English Language Arts

Kindergarten is rich with opportunities for students to develop a love of reading and to see themselves as successful readers and writers. Kindergartners learn about the alphabet and its role in reading. They explore and practice rhyming, matching words with sounds, and blending sounds into words. Significant time is spent discussing fiction and nonfiction texts to learn about the world and to build vocabulary. Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Additionally, students experiment with writing through drawing, dictation, and writing to share information, ideas, and feelings. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to support progress toward grade-level expectations.

Kindergartners learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware and nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Kindergarten Language Arts

• Naming uppercase and lowercase letters, the sound(s) associated with the letters, and printing them.
• Appreciating and retelling stories read and talking about the stories using details from the text.
• Exploring the writing process and strategies to develop writing to share learning, to describe an event, to express an opinion, and to share a story with an audience.
• Using a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to describe an event.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Building curiosity by asking and answering questions about stories or other information.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the kindergarten standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Set aside a special time every day to read to your child.
• Place books in different places around your home and change them monthly.
• Establish a family reading time.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Apply for a library card so all family members can check out books on subjects that interest them.
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is enjoying.
• Start a family journal to capture the daily events in writing or drawings.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Keep your favorite books in the car.
• Go to a play or musical with your child. Discuss the way the actors bring the words to life.

Social Studies

Myself and Others

Using events from their own lives, kindergartners begin to explore and learn the basic historical concept of time. They study maps and learn about their place in relation to our region and the local environment. Kindergarten begins the foundation for the study of civics and government by recognizing that they are active classroom citizens. There are expectations to follow with appropriate rules for making their learning space special for everyone. Kindergartners develop economic awareness through the exploration of how families meet their needs. Students are introduced to the core values of democracy as they interact with others in their school community.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, and local museums.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Kindergartners are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. Kindergartners learn to apply Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of Kindergarten Science

Students also learn to apply an understanding of the effects of different strengths or directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object to analyze a design solution. Kindergartners develop an understanding of patterns and variations in local weather and the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather. They also work with their five senses as an observational aid to help understand their surroundings and that all living things have basic needs.

Sault Area Public Schools focuses on instruction and learning of the Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the kindergarten standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.

Mathematics

Kindergartners begin their math journey developing their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Kindergarten mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own and develop independence and persistence.  They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers, which allows them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of Kindergarten Mathematics

Counting and Cardinality

• Know number names and the count sequence.
• Count to tell the number of objects.
• Compare numbers.

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.

Number and Operations in Base 10

• Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value.

Measurement and Data

• Describe and compare measurable attributes.
• Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.

Geometry

• Identify and describe shapes.
• Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the kindergarten standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Play games and solve puzzles while talking about your thinking and asking your child to explain his or her thinking.
• Look for opportunities to count and compare numbers in the real world.
• Involve your child in sorting tasks around the house (laundry, dishes, etc.); count, compare, and organize the number of objects in different categories.
• Identify and describe shapes in your house, at the grocery store, during the ride to school, etc.
• Measure in the kitchen and around the house.
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.

English Language Arts

Building from their kindergarten experience, first-graders continue their literacy journey with greater confidence; they start combining skills and strategies systematically. Students choose books that increase in complexity, requiring the foundational skills from kindergarten. As a result, their reading stamina increases, they develop a fluid reading pace, and become increasingly more independent in their book selection. Students continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts to learn how different sources help readers construct meaning about the world. Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Additionally, students’ writing stamina grows and their voices emerge when writing about what they are learning and their personal experiences. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

First-graders learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware and to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of First-Grade Language Arts

• Learning from and enjoying books read and listened to.
• Using phonics (matching letters and sounds) and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing.
• Reading a variety of grade-level texts with appropriate speed, accuracy, expression, and understanding.
• Learning and developing the writing process and strategies to write to share learning, describe an event, express an opinion, or tell a story.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Building curiosity by asking and answering questions about stories or other information.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the first-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Set aside a special time every day to read to your child.
• Place books in different places around your home and change them monthly.
• Establish a family reading time.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Apply for a library card so all family members can check out books on subjects that interest them.
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is reading.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar; have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Keep favorite books in the car.
• Start a family journal to capture the daily events in writing or drawings.
• Go to a play or musical with your child. Discuss the way the actors bring the words to life.

