Elementary School Curriculum
Curriculum for students in Grade 1 to Grade 5
Grade 1
Hebrew
Use a variety of formulaic responses on a range of familiar topics
Talk about themselves including their likes and dislikes
Recognize all letters and vowels
Independently read and write short texts (1-2 sentences)
Jewish Studies
Read and recite newly learned morning blessings
Describe the narrative arc of the main characters of the Torah
Articulate important connections between the Torah and modern Jewish life
Language Arts
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words, including digraphs (e.g., sh) and final -e
Write for a variety of purposes with some sense of closure
Print legibly all upper- and lowercase letters
Apply knowledge of phonics to spell grade-appropriate words conventionally
Math
Extend their understanding of counting and the number sequence, building a strong foundation for their work with place value and the operations of addition and subtraction
Focus on the careful observation, description and comparison of two dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) geometric shapes
Measure both objects and distances with the understanding that length is a stable and measurable dimension.
Carry out their own data investigations, developing a question, collecting the data, representing the data and describing and interpreting the data
Science
Make observations that will heighten their awareness, curiosity, and understanding of Earth’s dynamic atmosphere, the observable patterns of objects in the sky, and the air we breathe
Understand the tools that meteorologists and scientists use to understand and predict the weather, observe changes in air temperature, daylight hours, and the moon, and make connections to how weather works
Explore how to use sound and light devices to communicate information
Observe firsthand the structures of plants and discover ways to propagate new plants from mature plants (from seeds, bulbs, roots, and stem cuttings)
Learn that sound comes from vibrating objects, and develop an understanding of how to observe and manipulate sound (pitch and volume) and light (shadows and reflections).
Understand that light can come from different sources, travels in observable patterns, interacts in different ways with different types of materials, and can be reflected in mirrors.
Explore how to use sound and light devices to communicate information
Social Studies
Learn about maps and globes and how they represent the earth
Understand that biographies teach us how different people made a difference in the lives of others
Learn about leadership at many different levels in a family, school and community
Grade 2
Hebrew
Use a variety of formulaic responses on a range of familiar topics
Talk about themselves including their likes and dislikes
Recognize all letters and vowels
Independently read and write short texts (1-2 sentences)
Jewish Studies
Read and recite newly learned morning blessings
Describe the narrative arc of the main characters of the Torah
Articulate important connections between the Torah and modern Jewish life
Language Arts
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
Distinguish long from short vowel sounds in spoken single-syllable words
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words, including digraphs (e.g., sh) and final -e
Write for a variety of purposes with some sense of closure
Print legibly all upper- and lowercase letters
Apply knowledge of phonics to spell grade-appropriate words conventionally
Math
Extend their understanding of counting and the number sequence, building a strong foundation for their work with place value and the operations of addition and subtraction
Focus on the careful observation, description and comparison of two dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) geometric shapes
Measure both objects and distances with the understanding that length is a stable and measurable dimension.
Carry out their own data investigations, developing a question, collecting the data, representing the data and describing and interpreting the data
Science
Make observations that will heighten their awareness, curiosity, and understanding of Earth’s dynamic atmosphere, the observable patterns of objects in the sky, and the air we breathe
Understand the tools that meteorologists and scientists use to understand and predict the weather, observe changes in air temperature, daylight hours, and the moon, and make connections to how weather works
Explore how to use sound and light devices to communicate information
Observe firsthand the structures of plants and discover ways to propagate new plants from mature plants (from seeds, bulbs, roots, and stem cuttings)
Learn that sound comes from vibrating objects, and develop an understanding of how to observe and manipulate sound (pitch and volume) and light (shadows and reflections).
Understand that light can come from different sources, travels in observable patterns, interacts in different ways with different types of materials, and can be reflected in mirrors.
