Elementary school curriculum

 “It has been said that the environment should act as a kind of aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes, and cultures of the people who live in it. This is what we are working toward.”   —Loris Malaguzz

Our Vision of a Child

Children are capable. They are capable of making decisions and using an infinite number of ways to communicate their thinking. They are naturally curious and learn from their environments and in the company of their friends. Each child is unique and flourishes in their own time. As adults in their lives, we honor their rights to learn by observing, modeling, and guiding. We value their processes, provide time and room for them to grow, and offer learning opportunities based on their interests. 

Our Reggio Emilia Inspired program allows each child to grow and be challenged at their individual level of readiness. Children in our multi-age classes learn important social and emotional skills as well as academic concepts. Each day children are offered experiences which include Art, Music, Physical Education, Indian Studies, Maker Space, and Library. 

Our approach is rooted in the value of care.  As educators, we utilize a pedagogy of relationships between children and adults. The principles we employ focus on:

• building relationships: child to child, child to adult, and child to the world around them.

• guiding children to construct their own learning; children take ownership of their learning experiences by following their interests, curiosities, and desires to find out more.

• teachers documenting the processes of learning; this is done as a way of helping children revisit and reflect on their learning. 

Our program is grounded in an emergent curriculum using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for guiding research and action.

PreKindergarten is a full-day program which runs from 8:30 am–3:25 pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The program runs from 8:30 am–2:25 pm on Wednesdays. PreKindergarten students must turn three or four years old prior to August 31 of the current school year.

Language Arts 

Learning new language skills and cultivating joy through language is a hallmark of Kindergarten. Children will learn about the alphabet and its role in reading. They will practice rhyming, matching words with beginning sounds, and blending sounds into words. Practice with these types of activities is a powerful step toward learning to read and to spell correctly. The size of a child’s vocabulary is another key factor in their ability to read and comprehend books and stories. Children also will begin to experiment with writing and will be encouraged to use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing letters to share information, ideas, and feelings. Building opportunities for joy with stories and language is key and foundational to all successful programs.

Math

Young children arrive in Kindergarten with widely varying knowledge of math. By the end of the year, children are working towards ensuring important foundations. One of the most important skills children should develop is the ability to add and subtract small numbers and use addition and subtraction to solve word problems. This will rely on gaining some fundamentals early in the year, such as counting objects to tell how many there are. Addition and subtraction will continue to be a very strong focus in Math through Grade 2.

Science

Cultivating curiosity and wonder is key to successful science programs. We strive to offer all children interactive science instruction that promotes analysis and interpretation of data, critical thinking, problem-solving, and connections across the sciences. Kindergarten through Grade 2 children focus on developing deeper understandings, focusing on authentic experiences of science beyond memorizing facts.

Kindergarten through Grade 2 areas of focus include deepening the understanding of: 

• motion and properties of matter. 

• the relationship between sound and vibrating materials.

• factors that impact what plants and animals need to survive.

• how objects can be changed or improved through engineering.

Science practices support content  learning with a focus on asking questions, developing and using models, and planning and carrying out relevant and age appropriate investigations.

Social Studies

In Kindergarten, children develop an understanding of history as stories about people and places by using pictures, toys, and other artifacts from their own lives to tell their own stories. They come to see history and geography as fun and relevant. This helps children listen to each other with understanding and to identify and practice community norms of communication. Children will also explore the roles that cooperation and positive conflict resolution play in life at home and at school. They will examine the impact of systems in school and at home. 

Indian Studies

Basic greetings and simple Hindi vocabulary is introduced to students. They enjoy the simple Indian food from different states and revel in the celebrations of Indian festivals, seasons, and holidays. Students delve into the cultural aspects of Indian stories, research the reasoning, and show their learning by enacting the story and creating multimedia projects. They get first-hand experience of learning about and making their own traditional arts/crafts with our visiting artists from various villages of India. Many hands-on activities are planned to make them understand the evolution, tradition, and techniques of various arts/crafts of the home country. It is always fun learning, collaborating, and playing Indian board games!

Art

In Kindergarten, students are introduced to the elements of art and principles of design as they create projects in various media. Each project focuses on specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. The concepts we focus on include color, value, shape, line, form, pattern, and texture.

