Pre-School

The Stamford Public School vision is that all young children will have high-quality learning experiences, across all types of settings, and that children’s growth and development will be supported across every year of their lives. The CT ELDS serve as a foundation for achieving this vision as they provide the basis for planning learning environments, supporting individual children and communicating around common goals.

The Preschool curriculum follows the Early Learning and Development Standards from CT Early Learning Development Standards: What Children Birth to 5 Should Know and Be Able To Do. The learning progressions within the Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards promote:

Equity for all children with high and appropriate expectations;
High-quality early learning experiences, by providing clear goals for student learning;
Provision of individual support, based on each child’s growth and development;
Families’ understanding of what their children are learning and how they can support them;
Teachers’ understanding of age-appropriate content and approaches to children’s learning; and,
Ongoing communication between school and family for these common goals for pre-school children.

Our classrooms also use The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, a research-based curriculum that encourages children to learn through play, exploration, discovery, and hands-on experiences. Teachers create engaging learning environments and plan activities based on each child’s individual strengths, needs, interests, and development.

Together, the CT ELDS and The Creative Curriculum support the whole child across important areas of development, including social-emotional skills, language and literacy, mathematics, science, physical development and health, creative arts, cognition, and social studies. Teachers use ongoing observation and assessment to support each child’s progress and partner with families to help children grow, learn, and thrive.

Creative Curriculum Units

The First Six Weeks

Essential Questions: How do we navigate and thrive in the school community?

What skills do we need to build positive relationships and succeed in a group setting?

Investigation 1: Growing Together

Focus of the Story: Our adventure in preschool begins as we learn and understand the special rules, rituals and routines that makes our classroom a happy and safe place.

Learning Targets:

I can identify classroom rules and follow them.

I can find comfort in our daily routines and transitions

I can recognize and name my classmates and teachers.

I can use materials and toys responsibly and put them away when I'm done.

I can participate in activities with my peers and demonstrate executive functioning skills.

Investigation 2: Emotion Explorers

Learning Targets:

I can recognize and label my feelings.

I can identify safe places in our classroom and know what to do when I am sad or mad in school.

I can use calming tools, like a stress ball or quiet space, when I’m upset to help calm down.

I can use positive self-talk to encourage myself when I'm feeling down or frustrated.

Investigation 3: Friendship Garden

Learning Targets:

I can show kindness and help my peers when they need assistance.

I can listen when others are talking and take turns during group activities.

I can use my words to express empathy and understanding when a friend is upset.

I can use gentle words and actions when solving problems or conflicts with my peers.

Trees Unit of Study

Trees Unit of Study-

Tree Treasures: Discovering the Wonders of Nature

Essential Questions: How do trees help living things, including people, animals, and the environment? What can we learn from trees about growth, change, and caring for the world around us?

Tree Tales: Discovering How They Grow and Change Investigation 1 and 2

Focus of the Story: Our adventure into the world of trees begins as we explore what we already know about them. Together, we will learn to identify the different parts of trees and understand how they grow and change. By watching trees around us, we will see why they are important and how they change with the seasons.

Learning Targets:

I can name the different parts of a tree (roots, trunk, branches, leaves) and talk about what they do.
I can watch how a tree grows from a tiny seed into a big tree.
I can see how trees look different in each season and talk about the changes.
I can work with my friends to watch and talk about how trees grow and change.

Homes in the Branches Investigation 3

Focus of the Story: We will become nature detectives as we explore the world within and around trees. From birds to bugs, we’ll discover the many creatures that call trees home and how they depend on trees for shelter and food. By watching trees, we’ll learn how they help nature and the world around them.

Learning Targets:

I can look for and name animals and bugs that live in or near trees.
I can talk about how animals use trees to find food, stay safe, and build homes.
I can learn how trees help other plants, animals, and the world around them.
I can work with my friends to build trees to show how animals live in trees.
I can join in activities like watching birds and looking for bugs to learn about the animals that need trees.

