4-6 Core Curriculum

Our Upper Elementary program continues to expand students' knowledge and responsibilities, as we ultimately prepare them for their secondary school experience.

Students develop and refine independent organizational skills to support their education. They also continue to take ownership of their learning, as they take advantage of more leadership opportunities.

Our program has been carefully designed to advance learning, while growing individual student interests.

The entire academic program is enriching and challenging; designed to build strong foundations in communication, critical thinking, and problem solving. Students use technology to facilitate their forming organizational and study habits within the context of each subject matter.

Language Arts

Literature

In the Upper Elementary, students are reading to learn as they continue to acquire new vocabulary and to develop fluency. They participate in literature circles, book clubs and whole class novel discussions. The emphasis is on reading comprehension skills, story understanding and critical thinking skills.

Writing

We continue to use Writer's Workshop in the Upper Elementary program and emphasize the revising and editing process. Students receive direct instruction on grammar and practice these skills in their own writing. They write persuasive, narrative, and expository essays as a part of this program.

Mathematics

Instruction in math continues, in the Upper Elementary, to focus on conceptual, procedural, and real-life application of math skills. Some of the areas of focus are: division, exponents, negative numbers, geometry, and algebraic equations. Students culminate in pre-algebra in the sixth grade. Accelerated students are provided individualized math instruction commensurate with skill level.

Social Studies

Students in fourth and fifth grade continue to gain greater knowledge of the geography of both California and the United States at large. They learn about native peoples throughout the United States, including tribes in California. Also they learn about the formation of the states, the American Revolution, and Civil War among other major topics in California and American history. In the fourth grade this learning is supplemented with a three day excursion to Ocean Institute in San Diego, where students explore the various habitats in California from ocean to chaparral.