Music

Kindergarten musicians are learning to be tuneful, beautiful, and artful. They explore the amazing things their voices can do, work on finding and using their beautiful singing voices, and learn songs, fingerplays, chants, games, and movement activities—all designed to help them consistently match pitch and keep a steady beat. Kindergartners also learn about the opposites in music: fast/slow, high/low, up/down, loud/soft, smooth/choppy.

PE

The focus for Kindergarten students is on the development of self-space and rules to be followed in physical activity settings. Students work on gross motor skills. They further their understanding of teamwork through participation in activities and group discussions. Students develop their skills further in a variety of locomotor skills that include jogging, running, skipping, galloping, jumping, and catching. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

 

Language Arts

In Grade 1, children will become more independent readers and writers. They continue to learn and practice rules for recognizing the sounds that makeup words and will be able to sound out more complex words. Such foundational skills are necessary and important components of developing proficient readers with the capacity to comprehend a wide range of materials. Students will learn to think about what they read and talk about the main ideas of simple stories. As they write and speak, Grade 1 students will learn to use language appropriately; this includes using complete sentences and building a strong and extensive vocabulary.

Math

In Grade 1, children will build on last year’s work and gain important new skills. One of the most important outcomes for the year is to improve speed and accuracy adding with a sum of 20 or less and subtracting from a number 20 or less (e.g., 17–8). Another important goal in Grade 1  is adding with a sum of 100 or less; this will rely on understanding what the digits mean in a number such as 63 (namely, 63 is six tens and three ones). Working with multi-digit addition this year will set the stage for Grade 2 when learners will be working with three-digit numbers and adding and subtracting with larger numbers. Three critical areas in Grade 1 Mathematics are developing an understanding of addition and subtraction, an understanding of whole number relationships and place value, and an understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units and reasoning about attributes of geometric shapes.

Science

Cultivating curiosity and wonder are key to successful science programs. We strive to offer all students—Kindergarten through Grade 2—interactive science instruction that promotes analysis and interpretation of data, critical thinking, problem-solving, and connections across the sciences. We focus on guiding students to develop deeper understandings of science beyond memorizing facts and with a focus on authentic experiences. 

The Kindergarten through Grade 2 areas of focus include promoting a deeper understanding of: 

• motion and properties of matter.

• the relationship between sound and vibrating materials. 

• factors that impact what plants and animals need to survive.

• how objects can be changed or improved through engineering.

Science practices support content learning with a focus on asking questions; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; designing solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

Art

In Grade 1, students are introduced to the elements of art and principles of design as they create projects in various media. Each project focuses on specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. The concepts we focus on include color, value, shape, line, form, pattern, and texture. Students begin to reflect on their own work and the work of their peers through self-evaluations and class discussions.

Social Studies and Indian Studies

Grade 1 students increase their awareness of place in their lives by more closely examining the physical world of their school and by considering how the school itself meets their needs and wants.

Students explore time, continuity, and change by considering stories from their families. Students also consider how families change over time but some traditions remain unchanged. They begin to build an understanding of location and how maps, graphs, and tables may be used to display geographic information. 

Grade 1 students are introduced to the cultural, traditional, and varied arts and crafts of India. They explore the concepts of the different seasons, festivals, wildlife, and food. Active engagement and hands-on activities are emphasized throughout the year. Conversational Hindi vocabulary and phrases are introduced, and students are encouraged to use simple Hindi sentences in Indian Studies. Dramatization and role-playing bring alive the stories of why festivals are celebrated and lead to a deeper understanding of the rich storytelling traditions of India. A rich array of audio-visual and print materials are used to bring concepts alive.

Music

Grade 1 musicians are introduced to the elements of music such as melody, harmony, rhythm, form, timbre, and expression. Students develop their voices through singing and their musical ears through echoing short melodic and rhythmic patterns. They recognize and describe the forms of music, and begin to interpret the moods of compositions. Our Grade 1 musicians also move to music, play singing games, and build a repertoire of songs to sing.