Why Trees Matter to Us and the Earth Investigation 4

Focus of the Story: In this last adventure, we will learn all the ways trees help us and the earth. Trees give us things like paper, wood and food, and they help make the air we breathe. Together, we will find out how trees are used to make things, why recycling is important, and how taking care of trees helps keep our world healthy.

Learning Targets:

I can find and name things that come from trees, like paper and wood.
I can learn how trees are used to make things we use every day.
I can understand why trees are important for people and the earth.
I can learn how recycling helps save trees and take care of the earth.

There are no resources or collections to display

Light Unit of Study

Light Unit of Study: Lights! Camera! Action!

Essential Questions: What makes light in the sky?
How do we use a flashlight?
What is something that can make a shadow outdoors?
Can you point out three things in the classroom that make light?
Where have you seen something like this?
Which of these items can you see through?
How can lights keep us safe?

Investigation 1: What objects make light?
How do we turn lights on and off?

Focus of the Story: Children will discover what items make light and explore the concept of light & dark. Children will discuss how the sun is helpful to us.

Learning Targets:

I can explore how light helps us see.
I can describe the difference between light and dark.
I can test what materials let light through and what block it.
I can tell the difference between luminous/non-luminous objects (the moon is non-luminous because it reflects the sun).

Investigation 2: What happens when we use light? How do we use light?

Focus of the Story: Children will discover how light helps us in many ways including keeping us safe. Children will use tools such as flashlights or mirrors to explore light. Children will explore how light shines on, through and bounces off of things.

Learning Targets:

I can describe how light helps us see in the dark.
I can observe how light changes what we see (color, brightness, reflections).
I can use tools (like flashlights or mirrors) to explore how light moves.
I can notice how light can shine on, bounce off, or go through things.

Investigation 3: What kind of things does light shine through? What happens when we block light?

Focus of the Story: Children will experiment with what materials block light and investigate shadows.

Learning Targets:

I can tell if something is clear (transparent), see-through (translucent), or not see-through (opaque).
I can make a guess (prediction) about what will happen before I try it.
I can investigate what makes shadows.
I can sort materials based on whether light can shine through them.

Kindergarten

Stamford Public Schools uses Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Magnetic Reading Foundations in our Literacy Block. The goal for our SPS Kindergarten curriculum is to create consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Kindergarten classroom schedules include blocks for Core Knowledge, Foundational Skills, Math, and Science/Social Studies. Kindergarten students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Kindergarten Curriculum Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first weeks of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools K - 5 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Magnetic Reading Foundations
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units

Nursery Rhymes and Fables
5 Senses
Stories
Plants
Farms
Native Americans
Kings and Queens
Weather and Sky Integrated Literacy and Science
Columbus and Pilgrims
Colonial towns and townspeople
Taking care of the Earth
Presidents and American Symbols

Magnetic Reading Units

All About Me
Express Yourself
Leaves, Wings, and Furry Things
In My Community
Stories About...
What's the Weather

Social Studies Units

The First Four Weeks: Setting Up the Kindergarten Classroom
Me, Myself and I: What is Citizenship?
Me, Myself and I: Me on a Map
Me, Myself and I: Who Am I?

Math Units

Position, Length, Height, and Sorting
Numbers to 5, Shapes, and Weight
Addition and Subtraction Within 5 and Shapes
Numbers to 10 and Shapes
Numbers to 100
Addition and Subtraction Within 10
Teen Numbers and Shapes

Science Units

NGSS Push, Pull and Go
Earth Science: Weather and Sky
Life Cycles: Butterflies and Ladybugs

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Grade 1

Stamford Public Schools uses Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Magnetic Reading Foundations in our Literacy Block. We offer consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers will continue to offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Grade 1 classroom schedules will include blocks for Core Knowledge, Foundational Skills, Math, and Science/Social Studies. Grade 1 students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Grade 1 Curriculum and Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first week of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools K - 5 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Magnetic Reading Foundations
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science & Foss Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units