Social Studies

My School and Family

Through a study of families and school life, first-graders learn the fundamentals of social studies. They begin to explore history and learn that people and places change over time. Discussing the needs of families, they learn the economic concepts of goods and services. They begin to examine their environment and surroundings, growing in their understanding of the interaction between people and places. Developing rules for their own classroom and learning to follow school rules, they learn the basic rules that govern people in a free society who live and work together.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, and local museums.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

First-graders are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. First-graders learn to apply Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of First-Grade Science

First-grade students will explore the relationship between sound and vibrating materials as well as between the availability of light and the ability to see objects. During the first-grade year, students also observe, describe, and predict some patterns of the movement of objects in the sky. They will also learn about the life needs of animals, basic life cycles, and that animals share some but not all characteristics of their parents.

FHPS focuses on instruction and learning of the Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the first-grade standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe

Mathematics

Building from their kindergarten experience, first graders develop their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

First-grade mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own, developing independence and persistence. They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers which allows them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of First-Grade Mathematics

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.
• Understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction.
• Add and subtract within 20.
• Work with addition and subtraction equations.

Number and Operations on Base 10

• Extend the counting sequence.
• Understand place value.
• Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.

Measurement and Data

• Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating length units.
• Tell and write time.
• Represent and interpret data.

Geometry

• Understand and manipulate shapes and their attributes.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the first-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Play games and solve puzzles while talking about your thinking and asking your child to explain his or her thinking.
• Look for opportunities to count and tally the numbers of objects in the real world.
• Ask your child to tell the time of the hour (early in the year) to the half hour (later in the year).
• Name and describe attributes of geometric shapes in your house, at the grocery store, along the ride to school, etc.
• Build with blocks. Talk about and breaking apart designs to form new shapes.
• Measure items at home with paper clips (no gaps), and later in the year with one paper clip (moving along).
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.
• Look for “word problems” in real life. Some examples might include:
  • If you open a new carton of a dozen eggs, and you use four eggs to cook dinner, close the carton and ask your child how many eggs are left.
  • While putting away toys into bins, count the number of toys in two bins and ask your child how many more are in one bin compared to the other.
  • Play the “I’m thinking of a number” game. For example, “I’m thinking of a number that makes 11 when added to 8. What is my number?

English Language Arts

Second-graders build on their previous literacy experiences to deepen their understanding of the complex reading system. They read more challenging texts which demand more decision-making and more sophisticated strategies. Second-graders learn to recognize when their reading breaks down and choose an appropriate fix-up strategy to create meaning as they are introduced to more complex texts throughout their day. They become effective problem solvers to be sure they understand what they are reading – the ultimate goal of the reading process. Students continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts daily to learn how different sources help readers construct meaning about the world.  Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Additionally, students’ writing stamina grows and their voices emerge when writing about what they are learning and their personal experiences. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

Second-graders continue to learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware and to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Second-Grade Language Arts

• Reading a variety of grade-level texts with appropriate speed, accuracy, expression, and understanding.
• Paying close attention to details in stories and books to answer questions about who, what, where, when, and why.
• Using text features such as captions, bold print, and indexes to locate key facts or information efficiently.
• Building a foundation of knowledge through reading and listening to books in social studies, science, and other subjects.
• Writing an opinion about a book using important details from the materials to support that opinion.
• Writing stories with a logical sequence of events that incorporates the elements of a story (e.g., characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution).
• Expanding and rearranging sentences.
• Determining the meaning of new words through word study.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the second-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Set aside a special time every day to read to your child.
• Place books in different places around your home and change them monthly.
• Establish a family reading time.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Apply for a library card at Bayliss Public Library so all family members can check out books on subjects that interest them.
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is reading.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Keep your favorite books in the car.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Start a family journal to capture the daily events in writing or drawings.
• Go to a play or musical with your child. Discuss the way the actors bring the words to life.