Explore how to use sound and light devices to communicate information
Social Studies
Learn about maps and globes and how they represent the earth
Understand that biographies teach us how different people made a difference in the lives of others
Learn about leadership at many different levels in a family, school and community
Grade 3
Hebrew
Orally present a response of about five sentences related to themes learned in class
Begin to read and understand short paragraphs drawn from authentic sources
Read familiar words without vowels
Write a short dialog based on a picture
Write a short paragraph of connected sentences
Jewish Studies
Study the weekday Amidah and the significance of prayer in Jewish tradition
Explain, in great detail, using textual evidence, the complexities of the Joseph stories in the Torah
Begin to navigate a Tanakh, understanding how to identify chapter and verse
Describe the emotions of the characters in the Joseph stories
Language Arts
Retell stories from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in a text
Compare and contrast the themes, settings and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series)
Determine the main idea and key details of a text
Write grade-appropriate opinion, informational/expository, and narrative texts;
Demonstrate command of standard English conventions and the ability to choose and use appropriate vocabulary
Use technology to produce and publish writing using keyboarding skills;
Write legibly and fluently by hand
Math
Expand their understanding of the Base 10 number system to 1,000
Develop their fluency in addition and subtraction with larger numbers as well as solve different types of math problems that involve multiple steps.
Investigate the properties of multiplication and division including the inverse relationship between these two operations
Use fractions and mixed numbers as they solve sharing problems and build wholes from fractional parts
Measure length and perimeter with both US standard and metric units
Find area, identify the internal angles of a rectangle or square as 90 degrees and use right angles as a benchmark in considering the sizes of other angles.
Evaluate the best ways to collect and organize data
Science
Determine that water is the most important substance on Earth, and humans depend on it.
Understand that weather is driven by the Sun and involves the water cycle which is movement of water over the earth through evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff
Understand that climate is determined in part by the amount of precipitation in a region and by temperature fluctuations
Appreciate that human societies depend on water, and new technologies are being engineered to conserve and protect this natural resource in order to provide for the needs of people around the world
Organisms are complex and have a variety of observable structures and behaviors
Organisms have varied but predictable life cycles and reproduce their own kind
Individual organisms have variations in their traits that may provide an advantage in surviving in the environment.
Use simple tools to observe, describe, analyze, and sort solid earth materials and learn how the properties of the materials are suited to different purposes
Observe, describe, and compare properties of solids and liquids
See the life cycles of insects unfold in real time and compare the stages exhibited by each species to reveal patterns
Social Studies
Be introduced to the idea of learning about the past
Learn that human history concerns humans and what happened to them in the past
Understand that history is true or factual, but one must look at multiple sources to determine the real story
Learn the geography of Massachusetts
Study how maps and globes are used to represent real places
Understand that maps are flat representations of the earth
Learn about the culture of the Wampanoag
Study how the seasons of the year dictated the activities of the Wampanoag men, women and children
Learn how the Wampanoag contributed to the success of the English settlers
Understand that the English settlers contributed to the decline of the Wampanoag people
Grade 4
Hebrew
Orally present a response of about five sentences related to themes learned in class
Begin to read and understand short paragraphs drawn from authentic sources
Read familiar words without vowels
Write a short dialog based on a picture
Write a short paragraph of connected sentences
Jewish Studies
Study the weekday Amidah and the significance of prayer in Jewish tradition
Explain, in great detail, using textual evidence, the complexities of the Joseph stories in the Torah
Begin to navigate a Tanakh, understanding how to identify chapter and verse
Describe the emotions of the characters in the Joseph stories
Language Arts
Retell stories from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in a text
Compare and contrast the themes, settings and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series)
Determine the main idea and key details of a text
Write grade-appropriate opinion, informational/expository, and narrative texts;
Demonstrate command of standard English conventions and the ability to choose and use appropriate vocabulary
Use technology to produce and publish writing using keyboarding skills;
Write legibly and fluently by hand
Math
Expand their understanding of the Base 10 number system to 1,000
Develop their fluency in addition and subtraction with larger numbers as well as solve different types of math problems that involve multiple steps.
Investigate the properties of multiplication and division including the inverse relationship between these two operations
Use fractions and mixed numbers as they solve sharing problems and build wholes from fractional parts
Measure length and perimeter with both US standard and metric units
Find area, identify the internal angles of a rectangle or square as 90 degrees and use right angles as a benchmark in considering the sizes of other angles.
Evaluate the best ways to collect and organize data
Science
Determine that water is the most important substance on Earth, and humans depend on it.