Fables and Stories
The Human Body
Different Lands, Similar Stories
Early World Civilization
Early American Civilization
Astronomy
The History of the Earth
Animals and Habitats
Fairy Tales
A New Nation
Frontier Explorers

Magnetic Reading Units

Friendship
Create Everyday
The Underwater World
Neighborhoods
Imagine That!
In the Sky

Social Studies

How Families Grow and Change Integrated Literacy and Social Studies
We are Family: How is School Like a Family?
Geography: We are Family, Our Family on a Map
Families Meet Their Needs and Wants Integrated Literacy and Social Studies

Math Units

Relating Addition and Subtraction
Addition and Subtraction Within 20
Solving Word Problems and Making Comparisons
Using Tens and Ones to Organize and Count
Operations with Tens and Ones
Geometry and Measurement

Science Units

NGSS Waves: Light and Sound
Air and Weather Integrated Literacy and Science
Structure, Function and Information Processing, Plants & Animals

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Grade 2

Stamford Public Schools uses Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) and Magnetic Reading Foundations in our Literacy Block. We offer consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers will continue to offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Grade 2 classroom schedules will include blocks for Core Knowledge, Magnetic Reading Foundations, Math, and Science and Social Studies. Grade 2 students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Grade 2 Curriculum and Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first week of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools K - 5 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Magnetic Reading Foundations
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units:

Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
Early Asian Civilizations
The Ancient Greek Civilization
Greek Myths
The War of 1812
Cycles of Nature
Westward Expansion
Insects
The U.S. Civil War
The Human Body
Immigration
Fighting for a Cause

Magnetic Reading

Getting Along with Others
Making Art
What's That Habitat?
It's on the Map!
Tell Me About It
Land and Water

Social Studies:

My Community: Urban, Rural, Suburban
My Community: Stamford Over Time Integrated Literacy and Social Studies
Civics: What is Citizenship in Our Community?
Community Economics Integrated Literacy and Social Studies

Math Units:

Numbers Within 20: Addition, Subtraction, and Data
Numbers Within 100: Addition, Subtraction, Time, and Money
Numbers Within 1,000: Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction
Length: Measurement, Addition and Subtraction, and Line Plots
Shapes and Arrays: Partitioning and Tiling Shapes, Arrays, Evens and Odds

Science Units:

Physical Science: NGSS Changes
Earth Matter and Processes that Change the Earth
Plant Growth and Development Integrated Literacy and Science

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Grade 3

Our Grade 3 Curriculum reflects an adoption of CKLA as our primary Literacy resource in Grade 3. We will offer a consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers will continue to offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Grade 3 classroom schedules will include blocks for Core Knowledge, Math, Empowering Writers, and Science/Social Studies. Grade 3 students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Grade 3 Curriculum and Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first week of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools Grade 3 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Writing: Empowering Writers
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units

Classic Tales
Animal Classification
The Human Body
The Ancient Roman Civilization
Light and Sound
The Viking Age
Astronomy
Native Americans
Early Explorations of North America
Colonial America
Ecology

Social Studies

Geography Me in the World: What is an Atlas and How do I use It?
GRAPES and Social Studies EGYPT
GRAPES and Social Studies JAPAN

Math Units

Three-Digit Numbers: Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction
Multiplication and Division: Concepts, Relationships, and Patterns
Multiplication: Finding Area, Solving Word Problems, and Using Scaled Graphs
Fractions: Equivalence and Comparison, Measurement, and Data
Measurement: Time, Liquid Volume, and Mass
Shapes: Attributes and Categories, Perimeter and Area, and Partitioning

Science Units

Animal Studies Integrated Literacy and Science
Forces and Interaction
Weather & Climate

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Grade 4

Our Grade 4 Curriculum reflects an adoption of CKLA as our primary Literacy resource in Grade 4. We will offer a consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers will continue to offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Grade 4 classroom schedules will include blocks for Core Knowledge, Math, Empowering Writers, and Science/Social Studies. Grade 4 students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Grade 4 Curriculum and Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first week of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools Grade 4 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Writing: Empowering Writers
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units

