Grades 4-5
The Downtown Community
A Bridge to the Future
In Grades 4 and 5, students move from the early elementary grades toward the more independent, subject-based work of middle school. It's a deliberate transition, not an abrupt one. In fourth grade, students begin taking significant ownership of their learning; in fifth grade, they step further into the rhythms of middle school by working with subject-area expectations, taking on more demanding projects, and being introduced to the differentiated math and science sections they'll continue in sixth grade. Fittingly, fifth-grade math and science are taught within the upper-school departments, so students begin encountering those expectations while still firmly rooted in the Downtown community.
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What We Study
Reading and writing: Fourth graders read closely across four novels- Wishtree, My Name Is Malala, A Long Walk to Water, and Esperanza Rising and write multi-paragraph essays grounded in evidence they learn to locate in texts. Fifth graders pair their literature study with an ancient civilization (Maizy Chen's Last Chance and Among the Hidden with ancient China; The Golden Goblet with ancient Egypt; Tuck Everlasting and Greek myths with ancient Greece). Writing spans narrative, informative, and persuasive genres, building independence and voice as students prepare for middle school.
Math: Fourth graders extend their number sense into the millions and master multi-digit operations, fractions, and decimals. In fifth grade, students deepen fluency with multi-digit operations and all four operations with fractions and decimals. Student progress is carefully monitored to provide sufficient support and challenge for individual learners.
Science: Hands-on investigation is a feature of each year: fourth graders work through energy, environments, and soils/rocks/landforms; fifth graders focus on how energy is transferred on Earth and begin using more advanced laboratory equipment, part of the broader science program that continues through middle school.
Social studies: Fourth graders trace a guiding question: "What are the push/pull effects of social, economic, and political change on people's way of life?" from early America through the Revolution, westward expansion, and immigration, with a class trip to Ellis Island. Fifth graders ask "What is civilisation and how are we all connected?" as they study ancient China, the Silk Road, Egypt, and Greece.
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Building Leaders
During the Downtown years, we prepare students as independent and self-reflective participants in community. Fourth graders plan and deliver the Virtues Speech, presenting a personal story to younger students and their own parents. about how they have seen the Chapin virtues take effect in their lives. Fifth graders research and present publicly on the impact of personal heroes in their lives, and cap the year with the Pantheon of Playwrights - writing, rehearsing, and performing their own original plays inspired by Greek myth.
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Please contact us to find out more about how we prepare children to begin managing their own work and taking on leadership, in order to step confidently into the middle-school structure.
