Intermediate Grades (3-5)

Religion

Third graders will learn more about their Catholic faith through active participation in prayer, written activities, and service.  The religion curriculum is integrated throughout the entire school day. Our Christian values are emphasized with the student pledge.

Students will study:

• God’s Family, the Church, through Bible stories
• Feasts and seasons of the Church
• The Sacraments
• Recite prayers including the Apostles' Creed
• Liturgical planning and participation in weekly school Masses
• Perform service to others

Language Arts

Third graders continue to strengthen their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.  They are encouraged to apply these communication skills throughout all subject areas.  The Daily 5 Method is used in the Reading and Language Arts Program.

Students will study:

Writing and Grammar

• Daily Oral Language program
• Parts of speech
• Punctuation and capitalization
• Pre-writing, 1^st Draft, Revising, Editing, and Publishing using the 6 +1 Traits
• Writing in many formats: paragraph writing, narratives, biographies, poetry, comic strips, paragraphs,
• Cursive writing for mastery

Reading

Students experience the world of literature.  Many genres are studied including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, fantasies, and biographies.  Fluency, decoding, and comprehension skills will be developed.  Students are encouraged to read at their own indpendant level through our guided reading program. 

Students will study:

• Vocabulary
• Phonics and word knowledge
• Decoding and fluency
• Comprehension skills and strategies: making predictions, inferences, sequencing, comparing and contrasting, cause and effect, main idea and details, summarizing, drawing conclusions, visualization, , graphic organizers, story maps, and author’s purpose

Spelling 

Students will study:

• Sound and structural patterns in spelling
• Recognizing and internalizing spelling patterns

Listening and Speaking

Pupils will listen for understanding, follow directions, and participate in discussions.

Students will practice:

• Small and large group discussion skills
• Oral reading skills
• Speeches
• Sharing published writing pieces
• Book Talks

Mathematics

Third graders acquire knowledge of mathematics and its relationship to daily living.  Students are encouraged to apply math skills in a variety of ways and strengthen their problem-solving skills.  Hands-on experiences are vital.

Students will study:

• Math facts: addition and subtraction to 20, multiplication and division through 12
• Place value and rounding
• Four digit addition and subtraction of whole numbers
• Multiplication and division concepts
• Properties, expressions and equations
• Fractions as a part of a whole, part of a set
• Measurement: Capacity, mass, time
• Data: pictographs, bar graphs, line plots
• Perimeter and area
• Introduction to quadrilaterals
• Use the online ALEKS program to reinforce math concepts

Science

Third graders will learn more about the world around them.  They learn through observing, predicting, experimenting, questioning, and explaining.

Students will study:

• Forces and Motion
• Energy
• Plant and Animal Life
• Ecosystems
• Weather
• Engineering Design

Social Studies

Learners will strive to be good, responsible citizens in their community.  They will study the past to build a better future.

Students will study:

• Map and globe skill
• Chart and graph skills: timelines, bar graphs and tables
• Communities: urban, rural and suburban
• Government: the three branches of government
• Economics: money earned, spent, and saved

Fine Arts

Art

All students will be taught the language of the arts through understanding the sensory elements and expressive qualities; understanding the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.

Through creating and performing all students will understand how works of art are produced. Students will learn about the processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the visual arts. Students will apply skills and knowledge necessary to create visual arts.

Students will understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. Students will analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life. Students will understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.

Music

Students will identify differences in elements and expressive qualities (e.g., between fast and slow tempo; loud and soft dynamics; high and low pitch/direction; long and short duration; same and different form, tone color or timbre, and beat).  They will also know how images, sounds, and movement convey stories about people, places, and times.

The students will learn about two composers.  They will expand on Kodály hand signs and will learn to sing songs in several world languages.

All students will be given the opportunity to perform on stage in the annual school musical and all are involved with either speaking, choir or dancing parts in the Christmas program.

Spanish

This year’s language course is designed for students who have had some exposure to the language. We will be working on the four languages skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The course objectives are:

• Advancing with greetings and goodbyes,
• Say the alphabet and spell words
• Numbers 0-50
• Calendar terms
• Construct small sentences related with the weather, articles, describing people
• Ask and answer questions
• Colors, shapes, parts of the body, animals, family
• Students learn prayers in Spanish (God Father, Hail Mary). This is taught though song, prayer, and review.

Class participation credit will be earned in class, when communicating in Spanish, answering questions and participating in group work. These extra points will be added to the grade at the end of semester.

