4th and 5th Grade

4th and 5th grade students are blossoming in their intellectual interests, eager to seek out explanations for how and why things work and are more interested in the bigger world issues of justice and fairness. New social challenges arise with this awareness, as do new opportunities for leadership, compassion and community mindedness.

Regular class meetings are a forum for exploring social issues, participating in a democratic process, discussing diversity and identity, planning class events and celebrations, and generating solutions to problems. Students develop personal responsibility and effective work and study habits within the community-minded context of the classroom. They learn to be an advocate for their learning and to demonstrate empathy and concern for others. Students broaden their emotional vocabulary and practice communication strategies for solving conflict, dealing with a range of feelings and the ups and downs of daily life. Mistakes and conflicts provide opportunities to learn, build resilience, restore trust and generate solutions. 

Second Step’s Anti-Bullying Curriculum is used at this level to teach students how to identify and manage peer pressure, how to deepen skills of inclusion and conflict resolution, and how to prevent social and physical aggression. 

Growing-Up Talks and lessons teach students about the changing bodies, emotions, and relationships that are part of puberty and adolescence. Students contribute to the larger school community as mentors for younger students, classroom helpers and volunteers in the library; they also take on leadership roles for building and school assemblies, tours and events. 

At 4th and 5th grade, we emphasize the development of the independent and fluent reader and writer, balancing choice and personal interest with exposure to new genres and styles. Listening and speaking skills are also emphasized as students practice new ways to participate in discussions, to present their work and to teach their peers. Journal entries, literature group discussions, book reviews and book/author projects challenge readers to be part of a more public discourse about reading. 

Information and media literacy is integrated as students learn to apply critical thinking skills about what they read, considering the source and veracity of facts and information. In all areas of the curriculum, students practice various strategies related to reading, writing and comprehension. These strategies challenge them to analyze, compare, contrast and connect with the text in ways that prepare them for middle school.

As writers, students are becoming more fluent, expressive and independent as they learn to write well-crafted paragraphs, essays or stories. The features of good writing are modeled and taught, while also developing stamina and patience for the editing and revision process. Students write for authentic purposes and audiences as much as possible.

Word study and vocabulary building take place through words discovered in context, as well as through formal instruction in spelling patterns, word roots, prefixes and suffixes. Keyboarding and cursive are taught and practiced. 

At 4th and 5th grade, whole number operations are mastered with an emphasis on their application to real-world problems and scenarios. Students learn and practice efficient and accurate strategies for multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The learning of fractions, decimals and percentages is integrated with data analysis and probability and developed through games and visual models.

Students learn to apply formal terminology and standard units as they work on skills and concepts in two- and three-dimensional geometry and measurement. The foundations of algebra are constructed through real-world problems where students generate formulas, work with variables and solve for unknowns. Students also develop a strong grasp of important properties of operations, such as the distributive, commutative and associative properties, as well as the order of operations.

The use of mathematical tools, games and technology allows students to refine and extend their learning. Mathematical understanding is strengthened in the social context of learning, where students are challenged to communicate and participate as mathematicians. They must explain their thinking, use a variety of materials and models, express different ways to solve a problem, formulate conjectures and rules, describe patterns, agree and disagree with good reasoning, and evaluate their own mistakes and misconceptions. The Bridges curriculum is used as a foundational resource to build consistency of method, language and experience.

Emergent themes and projects sparked by student curiosity add to the emphasis on mathematics as a compelling form of inquiry and connection to the real world. Students are poised to be engaged, articulate and skilled mathematical thinkers when they make the transition to middle school. 

Science at 4th and 5th grade is approached in our thematic studies curriculum, where scientific topics and content are integrated into larger themes, like “Adaptation.”  This allows children to make important connections between science, history, social studies, literacy, math, and the arts. Their curiosity and interest motivate increasingly formal methods of scientific investigation, where observation, hypotheses, predictions, data collection, controlling variables, and generating questions are best learned by doing. Students are guided to learn scientific content and vocabulary through direct instruction of science lessons as well as through emergent subjects of inquiry. 

Natural history and environmental science are also an ongoing theme of study, including watersheds, Washington forest ecology, ethno-botany, birds and mammals, tracking, marine invertebrates and geology.

In the spring, the oldest intermediate level classes take a multi-day field trip to an outdoor learning center such as NatureBridge on the Olympic Peninsula, Canoe Island in the San Juans or Islandwood on Bainbridge Island. 

Social studies at 4th and 5th grade is approached in our thematic studies curriculum, where social studies content and skills are integrated into broader themes, like “Adaptation.” This allows children to make important connections between social studies and science, literacy, math, and the arts.  

Ideas about justice, equity, diversity, democracy, and inclusion are also an important part of social and thematic studies. Social studies at all age levels begins with learning about the individuals in the group and creating social agreements that promote respectful listening and sharing, inclusive actions and words, effortful communication and awareness of different perspectives. Class meetings are a forum for exploring social issues, practicing the democratic process, and generating solutions and common language about our community. Broader social studies topics typically include areas of learning such as geography, current events, political history, exploration, culture (Indigenous and colonial), power, conflict and peace.

We strive to stretch and challenge students through field trips, guest speakers, media, and books which introduce diverse perspectives and voices that may or may not be representative of the class group.