Academics

Grades 4 through 6 Curriculum :: 2009-10

Classroom Practice and Community Building

Our day starts at 8.30, with a class meeting circle, run by each of the children in turn. By taking responsibility for the meeting, the children learn both how to lead a meeting and how to listen to other people’s reports and opinions. Room jobs are also an important part of our routine, and class members take turns to perform jobs every day, working in pairs to foster a cooperative spirit. We will be having regular class council meetings in which individuals can talk frankly about issues that are important to them, safe in the knowledge that the council is entirely confidential.

Theme

This year’s theme is Ancient Greece. We began by looking at the geography of Greece and placing it in the context of Europe and the Middle East. We looked at how the geography affected social development and myths - the importance of the sea in many stories. We followed this by looking at the Greek alphabet and how our language has been shaped by Ancient Greek. This will be a recurring strand throughout the year. We have now started reading and examining Greek myths, particularly relating to the major gods and goddesses. We will also read about the labors of Heracles and the story of Jason and the Argonauts. We will visit the Greek exhibit at the MFA in Boston where a wide variety of myths are illustrated on Greek pottery.

Our study will include the social and political heritage of Greece - democracy, juries, theater - and learning about, and contrasting, the cities of Athens and Sparta. We will look at the arrangements of both cities and as a hands-on activity, the children will work with an ‘archeological’ project to identify objects they might have found in the ruins of a Greek house. We will also sketch in some political history and the relationship between the Greeks and Persia. We will learn about Alexander the Great and use a children’s biography of Alexander as a whole-class reading project. We will also be reading the story of Troy and looking at the archeological evidence behind the legend. We will watch an excellent BBC program on the discovery of Troy. Rosemary Sutcliff’s retelling of the Odyssey will be another whole-class reading project.

Finally, our annual play is a key part of our theme study, which draws together various aspects of the children’s understanding of the year’s theme. The children write the play together and everyone has a speaking role. This is a major cross-curricular activity, involving theme, writing, art, performance and music.

Language Arts

Reading: Our reading program has two main strands: individual reading books and a series of whole-class books. The individual books are chosen to be just right for each child’s reading level, to develop fluency. Comprehension is developed by discussion of each book with the class teacher and through group and whole-class conversations about our various whole-class readers. In an experiment to make it easier for children to record their reading, and for teachers to monitor it, each child now has a special bookmark on which to record the pages read each day. The aim is for children to bring their school reading book to and from home in their book-bags, and that they should spend at least twenty minutes reading from it every evening. Our morning meetings include regular reports in which children describe and recommend books to each other. We also have a read-aloud session every day, in which the teacher reads a wide variety of books, including novels and adult non-fiction. This is an important part of our day and encourages simple enjoyment of books, on the part of both students and teacher.

Writing: As we did last year, we have started the year with a renewed focus on journal writing, using specific prompts and teaching. We are maintaining the importance of journal writing as we continue to work with poetry, our second writing project of the year. Other writing projects will include a memoir and a non-fiction report on whatever aspect of Ancient Greece interests each child.

We will also study aspects of grammar, including basic parts of speech and conventions of syntax and punctuation, but we will study these as part of the writing process, rather than as stand-alone subjects. There will also be regular exercises to reinforce the children’s learning. As far as spelling is concerned, the children are learning various general spelling rules in class. The children are given specific dictionary and thesaurus exercises and are encouraged to consult a dictionary regularly. In general, the expectation is that 5th and 6th-graders will use cursive script for all their written work, from note-taking to final drafts. Fourth-graders will continue to develop their cursive skills, so they can adopt cursive for all their work by the year’s end.

Handwriting: In general, the expectation is that all 5th- and 6th-graders will use cursive script as a matter of course for all their written work, from note-taking to final drafts. Fourth-graders will learn (or consolidate) cursive skills, so they can adopt cursive for all their work by the end of the year.

Mathematics

In both the 4th and 5th Grade we are following the revised TERC Investigations curriculum and in 6th grade we work with the related Connected Mathematics curriculum. As a school we now have a great deal of experience with these curricula. We appreciate their value and we also know when and how to adapt them to the needs of specific children. The value of both these curricula is that children build on their own understanding, and develop confidence in their own mathematical and investigative abilities. The curricula foster an intuitive approach to math, in which children often arrive at solutions because they can recognize mathematical patterns. The revised Investigations curriculum also covers the standard algorithms that children will be expected to know in 7th grade and beyond.

Spanish

Spanish is taught through movement, stories, games and songs, and is based on the TPR (total physical response) system. Students actively participate in each class, learning basic conversation skills and telling simple stories, aided by movement and acting as they understand and respond to the language. Lessons are conducted almost entirely in Spanish and this year we have scheduled two short review sessions each week as well as a regular full-length class.

Music

Students will be challenged musically by singing songs in parts and in foreign languages, and by learning to improvise, arrange and re-arrange music, and record their own CD. They will be exposed to music and composers of different times and lands, and learn about music theory by writing their own compositions. Recorder students will continue to learn to read music and play by ear, and will be able to try alto, tenor and bass recorders. To keep growing with recorder, students should practice at home for five minutes every day.

Art

In art, the students will use their imagination, add to their visual repertoire, grow in confidence, and communicate in a non-verbal way. All the while having lots of fun learning about art history and trying new techniques and concepts. This year’s theme lends itself to studying the figure. Projects include: self portraits as gods or goddesses; gesture drawing; studies of body proportion; wire figure sculptures and plaster sculpture as we look at the wonderful figurative works of the ancient Greeks. We will also do mosaics and Greek ‘story’ vases with terracotta clay. This year the children will continue their exploration of negative and positive space, composition and color theory (how to mix color). We hope to have the first Annual Village School Art Show in the early spring and the year will end with a portfolio showing. Our aim is that children will take their visual work seriously and look upon themselves as the artists they are.

Movements

The 4th-6th class has a weekly session of movements on Thursday morning. These are a unique method of developing attention and, in particular, attention in relation to the body. Each movement consists of a series of gestures taken with arms, legs and head, done to music. They vary in speed and rhythm and help foster physical agility and an awareness of the body and its abilities. Parents are welcome to watch.

Homework

The core homework assignment is daily reading. We expect each child to read at home for at least twenty minutes a day. In addition there is math homework on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, to support the class lessons that precede and follow it. There will also be some writing homework, generally to help develop individual writing projects, but sometimes on specific writing topics. Homework assignments should generally be completed on the day they are given, with the exception of spelling, which should be done between Monday and Friday. The total time devoted to homework should be about 45 minutes a day, because we believe children need time to follow other pursuits at home.

Science

Goals:

  • To provide a well-rounded hands-on science curriculum that uses the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for guidance.  Students will use a range of scientific equipment including dissecting microscopes, compound microscopes, balances, volumetric glassware, thermometers and burettes
  • To provide science connections with the classroom theme throughout the year
  • To offer independent science projects which are presented by the students on Science Night.  Students are introduced to important skills in experimental design and the foundation of technical writing during this period as well as being offered the chance to pursue an area of special interest to the student

Topic areas:

  • Geological timeline
  • Prehistory cards
  • Plate tectonics
  • Volcanoes
  • Rock cycle
  • Rock lab
  • Convection
  • Greenhouse Effect
  • Solar system
  • Constellations
  • Science Night Project: The students use the scientific method to do an independent experiment, write a report using the lab report format, prepare a poster explaining the experiment's findings and show their project at Science Night (a noncompetitive event). This is a classroom-supported activity.
  • Science experiments from Ancient Greece
  • Human body, system by system
  • Biodiversity Day