Physical Education

Students will demonstrate:

• Safe movement in physical activities
• Control when performing combinations and sequences in locomotor and non-locomotor skills
• Manipulative motor skills
• Advance coordination activities

Technology

Technology is incorporated with class curriculum and infused as a tool throughout. Teachers will use the ELMO and SMARTBoard for demonstrations and interactive learning. During third grade the students will be introduced to and master the following skills:

• Apply special effects such as rotate, stretch, shrink, etc.
• Perform basic word processing e.g. enter and delete, cut, copy and paste text
• Insert and crop images in a document
• Identify and using the punctuation and special symbol keys
• Create single and multiple screen multimedia projects including sound effects and graphics
• Identify and use simple search engines and directories.
• Understand the basics of computer ethics and netiquette

Homework

Third graders will be assigned homework as needed for practice and reinforcement as well as completion of special projects.  On an average third grade students can expect 30 minutes of homework daily.  Math facts should be practiced frequently, in addition to the homework of the day.

Parents Can Help By:

• Modeling active participation in weekly liturgy, daily prayer, and service

• Showing an interest in homework and school activities
• Practicing math facts with students
• Encouraging good nutrition, rest, and exercise
• Reading with their children every day

• Staying in touch with the school and monitoring the teachers’ web pages
• E-mailing the teachers regarding questions, comments, or concerns with a supportive and kind demeanor

Religion

Through stories, Scripture, activities, prayer, discussion, and reflections students will develop a more personal sense of their Catholic identity.  Students will deepen their sense of responsibility for living what they believe.

Students will:

• Integrate the practice of their faith in all subject areas
• Understand the purpose and meanings of liturgical seasons
• Learn the symbolism of the stained glass windows in Saints Peter & Paul Church
• Plan and participate in worship services
• Perform ten hours of service to others
• Learn the Acts of Faith, Hope, Love and Confiteor
• Participate in Steps to Respect lessons

Language Arts

Students will further develop their methods and styles of written and oral communication as a means of effectively conveying their messages to others and expressing their ideas. They will write creatively on a weekly basis.

Students will:

• Write legibly in cursive
• Write well-structured paragraphs
• Write multi-paragraph essays and stories on given topics
• Use rules of grammar and the parts of speech correctly
• Write for a variety of purposes – persuade, inform, entertain
• Use the 6 +1 Writing Traits Process in our writing assignments
• Follow written and oral directions carefully
• Orally present their work in a concise and confident manner
• Participate in large and small group presentations
• Integrate written and oral communication skills into all subject areas
• Increase their vocabulary through word study
• Review various writing and grammar skills through the Mountain Language Program

Reading

Students will gain an appreciation for different genres of literature such as realistic fiction, historical fiction, folk tale, play, fantasy, non-fiction, etc.  Students will employ a menu of strategies aimed at increasing comprehension.  Students are encouraged to read at their own indpendant level through our guided reading program. 

Students will:

• Identify and explain the parts of a story: characters, settings, problems/resolutions, main events, and theme
• Understand the characteristics of the different genres regarding writing style, format, content, and purpose
• Understand an author’s purpose for writing
• Utilize graphic organizers to aid in their story comprehension
• Extend their reading experience beyond what is written by inferring, predicting, personally connecting, and self-questioning
• Understand cause and effect
• Understand fact and opinion
• Understand how to select a book based on favored authors and genres
• Develop a good reading habits through daily classroom independent reading
• Creatively explore a variety of methods to express their understanding of a book’s characters, plot, setting, and problem/solution

Mathematics

Fourth grade students will apply their basic number skills to solve problems through the use of text, manipulatives, technology, and everyday situations.

Students will:

• Identify place value through hundredths
• Use Otter Creek math facts program to increase automation
• Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers
• Add and subtract fractions
• Round numbers for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
• Estimate numbers for all four operations
• Describe and use patterns
• Measure and compare units of length
• Measure capacity and weight in customary system
• Identify polygons
• Solve multi-step word problems
• Write in words how to solve word problems
• Compare and graph data
• Demonstrate a variety of problem solving strategies
• Find the range, median, mode and outliers in a set of data
• Identify and classify two and three dimensional figures

• Use the online ALEKS program to reinforce math concepts

Science

Students will, in addition to learning facts about various topics, begin to learn how scientists observe, record, think and operate safely.

