In third grade, students learn to observe and offer comment on other’s work.  They learn the language of art, what to look for, and how to offer feedback and critique in a constructive and respectful manner. With this in mind, a central unit of the year is a study of Georgia O’Keefe’s work. They look at her large flower paintings, and explore patterns in nature in drawing and painting.  Other themes covered during the year include symmetry, patterns in nature, and three dimensional work with clay and/or fabric. 

Work relating to the general third grade curriculum is sprinkled throughout the curriculum. Third graders take an annual November trip to the Canstruction exhibit in the Financial District, and explore the sculptural designs created entirely from cans of food.

Third grade students are divided into groups according to Hebrew language proficiency. This arrangement makes it possible for students to study at the level best suited to their needs.

The language series on which the program in these grades is based, and which provides the continuity from class to class and year to year, is Chaverim BeIvrit. A sequential program, Chaverim BeIvrit follows a structured linguistic progression and integrates the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – in each unit. Based on the most current understanding of language acquisition in children, it exposes students to multiple genres, including stories, conversations, poems, songs, albums, journals, bulletin board notices, and the like. Students are challenged to speak and write, using the language patterns they are learning in both familiar and new contexts. Additional reading materials and language exercises developed by the school complement the published units and ensure that students have ample opportunity to practice their emerging language forms and structures within a naturally occurring, functional context.

In the advanced classes, students read short stories, write extensively, creating travel pamphlets and short stories, and speak in full sentences using verbs in several conjugations, in all tenses, and in active and passive voices. In addition, they prepare and perform their own plays and make oral presentations.

In the intermediate groups, students review and reinforce their basic reading skills and learn to conjugate verbs in present tense and the infinitive form; in addition, they study agreement among nouns, verbs, and adjectives in gender and number. For all students, spoken Hebrew is reinforced through classroom routines and classroom phrases.

In third grade, Torah study focuses on B’reshit (Genesis) 18-25, continuing the lives of Abraham and Sarah and moving on to Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob. Working in chevruta pairs and guided by their teachers, students read, comprehend, discuss, analyze, and interpret the text, and pose “juicy” (probing) questions and share answers about it.

Among the grammatical skills students learn are identifying the subject and verb of a sentence; recognizing direct speech; transforming the tenses of verbs using vav hahipuch (the conversive vav); and analyzing complex verbs into shorashim (verb roots) and suffixes.

A new subject in third grade is Pitgam (rabbinic sayings), which serves as an introduction to Mishnah. Over the course of the unit , students study a rabbinic saying each lesson, mostly relating to a Jewish value or a moral dilemma. The value or dilemma is often contextualized by means of a written scenario, a story, or a skit. Students then read and comprehend the pitgam using familiar vocabulary and shorashim (verb roots). Following a discussion about the meaning and possible interpretations of the text, the value or dilemma itself, and its application to students’ lives, the students prepare a page illustrating the pitgam.

In t’filah, the third grade students complete their study of the Amidah, learning the full text of each b’rachah, identifying its main themes based on key words, class discussions, and activities, uncovering its personal significance to them, and illustrating it in their individual siddurim. In addition to the Amidah, third grade is also introduced to new sections of the Shema, Hallel, and Kabbalat Shabbat and additional prayers for the high holidays, Sukkot, Chanukah, and Purim.

The third graders’ insights into and knowledge of chagim (Jewish holidays) continues to deepen as they both revisit previous years’ experiences and introduce new aspects: studying basic texts from Rabbinic literature and the Torah. Students are exposed to different interpretations of these texts and form how they relate to our own observance of the holidays.

In Israel studies, the students study the various cultural groups within Israel and learn about their culture.

Writing and reading workshops are coordinated throughout the year. In writing workshop, students use their own experiences to learn the craft of writing both from the writing of professional authors and by living the writer’s life themselves. In reading workshop, they learn to live rich, literate lives by working from their chosen books to become expert readers and to understand the world complexly. At the same time, their teachers model the thinking, language, behaviors, and strategies of successful writers and readers and build communities in their classrooms in which the students can engage in reading and writing text in active, individual, and personal ways.

