Upper Elementary
The upper elementary school (grades three, four and five) is dedicated to providing a learning environment that builds children’s confidence and sense of responsibility while safeguarding their natural joy and interest in learning.
Students continue to develop reading skills and gradually change the focus from learning to read to reading to learn.
They read books and other print materials in many genres and for a variety of purposes. They begin to read for information and to read critically. Reading progress is assessed in various ways, including teacher-developed and standardized assessments.
We strive to structure writing experiences so that the students find pleasure in writing.
We relate writing to reading, enabling students to learn about compelling writing from their literature studies. Students’ writing progress is assessed using teacher-designed assessments and the upper elementary writing rubric. By the end of 5th grade students are writing in a variety of forms using the writing process. They edit and revise their work, include description and details, sequence events, vary sentence length and structure, use basic paragraph structure, summarize, respond to literature, use a wide range of vocabulary, and use conventional spelling and mechanics.
Students use hands-on tools to explore mathematical concepts while increasing their pencil and paper skill.
Mental math, estimation, problem solving, and expressing mathematical thinking clearly is emphasized. At the same time, students memorize multiplication and division facts and learn to use standard algorithms for multiplying and dividing. They work with decimals and further their understanding of fractions, geometry, measurement, and beginning algebraic concepts. Math progress is assessed by teacher-designed and commercial assessment tools as well as the math portion of the Measure of Academic Progress test.