PE

The focus for Grade 1 is on the development of an understanding of self and general space along with the rules to be followed in physical activity settings. Students work on gross motor skills and cooperative games. The skills are developed through a variety of locomotor

activities that include running, skipping, galloping, jumping, catching, fleeing, and dodging. The students explore activities and games using a variety of equipment. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

World Language

World Language students read, listen, show understanding, speak, and write in a variety of ways; teachers use a blend of storytelling instruction and other language learning activities. Grade 1 World Language classes focus on introductory vocabulary and concepts. Grade 1 World Language students use basic greetings, answer simple questions, count low numbers in context, state the days of the week, express likes and dislikes, and talk about their World Language class, their immediate family, favorite food, and seasonal clothing. As appropriate, they also learn about and make connections with some major school holidays and celebrations.

 

Language Arts

Children in Grade 2 will gain more skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They continue to learn and practice rules for matching sounds to letters that make up words, and they learn new concepts—such as words that share the same root (e.g., add and additional)—that help them figure out the meanings of new words. Writing will become an exciting way for students to use newly learned words and phrases to express ideas. As they write and speak, Grade 2 students will be more attentive to the formal and informal uses of English.

Math

In Grade 2, children will build on last year’s work and gain important new skills. One of the most important outcomes for the year is to add and subtract two-digit numbers quickly and accurately (e.g., 77 – 28). Another important goal in Grade 2 is to understand what the digits mean in a three-digit number such as 463 (namely, 463 is four hundreds, six tens, and three ones). Children also will build expertise with solving addition and subtraction word problems. Mastering addition and subtraction at the Grade 2 level is important to support future learning for multiplication, division, and fractions.

Science

Cultivating curiosity and wonder are key to successful science programs. We strive to offer all children interactive science instruction that promotes analysis and interpretation of data, critical thinking, problem-solving, and connections across the sciences. We focus on developing a deeper understanding of science beyond memorizing facts and with a focus on authentic experiences. 

The Kindergarten through Grade 2 areas of focus include deepening an understanding of: 

• motion and properties of matter

• the relationship between sound and vibrating materials 

• factors that impact what plants and animals need to survive

 • how objects can be changed or improved through engineering

Science practices support learning content learning with a focus on asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations and interpreting data. Grade 2 learners additionally focus on designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

Social Studies

Social Studies instruction ensures a growing understanding and application of the key skills used to understand relationships among people and with their world. In Grade 2, children examine how innovations and technological developments have the power to change lives and societies. They delve into how societies influence and are influenced by scientific and technological developments. Additionally, there remains a focus on developing personal skills so each person can contribute successfully to the classroom and the larger community.

Indian Studies

Active engagement and hands-on activities are emphasized for 2nd graders. Students play Indian games, sample Indian food from different regions, gain some background about Indian festivals, and come to understand the Indian monsoon. They make connections by

exploring the diversity of our neighborhood—Delhi, by learning about its trees, birds, places, monuments, food, arts, and crafts. Conversational Hindi vocabulary is introduced and practiced. A rich array of audio-visual and print materials are used to bring concepts alive.

Art

In Grade 2, children are introduced to the elements of art and principles of design as they create projects in various media. Each project focuses on specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. The focus for Grade 2 is portraiture; students learn the basics of drawing and sculpting people. The concepts we focus on include color, value, shape, line, form, pattern, texture, and proportion. Students reflect on their artwork through self-evaluation rubrics and class critiques.

Music

Grade 2 musicians create, perform, and respond to music in a variety of ways. They continue to explore the elements of music: melody/harmony, rhythm, form, timbre, and expression. They continue to build musical literacy and on their musical skills from Grade 1 (echoing short melodic and rhythmic patterns, learning basic patterns and techniques on barred instruments, recognizing and describing the forms of music, and interpreting the mood of compositions). Grade 2 musicians move to music, play singing games, and build a repertoire of songs to sing.

PE

The focus for Grade 2 is on the development of gross and fine motor skills through a variety of activities. Team games are introduced with a focus on understanding teamwork. Students practice individual tasks and work with different partners to continue to refine their basic coordination abilities (throwing, catching, fleeing, and dodging). Along with these, we introduce ways to increase individual fitness levels. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

World Languages

World Language students read, listen, show understanding, speak, and write in a variety of ways; teachers use a blend of storytelling instruction and other language learning activities. Grade 2 World Language classes focus on introductory vocabulary and concepts while allowing opportunities to apply existing knowledge in a variety of new, familiar scenarios. Grade 2 World Language students use basic greetings, answer simple questions, count numbers in context, learn to state the date, express likes and dislikes, and talk about their school community, the animal kingdom, their health, and their personal interests. As appropriate, they also learn about and make connections with some major school holidays and celebrations.