In reading workshop, students continue to build upon the comprehension and decoding strategies that they learned in the lower grades. Units studied during the year include character, non-fiction, and comprehension strategies. The students keep reader’s notebooks to help keep track of their thoughts and to record their predictions, inferences, and interpretations. In independent book club discussions, students develop ideas and insights that arise from their reading and learn to extend their conversations.

In writing workshop, students learn to build upon the writing process that they experienced in earlier grades. In a workshop setting, they keep writer’s notebooks in which they record entries from their personal experience; choose writing “seeds” that seem promising; expand, extend, and build upon them with detail and description; share their writing with each other and respond to each other’s writing; and edit, revise, and publish their work. They gain experience in writing sentences, paragraphs, and multi-paragraph pieces; work on developing strong beginnings; and proofread for conventional spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.Students also participate in writing clubs, where they experiment with various genres.

Students use many styles of writing in third grade, such as biographies, articles, informational books, reading response, and across-curriculum writing, including writing based on research. 

The following routines support and reinforce a mastery of written language: ongoing class work and homework on spelling: a word wall of high-frequency words, spelling explorations based on sounds, direct instruction in spelling rules and patterns, word puzzles, and independent work on personal spelling mistakes.

Third grade continues to place a balanced emphasis on understanding mathematical concepts as well as speed and accuracy in computation. Students work both individually and cooperatively with partners.  Key goals for the year include understanding multiplication and division, studying multiplication tables up to 10, adding and subtracting two- and three-digit numbers, and explaining solution strategies orally, in writing, and with pictures. To help students understand new concepts, tangible objects, physical models (e.g., number lines, 100’s and 300’s charts), and arrays are used; to help build fluency in computation, students use flash cards, mental math, and 60-second challenges.

Third graders study the following topics:

• Review and extension of basic skills
• Addition and subtraction of two- and three-digit numbers
• Skip counting
• Multiplication and division
• An introduction to fractions
• Measurement with standard units
• Problem solving using alternative strategies
• Math puzzles
• Multi-step math projects
• Geometry
• Graphing and surveys

In third grade, students are introduced to the recorder.  They learn to read, write, and sing (solfege) the notes using the European method of do re mi (A B C). Among the elements they learn are measures, sharp notes, and 1/8 notes. The recorder study also facilitates playing in ensemble and being able to listen to others while playing.  They also cover elements of rhythm, composition and ear training. A highlight of the year is preparation for and participation in the Carnegie Hall-sponsored Link Up! program, which focuses on guiding students through learning recorder and playing with others. The unit culminates in a field trip to Carnegie Hall, where students play in an “audience ensemble” of thousands along with the orchestra.

Throughout the year, students are also exposed to different kinds of music, from Baroque to Classical, and Romantic to modern. They also study work from composers from different periods, and create dances and movement in relation to music.

Students of Kitah Gimel continue to build their repertoire of Israeli and Jewish songs, including holiday songs. Students participate actively in the annual school concert in the spring. They perform both a vocal selection and one utilizing the recorder.

Students in third grade continue to strengthen their basic sports and movement skills. Soccer, kickball and softball are among the team sports that are played at this age.  As they are bigger, stronger athletes and now more familiar with the rules of different games, students engage in more gameplay than before.  At the core of everything we do, is the expectation of menschlichkeit – respectful interactions and sportsman-like play. When  needed we stop play for a “teachable moment” and, through discussion explore what happened, why it happened, and what, if anything, could have be done differently.  Third grade is serious but fun!

The theme in third grade is culture. The students begin the year by inquiring, “What is culture?” Looking at both environmental and cultural influences, they explore a variety of constructs, including language, art, religion, values, and survival needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. They investigate the connections between people and the physical characteristics of the place in which they live.

Following a unit on the geography of the United States and New York City, in which students learn to read maps, the focus shifts to in-depth studies for the class’s exploration of culture. The class focuses on studying a variety of cultures in NYC.  Students research specific topics of their choice relating to the culture they are focusing on in NYC. Students explore elements of cultures of New York City, such as clothing, language, values, history, and food. In their research, they learn to read and comprehend non-fiction, identify the main idea of a paragraph, take notes and produce a final product that is several complete paragraphs long. In the process, they learn to manage time and materials, organize an extended project, and work independently.

