Third and Fourth Grades

Reading

During book clubs, students meet in small groups to discuss a book that they have all read or listened to. Through sharing their thinking, they build a richer understanding than any one student could gain from independent reading alone. Students engage with the text on a deeper level and develop their conversational skills.

3rd and 4th Grade Book Clubs include:

• Reading for Justice and Power
• Biographies
• Mysteries

Writing

Using the Lucy Calkins curriculum, students continue to develop their grammar and punctuation skills throughout the year. Students begin learning how to publish their writing on a computer and develop their penmanship through learning the cursive alphabet. Writing units for 3rd and 4th graders include:

• Autobiographies
• Personal narratives
• Letter writing and the GSPS
• Persuasive writing
• Mysteries writing
• Poetry

Using Bridges Mathematics curriculum, fourth and fifth grade, students will learn the following concepts:

3rd Grade

• Addition and subtraction patterns
• Introduction to multiplication
• Multi-digit addition and subtraction
• Multiplication, division, and area
• Geometry
• Extending multiplication and fraction

4th Grade

• Multiplicative thinking
• Multi-digit multiplication and early division
• Fractions and decimals
• Addition, subtraction, and measurement
• Geometry and measurement
• Multiplication, division, data, and fractions
• Patterns and problems

PE

Fifth-grade students will demonstrate mature patterns in locomotor skills while also being able to implement and connect them during participation in different games and activities. In different team activities, a larger focus will be placed on teamwork, communication, and strategy development.

Music

Third and fourth-grade musicians learn melodic instruments (ukulele or recorder), practice standard notation, and work on singing independently in rounds, canons, and partner songs.

Library

Students learn how to put away books correctly, find books through the library system, and manage to check out and return books.

Spanish

Students build their vocabulary by learning words for weather, days of the week, and seasons. They practice brief conversations in class using their knowledge of Spanish. Students also learn about cultural practices and traditions.

Giddens pulls from several research-based SEL resources, including Zones of Regulation, Restorative Justice Circles, Second Step, Positive Discipline, and Responsive Classroom in our SEL curriculum:

• Self-awareness (understanding complicated feelings)
• Emotional Regulation (impulse control, executive functioning, zones of regulation)
• Growth mindset and positive affirmation
• Your role in a community (personal and social responsibility)
• Empathy
• Conflict resolution

Students will participate in the following SPARK Units. Learn more about our SPARK Program here:

Government

How does a bill become a law? Key Content: Legislative Branch, 3 Branches of Government

Landforms

What are the different ways that the surface of the earth changes over time and how do these changes occur? Key Content: Geology, Landforms, Tectonic plates, Volcanoes

Complex Societies

How do the resources available in a place impact the society that develops? Key content: Geography, Trade

Music as a Cultural Force

How has music transformed and been a part of historical and cultural events over time? Key Concepts: Cultural changes over time, music

Energy

How are different types of energy and fuel derived from natural resources and how do their uses affect the environment? Key Content: Energy, Environmental Science

Protecting Puget Sound

How do our actions impact the ecosystems around us? Key content: environmental science