Personal Narrative
Empires in the Middle Ages
Poetry
Eureka! Student Inventor
Geology
Contemporary Fiction
American Revolution
Tresure Island

Social Studies Units

History of Connecticut
Family Matters Integrated Literacy and Social Studies
Economy of Connecticut
Geography of Connecticut
Regions of the United States Integrated Literacy and Social Studies

Math Units

Whole Numbers: Place Value, Comparison, Addition, and Subtraction
Operations: Multiplication, Division, and Algebraic Thinking
Multi-Digit Operations and Measurement: Multiplication, Division, Perimeter and Area
Fractions, Decimals, and Measurement: Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication
Geometry and Measurement: Figures, Classification, and Symmetry

Science Units

Energy Works
Plant and Animal Structures
Changing Earth

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Grade 5

Our Grade 5 Curriculum reflects an adoption of CKLA as our primary literacy resource in Grade 5. We will offer a consistency across all elementary schools in terms of time dedicated for all four contents, guiding curriculum documents, assessments and resources available while still allowing flexibility and choice to schools and teachers.

Teachers will continue to offer universal supports for students needing SPED modifications, EL accommodations, and enrichment opportunities; additional deliberate opportunities for student discourse; and writing components aligned to standards with rubrics for flexibility using resources currently being used.

All Grade 5 classroom schedules will include blocks for Core Knowledge, Math, Empowering Writers, and Science/Social Studies. Grade 5 students will work toward mastery for CT Core State Standards in the areas of English Language Arts/Literacy (Reading Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Language and Foundational Skills, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) Mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

SPS Grade 5 Curriculum and Overview guides teachers throughout the school year by content and topic. During the first week of school, teachers are encouraged to get to know their students, establish rituals and routines, and communicate classroom expectations. As teachers plan, teachers can refer to this overview and curriculum documents.

Stamford Public Schools Grade 5 Primary Resources

Literacy: Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)
Writing: Empowering Writers
Math: iReady Classroom Mathematics
Science: Carolina Science
Social Studies: Aligning to the CT Social Studies Framework

CKLA Units

Personal Narratives
Early American Civilizations
Poetry
Adventures of Don Quixote
The Renaissance
The Reformation
A Midsummer's Night Dream
Native Americans
Chemical Matter

Social Studies Units

School Policies Integrated Literacy and Social Studies
First Settlers
Age of Exploration
The Revolutionary War Integrated Literacy and Social Studies
Colonization

Math Units

Whole Number Operations and Applications: Volume, Multiplication, and Division
Decimals and Fractions: Place Value, Addition, and Subtraction
More Decimals and Fractions: Multiplication and Division
Measurement, Data, and Geometry: Converting Units, Using Data, and Classifying Figures
Operations with Fractions
Investigations in Measurement, Decimal Multiplication and Division
Multiplication of Mixed Numbers, Geometry, Graphs
Applications of Measurement, Computation, and Graphing

Science Units:

Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
Structures and Properties of Matter
Stars and the Solar System/Earth and Space Systems

Teachers use assessments to determine and instructional foci for small group instruction for foundational literacy and math skills, comprehension, and response to text. Students of all cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds exchange ideas about their reading and thinking. Students develop as strong, proficient writers who use writing to develop and extend their thinking, and to communicate ideas with others.

Art, Music, Health and Physical Education

Courses

Art

Grades K & 1

Observe: Explore and begin practice of looking critically at a work

Sketch and Explore: Play to create and learn how to turn mistakes into new ideas

Engage and Persist: Begin to identify and accept artistic problems and learn strategies for addressing them

Envision: Be introduced to and practice ways artists think about and plan an artwork

Develop Craft: Be exposed to and begin use of tools, materials and art practice

Express: Begin to create works that communicate an idea or feeling

Understand Art Worlds: Learn about other artists and explore themselves as artists

Reflect: Learn to talk and begin to write about art using sentence stems and supported structures

