Upper Elementary School
The love of learning
Welcome to ISB's Upper Elementary Grades - Grades 3 - 5. Our Upper Elementary classrooms are a hive of activity, independent thinking and academic exploration. Our students are expressing themselves creatively though writing, discussions, projects and presentations. Experiential learning is a key component to the Upper Elementary program, with project-based learning in and outside the classroom. Our goal is for our students to move on to the Middle School fully prepared for the next stage in their educational journey, sure in their academic knowledge, their social and emotional wellbeing, and their strong foundations, built on the ISB values we value so highly.
GRADE LEVEL PROGRAMS
THIRD GRADE
Language Arts
Balanced Literacy
Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include: Read-aloud with accountable talk, shared reading/writing; Phonics/Word Study; Small Group Instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).
Reading
At ISB, our curriculum aims at creating independent, lifelong readers through the development of students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies for both fiction and nonfiction texts.
Writing
Students will develop their skills within the following types of writing: narrative, informational, and argument. During writer’s workshop, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
Listening and Speaking
Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas.
Mathematics
We believe mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At ISB mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Grade 3 content standards and practices are:
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
- Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
- Understand properties of multiplication and the relationship between multiplication and division.
- Multiply and divide within 100.
- Solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
- Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
Number and Operations-Fractions
- Develop an understanding of fractions as numbers.
Measurement and Data
- Solve problems involving measurement and estimation of intervals of time, liquid volumes, and masses of objects.
- Represent and interpret data.
- Geometric measurement: understand concepts of area and relate area to multiplication and to addition.
- Geometric measurement: recognize perimeter as an attribute of plane figures and distinguish between linear and area measures.
Geometry
- Reason with shapes and their attributes.
Mathematical Practices
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Science
All science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry-based activities that are designed to further an understanding of the content, while fostering the natural curiosity of elementary children.
Earth Materials
This unit includes investigations dealing with observable characteristics of solid materials from the earth – rocks and minerals. The focus is on taking materials apart to find out what they are made of and putting materials together to better understand their properties.
Structures of Life
This unit deals with observable characteristics of organisms. Students observe, compare, categorize, and care for a selection of organisms. Students investigate structures of the organisms and learn how some of the structures function in growth and survival.
Social Studies
The purpose of the Social Studies program is to develop in students the ability to think critically about the human condition in order to make informed decisions that guide social action.
Our Fragile Earth
This unit develops students’ understanding about biodiversity, ecosystems, and related issues of sustainability, linking human action to these issues.
Marketplace: Making it Fair!
This unit focuses on beginning economic understandings of wants, needs, goods, services, supply and demand as well as making responsible choices as both a creator and a consumer.
Health and Wellbeing
Students begin to explore personal and social factors that support and contribute to their identities and emotional responses in varying situations. They also develop a further understanding of how their bodies grow and change as they get older and explore learning diversity.
Typical Grade 3 Daily Schedule
7:40-9:40 Core Learning Block 1
9:40-10:00 Recess
10:00-11:00 Core Learning Block 2
11:00 -11:45 Recess and Lunch
11:45-1:00 Learning Block 3
1:00 – 2:20 Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)
FOURTH GRADE
Language Arts
Balanced Literacy
Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include: Read-aloud with accountable talk, shared reading/writing; Phonics/Word Study; Small Group Instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).
Reading
At ISB, our curriculum aims at creating independent, lifelong readers through the development of students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies for both fiction and nonfiction texts.
Writing
Students will develop their skills within the following types of writing: narrative, informational, and argument. During writer’s workshop, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
Listening and Speaking
Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas.
Mathematics
We believe mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At ISB mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Grade 4 content standards and practices are:
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
- Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems.
- Gain familiarity with factors and multiples.
- Generate and analyze patterns.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
- Generalize place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers.
- Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
Number and Operations-Fractions
- Extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering.
- Build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers.
- Understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions.
Measurement and Data
- Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
- Represent and interpret data.
- Geometric measurement: understand concepts of angle and measure angles.