Understand that weather is driven by the Sun and involves the water cycle which is movement of water over the earth through evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff
Understand that climate is determined in part by the amount of precipitation in a region and by temperature fluctuations
Appreciate that human societies depend on water, and new technologies are being engineered to conserve and protect this natural resource in order to provide for the needs of people around the world
Organisms are complex and have a variety of observable structures and behaviors
Organisms have varied but predictable life cycles and reproduce their own kind
Individual organisms have variations in their traits that may provide an advantage in surviving in the environment.
Use simple tools to observe, describe, analyze, and sort solid earth materials and learn how the properties of the materials are suited to different purposes
Observe, describe, and compare properties of solids and liquids
See the life cycles of insects unfold in real time and compare the stages exhibited by each species to reveal patterns
Social Studies
Be introduced to the idea of learning about the past
Learn that human history concerns humans and what happened to them in the past
Understand that history is true or factual, but one must look at multiple sources to determine the real story
Learn the geography of Massachusetts
Study how maps and globes are used to represent real places
Understand that maps are flat representations of the earth
Learn about the culture of the Wampanoag
Study how the seasons of the year dictated the activities of the Wampanoag men, women and children
Learn how the Wampanoag contributed to the success of the English settlers
Understand that the English settlers contributed to the decline of the Wampanoag people
Grade 5
Hebrew
Tell a personal narrative in a number of connected sentences
Conduct a natural conversation with a classmate related to classroom assignments
Continue to build vocabulary in order to access progressively more challenging authentic texts
Jewish Studies
Master Torah trope and the weekday Torah service
Analyze the texts of the Torah stories of the Israelites traveling through the desert
Understand the differences between the Torah and the other books of the Tanakh
Describe the importance of community in the stories of the Tanakh and how it relates to modern life
Develop points of view about some provocative moments in the Tanakh stories
Language Arts
Determine one or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details, and summarize a text
Independently and proficiently read and comprehend literary texts representing a variety of genres, cultures, and perspectives and exhibit complexity appropriate for at least grade 5;
Write grade-appropriate opinion, informational/expository, and narrative texts
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings
Use technology to produce and publish writing, demonstrating sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
Math
Practice, refine, and consolidate the strategies they know for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers as they improve computational fluency
Expand their knowledge of the structure of place value and the Base 10 number system as they work with numbers in the hundred thousands and beyond
Develop and expand their understanding of the meaning of fractions and decimals as well as the relationship between them
Create tables and graphs to represent the relationship between two variables in a variety of contexts and to articulate general rules using symbolic notation
Deepen their understanding of the attributes of two-dimensional shapes and examine the characteristics of polygons including a variety of triangles, quadrilaterals and regular polygons. Develop an understanding of volume as a three-dimensional measurement and relate volume to multiplication and addition
Use standard units of measure to study angles, area and perimeter and to determine the volume of prisms
Create their own graphs and describe, analyze, compare and interpret data presented in many different formats including coordinate line graphs representing the correspondence between two quantities
Science
Determine relative concentration and relative density
Record and organize data using appropriate tools to investigate energy
Design controlled experiments to provide explanations for how circuits work
Engage in engineering design process to solve a variety of problems
Collect, organize and interpret weather data
Use models to reveal patterns and relationships between Earth (and other planets), the un and moon
Gather evidence (using stream tables) to understand the processes of erosion and depositions on landforms
Define systems and describe Earth as interaction of 4 systems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere)
Experiment with range of tolerance for various environmental factors with live organisms
Apply the idea of carbon footprints to conservation projects
Understand ecosystems and the flow of energy in a food web
Apply principles of landforms to the changing topography of the California coast and the Mississippi river delta
Social Studies
Trace the establishment of the 13 American colonies including geography, society and economy
Explore how cooperation and conflict often arise when people of different economic, political and cultural backgrounds come together
Consider how people’s differences contribute to the need for government
Discuss the causes and effects of the events leading to the American Revolution
Interpret primary source documents from early America including the Declaration of Independence
Introduce students to the research process including the formulation of open-ended questions and gathering and organizing information to answer the research question, and writing a research report