Blue Jays Curriculum Overview
“Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.”
Albert Einstein
“Each moment we live never was before and will never be again. And yet we teach children in school that 2 + 2 = 4 and Paris is the capital of France. What we should be teaching them is what they are. We should be saying, “Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been a child exactly like you. You may become a Shakespeare, or a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.”
Pablo Casals
These two quotations—along with Mountain Road School’s Mission Statement—express the heart of my philosophy of education. I want to give children the opportunity to build their own understanding of the world, to see themselves as the architects of their own education. I want to honor and respect each child as the wonderful, unique human being each is, and for all of them to see and believe in their own marvelous worth. I want each child to discover and unfold the special gifts and talents within, to feel acknowledged and appreciated for who they are, to find their place in our world and to know the joy of expressing and sharing their gifts and talents.
I see the main thrust of my curriculum contained in two words: Communication and Community. As unique individuals we need to develop the skills to effectively communicate our thoughts and feelings to the world; as educated individuals we need to understand what history and the world communicates to us. And as members of the human race, we need to know how to build community, to live in harmony with all the other beings on this planet.
Life/Community Skills: Community and life skills are an essential part of the safe and caring environment at Mountain Road School. These essential skills are a daily part of our curriculum through circle time, class discussion, writing, social studies, one-on-one interactions, choice time activities, and partner and group work. There is a great deal of school-wide and classroom focus on developing character and community. This year each child and family was asked to sign a Community Compact of Understanding that specifies expectations. The school has further clarified these into three basic areas: Respect, Responsibility, and Relationship. These are daily keywords in our classroom. In addition, our work with Flying Deer and “Gathering in Gratitude” as well as our classroom “Apple Tree” all help focus the children on the importance of being respectful, responsible participants in community and in their own learning.
Theme Studies: Science and social studies are combined under the umbrella of a “theme” study—this year’s theme is based on Nature and “Earth.” It is focalized through the lens of “Sense of Place”—the children’s own place in life and nature. We begin the year with a study of the trees in our “own backyard” and some of the wildlife that live in and around them. Much of the work that is done with Flying Deer Nature Center is elaborated in the classroom or used to enrich our classroom studies. We are also studying the culture and history of the Native Americans who inhabited this area before us. In learning about them we deepen our understanding of the connection between culture and place—of how while we shape our local environment to meet our needs, place shapes us. We will also, in our study of earth, explore rocks and crystals, expanding into a study of land forms, including caves, mountains, and volcanoes.
Physical Development: Fine and gross motor skills are important physical aspects in a child’s development. These skills are practiced on a daily basis during learning activities in the classroom, “Brain Gym,” daily outside time, weekly PE activities, and Flying Deer.
Language Arts: Language arts encompass everything a student does in reading, writing, listening, speaking and making presentations. Thus language arts are interwoven throughout the curriculum: in circle time, social studies, math, science and presentations, as well as during specific reading and writing times.
Reading: There is a daily period of “silent, sustained reading” (SSR) during which each child is expected to be reading a book on his/her reading level. Students are asked to keep a reading journal in which they record each book read. A major instructional component of the reading program is “Book Group” in which students are assigned a book appropriate to their reading level. Most of the reading is done independently, and worksheets are assigned with questions and vocabulary. Students work independently to reflect on what they have read and to answer assigned questions. Each group comes together to discuss the book, re-read passages together, and review the questions. There is also periodic one-on-one reading with the teacher. For those on less independent levels, there is more frequent one-on-one reading time with the teacher, as well as phonics and other skill-building lessons. Another component is a ”read aloud” book by the teacher, which is used to both stimulate and assess a variety of reading skills such as vocabulary, comprehension, prediction, and understanding of the elements of story: plot, setting and character. In addition, all children are expected to read every day at home for 20 to 40 minutes (depending on grade level).
Writing: Students have many opportunities throughout the subjects for writing, from writing their own word problems in math or the steps of a science project to their experiences on field trips and their reflections on what they are learning in social studies.
A major project in writing is the preparation and presentation of a story for “Author’s Tea.” Students use the writing process to bring a story to publication and then to share it with parents and peers. Another writing project is a self-directed learning piece. This can be on a variety of subjects Students use a template to organize information about the topic they chose, and then are guided to turn their information into a report.
There is much writing associated with reading as students are asked to complete work on books read. Each student has a writing journal for a variety of purposes both assigned and self-selected. They may record stories, ideas, dreams, thoughts and feelings. Individual instruction is given in feedback to a student’s own writing.
Another instructional aspect of the writing program is the new Spelling Connections program, which frequently requires students to write and edit. Another is our “Daily Oral Language” program (DOL, which is not quite “daily”) in which sentences with spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation errors are written on the board for correction by the students. Many “mini-lessons” on various components of good writing are given throughout the year, and students are given many opportunities to practice the skills demonstrated. Writing is a daily practice in our classroom.
Math: The math curriculum is designed to meet three equally important goals: 1) concept attainment, 2) skill development and 3) purposeful application. Learning is done primarily through hands-on experience–through games, activities and the use of various math manipulatives, as well as through written work. Instruction is given to individuals, small groups, and at times the whole class. There is always overlap, but generally the topics covered in each grade level are delineated as follows:
3rd Grade Level
Number Sense
- Understand and identify even/odd
- Understand place value
- Read/write numbers to thousands
- To millions
- Estimate
- Round to nearest 10, 100 or 1000
- Write numbers in expanded form
- Understand fractions as part of whole number
- Understand fraction as part of a set
- Understand decimals in money
- Understand how decimals are related to fractions
Operations
- Understand the processes of +, -, ×, ÷
- Understand relationship of addition and subtraction
- Add numbers into the hundreds with regrouping
- Subtract numbers into the hundreds with regrouping
- Add and subtract greater numbers with regrouping
- Understand process of multiplication
- Know multiplication tables 0 through 10
- Multiply using single digit multiplier times multi-digit numbers
- Understand process of division
- Understand relationship of multiplication and division
- Divide 2-digit numbers with and without remainders
Problem Solving
- Use mathematic skills and processes to solve problems
- Identify needed and unnecessary information in problem solving
- Solve multi-step problems
Algebra Strand
- Recognize, continue and develop patterns
- Understand and uses =, ≠, <, >
- Understand and uses formulas for finding perimeter and area of regular quadrilaterals
Geometry Strand
- Identify and name polygons, recognizing that their names are related to the number of sides and angles (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, and octagon)
- Identify parts of a circle: circumference, diameter, ray, arc
- Classify angles as acute, obtuse, right, and straight
- Find perimeter of polygons by adding sides
- Find the area of a rectangle by counting the number of squares needed to cover the rectangle
Measurement/Time/Money Strand
- Use a ruler to measure to the nearest inch, ½, ¼
- Use a ruler to measure in centimeters
- Calculate time in hours and minutes
- Correctly identify penny, nickel, dime and quarter
- Know value of each coin and bill
- Count the value of coins dollars and coins
- Figure specified amount of money
- Make change
Statistics and Probability Strand
- Collect and organize data
- Read and make tables and graphs to display data
- Analyze and make predictions from data
- Compare likelihood/probability
