Polk Elementary School Curriculum

Reading

 * Recognize and name all the captial and lowercase letters
 * Recognize and announce the common sound of most letters and write said spoken sound letter
 * Use knowledge of letter sounds to figure out simple, commonly spelled and monosyllabic words
 * Produce rhyming words and recognize pairs of two or more rhyming words
 * Read sight recognizable high-frequency words
 * Track print when listening to familiar text read to the student or when the student rereads his/her own writing
 * Read simple text with familiar letter-sound correspondences and high-frequency words
 * Retell or reenact a story with the student's own words in the correct sequence
 * Respond to simple questions based on a book's content
 * Create predictions based on story illustrations or written portions

Writing

 * Write consistently
 * Use knowledge of sounds and letters to write phonetically, leaving consonant and vowel sounds with single letters in a proper sequence
 * Leave spaces between written words
 * Use beginning captialization and ending punctuation
 * Independently create text using words
 * Attempt to write picture-related text
 * Recognize and read one's own writing

Spelling

 * Use sound and letter knowledge to write phonetically, leaving letter sounds, consonant and vowel alike with single letters in a proper sequence
 * Leave spaces between written words

Listening

 * Listen attentively by facing and making eye contact with the speaker and by leaving ears opened
 * Follow written and verbal instructions
 * Listen to and follow a verbally read story
 * Participate in common topic and/or group discussions

Speaking

 * Recognize and recite common letter sounds, vowel and consonant alike
 * Retell in one's own words a story or reenact it verbally and actively in the correct sequence
 * Answer simple questions with verbal voice about a book's content
 * Participate in class and/or group discussions on common topics

Social Studies

 * School
 * Decision-making and acting
 * Families and responsibilities
 * Respect for our country's customs, cultures & symbols
 * Communities
 * Map Symbols

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Patterns, Functions & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Seeds & Plants
 * Animals

Earth

 * Ecology
 * Seasons

Physical

 * Water Explorations
 * Magnets

Health

 * Senses

Planetarium

 * Intro to Sky Motion

Reading

 * Develop an understanding of literature and phonics
 * Use word knowledge to indentify and recognize rhyme, letter/sound relationships and patterns
 * Use letter-sound knowledge and age appropriate picture vocabulary to read
 * Use various reading strategies to self-monitor and self-correct meaning interference miscues
 * Read fiction and nonfiction sources for various assignments
 * Use text clues and past knowledge to create and justify predictions
 * Vocally read age appropriate material with accuracy, rhythm, volume and flow
 * Reply to analytical and interpretive questions based on data in text, including graphs, pictures, maps and diagrams
 * Recognize, discuss and retell a story's structure, read or heard in sequential order
 * Describe, compare and analyze characters, settings and/or events in stories and/or pictures
 * Investigate self or teacher selected literary works from a wide variety of authors and cultures
 * Make story connections between text, personal ideas and lives

Writing

 * Write simple sentences with the correct noun/verb agreement pattern including capitalization and punctuation
 * Use proper prewriting strategies, i.e., drawing, brainstorming, idea mapping, graphic organizers to generate and organize ideas with help from the teacher
 * Compose a focused writing piece with an appropriate beginning, middle and end
 * Use facts, details and descriptions to elaborate and support written content
 * Begin to evaluate and reflect on writing done by self and others
 * Use the writing process to compose a basic narrative or expository piece
 * Experiment with various creative writing pieces, i.e., poetry, short stories, journaling and songs
 * Give connections and ideas in all subjects through written response

Spelling

 * Use basic phonemic clues and phonetic and/or developmental spelling to spell unknown words
 * Spell age appropriate high-frequency words properly

Listening

 * Listen attentively to the speaker with eye contact and paraphrase what the speaker says
 * Listen to and follow an orally read story
 * Ask and answer questions to and from the teacher and fellow students to improve understanding
 * Follow verbal and written directions

Speaking

 * Retell a story in the corrrect verbal sequence
 * Participate in group discussions on common topics
 * Present short oral reports with message and audience appropriate language and vocabulary