Language Arts

Grade 3 is a pivotal year for children.  Learning to read with fluency and confidence will serve as a foundation for the reading demands in later grades. By practicing with learning-to-read strategies, children will reliably be able to make sense of multisyllabic words in books. They will come to appreciate that words have meanings that are not literal (e.g., a piece of cake) and have relationships to other words (e.g., company and companion). Recognizing and understanding words will help students read increasingly challenging stories and books and build knowledge about the world around them. By the end of the year, students will also be writing clear sentences and paragraphs on a range of topics, drawing on an expanding vocabulary.

Math

In Grade 3, children will learn important new ideas and gain important new skills. One of the most important topics this year is multiplication and division. Others are fractions, multiplication, and division; fractions are key as they are the building blocks for many life skills—such as calculating percentages—that students will learn in later grades. Children will also be measuring and estimating weights and liquid volumes, and solving word problems involving these quantities along with concepts of area and geometric measurement.

Science

Science provides an opportunity to create a sense of wonder and curiosity through experiential hands-on learning. This leads to a deeper understanding and application of key skills used in science and engineering. Students explore concepts and use skills related to magnetic force and motion, weather, and climate. Student work revolves around these critical areas of collecting and identifying patterns in data, planning and conducting investigations, and identifying cause-and-effect relationships.

Social Studies

Social Studies provides opportunities for students to see their place in the world, their own needs, and themselves in relation to others and the needs of others. Instruction ensures a growing understanding and application of the key skills used to understand the relationships between people, geography, and communities near and far.

Grade 3 students will build their thinking about the courage it takes to be an active contributor to a larger community. They will look at the rights and responsibilities of individuals within a community as well as the roles and responsibilities of community members and leaders.

Indian Studies

Grade 3 students will make personal connections through their experiences to the larger context of the host country. The students will explore historical and current topics such as festivals, the monsoon, Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals of peace and non-violence, Indian food, the weather and related agricultural practices of different regions, and Indian games. Our students will explore the diversity of India by discussing the geography, history, arts and crafts, cuisine, and other facts of some of the states. Hindi vocabulary continues to be taught and practiced. A rich array of audio-visual and print materials are used to bring concepts alive.

Art

In Grade 3, students are introduced to the elements and principles of art as they create artwork in various media. Each project draws on and develops specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. Grade 3 students develop their creativity and skills through projects which can include abstract drawing using the five basic elements of shape (dots, circles, and straight, curvy, or angle lines), painting and developing brush control, oil pastel techniques, limited color palette, sculpting with clay, cartooning, printing with foam blocks, weaving and drawing realistic self-portraits. Each project is linked to cultural and/or historical influences from around the world. Revising and editing is a continual process and students evaluate the final product through self-evaluation rubrics and class critiques.

Music

Grade 3 musicians create, perform, and respond to music in a variety of ways, deepening their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music: melody/harmony, rhythm, form, timbre, and expression. In Semester 1, students develop their musical literacy, learning more about traditional notation and solfege. The soprano recorder is introduced as a tool to increase their reading and to give them practice in mastering an instrument. Grade 3 students continue to sing, move, play games, and compose melodic and rhythmic patterns of increasing sophistication and difficulty. Their repertoire of songs, both sung and played, continues to grow.

PE

The focus for Grade 2 is on the development of gross and fine motor skills through a variety of activities. Team games are introduced with a focus on understanding teamwork. Students practice individual tasks and work with different partners to continue to refine their basic coordination abilities (throwing, catching, fleeing, and dodging). Along with these, we introduce ways to increase individual fitness levels. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

World Languages

World Language students read, listen, show understanding, speak, and write in a variety of ways; teachers use a blend of storytelling instruction and other language learning activities. Grade 3 World Language classes focus on introductory vocabulary and concepts. Grade 3 World Language students use greetings, answer questions about a story, count to 100, state the date, and describe size and color. They discuss space, weather and geographical forms, countries around the world that speak French, and family celebrations.

