gold Rush.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Science
This is a 2-year cycle of study.
Year One: Early humans; The five senses; simple machines; astronomy; microscopes and telescopes.
Year Two: Scientific method; geology; rivers and watersheds; San Francisco Bay ecosystem; marine biology.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Health/Advisory
Self-Awareness: areas of strength and weakness; conflict resolution; stereotypes and bias; diversity; peer pressure and decision making; puberty; positive body image; personal safety; building self-esteem.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Art
Linoleum block printing; figure drawing emphasizing proportion, gesture and expression; drawing and painting from nature; clay building: ceramics from slab and coil methods; combining painting with use of diverse materials; mixed-media sculpture; stylistic paper cutting; graphic design, coloring and lettering; carving and molding plaster; papier mache; cartooning and illustration; working thematically from the art of diverse cultures; art history mural painting; design principles reviewed; color theory; painting techniques explored.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Music
4th Grade:Song Repertoire/Games: Sing songs and play singing games which reflect diverse styles, eras and cultures. Special area of focus this year: jazz; Rhythm: Continuing opportunities for rhythmic improvisation; development continues – keeping the beat in various tempos, styles; understand, express and notate whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, quarter rests, pick up notes; intro to eighth, and sixteenth rests, triplets and sixteenth notes; focus on 3/4 meter; continue working in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 meters; Melody: Canon (round) singing, two-part harmony; review mi pentatonic (mi, sol, la, do, re pitches) and sol pentatonic (sol, la, do, re, mi pitches) modes; transpose pentatonic melodies to keys F and G; intro to hexatonic scales (scales with 6 notes); improvisation and composition on recorder and barred instruments; Harmony: Review and refine playing various accompaniments to singing and movement on barred instruments; Folk Dance: Learn more complex dances, review simpler ones, improvise aand create new versions of previously learned dances; Movement: Cooperative group choreography; more opportunities for creative movement; Music Appreciation: Listen to, analyze and describe various elements of music (tempo, form, dynamics, choices of instrumentation in a piece, etc.); experiment with developing criteria for evaluating musical performances, apply criteria to one’s own work; continued discovery of orchestral music and music of many cultures; instruments of ancient cultures, exploration of music from California -- historical and current (2 year cycle, 4th/5th grades); Ensemble: Improvise/compose arrangements for groups; soprano recorder study continues; refine all techniques learned for barred instruments and various other percussion instruments.
5th Grade: Song Repertoire/Games: Sing songs and play singing games which reflect diverse styles, eras and cultures. Special areas of focus this year include jazz and twelve-bar blues; Rhythm: Continuing opportunities for rhythmic improvisation; intro to whole and half rests; development and refining continues – keeping the beat in various styles, tempos; understand, express and notate whole, half, dotted half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes; eighth, quarter, and sixteenth rests; pick up notes, triplets; Melody: Singing in tune; canon (round) singing, part singing; intro to Aeolian and Dorian modes; improvising and composing melodies in learned scales and modes; Harmony: Learn drones to accompany songs in Aeolian and Dorian modes; intro to I, IV and V chords; Folk Dance: Learn more complex dances, improvise and create new versions of previously learned dances; Movement: Cooperative group choreography; more opportunities for creative movement and body percussion; Music Appreciation: Listen to,
analyze and describe various elements of music (tempo, form, dynamics, choices of instrumentation in a piece, etc.); experiment with developing criteria for evaluating musical performances and apply criteria to one’s own work; continued discovery of jazz, orchestral music and music of many cultures and eras; instruments of ancient cultures, exploration of music from California -- historical and current (2 year cycle, 4th/5th grades); defining the characteristics of the various periods of symphonic music; Ensemble: Improvise/compose arrangements for groups; soprano recorder study continues; refine all techniques learned for barred instruments and various other percussion instruments.
Fourth/Fifth Grade PE
Group games; cooperative games; sports lead-up games; sports skills; team sports; introduction to exercise physiology; introduction to and developing skills in team sports: volleyball, baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball, cross country, football; physical fitness evaluation.
Fourth/Fifth Grade Spanish
Review of vocabulary from 1st-3rd grades; weather, land forms, sports, article/noun/adjective agreement; verbs: gustar, jugar, ir, ser; personal biographical information; identification (nationality, profession); courtesy expressions; restaurant/foods; transportation; numbers 0-1000; culture: geography of the Spanish-speaking world; customs and traditions.