Geometry
- Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.
Mathematical Practices
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Science
All science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry activities that are designed to further the child’s understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of elementary children.
Water
This unit helps students explore properties of water, changes in water, and interactions between water and other earth materials. Students examine how water is used in many different ways naturally and through human adaptations and how, as global citizens, our actions matter especially related to water usage.
Magnetism and Electricity
This unit includes investigations designed to introduce or reinforce concepts in physical science. Students experience magnetism and electricity as related effects and learn useful applications of magnetism and electricity in everyday life. Students explore how humans can contribute to or hinder a sustainable future based on their choices of type and amount of energy use.
Social Studies
The purpose of the Social Studies program is to develop in students the ability to think critically about the human condition in order to make informed decisions that guide social action.
The Influence unit examines the variety of influences that children have in their lives. It examines the cultural, geographical and family influences that shape their beliefs and values and how these interact with the values that ISB holds. Students explore how these can influence our actions, decisions and lead to greater understanding and empathy.
The Is it Fair unit helps students understand their individual rights as children. With this understanding, they begin to look to a broader community/world to examine situations where rights are not being met.
Health and Wellbeing
Students begin to explore personal and social factors that support and contribute to their identities and emotional responses in varying situations. They also develop a further understanding of how their bodies grow and change as they get older along with aspects of human body systems and physiology .
Typical Grade 4 Daily Schedule
7:40-7:45 Homeroom
7:45-9:15 Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)
9:15-10:40 Core Learning Block 1
10:40-11:00 Recess
11:00-12:35 Learning Block 2
12:35-1:20 Lunch and Recess
1:20-2:20 Learning Block 3
FIFTH GRADE
Language Arts
Balanced Literacy
Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include: Read-aloud with accountable talk, shared reading/writing; Phonics/Word Study; Small Group Instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).
Reading
At ISB, our curriculum aims at creating independent, lifelong readers through the development of students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies for both fiction and nonfiction texts.
Writing
Students will develop their skills within the following types of writing: narrative, informational, and argument. During writer’s workshop, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
Listening and Speaking
Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication and clear presentation of ideas.
Mathematics
We believe mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At ISB mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Grade 5 content standards and practices are:
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
- Write and interpret numerical expressions.
- Analyze patterns and relationships.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
- Understand the place value system.
- Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths.
Number and Operations-Fractions
- Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions.
- Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions.
Measurement and Data
- Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.
- Represent and interpret data.
- Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume and relate volume to multiplication and to addition.
Geometry
- Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
- Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties.
Mathematical Practices
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
Science
All science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry activities that are designed to further the child’s understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of elementary children.
Variables
This unit helps students discover relationships between objects and events through controlled experimentation. Students develop understanding that relationships always involve interactions, dependencies, and cause and effect.
Environments
This unit introduces students to the basic concepts in environmental biology: All living things depend on the conditions in their environment. The study of relationships between one organism and its environment builds knowledge of all organisms. Such knowledge is important because humans can change environments. Changing without awareness of possible consequences can impact the world we share.
Social Studies
The purpose of the Social Studies program is to develop in students the ability to think critically about the human condition in order to make informed decisions that guide social action.
Landforms
This unit introduces students to the ideas of interaction of humans with their geographical surrounds and these change over time.
Human Response to Adversity
Students are intrigued with learning about the past, in particular times when the people have been faced with adversity, challenge and conflict. In this unit, students will explore both historical and contemporary responses to adversity and how they shape who we are.
Health and Wellbeing
Human Growth and Development
This unit supports students to develop knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their own and others’ health, wellbeing and safety. Students develop skills to understand their emotions, the physical and social changes that are occurring for them and examine how the nature of their relationships change over time.
Typical Grade 5 Daily Schedule
7:40-7:45 Homeroom
7:45-9:15 Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)
9:15-10:40 Core Learning Block 1
10:40-11:00 Recess
11:00-12:35 Core Learning Block 2
12:35-1:20 Lunch and Recess
1:20-2:20 Core Learning Block 3