Language Arts

Building the stamina and skills to read and write challenging fiction, nonfiction, and other materials is fundamental in Grade 4. Children will continue to learn about the world as well as build vocabulary skills by reading more complicated stories and poems from different cultures and a range of books on history, science, art, and music. In Grade 4 students will also make important strides in their ability to explain plainly and in detail what a book says—both explicitly and what is implied from its details. Children engage in units requiring reading of both literature and informational text.

Math

In Grade 4, children will gain important new skills while continuing to build on what they learned the previous year. One of the main areas studied in Grade 4 is arithmetic and applying it to solve problems. Children will also build their knowledge and skills with fractions and understanding decimal notation. Geometry focuses on how figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry.

Science

Children continue to build on their understanding of energy and its relationship to motion. They explore the many ways energy might be moved from one place to another and consider the relationship between humans, energy, and natural resources.

Children in Grade 4 consider how land is shaped and formed and consider tectonics, rock layers, fossils, and erosion. They also consider how life on our planet impacts the shape of the land. They also consider how humans might lessen the effects of some natural hazards.

Social Studies

Social Studies instruction ensures a growing understanding and application of the key skills used to understand the relationships among people and geography. Learning is framed around peace, conflict resolution, and humans and the environment.  Instruction and assessment is focused on these critical areas: (1) developing an understanding of cooperation and conflict; (2) developing an understanding of culture, and; (3) developing an understanding of the connection between humans and the environment.

Indian Studies

Geographical, historical, cultural, craft, and linguistic concepts provide the scaffold for new learning as Grade 4 students explore units in a more meaningful way. Students will learn about the Indian freedom movement while they delve deeper into the ideas of peace and non-violence. Lessons around festivals, games, and the geographical states of India include discussion, observations, and research. The students will be involved in hands-on projects that showcase new learning using multimedia. Conversational Hindi vocabulary is taught and Indian food is sampled regularly. A rich array of audio-visual and print materials are used to bring concepts alive.

Art

In Grade 4, students are introduced to the elements and principles of art as they create projects in various media. Each project focuses on specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. Grade 4 students develop their creativity and skills through a variety of projects which can include abstract drawing using the five basic elements of shape (dots, circles, and straight, curvy, and angle lines) with a focus on developing contrast; painting with an emphasis on realistic 3D drawing, mixing colors and developing brush control; creating a pinch pot, lid, and knob with clay; stencil-making and printing; and drawing realistic self-portraits. Each project is linked to cultural/historical influences from around the world. Revising and editing is a continual process and students evaluate the final product through self-evaluation rubrics and class critiques.

Music

Grade 4 musicians create, perform, and respond to music in a variety of ways, increasing their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music: melody/harmony, rhythm, form, timbre, and expression. Music students sing and play various classroom instruments, including rhythmic instruments, barred instruments, and the soprano recorder. Grade 4 students continue to expand their ability to read traditional notation and sing at sight. Grade 4 students continue to sing, move, play games, and compose melodic and rhythmic patterns of increasing sophistication and difficulty. Their repertoire of songs, both sung and played, continues to grow.

PE

The focus for Grade 4 is to further refine their understanding of teamwork through participation in activities and discussions. Students will participate in a variety of learning experiences in order to gain an understanding of how to maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activities at home and during school. Along with these, students will practice ways of increasing their own fitness levels. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

World Languages

World Language students read, listen, show understanding, speak, and write in a variety of ways; teachers use a blend of storytelling instruction and other language learning activities. Grade 4 World Language includes reviewing prior learning, interviewing, counting past 100, and navigating a city. They discuss social expectations at home and at school, how to create an ideal city, what we will wear in the future, and traditional stories from around the world. Grade 4 World Language students use their conceptual understanding of cognates to find the meaning of new words, build vocabulary, and answer questions.

Language Arts

In Grade 5, children will read and write widely and deeply from a range of high-quality, increasingly challenging fiction and nonfiction from diverse cultures and time periods. Building knowledge about subjects through research projects and responding analytically to literary and informational sources will be key to their continuing success. By devoting significant time and effort to producing numerous written pieces over short and extended time frames throughout the year, they also will gain increasing control over many conventions of grammar, usage, and punctuation as a critical skill for conveying meaning through writing. They will publish their writing in a variety of ways using a variety of tools.