Students will study:

• The human body (basic organization, digestive system, circulatory system)
• Matter (volume of regular solids, irregular solids, liquids, states of matter, matter changing state, chemical properties and changes)
• Electricity (what electricity is, static electrical charge, current electricity, magnetism, relationship between electrical and magnetic forces)
• Make-up of earth (earth’s layers, changes in the crust, rock cycle, soil)
• Space (motion of sun, moon, earth, and their effects on earth)
• Earth’s atmosphere (water cycle, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, clouds)
• Plants (parts of a plant, parts of a flower, basic plant reproduction and life cycle)
• Scientific process (parts of process, experimental design, experiment report intro)

Social Studies

The fourth grade students will explore the five themes of geography – location, human-environment, interactions, place and movement for an in-depth exploration of the Regions of the United States: Northeast, South, Middle West and West. The students will use the textbook States and Regions: Illinois Edition published by Harcourt Horizons. We explore Illinois’ past and present using map skills, our textbook and a field trip to Naper Settlement.

The following map skills and concepts will be developed during the year:

• Using latitude and longitude to find absolute location
• Reading elevation maps, land use and resource maps
• How to read a time line
• Road maps and mileage maps
• Compare maps with different scales
• Compare historical maps
• Read a population map
• Use a time zone map
• Use a cultural map

Fine Arts

Art

All students will be taught the language of the arts through understanding the sensory elements and expressive qualities; understanding the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.

Through creating and performing all students will understand how works of art are produced. Students will learn about the processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the visual arts. Students will apply skills and knowledge necessary to create visual arts.

Students will understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. Students will analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life. Students will understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.

Music

All students will be given the opportunity to perform on stage in the school musical.

In fourth grade students will have the opportunity to learn an instrument and perform in a group band concert.

During their weekly music class students will:

• Play musical instruments in a group setting
• Play a musical recorder and perform with their recorders
• Read musical notes and symbols
• Understand note values
• Be introduced to basic music theory
• Be introduced to basic concepts of a marching band
• Distinguish different types of musical instruments
• Learn about two composers

Spanish

This year’s language course is designed for students who have had some exposure to the language. We will be working on the four languages skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The course objectives are:

• Advancing with greetings and goodbyes,
• Say the alphabet and spell words
• Numbers 0-50
• Calendar terms
• Construct small sentences related with the weather, articles, describing people
• Ask and answer questions
• Colors, shapes, parts of the body, animals, family
• Students learn prayers in Spanish (God Father, Hail Mary). This is taught though song, prayer, and review.
• Class participation credit will be earned in class, when communicating in Spanish, answering questions and participating in group work. These extra points will be added to the grade at the end of the semester.

Physical Education

Students will:

• Demonstrate sportsmanship in all activities
• Apply rules in physical activities as the students are introduced to flag football, softball, kickball, whiffle ball, volleyball, basketball, badminton (singles, doubles), Frisbee golf and the Fitness Center
• Develop skills for individual and team activities

Technology

Technology is incorporated with class curriculum and infused as a tool throughout. Teachers will use and interactive board for demonstrations and interactive learning. During fourth grade the students will be introduced to and master the following skills:

• Touch type at speed equal to handwriting rate (5-15 words per minute)
• Create animations
• Create, organize, and delete files and folders
• Use keyboard shortcuts for editing
• Move to and select specific cells in a spreadsheet

• Produce and edit a word processed document with the use of the spellchecker
• Use keyword outlining in a word processing software program
• Use a hotlist to research an animal on an online zoo and locate information using a graphic organizer to record answers

• Understand about e-mail and instant message safety
• Use the Tynker Coding program to learn coding

Homework

Fourth graders will be assigned homework as needed for practice and reinforcement, as well as completion of special projects.  On average, fourth grade students can expect 45 minutes of homework daily.  Math facts should be practiced at home for reinforcement and a love for reading. 

Religion

Fifth grade students are exposed to a variety of Catholic religious traditions and experiences.  Religion is an integral part of daily school life.

Students will focus on:

• The Apostle’s Creed
• The Blessed Trinity
• Creation
• Incarnation
• The Church
• The Bible
• The liturgical year
• Traditional Catholic prayers including the Rosary, the Benediction, and scriptural meditation
• The Annunciation
• The Visitation

• Perform ten hours of service to others

Language Arts

Students will study:

• Parts of speech and parts of the sentence
• Diagramming simple and compound sentences
• Capitalization and punctuation
• Using rules of grammar and the parts of speech correctly
• Writing genres – narrative, poetry, expository, compare/contrast, persuasive, descriptive, fiction/short story, opinion
• Integrating written and oral communication skills into all subject areas
• Vocabulary words and definitions each week
• Students will be introduced to the process of writing a research paper

Reading

Students will work on mastering the following skills and will read at their own independant reading level using our guided reading program. 