The children express their understanding of culture in writing, through a creative component, and in an oral presentation. These products are on display at a Culture Fair, the culminating presentation that is a highlight of their culture study and of the third grade year.

In science, students develop an understanding of soil and landforms, tying together the theme of culture and the way the environment impacts how and where we live. They learn about examples of basic landforms, how they form, and how different forces shape them over time. Layers of Earth, rocks, volcanoes, and earthquake patterns are addressed, as well as how weathering, erosion, and even people shape the land. Students use their STEAM skills to design farms that can better withstand erosion and neighborhoods that can better withstand flooding. The unit is supplemented by a study of climate and weather. Students learn about different climates and types of weather on Earth, how meteorologists measure temperature, air pressure, rainfall, and wind speed, and examples of extreme weather.  The year will end with a study of plants. Students will study the different parts of a plant and the things it needs to survive. They will explore photosynthesis and the pollination of flowers. Each of the units includes many hands-on activities and experiments, through which students learn about scientific methodology and develop skills in scientific thinking.Students will design an experiment of their choice, planting under different conditions to understand the needs of plants and the role they play in our world.

Students have a weekly coding class where they explore structures of code such as sequencing, loops, conditionals, and events. Students explore these concepts through a series of “unplugged” games and activities, as well as through iPad-based exercises using block-based languages. Students apply their understanding of coding through game design, digital illustrations, and programming robots to navigate obstacles and follow simple commands.

The art work of our fifth graders is both art for art’s sake,  as well as art that is integrally related to the rich fifth grade Jewish and General Studies curriculum.  The creation of Shabbat ritual objects kicks off the formal art curriculum for the year. These items are used throughout the school year for the class’ Kabbalat Shabbat on Fridays.  As the students study units in Colonial America, the History of Eastern European Jewry, and Immigration, art creation compliments the learning and thinking they do in those academic areas.  Paper quilt designs accompany the study of Colonial America, an artist study of Jewish artist Marc Chagall is part of the Jewish Studies unit (students experiment with paintings that utilize differences in scale and non-traditional colors) and  the drawings of artist Ben Shan are used as a reference point for the illustrations that students create as part of their study and research in immigration. Other projects during the year emphasize observation and include a figure drawing exercise and the use of torn paper in collages. A trip to Modern Museum of Art (MOMA) is a highlight of the art experience in fifth grade.

Fifth grade students are divided into groups according to Hebrew language proficiency. This arrangement makes it possible for students to study at the level best suited to their needs.

The language series on which the program in these grades is based, and which provides the continuity from class to class and year to year, is Aleph-Bet Y’ladim Lomdim Ivrit. A sequential program, Aleph-Bet Y’ladim Lomdim Ivrit follows a structured linguistic progression and integrates the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – in each unit. Based on the most current understanding of language acquisition in children, it exposes students to multiple genres, including stories, conversations, telephone conversations, poems, songs, albums, journals, bulletin board notices, and the like. Students are challenged to speak and write, using the language patterns they are learning in both familiar and new contexts. Additional reading materials and language exercises developed by the school complement the published units and ensure that students have ample opportunity to practice their emerging language forms and structures within a naturally occurring, functional context.

In the advanced class, students read short stories, write extensively, and speak in full sentences using verbs in several conjugations, in present and past tenses, and in active and passive voices. In addition, they make oral presentations.

Students review and reinforce their basic reading skills and learn to conjugate verbs in present tense and the infinitive form; in addition, they study agreement among nouns, verbs, and adjectives in gender and number. For all students, Hebrew continues to be spoken throughout the day in class routines and in the Jewish Studies program.

A new subject in fifth grade is Jewish history. In a two-week mini-unit, students look at Jewish life in Europe in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, using both history and literature.

The fifth grade Torah curriculum focuses on the exodus from Egypt as related in Sh’mot (Exodus) 1-10. Students work primarily in study pairs (chevruta) and small groups to negotiate the text, comprehend it, answer text-based questions ranging from basic comprehension to close analysis, empathize with the biblical characters, pose interpretive questions, and answer them. Students also learn to teach each other passages that they studied in small groups, using group presentations, dramatizations, writing, artwork, and short projects.