Math

Grade 5 is a milestone and a pivot point for students. There is a focus on adding and subtracting fractions and solving related word problems, multiplying fractions, dividing fractions in simple cases, and solving authentic and related word problems. They will be multiplying whole numbers quickly and accurately, understanding the concept of volume, and solving problems. Graphical representations and analyzing mathematical patterns and relationships are also a focus.

Science

Science instruction promotes a deeper understanding and application of key skills used in science and engineering. Students explore concepts and use skills related to the structure and properties of matter, the movement of energy in an ecosystem, and Earth systems. Student work revolves around these critical areas: (1) developing and using models; (2) engaging in argument from evidence; (3) developing and carrying out investigations and fair tests, and; (4) obtaining and combining information to explain ideas.

Social Studies

In Grade 5 children will have the opportunity to explore the global issue of a child's right to an education. By understanding that human rights include a right to learn, children will engage with questions about how people learn, how learning has changed over time, and what barriers to learning exist. This is an integrated learning opportunity with Indian Studies. Children also participate in learning framed around freedom and human migration—developing an understanding of the causes and effects of human migration. They examine and develop an understanding of the relationship between freedom and migration along with developing the skills of analysis, interpretation, and empathy.

Indian Studies

Geographical, historical, cultural, craft, and linguistic concepts provide the scaffold for learning this year. Grade 5 students learn about Indian Independence. Through the context of freedom fighters, Grade 5 students will understand the significance of non-cooperation, spinning, and self-reliance in Mahatma Gandhi's call for freedom. A large part of the 5th grade year is spent learning about Ranthambore National Park. In the second semester, students take a 4-day trip to the Park. During the school year, the students continue to learn conversational Hindi. Indian festivals and food continue to be enjoyed. Making choices and taking responsibility for their own learning, students use books and technology to research, design, and build multimedia projects. A rich array of audio-visual and print materials are used to bring concepts alive.

Art

In Grade 5, students are introduced to the elements and principles of art as they create projects in various media. Each project focuses on specific skills and concepts within five media strands including drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and multimedia. Students develop their creativity and skills through a variety of projects which can include abstract drawing using the five basic elements of shape (dots, circles, and straight, curvy, and angle lines) with a focus on shading; Native American style coil pottery emphasizing traditional shapes; geometric and representational painted designs and polishing of the clay; printmaking with carved linoleum blocks; Mehendi pen and ink drawing highlighting the concepts of unity and contrast; and drawing realistic self-portraits. Each project is connected to cultural/historical influences from around the world. Revising and editing is a continual process and students evaluate the final product through self-evaluation rubrics and class critiques.

Music

Grade 5 musicians create, perform, and respond to music in a variety of ways, expanding their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music: melody/harmony, rhythm, form, timbre, and expression. They learn about Western Music History and begin to explore World Music as well. Continued emphasis is placed on music literacy and reading traditional notation. Grade 5 students increase their skill on barred instruments, and are learning how to play the ukulele. They continue to sing, move, play games, compose melodic and rhythmic patterns and are writing them down. Their repertoire of songs, both sung and played, continues to grow.

PE

The focus for Grade 5 is to apply an understanding of teamwork in cooperative games. Students continue to refine gross and fine motor skills learned in the lower grades and apply them in team game situations. Students also spend time focusing on offensive and defensive strategies. In addition, students continue to develop a deeper understanding of fitness and ways to apply the knowledge in their everyday lives. The goal of the program is to develop in students an understanding of the importance of physical activity and the value of fitness as an integral part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

World Languages

World Language students read, listen, show understanding, speak, and write in a variety of ways; teachers use a blend of storytelling instruction and other language learning activities. Grade 5 World Language includes reviewing prior learning, interviewing, counting past 100, jobs, food, telling time, and describing daily routines. They discuss home and routines, celebrations around the world, interactions in a restaurant, and health. Grade 5 World Language students use their conceptual understanding of cognates to find the meaning of new words, build vocabulary, and answer questions.