Academic Classes at North Country School 4th and 5th Grades
Mathematics
Social Studies
Language Arts and Literature
Science
Edible Schoolyard
Mode of Study
Mathematics, Scott Foresman and Addison Wesley
Current events, social justice teachings
Reading and Writing Workshop Model using select texts
Scientific journals, videos, documentaries and nonfiction texts
Students make use of campus features such as the children’s garden, the forest garden, the sugarbush, the greenhouse, and the farm.
Special Units
• Fractal study • Partner based problem solving • Geometric shape study • Number sense, number theory, estimation, variables and expressions, patterns, functions, geometry
• Insect independent research project • Microbe study • Newtonian physics and outer space • Project week
Objectives and Skills
-Understand numbers, multiple ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems -Develop an understanding of the properties of odd/even numbers as a result of multiplication -Understand meanings of operations and procedures, and how they relate to one another -Compute accurately and make reasonable estimates -Represent and analyze algebraically a wide variety of problem solving situations -Evaluate and express relationships using open sentences with one operation -Recognize, use, and represent algebraically patterns, relations, and functions -Describe, extend, and make generalizations about numeric (+,-,x,/ ) and geometric patterns -Use visualization and spatial reasoning to analyze characteristics and properties of geometric shapes -Identify and justify geometric relationships, formally and informally
-Acquire strategies needed for applying decision-making and problem-solving techniques to controversial world issues -Gain perspectives on their own life experiences so they see themselves as part of the world -Identify relationships between places using maps and scale models -Explain the impact of a physical environment on the human experience -Acquire strategies for reading new articles and social studies materials and for targeting new vocabulary -Acquire strategies to draw from a variety of sources and use appropriate research skills to gather information, synthesize, and report their findings
-Use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions -Use scientific inquiry to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process -Formulate questions independently with the aid of references appropriate for guiding the search for explanations of everyday observations -Seek to clarify, to assess critically, and to reconcile with their own thinking the ideas presented by others, including peers, teachers, authors, and scientists -Develop, present, and defend formal research proposals for testing their own explanations of common phenomena, including ways of obtaining needed observations and ways of conducting simple controlled experiments
-Learn healthy food practices and how to make sustainable choices when selecting food items -Learn how to plant, harvest, and identify healthy foods -Develop an understanding of how to care for and support the growth of young animals
• Campus exploration • Map making • Regional studies • Classroom scale models
• Poetry study • Vermont pen pals • Writer’s handbook • Novel study
Reading Objectives -Use prior knowledge to help understand new materials to anticipate and comprehend the deeper meaning of text -Make meaningful connections between texts to create understanding -Ask questions about the texts -Use inferencing as a strategy to decode text -Summarize text using key elements -Communicate and evaluate text to demonstrate understanding by applying criteria such as importance, accuracy, credibility, usefulness, and appropriateness -Synthesize text to create original insights, perspectives and understandings Writing Objectives -Create written pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information -Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience -Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing
• Thanksgiving dinner • Local vs. regional products • Bread making • Gardening • Animal husbandry