Social Studies

My Community

The second-grade curriculum focuses on the history, geography, government, and economy of neighborhoods and nearby communities. Students learn about people and events from the past that have shaped the communities in which they live. Through an exploration of Sault Ste. Marie—they begin to learn about communities; they learn how goods and services move in and out of the local area, and what communities need to grow and prosper. They are introduced to local government and laws, examining local issues that affect themselves and their families. They practice making decisions aimed at improving the quality of school and community life.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Read books about interesting places, people, and events in history.
• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, and local museums.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Second-graders are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. Second-graders learn to apply  Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of Second-Grade Science

Second-grade students will analyze and classify different materials to develop an understanding of observable properties. They will explore how wind and water can change the shape of the land by comparing design solutions to slow or prevent such change. Second-graders will use information and models to identify and represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area and where water is found on Earth. They will also develop an understanding of what plants need to grow and how plants depend on animals for seed dispersal and pollination.

Sault Area Public Schools focuses on learning of the Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the second-grade standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.

Mathematics

Second-graders build on their previous math experiences to develop their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Second-grade mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own, developing independence and persistence. They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers, which allows them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of Second-Grade Mathematics

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.
• Add and subtract within 20.
• Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication.

Number and Operations in Base 10

• Understand place value (i.e., thousands, hundreds, tens, ones).
• Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract (within 1,000).

Measurement and Data

• Measure and estimate lengths in standard units (i.e., inches feet, centimeters, meters using rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes).
• Relate addition and subtraction to length.
• Work with time and money (i.e., digital and analog clocks to nearest five minutes; dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies).
• Represent and interpret data (i.e., bar graph and picture graph).

Geometry

• Reason with shapes and their attributes (i.e., triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes; partition rectangles and circles).

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the second-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Play games and solve puzzles while talking about your thinking and asking your child to explain his or her thinking.
• Create and solve addition and subtraction stories using facts.
• Measure items at home with rulers, tape measures, or meter sticks.
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.

English Language Arts

Third-graders build on their previous literacy experiences to increase their independence as active, engaged readers and writers. They read more challenging texts which demand more engaged and thoughtful reading. Third-graders become active, efficient problem solvers when encountering unknown words. Students continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts daily to learn how different sources help readers construct meaning about the world. They begin to form theories about what they read and their own experiences and apply and revise their thinking when they encounter a variety of texts. Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. In turn, students’ writing becomes more elaborate, their stamina grows, and their voices emerge when writing about what they are learning and their personal experiences. Third-graders develop their understanding of the qualities of good writing by exploring a variety of structures using the writing process. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

Third-graders continue to learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware and to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Third-Grade Language Arts

• Reading a variety of grade-level texts with appropriate speed, accuracy, expression, and understanding.
• Reading closely to find main ideas and supporting details in a story.
• Comparing the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic to deepen knowledge.
• Writing opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details.
• Independently conducting a short research project that builds knowledge about various topics.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Distinguishing the literal and nonliteral meanings of words.
• Spelling correctly and consulting resources to clarify the meaning of words.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the third-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Set aside a special time every day to read to your child.
• Place books in different places around your home and change them monthly.
• Establish a family reading time.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Apply for a library card at Bayliss Public Library so all family members can check out books on subjects that interest them.
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is reading.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Keep your favorite books in the car.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Start a family journal to capture the daily events in writing or drawings.

