CORE CURRICULUM Students are investigating with a stream table to study the impact of moving water on the earth's surface. SCIENCE forms a central component of our curriculum. The Big Ideas in science provide topics for interdisciplinary study. Reading and writing activities are frequently chosen to support these Big Ideas. Science instruction utilizes a standards-based, inquiry approach to learning in which students actively uncover concepts through hands-on experiential activities. Students experience first-hand engagement in the inquiry process. They have the chance to ask questions, build investigations, and demonstrate their learning to their peers - in short ... doing the work of scientists! LITERACY- Teachers practice a Balanced Literacy approach to reading and writing using the Reader's and Writer's Teachers regularly discuss student's reading with them. Workshop formats. Students gain literacy skills through guided interactions with text. They search for connections between their reading and what they already know. The development of reading strategies blend analyses of the text with an exploration of their response as readers. During the Writer's Workshop students explore the interaction between reading and writing. They study the techniques authors use to make their writing effective while practicing application of these strategies to their own writing. MATHEMATICS instruction engages children through hands-on experiences. Concepts are interwoven over time in a variety of applications. Targeting instruction around the math standards helps students become Students use math manipulatives to help them uncover mathematical concepts. mathematical thinkers. They develop mathematical proficiency and learn to reason while they wrestle with new mathematical understanding. INQUIRY extends itself throughout the curriculum. In SOCIAL STUDIES, students use their inquiry skills to explore the human community while student questions help direct investigations of their bodies in HEALTH MUSIC, ART, CREATIVE MOVEMENT, SPANISH, and DRAMA round out the curriculum providing all students with the opportunity to explore a wide variety of artistic expression. Experience in kinesthetic movement along with the arts ensures student growth in every aspect of their development. BAND and ORCHESTRA begin in 4th grade.