Social Studies

 * Appropriate behavior
 * US and our various cultures
 * Neighborhoods: City, State, Country and Continent
 * Our Country's History
 * Families

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Patterns, Functions & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Bugs
 * Edible Plants vs. Poisonous Plants
 * Carnivores vs. Herbivores

Earth

 * Earth & Rocks
 * Water Bodies & Landforms

Physical

 * Air & Weather
 * Color Changes
 * Transparent vs. Opaque
 * Recyclables

Health

 * Intro to the Human Body

Planetarium

 * Intro to the Solar System

Reading

 * Utilize and apply various reading strategies, i.e., picture clues, decoding, context clues and rereading for meaning, for the purpose of understanding context
 * Interpret figurative language, i.e., synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
 * Use a wide range of reading strategies to connect important ideas in text to knowledge gained in the past and other readings
 * Indentify fiction and nonfiction and explain the difference between fact and opinion
 * Orally read age appropriate material with accuracy and fluency
 * Identify reading purposes
 * Create, confirm, modify or reject predictions before, during and after reading
 * Ask questions in order to constantly check and clarify for understanding during reading
 * Use evidence and information to form questions, verify predictions, and generate and respond to questions related to higher thinking skills
 * Infer, compare and evaluate text for further reading
 * Use data from various visuals such as simple tables, maps and charts to increase understanding of both fiction and nonfiction works
 * Identify elements in stories such as characters, setting, problem, solution and climax
 * Retell and analyze to engage in conversations relating to literature
 * Investigate literature from assorted time periods/cultures/genres
 * Form text to text, text to self and text to world connections
 * Explain the idea of expressions from various children's authors and/or illustrators

Writing

 * Practice adequate conventions such as punctuation and grammar
 * Write creative short stories, friendly letters, poems and songs
 * Practice the writing process
 * Develop paragraphs with well-done exhibition of the seven traits of writing
 * Correctly spell appropriate high-frequency words
 * Develop creative, narrative, research, persuasive and expository writing pieces
 * Utilize available technology to support the writing process by gaining ideas

Spelling

 * Continue to use basic phonemic clues plus phonetic/developmental spelling to spell freshly read words
 * Adequately spell appropriate high-frequency words
 * Use and spell phonemic word families in a proper fashion

Listening

 * Continue to listen attentively to the speaker by making eye contact and paraphrasing said speaker's words
 * Listen to and follow a story that is read aloud
 * Ask and respond to questions to and from the teacher and/or fellow students to gain comprehension
 * Follow written or spoken instructions

Speaking

 * Retell a story from beginning to end in sequential order
 * Take part in discussions on common topics
 * Present simple oral reports that contain appropriate vocabulary and language to the message and the audience

Social Studies

 * US History
 * Needs, wants and goods for our economy
 * Communities and Citizenship
 * Concept of American Government
 * Maps for identification of landforms and water bodies

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Patterns, Functions & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Life Cycles
 * Vertebrates vs. Invertebrates
 * Deciduous Trees vs. Evergreen Trees
 * Annual Flowers vs. Perennial Flowers

Earth

 * The Water Cycle
 * The Four Main Water Bodies
 * The Four Layers of the Earth

Physical

 * Sink or Float
 * Kitchen Chemistry
 * Heat & Pressure

Health

 * Nutrition

Planetarium

 * Meteors & Comets

Reading

 * Analyze root words, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms and antonyms
 * Use various reading strategies to understand nonfiction like predicting, comparing or questioning
 * Analyze reading material to reply to open-ended questions with background knowledge and experience
 * Identify fiction literary devices such as characters, plot, setting, problem, solution, point of view and climax with a wide variety of fiction literature pieces such as chapter books, poems and short stories
 * Identify the meanings of metaphors, similes, onomatopeia and hyperbole
 * Identify rhythm and rhyme in manuscripts
 * Verify that sources were used by citing text related to and/or in sources
 * Compare the common themes of literary works