Social Studies

Our Community and Beyond

Third-grade students continue their study of history, geography, civics and government, and economics in the context of Michigan before statehood. They learn about Michigan’s Native Americans and important events that occurred during the European settlement of the area. Exploring Michigan’s geography, they learn about our state’s regional characteristics, and their understanding of economics is enhanced as they study the role played by the state’s natural resources in the development of important industries. They begin to prepare themselves for their role as responsible and informed citizens as they explore the basic tenets of representative government and examine the structure of local and state government.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Read books about interesting places, people, and events in history.
• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, local museums, and cemeteries.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Third-graders are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. Third-graders learn to apply Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of Third-Grade Science

Third-grade students will determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object and the cause-and-effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. They then apply their understanding of magnetic interactions to define a simple design problem that can be solved with magnets. Third-graders will organize and use data to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season. By applying their understanding of weather-related hazards, they then make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of such hazards. During the third-grade year, students will also learn about observable characteristics and the related functions of the structures of plants and animals.

Sault Area Public Schools focuses on learning Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the third-grade standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.

Mathematics

Third-graders build on their previous experiences and deepen their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Third-grade mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own, developing independence and persistence. They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers, which allows them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of Third-Grade Mathematics

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.
• Understanding the 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 10

• 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 the perimeter as an attribute of plane figures and distinguish between linear and area measures.

Geometry

• Reason with shapes and their attributes.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the third-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Compare estimates to the exact answer (i.e., small shopping trip totals, time to complete a chore, etc.).
• Create and solve equal groups and number stories (i.e., 24 cookies shared by 4 friends, 7 bags with 3 apples in each bag).
• When serving food, discuss ways to cut the food to feed 2, 4, 6, or 8 people.
• Measure items to the nearest ½ inch.
• Tell time to the nearest minute.
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.

English Language Arts

Fourth graders increase their independence and become active, thoughtful, engaged readers and writers. They read more challenging texts which demand higher-order thinking. Fourth graders become active, efficient problem solvers when encountering unknown words. They deepen their understanding of text structures and how to problem-solve challenging vocabulary. Fourth graders develop their ability to identify big ideas in texts and share inferences of their own to build meaning. Students continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts daily to learn how different sources are crafted to help readers construct meaning about the world. Rich academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Additionally, students’ writing stamina grows, and they become more sophisticated with their words when writing about what they are learning and their personal experiences. Fourth graders deepen their understanding of the qualities of good writing by exploring a variety of structures using the writing process. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

Fourth graders continue to learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware, to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers, and to self-advocate. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Fourth-Grade Language Arts

• Recognizing and describing the basic elements of the story by drawing on specific details in the text.
• Attending to key features of informational texts; comparing and contrasting information; and explaining how the author uses facts, details, and evidence to support particular points.
• Comparing ideas, characters, events, and settings in stories and myths from different cultures.
• Writing about topics using well-organized facts, details, and examples.
• Independently conducting a short research project on different aspects of a topic using evidence from books and other resources.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Reporting orally on a topic or telling a story with enough facts and details.
• Writing complete sentences with correct capitalization and spelling.
• Building understanding of relationships between words and nuances in word meanings – synonyms, antonyms, idioms – and using this knowledge to convey ideas precisely.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the fourth-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Establish a family reading time.
• As a family, discuss the similarities and differences between the books you are reading.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is reading.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Encourage your child to always carry a book to read in their spare moments.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Encourage your child to write in a journal to capture thoughts and daily events in writing or drawings.

