UPPER ELEMENTARY
History and Geography
Fourth Grade
In third grade children are introduced to the history of Europe including the Middle Ages. They are introduced to the developments of the Christian church, the spread and development of Islamic civilization, and the history of early and medieval African kingdoms. They continue to build upon their knowledge of Ancient Egypt, the medieval dynasties of China, and the geography of Africa. The children expand their work with maps and globes, learning about latitude and longitude, the Prime Meridian, the International Date Line, and the representations of elevations and depressions on relief maps. Study continues with a brief look at the French and Indian War, an extended look at the American Revolution, the making of a constitutional government, early presidents and politics, and ideas and people in social reform movements before the Civil War.
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Having been introduced in Kindergarten to the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilizations, children in fourth grade now learn more about their achievements, ways of life, and beliefs. Children begin studying the causes and consequences of European exploration, trade, and clash of cultures. Fourth graders begin their study of the Renaissance. By meeting Copernicus and Galileo, they learn about the conflicts between science and the church. They learn about the great artists of the Renaissance in their Visual Arts study and read from Don Quixote and a Midsummer’s Night Dream in Language Arts. Children continue their study of world history with an introduction to the Reformation. They learn about some turning points in the history of England. They look back to the history of feudal Japan and learn about the early growth of Russia. To their work with maps and globes, children add new knowledge about time zones, great lakes, and an overview of the political geography of Europe. Children will study the Civil War in greater detail, the Reconstruction era, and the American West after the Civil War. As part of their studies, children review the geography of the U.S., including a cumulative review of all fifty states and capitals.
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
In fifth grade students examine the roots of democracy in the Greek polis and Athenian assembly. They learn about the “Golden Age” and the wisdom of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Children continue their study of ancient Rome and begin learning about the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and Romanticism. Students study the great changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution and are introduced to major figures in Latin American independence. In fifth grade, students learn about America. They study how America was changed by industrialization and urbanization during the “Gilded Age.” They learn about the growth of reform movements, and explore the troubling decisions and compromises faced by America as a world power.
Language Arts
Fourth Grade
Independent reading and writing are encouraged. Children practice giving speeches. They are given regular practice with spelling and vocabulary enrichment. They continue to use the library and learn what a bibliography is. They are offered many opportunities for both creative and expository writing, in various contents and subject areas, with a stronger emphasis than previous grades on expository writing, including summaries, book reports, and essays. They learn how to organize and develop a brief essay and the paragraphs in it. They enjoy poetry, stories from around the world, classics, literature in connection with Colonial times and the Middle Ages.
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Children are given more responsibility for editing and revising their essays. They study more grammar and conventions of writing. Students learn and apply literary terms and concepts. They learn about pen names, figurative language, alliteration and onomatopoeia. Children read stories from around the world, Indian legends, Japanese folktales, and study the Renaissance selections from Don Quixote and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
Children are reading longer works such as essays, plays, novels, and biographies. They give short talks and speeches and recite poems and passages of drama. They learn more about research skills, persuasive essays, and writing a research paper. They learn about epics and structure in poetry. Students read poetry, literature about ancient Greece, Shakespeare, and classic mythology.
Mathematics
Fourth Grade
Third graders read and write numbers up to nine digits and recognize place value to one hundred million. They round to the nearest thousand and learn Roman numerals from 1 to 1000. They plot points on a coordinate plane, using ordered pairs of positive whole numbers. They review and extend earlier work with fractions and decimals and by third grade should have mastered all basic whole number operations. They learn to identify factors of a given number as well as common factors of two numbers. Third graders practice solving two step word problems and extend earlier work with measurement. Children expand their knowledge of geometry and learn to compute volume.
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Fourth graders read and write numbers up to the hundred billions and round to the nearest hundred thousand. They learn to identify prime numbers less than 50, to determine the greatest common factor, as well as the least common multiple. Students are introduced to ratio and percent. Work is continued with fractions and decimals. Children review and practice measurement and solve problems involving different units requiring conversion. Further work with geometry includes measuring the degrees of angles, identifying and constructing different kinds of triangles, and finding the area of triangles and parallelograms using formulas. Students are introduced to the concept of probability, and organizing data in graphic form. They learn to recognize variables and solve simple equations with one variable and to graph simple functions.