Writing

 * Write a fully developed paragraph with a topic setence, detail, elaboration and conclusive sentences
 * Write multi-paragraph compositions with an adequate introduction, elaborate support and a thrilling conclusion
 * Use proper grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling
 * Proofread one's own work and the work of others, revise accordingly
 * Use strategies such as brainstorming, outlining and graphic organizers to generate ideas
 * Organize paragraphs with a topic sentence, a thesis statement and transition words
 * Write narrative, expository and persuasive papers
 * Compose plays, short stories, poetry, friendly letters and songs with various media

Spelling

 * Proofread and revise misspelled words accordingly
 * Correctly spell age appropriate high-frequency words
 * Use intermediate phonemic clues and phonetic/developmental spelling to spell newly read words

Listening

 * Demonstrate listening skills by responding either orally or in writing
 * Ask and respond to questions based on an oral presentation in large or small groups
 * Restate and follow various spoken directions

Speaking

 * Present oral reports with verbal and nonverbal expressions appropriate to the intended message and purpose with an assigned organizational format
 * Use oral skills and procedures to fluently participate in group discussions both big and small

Social Studies

 * National and International Community and History
 * Good Citizens
 * Government
 * Immigration & Migration
 * Community Individuals

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Patterns, Functions & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Marine Life
 * Prehistoric Life
 * Daytime Animals vs. Nocturnal Animals

Earth

 * Habitats
 * Mountains & Icecaps
 * Coral Reefs
 * Swamps & Marshes

Physical

 * Matter
 * Simple Machines
 * Air Pressure
 * Aerodynamics

Health

 * Bones & Muscles

Planetarium

 * Facts about the Moon

Reading

 * Utilize a combination of word analysis and vocabulary strategies to identify and define various unknown words
 * Formulate questions to figure out meaning based on plot, character, action or setting, depending on what the formulated question is
 * Connect, clarify and extend personal and read ideas through classroom discussions and activities
 * Demonstrate eloquent comprehension of structure through the utilization of graphic organizers, outlines and teacher models
 * Compare the content and organization models of several types of literary selections, both teacher and self-chosen
 * Be able to infer and interpret text in various age appropriate works
 * Apply comprehension strategies to reading to expand comprehenision horizons
 * Use KWL Charts to apply personal background information and literary experience to various literary texts
 * Compare ideas from texts that come from several cultures and times
 * Interpret graphs, visual aids, tables, maps and other age appropriate graphics to increase literary comprehension

Writing

 * Write more detailed multi-paragraph essays with an introduction that has a topic sentence and/or thesis statement, various support levels with elaborate details and a well-done conclusion
 * Use prewriting strategies such as outlining, webbing, brainstorming and graphic organizer usage to choose a thrilling topic and generate detailed ideas
 * Use characteristics of well-developed expository, narrative, descriptive and persuasive writing pieces to help write an adequately composed essay
 * Write poems, songs, friendly letters, short stories and plays creatively and comfortably
 * Use transition words to connect ideas, adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases so that the writing flows better
 * Operate available technology appropriately in order to design, produce and present compositions and multimedia works of writing
 * Revise and edit with self, peers and teacher

Spelling

 * Proofread and revise improper spelling accurately
 * Spell appropriate high-frequency words with precision and accruacy
 * Use semi-advanced phonemic clues and phonetic/developmental spelling to spell brand new words

Listening

 * Listen and respond to the speaker orally or in written form
 * Ask and respond to oral presentation-related questions in small or large group discussions
 * Restate and follow various verbal directions

Speaking

 * Present oral reports to an audience with appropriate verbal and nonverbal actions with a given organizational format
 * Show good speaking skills and procedures in group discussions of all kinds of sizes
 * Identify various methods to overcome public speaking anxiety such as constant rehearsal

Social Studies

 * Maps & Globes
 * Geographical Basics
 * North America
 * South America
 * Africa
 * Antarctica
 * Europe
 * Asia
 * Australia