Social Studies

Regions of Our Country

Fourth-grade students extend their application of previously learned social studies concepts as they compare their state with the major geographic regions of the United States. Through these comparisons, they deepen their understanding of how events, geography, and economy can influence people and places. Using examples from Michigan’s past, they learn about Michigan’s role in the development of the country, and the role played by other U.S. states and regions. They are given practice in making decisions and in taking action aimed at solving problems facing the people of Michigan.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Read books about interesting places, people, and events in history.
• Seek opportunities to volunteer for a local organization.
• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, local museums, and cemeteries.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Fourth graders are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. Fourth graders learn to apply Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of Fourth-Grade Science

Fourth-grade students will develop an understanding that energy can be transferred from object to object through collisions, or from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. They then apply their understanding of energy to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. Fourth graders will use a model of waves to describe patterns of waves in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and that waves can cause objects to move. They develop an understanding of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation. Students will apply their knowledge of natural Earth processes to generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impact of such processes on humans. By developing a model, they describe how an object can be seen when light reflected from its surface enters the eye and use evidence to construct an explanation of the relationship between the speed of an object and the energy of that object. During fourth grade, students will develop an understanding that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. They also learn about food chains and food webs as well as how fossils provide evidence that life forms have changed over time and were influenced by changes in environmental conditions.

We focus on learning Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the fourth-grade standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.

Mathematics

Fourth graders build on their previous experiences and deepen their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Fourth-grade mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own, developing independence and persistence. They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers that allow them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of Fourth-Grade Mathematics

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 10

• 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: understanding concepts of angles and measuring angles.

Geometry

• Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by the properties of their lines and angles.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the fourth-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Look for numbers in the world and around them.
• Create and solve a multi-step number of stories.
• Double and triple recipes when cooking or baking. Discuss how amounts change.
• Collect and display data with fractional units.
• Identify real-world examples of angles (acute, right, obtuse) and lines (parallel and perpendicular).
• Look for symmetric objects in the real world and identify their line(s) of symmetry.
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.

English Language Arts

Fifth graders increase their independence and become active, thoughtful, engaged readers and writers. They read more challenging texts and understand a range of genres which demand higher-order thinking. Fifth graders are challenged by many longer descriptive words and by content-specific and technical words that require using background knowledge, and tools such as glossaries. Fifth graders develop their ability to identify big ideas in texts and share inferences of their own to build meaning. Students continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts daily to learn how different sources are crafted to help readers construct meaning about the world. Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Additionally, students’ writing stamina grows, and they become more sophisticated with their words when writing about what they are learning and their personal experiences. Fifth graders deepen their understanding of the qualities of good writing by exploring a variety of structures using the writing process. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

Fifth graders continue to learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware, to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers, and to self-advocate. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Fifth-Grade Language Arts

• Summarizing the key details of stories and nonfiction materials, including their themes or main ideas.
• Identifying and judging evidence that supports particular ideas in an author’s argument to change a reader’s point of view.
• Integrating information from various print and digital sources to answer questions and solve problems.
• Writing opinions that offer reasoned arguments and provide facts and examples that are logically grouped to support the writer’s point of view.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Reporting on a topic or presenting an opinion in his or her own words, a logical sequence of ideas, sufficient facts and details, and formal English when appropriate.
• Building knowledge of academic words with an emphasis on those that signal a contrast in ideas or logical relationships, such as on the other hand, similarly, and therefore.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the fifth-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Establish a family reading time.
• As a family, discuss the similarities and differences between the books you are reading.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of fun events (often at no cost for participation).
• Apply for a library card so all family members can check out books on subjects that interest them.
• Show interest in your child’s reading by asking your child about the books he/she is reading.
• Start a family vocabulary box or jar. Have everyone write down new words they discover, add them to the box, and use the words in conversation.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Encourage your child to always carry a book to read in their spare time.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Encourage your child to write in a journal to capture thoughts and daily events in writing or drawings.

Social Studies

America’s Past

Beginning in fifth grade, social studies courses begin to be more discipline centered. Fifth graders build upon their knowledge of geography, civics and government, economics, and historical inquiry to study American history. Students learn about the Native American people before the arrival of European explorers and conclude with the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Through a study of the struggles of early settlers, students develop an appreciation for the roots of democracy. They learn about the major events and key individuals that influenced the ideals and philosophies that are at the heart of the Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Read books about interesting places, people, and events in history.
• Seek opportunities to volunteer for a local organization.
• Discover Michigan together. Bring history alive by visiting historic homes, sites, local museums, and cemeteries.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Fifth graders are curious about the world and how it works. Throughout the year, students engage in science learning experiences to connect their thinking, make observations, formulate new ideas, and make sense of the natural world and how it works. Fifth graders learn to apply Science and Engineering Practices to think like scientists.