In Mishnah, the curriculum incorporates a number of mishnayot and related sources from the Talmud on topics relating to interpersonal behavior. In small groups, students negotiate the text with the help of a glossary, think about the situations and concepts that the mishnah presents, ask interpretive, text-based questions, apply the ideas they discover to present-day situations, and argue and debate the questions, much as the rabbis of the mishnah did. .

In t’filah, the fifth graders add new prayers to their daily liturgy, including birchot hashachar (the first morning blessings) and several chapters of psalms from p’sukei d’zimra. As in previous years, each new text is not only recited with correct intonation and melody; it is also mined for meaning, interpreted, personalized, and placed in the context of the overall structure of the prayer service. The highlight of the year is the siddur ceremony in which the students celebrate their completion of the matbe’a shel t’filah(the main prayers of the liturgy) and demonstrate their readiness to join the middle school minyan. The process begins by reviewing all the prayers that they have learned over the years and then reminiscing about the impressions that these early prayer experiences made on them. They also receive their first published siddur at this ceremony. Additionally, the fifth grade students extend their knowledge of birkat hamazon (grace after meals) to include the full text of the first b’rachah, in addition to the excerpts of the remaining b’rachot that they continue to recite, and they learn a new b’rachah to be recited after eating snacks.

The fifth grade chagim (Jewish holidays) curriculum incorporates most of the experiential elements that students encountered in their earlier years, thereby reinforcing an emotional attachment to each calendar event. At the same time, new concepts and texts are introduced to deepen students’ knowledge and enrich their experience: prior to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, and Pesach, they complete their study of the laws of these holidays and learn, for example about challenges to Jewish unity during the Hellenistic period by simulating the responses of different sects to the events of the time. 

In Israel studies, students explore different Aliyot, immigrations of different Jewish communities from around the world to Israel, through the stories of individual families and reflect on the concepts of home and homeland.

Reading and writing in fifth grade are fully integrated ways of learning and communication. In their writing and reading workshops, the units of study are coordinated so that the same, or complementary, genres and topics are the focus of both reading and writing simultaneously.

Writing workshop begins, as in previous years, from a writer’s notebook containing personal experiences, thoughts, and ideas that are the seeds for essay writing in various forms such as poetry, persuasive pieces, essays, literary analysis, memoir writing, and short fiction stories. The workshop culminates in a full-length independent research project. Throughout the writing units the students develop skills in using sophisticated language and syntax, revising, and editing.

Students learn to expand their writing from several paragraphs to several pages and make effective use of craft moves, such as strong beginnings, beautiful language, transitions, details and description, and figurative language, including similes and metaphors. They continue to use the writing process effectively to plan for narrative and expository writing, edit for conventional spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammatical usage, and word choice, and revise both independently and in peer conferences.

In reading workshop, paralleling the experiences in writing workshop are internet research; themes in fiction; memoir; non-fiction; short stories; and poetry. Student initiative and active learning are encouraged through book clubs relating to genre study. Key goals for the year include achieving high levels of literal and inferential comprehension and an appreciation of literature. Students learn to be actively aware of narrative sequence, character motivation, the author’s message, theme, big idea of a story, and literary techniques; to read with a writer’s eye; and to read between the lines. During read-aloud sessions, teachers model for students the thinking, language, behaviors, and strategies of successful readers. In the spring, students run their own book clubs, where groups read a fiction novel and discuss it. Students improve their active listening and discussion skills, including how to disagree constructively, build on ideas, and extend conversation.

In a unit on internet literacy, students look at the role and function of the internet, safe communication, acceptable use, and good decision making.

Students also study a unit in both reading and writing memoir, in which students read memoirs to study styles and voice, using these skills to craft their own memoirs.

Fifth grade students perform mathematical operations and understand mathematical concepts at a high level. Contributing to this balance of thinking and doing are two extended real-world applications and numerous briefer real-life problems; regular work in pairs and small groups as a complement to independent work; and a continuing emphasis on communicating mathematical ideas verbally.

Key goals for the year include mastery of all four operations in multiple digits, fluency in all basic operations, an integrated understanding of fractions, decimals, and percents, and increased independence in problem solving.

