Notice that your child is in the middle of the Cosmic Plane of Development. After absorbing information for the last three years, they are now ready to put their knowledge into ACTION!

Welcome to Upper Elementary! Where the “Age of Serenity and Rudeness” is put into action!

Upper Elementary General Overview  Classroom Constitution  Morning Meeting  Advisors’ roles  Going Out  Daily/Weekly Jobs  Friday Sharing Time  Kindness Ripples

 Pin Map  Desk Atlas  Wordly Wise  Classical Roots (Spelling)  Word Study Box  4 Nights of Math Homework  Ongoing Shelf Work Weekly Goals

 Read 20 Minutes Each Night (Either IRB or Book Club Group Assignment)  Either a Reading or Writing Sheet that coincides with Reading or Writing Workshop  Math Puzzle Story Card  Science Observation  Creative Project Weekly Goals Continued…

 Spiraling Curriculum  Continual Review of Place Value & 4 Operations  Constant Reinforcement of Math Facts  Pretty Patterns  Study of Numbers  How are they grouped?  Part to Whole Relationships (6 th Grade Math is taught by Tracy.) Math

From Concrete to Abstract

Materials as Models

The goal of Writing Workshop is for children to learn to observe the world within and around them and to draft, revise, edit, and publish well-crafted narrative and expository texts. Writing Workshop

 Personal Narrative  Personal Essay  Research Paper  Persuasive Essay  Poetry  Realistic Fiction Units of Study

 Generate Entries in Writer’s Notebook  Choose a Seed Idea  Expand Seed Idea  Revise, Revise, Revise…  Publish  Celebrate The Writing Cycle

Learning to Read & Reading to Learn Book Club & Reading Instruction

 The goal is for children to learn to observe the world within and around them with empirical methods, critical thinking, questioning and testing.  Physical Ocean  Ocean Floor  Map  Geology  Ocean in Motion  Waves  Currents  Weather & Climate Science and Cultural Studies

 Water Chemistry  Ocean Zones  Ecology  Human Impact on Ocean  Where Ocean Meets Shore Science and Cultural Studies Continued…

 The First Immigrants  The War on the Ocean  The Triangle Trade  Waves of Immigrants  The Ocean and New England Life – Past and Present The Great Connection The Ocean and New England

 Whale Watch (Try again in the spring)  Mystic Seaport (May 25-27)  Multiple Local Beaches  Geology  Ecology (Invasive Species, Changing Environments)  Possibly:  Plum Island  Other Islands in the Sound (Misery, Winter)  Wetlands Going Out

 Drifters – A Case Study  The Problem  Partners  Gulf of Maine Institute (Through NOAA Grant)  Salem Sound Coast Watch  Real Science Problems in a Changing Ocean

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child, and is not acquired by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.” ~Maria Montessori Closing Circle

With FREEDOM Comes RESPONSIBILITY ~Eleanor Roosevelt