Highlights of Fifth-Grade Science

Fifth-grade students describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen through the development of a model. They develop an understanding of the idea that regardless of the type of change that matter undergoes, the total weight of matter is conserved. Fifth graders determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances. Through the development of a model using an example, they describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. Students describe and graph data to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. During fifth grade, they are expected to develop an understanding of patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky. Students will learn about specialized systems of organisms that perform specific needs of the organism.

We focus on learning Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the fifth-grade standards your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.
• Visit local museum websites to learn about family opportunities and the monthly events in the Grand Rapids metro area.
  • Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Experience
  • Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
  • Blandford Nature Center
  • Calvin College Ecosystem Preserve
  • Grand Rapids Public Museum & Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium
  • Impression 5 Science Center
  • Michigan Science Center

Mathematics

Fifth graders build on their previous experiences and deepen their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Fifth-grade mathematicians are encouraged to be creative problem solvers and flexible thinkers. They work through challenging problems in small groups and on their own, developing independence and persistence. They develop their fluency skills by playing with numbers, which allows them to think flexibly with methods and strategies to solve problems efficiently and accurately.

Highlights of Fifth-Grade Mathematics

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Write and interpret numerical expressions.
• Analyze patterns and relationships.

Number and Operations in Base 10

• 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.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the fifth-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Create and solve division number stories with remainders. Discuss what to do with the remainder.
• Look for decimals in the world around you. Ask your child to read them aloud and compare to other decimals.
• Create and solve decimal number stories.
• Double, triple, or halve recipes when cooking or baking. Discuss how amounts change.
• Here are some specific Everyday Math games to play online:
  • High-Number Toss
  • Hidden Treasure
  • Over and Up Squares
  • Divisibility Dash
  • Top-It (many versions including multiplication, division, decimals, and fractions)
  • Decimal Domination
  • Doggone Decimal
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.

English Language Arts

Sixth graders increase their independence and become active, thoughtful, engaged readers and writers. They read more challenging texts and understand a range of genres and more abstract forms of literature, such as satire, and literary devices such as irony. Sixth graders are challenged by many longer descriptive words and by content-specific and technical words that require using background knowledge, and tools such as glossaries. They develop their ability to identify big ideas in texts and share inferences of their own to build meaning around more mature themes that expand their knowledge of social issues. Sixth graders continue to read, write, and discuss fiction and nonfiction texts daily to learn how different sources are crafted to help readers construct meaning about the world. Academic conversations help students apply foundational listening and speaking skills to learn how to understand, speak, and use words to communicate and actively engage within and beyond the classroom. Students’ writing stamina grows. They become more sophisticated with their words when writing about their personal experiences. Sixth graders deepen their understanding of the qualities of good writing by exploring a variety of structures using the writing process. The ultimate goal of a balanced language arts curriculum is to build skills, independence, and passion to become lifelong readers, writers, and speakers.

Throughout the year, teachers use a variety of formal and informal assessments to examine students’ strengths and areas of focus to inform instruction to ensure all students progress toward grade-level expectations.

Sixth graders continue to learn and apply social and emotional skills in a variety of ways to become self-aware, to nurture positive and respectful relationships with their teachers and peers, and to self-advocate. Creating a safe and inclusive community is foundational to a great year of learning for all.