The following topics are studied in fifth grade:

• A review of multiplication and division
• Computation and estimation strategies in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
• Solving word problems
• Fractions, decimals, and percents, and equivalencies among them
• Adding and subtracting fractions
• Multiplying fractions and decimals
• Pre-algebra, including growth patterns, equations, and graphs
• Geometry, including triangles, quadrilaterals, and the perimeter and area of polygons
• Real-world applications (e.g., playground plan, distribution of M&M’s in individual bags)
• Communication of mathematical ideas orally and in writing

In fifth grade, following two years of studying the recorder, students advance to the study of keyboard. Fifth graders begin by learning basic rhythms and the names and locations of notes. Each child works individually or in pairs on pieces suited to his or her own level. These range from simple versions of nursery rhymes all the way up to classical music scores. The students have an opportunity to perform their chosen keyboard piece during the Keyboard Exhibitions, a morning when students present their work of focus to their fellow classmates. 

In singing, the students build a repertoire of English and Hebrew songs, with focus on pitch accuracy and lyric memorization. Performance opportunities during the year include the Zimriyah at Chanukah time, the Yom Hashoa remembrance ceremony and the school concert.

Building on previous skills and developing more mature sportsmanship continue in fifth grade. With the addition of our after-school sport program at this age, many fifth graders have the opportunity to join the school soccer, basketball or volleyball team and play in inter-school league competition.  Through this experience , students begin to show preference and strength in their desired sport. Besides the continuous skill development, during game play, students are encouraged to take risks. They learn self-awareness and gain self-esteem through trial and error. Students are able to explore movement styles and techniques independently, in pairs, and in a group setting.  This self-discovery enables the shy athlete to flourish and the advanced athlete to grow in differentiated ways.

In fifth grade, the theme is New Beginnings, which parallels the students’ own growing need for independence and self-sufficiency. The students begin by studying the Native American tribes of the New York City area pre 1600.  Students will look at the geography of New York and develop a sense of how the Native Americans lived. They will explore the customs, rituals, and values of the tribe and try to understand the ways in which the geography, weather, and climate of the time impacted the lives of the people. Later in the year, they will look at the first the original Dutch settlement in New York, New Amsterdam. they begin a more extended study of immigration. They will consider the expedition of settlers, the conditions they were seeking to escape, as well as the freedoms they were intent on finding. They look more closely at the challenges the new settlers faced in the area and the ways in which they adapted and found solutions that allowed them to prosper. In this study, the students’ first formal introduction to the study of history in which they focus on the skills and tools of the historian, they consult non-fiction texts and conclude the unit with a project on the life in New Amsterdam. The students read non-fiction accounts and answer complex comprehension questions. Additionally, museum visits, field trips, and historical simulations increase their knowledge of the ways in which these early settlers lived. 

A main focus in theme is independent research. Each student chooses a topic of his or her own interest related to an area of the theme. The in-depth and cross curricular research project extends over four months and is divided into stages with interim deadlines to help students plan, manage their time, and keep organized. They learn new research strategies, including highlighting keywords and important information; recording them on note cards; organizing the note cards into an outline before beginning to write; drafting, submitting, and receiving feedback on multiple drafts; and preparing a bibliography. Upon completion, they submit their finished paper, as well as a visual aid; they present their project to classmates, teachers, and parents; and they field questions from the audience at the conclusion of their presentation.

The fifth grade science curriculum is designed to deepen students’ experience with scientific inquiry and train them to think and act like real scientists. Students will begin the year with a unit that integrates the study of Native American of New York City. Students learn how culture, technology, climate and environment helped shape the architecture of the people, and create scale models of typical buildings and structures from this culture or time period. In the winter, the students will explore Space.  They will look at the planetary system and research the question: What makes a place habitable? Finally, in the spring, the students study the human body through the health curriculum.

Students in fifth grade use physical and computer-based tools to explore the world of functional coding. The coding curriculum teaches students how to access and use the main elements and structures of code, such as sequence, conditionals, variables, and loops. Students put their skills into practice by transmitting their codes to single-board microcontrollers, including arduinos and microbits, and using these controllers to respond to real world problems.