Grades 2 & 3

Observe: Look at pieces of artwork and learn how to make deeper insights

Sketch and Explore: Make artwork beyond previous experiences, experiment, and learn how to turn mistakes into new ideas

Engage and Persist: Learn skills and strategies to face artistic challenges

Envision: Develop and practice skills to picture and plan an artwork

Develop Craft: Learn the use of and practice with art tools, materials and art forms

Express: Develop skills in creating work to express an idea, feeling or personal meaning

Understand Art Worlds: Learn about artists, art careers, and art in society and explore self as an artist

Reflect: Build vocabulary and practice of questioning, explaining, and evaluating artworks from self and others

Grades 4 & 5

Observe: Look at pieces of artwork deeply and see things that might not otherwise be noticed

Sketch And Explore: Make artwork beyond previous experiences, experiment, and transform mistakes into new ideas

Engage and Persist: Develop a variety of skills and strategies in facing artistic challenges

Envision: Develop creativity and using strategies to imagine and plan an artwork

Develop Craft: Use and practice with art tools, materials, art forms, and care for the studio space

Express: Create works that express an idea, feeling or personal meaning

Understand Art Worlds: Learn about artists, art careers, and art in society and identify self as an artist

Reflect: Question, explain, and evaluate artworks from self and others

Music

Grades K-2

Create:

Improvise on unpitched classroom instruments to various selections of music or sounds with substantial guidance
Create representations of A and B sections of music with limited guidance, kinesthetically and artistically
Improvise on pitched classroom instruments to various selections of music or sounds with limited guidance

Perform:

Echo and/or read simple iconic notation rhythms in syllables (including but not limited to beamed eighth notes and quarter rhythm values)
Echo alone and with others on classroom instruments with substantial guidance
Perform forte and piano
Perform two-part rounds and ostinati with substantial guidance

Respond:

Identify whether music does or does not have a steady beat
Explore how a steady beat is related to simple rhythms with substantial guidance
Identify the differences between solo and ensemble performances with substantial guidance using varied repertoire
Identify loud and quiet sounds aurally and with iconic notation
Visually identify the difference between orchestral instrument families, at a basic level with substantial guidance using varied repertoire
Identify the differences between solo and ensemble performances with limited guidance using varied repertoire
Identify and describe the sounds of individual instruments in each orchestral family

Connect:

Find real world examples of high and low sounds with substantial guidance. Connect rhythms to examples of music representing various cultures and musical styles (including, but not limited to beamed eighth notes and quarter value rhythms)
Connect different types of sounds to moods/feelings
Connect piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, decrescendo, and crescendo to diverse musical genres and personal interests, experiences, ideas, and knowledge

Grades 3-5

Create

Improvise and create compositions by layering instruments of different timbres
Create representations of partner songs with limited guidance, kinesthetically and artistically
Create a basic composition using a limited selection of pitches in standard notation of up to 8 measures
Create kinesthetic and artistic representations of form with basic 3 to 4 chords (suggestions include blues form, reggae, pop, and rock music)
Improvise rhythm with a 3 to 4 chord backing track or ensemble accompaniment (with an extension of up to 3 pitches)

Perform

Perform piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, decrescendo, and crescendo on recorder (or other melodic instruments)
Perform basic Partner Songs with substantial guidance
Perform Partner Songs
Perform basic chords with substantial guidance
Perform melodic content of a form with basic 3 to 4 chords

Respond

Describe what makes a good improvised solo
Identify and describe characteristics of a bridge in music
Describe methods for keeping your place in a Partner Song
Describe how dynamic levels can help to express feelings, intent, and explain connection to purpose and context
Describe and self-assess personal technical accuracy and expression through dynamic

Connect

Be aware of flat, sharp, and natural signs and their corresponding symbols
Connect pitch to examples of music representing various cultures and musical styles
Connect examples of music representing various cultures and musical styles (including, but not limited to, one eighth connected to two sixteenths and dotted half and quarter note
Connect the texture/timbre/instruments to examples of music representing various cultures and musical style
Connect best practices for using dynamics by listening to professional musical ensemble

Health

Grades K-2

Unit 1: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

In order to live a healthier lifestyle, nutrition and physical activity play a huge role. This unit will focus on how students can identify healthier food options and find more enjoyment in understanding the importance of nutrition for the long term.

