Our
Curriculum
Through
the use of the workshop model in literacy and mathematics we provide a
comprehensive systematic approach to reading, writing and mathematics.
Balanced Literacy provides all
students with meaningful literacy activities that engages them in reading, and
writing experiences; thus promoting the four skills in their development of
literacy in a systematic and strategic manner. Children receive:
Ø 90 minutes of reading and writing
each day in Kindergarten through 5th grade.
Ø Systematic phonics, including
repetitive text.
Ø Daily writing assignments
The Investigations Math (TERC)
program develops critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. It
teaches our students about the broad ideas associated with math, including
problem solving, communicating mathematically, reasoning, and number sense.
We want all students to realize that
math is more than adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We want
children to be able to connect math to their everyday lives. TERC enables us to
accomplish this goal.
Our Science, Social Studies,
Technology, Physical Education, Art, Music and Dance programs are based on the
New York State Standards. Teachers follow the scope and sequence for each
grade.
All teachers use the workshop model,
thematic planning and project based instruction to enhance students’
understanding.
Kindergarten
Curriculum Map 2012-2013
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Reading
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Writing
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Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
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Science
Scope
& Sequence
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Unit 1
September
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We Are Readers Exploring
the Exciting World of Books
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Launching the Writing
Workshop
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Unit 1:
School and School Community
Essential Question:
What is a school and what
does it mean to be a good citizen of a school community?
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Unit 1 :(previously
unit 2)
Trees Through the Seasons
What are some changes we
see
in trees during the year?
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Unit 2
October/
November
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Readers Read, Think, and
Talk About Emergent Storybooks and Familiar Shared Texts
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Looking Closely: Observing,
Labeling, and Listening Like
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Unit 3
November/
December
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Readers Use Super Powers to
Read Everything in the Classroom and Beyond
(Use only Non-fiction- give opportunities to sketch and
write)
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Writing True Stories
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Unit 2:
Self and Others
Essential Question:
How are people unique?
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Unit 2:
(previously unit 1)
Exploring Properties
How do we observe and
describe objects?
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Unit 4
January/
February
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We Can Be Reading Teachers:
Teach Yourself and Your Partner to Use All You Know to Read
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Procedural Writing: How-To
Books
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Unit 3:
Families
Essential Question:
Why are families important?
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Unit 5
February/
March
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Learning About Ourselves
and Our World: Reading for Information
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Informational Books
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Unit 6
April/ May
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Readers are Brave and
Resourceful When We Encounter Hard Words and Tricky Parts in Our Books
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Persuasive Writing
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Unit 4:
The Neighborhood
Essential Question:
How do neighborhoods meet
our needs?
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Unit 3 :(same)
Animals
What are animals?
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Unit 7
May/ June
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Readers Get to Know
Characters by Pretending and by Performing Our Books
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Informational Books in
Science
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1st
Grade Curriculum Map 2012-2013
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|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
|
Science
Scope
& Sequence
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Unit 1
September
|
Readers Build Good Habits
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Launching With Small
Moments
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Unit 1:
Families are Important
Essential Question:
Why are families important and
how do they influence who we are?
|
Unit 1:
(previously
unit 3)
Animal Diversity
How are animals alike and
different?
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Unit 2
October/
November
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Tackling Trouble: When
Readers Come to Hard Words and Tricky Parts of Books, We Try Harder and
Harder
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Authors As Mentors:
Craftmanship and Revision
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Unit 3
November/
December
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Nonfiction Readers Learn
About the World
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Persuasive Writing: Opinions, Reviews and Stories
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Unit 2:
Families Now, and Long Ago
Essential Question:
How do families grow and change
over time?
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Unit 2:
(previously unit 1)
Properties of Matter
What are some properties of
solids, liquids, and gases?
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Unit 4
January/
February
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Readers Meet the Characters
in Our Books
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Informational Books
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Unit 3:
Families in Communities
Essential Question:
What is a community?
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Unit 5
February/
March
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We Can Be Our Own Teachers
When We Work Hard to Figure Out Words and Parts of Texts in Fiction and
Nonfiction Texts
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Poetry: Powerful Thoughts
in Tiny Packages
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Unit 6
April/ May
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Reading Across Genres to
Learn About a Topic: Informational Books, Stories, and Poems
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Informational Writing About
Science
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Unit 4:
The Community
Essential Question:
How do communities provide
for families?
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Unit 3:
(previously unit 2)
Weather and Seasons
What
are some of the changes we notice
between seasons?