• Using graphic organizers as a method to organize thoughts and ideas
• Identifying point of view
• Using context clues
• Identifying elements of a story-setting, characters, plot, theme, outcome
• Writing book reports
• Characterization
• Questions and conjectures
• Comparing and contrasting
• Fact versus fiction
• Elaboration, giving background information and providing facts
• Definition of suspense
• Recognizing written dialogue
• Sensory description
• Figurative language
• Describing a process

Mathematics

Fifth grade students will extend their knowledge in math by continuing to develop their sense of number relationships in order to apply their skills to solve problems. They will use the text, manipulatives, technology and everyday situations.

Students will:

• Identify place value through the hundred thousands
• Identify decimal place value through the hundred thousandths
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions and decimals
• Compare and order fractions and decimals
• Use ratio, percent and probability
• Classify whole numbers as prime or composite
• Be introduced to the rules of divisibility
• Solve multi-step word problems using a variety of strategies
• Use estimation and rounding to solve word problems
• Find radius, diameter, area and circumference of a circle
• Identify and classify polygons
• Find area and perimeter of polygons
• Represent data on various types of graphs
• Explain in words strategies used to solve problems
• Metric system (organization of system, units of measure, labels)
• Use the online ALEKS program to reinforce math concepts

Science

Students will study:

• Scientific process (review and extension of the fourth grade introduction)
• Ecosystem (Food chains, food webs)
• Matter (mass of solids and liquids, density)
• Planning an experiment (thought process behind designing your own experiment)
• Solar system (parts of solar system, the sun and stars, astronomy)
• Motion and forces (kinds of forces and their effects on motion)
• Earth’s resources (soil and water as resources, pollution, “RealField Experience at Morton Arboretum” trip)
• Compound microscope (parts, use, care)
• Use of charts and graphs in science

Social Studies

The fifth grade focus shall be on United States history including:

• Geography terms and atlas skills, regions, movement , location, place and human environment interactions
• Civics and government, current events will be stressed when appropriate
• Historical figures and events
• Economics, money systems with an emphasis on the United States
• United States’ cultures and society
• Early Americans
• European explorers to the Americas
• New England, Middle Atlantic and Southern colonies
• American Revolutionary War
• Independence to a New Nation
• The Constitution
• The Three Branches of Government
• The Bill of Rights
• The Louisiana Purchase
• Age of Jackson

Fine Arts

Art

All students will be taught the language of the arts through understanding the sensory elements and expressive qualities; understanding the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.

Through creating and performing all students will understand how works of art are produced. Students will learn about the processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the visual arts. Students will apply skills and knowledge necessary to create visual arts.

Students will understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. Students will analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life. Students will understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life.

Music

All students will be given the opportunity to perform on stage in the school musical.

In fifth grade students will have the opportunity to perform in band concerts and march in parades.

In music class fifth grade students will:

• Play musical instruments in a group setting
• Read musical notes and symbols
• Learn more advanced music theory concepts
• Learn the history of patriotic music (form, rhythm, mood, dynamics, tempo, melody)
• Learn about patriotic composers
• Perform a historical patriotic performance

Spanish

This year’s language course is designed for students who have had some exposure to the language. We will be working on the four languages skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The course objectives are:

• Advancing with greetings and goodbyes,
• Say the alphabet and spell words
• Numbers 0-50
• Calendar terms
• Construct small sentences related with the weather, articles, describing people
• Ask and answer questions
• Colors, shapes, parts of the body, animals, family
• Students learn prayers in Spanish (God Father, Hail Mary). This is taught though song, prayer, and review.
• Class participation credit will be earned in class, when communicating in Spanish, answering questions and participating in group work. These extra points will be added to the grade at the end of semester.

Physical Education

Students will:

• Demonstrate sportsmanship in all activities
• Expand on various movements, concepts and applications
• Continue skill development during individual and team sports and while using the Fitness Center

Technology

Technology is incorporated with class curriculum and infused as a tool throughout. Teachers and students will use a SMARTBoard for demonstrations and interactive learning. During fifth grade the students will be introduced to and master the following skills:

• Create an animation sequence from a series of screens and convert to a digitized movie
• Create an electronic timeline
• Save an updated spreadsheet to the network
• Use a spreadsheet to record information and create a simple database
• Incorporate graphics, pictures, and sound into a document
• Understand the basics of computer ethics and netiquette
• Understand the basics of Internet searching
• Produce a presentation with buttons and multimedia effects
• Create a desktop published document
• Use the Tynker Coding program to learn coding

Homework

Fifth graders will be assigned homework as needed for practice and reinforcement as well as completion of special projects.  On an average fifth grade students can expect 45 to 60 minutes of homework daily.  Students should continue to practice math facts and develop a love for readng.