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
Fifth graders learn to use exponents and continue work with ratio and percent. They continue further work with fractions and decimals and apply computation skills in problem solving. Students solve problems requiring conversion of units. In geometry they learn about parallel and perpendicular, congruent to, and similar to. They construct different kinds of triangles, and practice finding the area and perimeter of plane figures. Students solve problems involving application of the formulas for finding the circumference of a circle and using 3.14 as pi. Fifth graders express probability of a given event as a fraction or a ratio. Given a set of data they find the mean, median, range, and mode. They graph simple functions and solve problems involving the use of a coordinate plane.
Music
Fourth Grade
Children reinforce musical skills learned in previous grades and also learn to name the ledger lines and spaces of the treble clef; sing or play simple melodies while reading score; understand meter signatures (4/4, 2/4, and 3/4); and understand terms such as legato and staccato. They become familiar with vocal ranges, female (soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto) and male (tenor, baritone, and bass).
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Students reinforce music skills learned in previous grades and also participate in two- and threepart singing. They learn the word octave and learn to recognize chords, intervals, and more musical notation. Students explore jazz: its history, the importance of improvisation, syncopation, and composers and performers such as Scott Joplin and Duke Ellington. They are introduced to the influence of Jazz on other music.
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
Students reinforce musical skills learned in earlier grades and also learn Italian terms used to describe tempo (grave, largo, adagio, andante, moderato, allegro, presto) and dynamics from pp (pianissimo) to ff (fortissimo). They learn to recognize the introduction and coda in musical selections. They learn more about chords and musical notation. Students explore nonwestern music and instruments. They also synthesize much of their previous exposure to musical works into a chronological overview of Western musical history from the Baroque to the Romantic. Students are introduced to works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann.
Science
Fourth Grade
Building upon their introduction on how scientists classify the natural world, children learn about the different kingdoms. They learn more about cell structures and processes, photosynthesis, cell division, and reproduction. Chemical terms and processes continue with further learning about matter and change. Students are introduced to basic concepts about physics and learn some simple formulas. They extend their earlier studies of astronomy by taking an historical perspective. Children continue to study scientists and their achievements.
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Students explore different forms of energy and their relationship to each other. They learn in more depth about light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and about sound. Students are introduced to topics in genetics: DNA, the inheritance of traits, and researchers in genetics. Children continue their focus on the systems of the human body, diseases, and the lives and achievements of scientists.
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
Students explore different forms of energy and their relationship to each other. They learn in more depth about light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and about sound. Students are introduced to topics in genetics: DNA, the inheritance of traits, and researchers in genetics. Children continue their focus on the systems of the human body, diseases, and the lives and achievements of scientists.
Visual Arts
Fourth Grade
Children are introduced to the art of the Middle Ages in Europe, including examples of several medieval Madonnas. Students are introduced to Islamic art, the art of Africa, and some examples of the art of China. Children become familiar with works of art representative of the “new” nation they are learning about in history, the U.S. after the mid-eighteenth century. They also learn about the architecture of Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
Fourth Grade / Fifth Grade
Children learn the term perspective. They compare paintings that do not attempt to create an illusion of depth with paintings that do. They learn about a variety of Renaissance artists and works. They observe the new emphasis on humanity and the natural world, as well as the influences of Greek and Roman art. In connection with learning about feudal Japan, children are introduced to works of art such as the Great Buddha and landscape gardens. In connection with learning about nineteenth-century American history, children learn abou
Fifth Grade / Sixth Grade
Students are introduced to the idea of “art history,” of classifying western art by periods and schools, with major characteristics of each period and school, as well as illustrative works. Students are introduced to the development of photography as an art form, and in connection with their study of American history, learn about the use of photography as social criticism.