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Patterns, Functions & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Environmental Factors
 * Ecosystems
 * Insects vs. Arachnids

Earth

 * Rocks & Minerals
 * Canyons & Caves
 * Forests & Savannahs
 * Deserts & Tundra

Physical

 * Mystery Powders
 * Mini-kit on Magnets and Electricity
 * Electric Conductivity
 * Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Resources

Health

 * Respiratory & Circulatory Systems
 * Nervous System

Planetarium

 * Dome Planet Simulation

Reading

 * Use prefixes, suffixes, root words, synonyms and antonyms to find word meanings
 * Use context clues to determine word meanings
 * Use etymologies to form meanings to freshly learned words
 * Identify and interpret figures of speech such as idioms, similes, analogies and metaphors
 * Skim through text to develop questions, predictions and hypotheses based on textual evidence
 * Identify the author's main ideas and purposes
 * Formulate text-to-text connections through analysis, evaluation, inference and comparison
 * Summarize ideas for accurate inferences
 * Identify and describe several kinds of genres
 * Select and read recreational books from a variety of genres and authors
 * Ask and answer open-ended questions
 * Recognize, identify and compare literary devices like theme, plot, characters and setting
 * Transfer new vocabulary found in literature into other context
 * Compare methods of different literature organizations
 * Relate readings to prior knowledge, experience and real world information
 * Discuss recurring themes and current events in a variety of media

Writing

 * Write more elaborate multi-paragraph papers with a thrilling opening, eloquent supporting details and an actively voiced conclusion
 * Use many sentence structures and types
 * Use transitions to connect ideas and make the paper flow
 * Maintain good focus, organization, elaboration, support and intergration within paragraphs for superb coherence
 * Write expository, narrative, persuasive and descriptive pieces of composition with an eloquent topic sentence and/or thesis statement
 * Write a basic research paper with a question, data evaluation, a variety of sources and a final product
 * Use appropriate language, word choice, details and format for a variety of audiences
 * Proofread, revise and edit essays for content and conventions
 * Operate available technology to create compositions and multimedia presentations

Spelling

 * Carefully correct the spelling of other students and self
 * Use the proper spelling of appropriate high-frequency words
 * Use advanced phonemic clues and phonetic/developmental spelling to spell freshly discovered words

Listening

 * Respond to the speaker with either vocal or written words
 * Ask and respond to questions based on oral reports in a class or group discussion
 * Restate and comply with many kinds of spoken instructions

Speaking

 * Present oral presentations with appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication techniques based on the assigned organizational format
 * Speak about appropriate topics in group discussions
 * Learn to cope with vocal anxiety through consistent practice
 * Identify verbal and nonverbal communication elements to resolve conflict

Social Studies

 * Landscapes, resources and people
 * Trade Routes
 * Native Americans
 * Early Settlers
 * American Revolution
 * Representative Government
 * Civil War
 * Inventions
 * 20th Century
 * 9/11 Attacks

Mathematics

 * Operations & Computation
 * Numeration
 * Functions, Patterns & Algebra
 * Data & Probability
 * Measurement & Reference Frames
 * Geometry

Life

 * Microscopic Life
 * The Five Kingdoms of Life

Earth

 * Weather
 * Cliffs & Faults
 * Mid-Ocean Ridges
 * Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Physical

 * Electricity & Magnetism
 * Force & Motion
 * Light & Sound
 * Atoms & Molecules

Health

 * Digestion & Excretion
 * Reproduction

Planetarium

 * Stars & Constellations
 * Galaxies & Black Holes

Homework Standards
The elementary school level homework begins in a simple fashion with complexity building up, making the student work harder and longer grade by grade. It is parents' responsiblilty to set homework limits, but it is up to their children to take those rules seriously! Some homework is optional for grade improvement. This type of homework is called extra credit which can be used to boost a student's grade. However, that does not mean that students should slack off in school! In fact, children should always do their homework before watching TV, playing with toys or videogames, reading comic books or even playing outside.