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Unit 7
May/ June
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Dramatizing Characters and
Deepening Our Comprehension in Reading Clubs
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Realistic Fiction
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2nd
Grade Curriculum Map 2012-2013
|
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Reading
|
Writing
|
Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
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Science
Scope
& Sequence
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Unit 1
September
|
Taking Charge of Reading
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Writing Stories Under
Mentor Authors
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Unit 1:
Our Community’s Geography
Essential Question:
How does geography
influence where people choose to live and why?
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Unit 1:
(previously unit 2)
Earth Materials
What materials make up the
Earth?
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Unit 2
October/
November
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Characters Face New Bigger
Challenges- and So Do Readers
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Writing and Revising
Realistic Fiction
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Unit 2:
New York City Over Time
Essential Question:
How and why did New York
City change over
time?
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Unit 3
November/
December
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Reading Nonfiction, Reading
the World
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Informational Writing
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Unit 2:
(previously unit 1)
Forces and Motion
What causes objects to
move?
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Unit 4
January/
February
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Series Reading and Cross-Genre
Reading Clubs
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Writing About Reading
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Unit 3:
Urban, Suburban, and Rural
Communities
Essential Question:
Why and how do communities
develop
differently?
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Unit 5
February/
March
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Nonfiction Reading Clubs
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Poetry: Powerful Thoughts
in Tiny Packages
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Unit 6
April/ May
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Reading and Role Playing:
Fiction, Folktales, and Fairy Tales
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Writing Adaptations of
Familiar Fairy Tales and Folk Tales, and Perhaps Writing Original Fantasy
Stories as Well
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Unit 4:
Rights, Rules and
Responsibilities
Essential Question:
What is the relationship
between local government and the community?
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Unit 3:
(same)
Plant Diversity
How are plants alike and
different?
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Unit 7
May/ June
|
Readers Can Read About
Science Topics to Become Experts
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Informational Writing About
Science
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3rd
Grade Curriculum Map 2012-2013
|
|
Reading
|
|
Writing
|
Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
|
Science
Scope
& Sequence
|
|
Unit 1
September
|
Building a Reading Life
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Unit 1
Sept./
Oct.
|
Launching the Writing
Workshop with Personal Narratives
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Unit 1:
Introduction to World
Geography and World Communities
Essential Question: What
are the important features
of communities throughout
the world?
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Unit 1:
Matter
What are some of the
properties of matter?
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Unit 2
October
|
Following Characters into Meaning:
Envision, Predict, Synthesize, and Infer
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Unit 2
Oct./ Nov.
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Realistic Fiction
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Unit 3
November
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Series Book Clubs
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Unit 3
Dec.
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Informational Writing
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Unit 2:
Case Studies of Community
in: Africa, Asia, South America, The Caribbean, Middle East, Europe,
Southeast Asia, or Australia
(Teacher should select 3-6
world communities to study that reflect diverse regions of the world.)
Essential Question: How do
culture, history, geography, people, and government shape the development
of a community?
|
Unit 2:
Energy
What
are some ways that
energy
can be changed from
one form to another?
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Unit 4
December
|
Nonfiction Reading:
Expository Texts
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Unit 4
Jan.
|
Persuasive Reviews
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Unit 5
January
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Mystery Book Clubs
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Unit 5
Feb./
March
|
Poetry
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Unit 3:
Simple Machines
How
do simple machines help
us move objects?
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Unit 6
February/
March
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Biography Book Clubs
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Unit 6
March/
April
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Test Preparation
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Unit 7
March/
April
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Test Preparation
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Unit 7
April/ May
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Writing to Make a Real
World Difference
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Unit 8
April/ May
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Social Issues Book Clubs
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Unit 8
May/ June
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Informational Writing:
Reading, Research, and Writing in the Content Areas
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Unit 4:
Plant and Animal
Adaptations
How are plants and
animals well-suited to live
in their environments?
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Unit 9
May/ June
|
Informational Reading:
Reading, Research and Writing in the Content Areas
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4th
Grade Curriculum Map 2012-2013
|
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
|
Science
Scope and
Sequence
|
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September
|
Unit 1: Building a Reading
Life
|
Unit 1: Raising the Level
of Personal Narrative Writing
|
Unit 1: (Sept.-Mid Oct.)
Native Americans: First
Inhabitants of New York State
Essential Question: How did
Native Americans influence the development of New York?
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Unit 1:
Animals and Plants in Their
Environment
What role do plants and
animals play in their environment?
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|
October/ November
|
Unit 2: Following
Characters into Meaning: Envision, Predict, Synthesize, Infer, and Interpret
|
Unit 2: Realistic Fiction
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Unit 2: (Mid Oct.-Nov.)