Unit 2: Mental and Emotional Health

Mental and emotional health are important parts of our overall well-being. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. Emotional health is the ability to cope with and manage emotions. It's also the ability to have positive relationships. This unit will allow students to use interpersonal communication to help describe how they are feeling and discover ways to help manage their feelings/emotions whether they be positive or negative.

Unit 3: Optimal Wellness and Disease Prevention

Beginning at the younger grade levels, it is important to teach students the importance of optimal wellness and disease prevention. Optimal wellness is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Disease prevention focuses on aiming to minimize the burden of diseases and associated risk factors. This unit will help students raise awareness about healthy behaviors and how to prevent the start or spread of diseases among themselves and others.

Grades 3-5

Unit 1: Violence Prevention

Violence is an urgent public health problem. It affects people in all stages of life and can lead to a lifetime of physical, emotional, and economic problems. This unit will help students understand how to prevent violence before it begins and its consequences so that all people, families, and communities are safe and healthy.

Unit 2: Safety and Injury Prevention

Safety is the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury. Students should be able to understand proper safety precautions and steps to take during different areas of life including: when playing sports, riding a bike, while inside of a car, handling household chore items, and using social media. Taking the proper steps helps prevent injuries or accidents before they occur. This unit can help keep students and others safe while also giving them the knowledge of what they should do when accidents happen.

Unit 3: Sexual Health

Sexual health education is an essential component of students' physical, social and emotional development. At the elementary grade levels, students experience different changes in their bodies. This unit will help students understand the basic reproductive parts and their functions along with how to process the stages of puberty.

Unit 4: Alcohol, Nicotine & Other Drugs

The misuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs has severe impacts on the mental, emotional, and physical health of individuals. By introducing this unit to fourth and fifth grade students, they will have an understanding on the short-term and long-term effects as well as dangers of experimenting with alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs. Students will also be able to determine how to safely use medicines and household products.

Physical Education

Grades K-2

Team Sports: This unit introduces students to the foot skills and movement concepts most often associated with the sport of soccer. Foot dribbling, kicking, passing, and receiving (trapping) are the primary skills emphasized.

Individual Sports: This unit will also introduce students to the basics of volleying and striking through developmental play. Striking with the hand is followed by striking with a short-handled paddle, preparing students to progress toward paddle and racquet activities at the intermediate level.

Lifetime Activities: This unit will also introduce students to the basics of volleying and striking through developmental play. Striking with the hand is followed by striking with a short-handled paddle, preparing students to progress toward paddle and racquet activities at the intermediate level. Additionally, students will learn the tools for dance skills through developmental play.

Cooperative Games/Fitness: This unit will also introduce students to the basics of volleying and striking through developmental play. Striking with the hand is followed by striking with a short-handled paddle, preparing students to progress toward paddle and racquet activities at the intermediate level. Additionally, students will learn the tools for dance skills through developmental play.

Grades 3-5

Team Sports: Students should enter this unit with basic understanding of skills from the previous school years. Students who are new to the school district may struggle with these skills if they have not been previously taught. Students who are not familiar with their dominant side may also struggle.

Individual Sports: Competition and self enjoyment. Students will be able to find enjoyment when working by themselves in a sports setting.

Lifetime sports: Students will be able to realize the activities that can be enjoyed outside of a normal physical education class or not being on a “team”. Pictures and video of elderly people enjoying these activities could be important to relate these activities to a healthy lifestyle. Students can also relate the square dancing to concepts of “westward expansion” that they are learning in history class.

Cooperative Games/Fitness: Students have worked with others in large groups for many other units throughout the year. This unit will solidify the previous experiences into a more social and game-like atmosphere. Students will also be applying skills that they have developed in other units.

PreK-5 Curriculum