Highlights of Sixth-Grade Language Arts

• Analyzing how chapters of a book, scenes of a play, or stanzas of a poem fit into the overall structure of the piece and contribute to the development of ideas or themes.
• Gaining knowledge from materials that contain extensive use of elaborate diagrams and data to convey information and illustrate concepts.
• Evaluating the argument and specific claims in written materials or a speech, and distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
• Presenting claims and findings to an audience orally, sequencing ideas logically, and highlighting main ideas or themes.
• Writing arguments that provide clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources.
• Conducting short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and sharpening the focus based on the research findings.
• Participating in class conversations to understand others, build vocabulary, and communicate thoughts and needs.
• Determining the correct meaning of a word based on the context.

Visit Michigan K-12 English Language Arts Standards for a complete view of the sixth-grade standards your child will be working toward in English language arts.

Ideas for Supporting Your Reader/Writer

• Establish a family reading time.
• As a family, discuss the similarities and differences between the books you are reading.
• Go online to your local library website to view a calendar of teen events (often at no cost for participation).
• Encourage your child to always carry a book to read in their spare time.
• Talk about the events of the school day.
• Encourage your child to write a thank you note or letter to a family member or friend.
• Encourage your child to write a journal to capture thoughts and daily events in writing or drawings.

Social Studies

Geography: Regions and People

Sixth-grade students expand and deepen their understanding of world geography, a field of study that examines people, places, and the environment. As they learn about physical geography (the study of natural features on the surface of the Earth) and human geography (how people have spread across Earth), they begin to master the basic concepts, skills, and tools that will help them apply the themes of geography to their inquiries about the relationships between people and places worldwide. Integrated throughout the year, students will also study contemporary civics/government and economics.

Visit the Michigan Social Studies Academic Standards for a complete view of the grade standards your child will be working toward in social studies. This curriculum is also aligned with the College, Career & Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards.

Ideas for Supporting Your Social Scientist

• Read books about interesting places, people, and events in history.
• Seek opportunities to volunteer for a local organization.
• Discover the world together. Bring history alive by watching documentaries and news outlets to understand the places and people in the world.
• Discuss your family stories and history. Encourage your child to ask relatives questions about their lives. Put the information together in an album or brainstorm different ways to tell family tales, such as poems or short stories.

Science

Sixth-grade students learn about the life science concepts of the survival needs of organisms and what happens when those needs are not met. They are introduced to chemistry by focusing on the particle nature of matter through a variety of laboratory and everyday phenomena related to the structure and properties of matter. Students explore the Earth science topics of how water and rock interact as well as how water has been shaped. Finally, sixth-graders explore physical science by learning about the scientific principles that explain the behavior of light.

We focus on learning Michigan Science Standards. Click on the link to view the standards for the 6-8 grade band that your child will be working toward in science.

Ideas for Supporting Your Scientist

• Talk with your child to listen and learn what they are curious about.
• Science in the kitchen: Follow recipes and observe what happens as ingredients are added.
• Science in the backyard or park: Notice what your senses observe. Discuss the types of birds, animals, and insects that you observe.

Mathematics

Sixth graders build on their previous experiences and deepen their mathematical skills while applying the practices mathematicians use. They…

• 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.

Sixth-grade mathematicians flex their creative problem-solving skills and flexible thinking in a problem-centered mathematics classroom. They work through challenging problems as members of an active mathematics community, developing independence and persistence. With support and guidance from their teacher and fellow mathematicians, they unpack the mathematics behind the problems they solve.

Highlights of Sixth-Grade Mathematics

Ratios and Proportional Relationships

• Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

The Number System

• Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.
• Multiply and divide multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.
• Apply and extend previous understandings of numbers to the system of rational numbers.

Expressions and Equations

• Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.
• Solving one-variable equations and inequalities.
• Represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables.

Geometry

• Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.

Statistics and Probability

• Develop an understanding of statistical variability.
• Summarize and describe distributions.

Visit the Michigan Mathematics Academic Standards for a complete view of the sixth-grade standards your child will be working toward in math.

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician

• Check out the many resources available on Connected Mathematics Project (CMP3) website for families.
• Visit the Standards for Mathematical Practice for Parents.