Three Worlds Meet (European
Exploration)
Essential Question: How did
three diverse cultures interact and affect each other?
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November/ December
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Unit 3: Non-fiction
Reading: Using text Structures to Comprehend Expository, Narrative, and
Hybrid Nonfiction
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Unit 3: Research-Based Argument Essay or Informational
Writing
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Unit 3: (Dec.-Jan.)
Colonial and Revolutionary
Periods
Essential Question: How did
the American Revolution affect lives in New York?
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Unit 2:
Electricity and Magnetism
What are the properties of
electricity and magnetism?
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January
|
Unit 4: Non-fiction
Research Projects: Teaching students to Navigate Complex Informational Text
Sets with Critical Analytical Lenses
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Unit 4: The Personal and Persuasive Essay: “Boxes and
Bullets” and Argument Structures for Essay Writing
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End of January/ February
|
Unit 5:Historical Fiction
Book Clubs and Informational Reading: Tackling Complex Texts
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Unit 5: Historical Fiction?
Mixed Genre Writing
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Unit 4: (Feb.-Mid March)
The New Nation
Essential Question: What
does it mean to be free?
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Unit 3:
Properties of Water
What makes water so
special?
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March/April
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Unit 6: Test Preparation
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Unit 6: Literary Essay/
Test Preparation in Writing
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Unit 5: (Mid March-April)
Growth and Expansion
Essential Question: What
was the effect of industrial growth and increased immigration on New York?
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April/May
|
Unit 7: Informational
Reading: Reading and Research in the Content Areas
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Unit 7: Research-Based
Informational Writing
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Unit 4:
Interactions of Air, Water,
and Land
How do natural events
affect our world?
|
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May/June
|
Unit 8: Social Issues Book
Clubs: Applying Analytical Lenses Across Literature and Informational Texts
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Unit 8: Mixed Genre Text
Sets About Social Issues
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Unit 6: (May-June)
Local and State Government
Essential Question: What is
the relationship between governments and individuals?
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5th
Grade Curriculum Map 2012-2013
|
|
Reading
|
Writing
|
Social
Studies
Scope
& Sequence
|
Science
Scope
& Sequence
|
|
September
|
Unit 1:
Agency and Independence:
Launching Reading with Experienced Readers
|
Unit 1:
Raising the Level of
Personal Narrative Memoir
|
Unit 1: (Sept.-Oct.)
Geography and Early Peoples
of the Western Hemisphere
Essential Question:
How did geography influence
the development of the Western Hemisphere?
|
Unit 1:
The Nature of Science
How do scientists gather
and share information?
|
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October/ November
|
Unit 2:
Following Characters into
Meaning: Synthesize, Infer, and Predict
|
Unit 2:
The Interpretive Essay:
Exploring and Defending Big Ideas about Life and Texts
|
Unit 2: (Nov.)
The United States
Essential Question:
How do geography,
economics, people, and key events connect to shape a nation?
|
|
November/ December
|
Unit 3:
Nonfiction Reading: Using
Text Structures to Comprehend Expository, Narrative, and Hybrid Nonfiction
|
Unit 3:
Research-Based Argument Essay
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Unit 3: (Dec.-Mid Feb.)
Latin America
Essential Question: How do
geography, economics, people, and key events connect to shape a region?
|
Unit 2:
Earth Science
What are the processes that
help shape the land?
|
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January
|
Unit 4:
Nonfiction Research
Projects: Teaching Students to Navigate Complex Informational Text Sets with
Critical Analyical Lenses
|
Unit 4:
Informational Writing
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End of January/ February
|
Unit 5:
Interpretation Text Sets
|
Unit 5:
Literary and Comparative
Essay
|
Unit 4: (Feb.-April)
Canada
Essential Question: How do
geography, economics, people, and key events connect to shape a nation?
|
Unit 3:
Food and Nutrition
How does nutrition and
exercise affect our health?
|
|
Mar./Apr.
|
Unit 6:
Test Preparation
|
Unit 6:
Test Preparation
|
Unit 5: (May-June)
Western Hemisphere Today
Essential Question: How do
nations meet the challenges of modern living?
|
|
April/May
|
Unit 7:
Historical Fiction Book
Clubs and Informational Reading: Tracking Complex Texts
|
Unit 7:
Historical Fiction
|
Unit 4:
Exploring Ecosystems
How are plants and animals
in an ecosystem connected?
|
|
May/ June
|
Unit 8:
Fantasy Book Clubs
|
Unit 8:
Fantasy Book Clubs
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