Elementary

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing experiences. 

Kindergarten students learn that there is a pattern to counting. They learn to count forward by ones and tens to 100 and backward by ones from a given number. They represent whole numbers by using concrete objects, drawing pictures and writing number symbols. Through the use of manipulatives, children explore how the same number can be represented in different ways. They learn to recognize up to 5 objects instantaneously without counting them. They model putting together and taking apart quantities from 2 to 5. They learn to add and subtract fluently up to 5, and they move from the concrete to the pictorial level by drawing pictures to represent addition and subtraction situations. They also learn to write simple addition and subtraction sentences when they are presented with story problems. They build an understanding of place value by putting numbers from 11-19 into a group of ten and the remaining ones.

In kindergarten, students have multiple hands-on experiences to refine and generalize their understanding of length, height and weight. They learn to use specific language when comparing and describing the measurable attributes of objects. Students become aware of the multiple attributes of objects and learn that items can be sorted and organized by shape, size, color, texture, function, and other physical characteristics.

Children sort and classify objects to develop an understanding of their distinguishing attributes, including shape, color, size, and pattern. They learn the names of 2-dimensional shapes and to describe shapes by their defining attributes. They analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes describing their similarities, differences, and other attributes. To develop “spatial sense”, students use positional words to describe the location of physical objects in the classroom or school (above, below, beside, in front of, behind, next to). Students model shapes in the world by building and drawing pictures and structures, and they join simple shapes to form larger ones.

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

A high-quality, science education is a hands-on, collaborative, and integrated environment centered in inquiry and discovery. In addition to learning important scientific concepts, students learn to think on their own, problem  solve, communicate, and collaborate, in a student-centered environment. Kindergarten students learning about physical science will examine, measure, reflect upon, describe and discuss how forces of varying origins are used to create and control motion. Students will study earth science through the lens of weather and climate and how different weather conditions affect how humans respond and prepare. In life science, students determine criteria for living and nonliving things, explore survival needs and investigate habitats. 

The kindergarten social studies curriculum is designed to help students gain an increased awareness of themselves and the world around them. Using the framework of “Myself and Others,” students learn about the social studies disciplines of history, geography, civics and government, and economics. Using events from their own lives, they begin to explore and learn the basic historical concept of time and to distinguish past, present, and future. They develop the geographic concept of space by learning positional words and recognizing that maps and globes represent places in the world. To lay the foundation for the study of civics and government, students identify the flag as an important symbol of the United States. They also act as classroom citizens by following appropriate rules for individual and group activities and decision making. An awareness of economics is developed as students connect familiar economic wants to how those wants are met. Throughout the year students are introduced to simple core values of democracy as they learn to respond appropriately to classroom issues and individual responses.

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing experiences.

In first grade, students develop fluency with addition and subtraction facts within 20 by continuing to work with number patterns and relationships including skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s. They read, write, order and compare numbers within 120 to develop an understanding of their relative sizes. They become more skilled at instantly recognizing the amounts in a patterned set of objects without counting them. Students apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract. They solve different types of equations and word problems within sums of 10 that include modeling and explaining their solutions, and they solve the related subtraction problems. They determine the unknown whole number in an addition and subtraction equation. Children use concrete and visual models to make sense of place value for ones and tens, especially focusing on teen numbers and multiples of ten. When they add and subtract one and two-digit numbers, they explain their reasoning behind their solution strategies. Pennies, nickels and dimes are used for creating and identifying number patterns and for counting activities.

Students understand the concept of measuring with “a unit” and work with length by measuring with non-standard units. They learn to tell and write time in hours and half hours using analog and digital clocks. They investigate a question relating to a topic of interest by collecting, recording and interpreting data.

First grade students draw, build, and talk while making connections to real-world application of shapes. They learn to distinguish between which attributes define a shape (e.g., sides and corners) and which attributes may describe it, but do not define it (e.g., size, color, orientation). Students build an understanding of part-whole relationships by combining shapes to form composite shapes and by partitioning shapes into equal shares.

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

A high-quality, science education is a hands-on, collaborative, and integrated environment centered on inquiry and discovery. In addition to learning important scientific concepts, students learn to problem  solve, communicate, and collaborate in a student-centered environment. 1st grade students’ explorations into light will provide students the opportunity to plan and conduct investigations into the effect of placing objects in the path of light. Students will study physical science through the investigation of sound and light, examining what happens to different material when placed in front of a light or near something that produces a sound. In life science, students will recognize the structure and function of different plants and animals while using analogies to determine the function of the structures and how scientists mimic plant and animal structures to solve human problems. 

The first grade social studies curriculum uses the context of “Families and Schools” to guide students in the study of history, geography, civics and government, and economics. Using family histories, students develop historical thinking skills as they explore how life today (present) is like or different from family life in the past. As they use ideas of time and chronology, students also learn about the people and events that are celebrated as part of the national holidays of the United States. Students address geographic concepts and develop spatial skills through map construction and visual representations. In addition, students begin to explore how humans interact with their environments and some of the consequences of those interactions. In civics and government, school is used as a context for learning about why people create rules, the distinction between power and authority, and the characteristics of citizenship. Economic principles are explored using the context of family. Students investigate ways in which families consume goods and services, how people make a living, and how scarcity and choice affect economic decisions. Students continue to develop an understanding of public issues, the importance of citizen action, and begin to communicate their positions on public issues.

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing experiences. 

Second grade students deepen their use of mental strategies for fluency with basic addition and subtraction facts as a foundational for multi-digit computation. They work with place value concepts within twenty by decomposing numbers into tens and ones. Students have many opportunities to solve word problems which provide a context for understanding number relationships and promote the development of reasoning strategies. They learn to solve word problems with the unknown in different positions.

Students count, construct, and describe numbers to 1,000. They read, write and compare numbers using numerals and words. They add and subtract within 100, applying an understanding of place value, the properties of operations, and the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. The multi-digit subtraction problems that students encounter include those that require regrouping as well as those that do not require regrouping. Students work with extending their reasoning to include multiples of 10. They use manipulatives, drawings and equations to represent the problems. They explain their reasoning using visual models to make their explanations clear to others.

Students are introduced to standard linear measurement including inches and feet, centimeters and meters. They use standard units to express the difference between the lengths of two objects. Students solve word problem involving linear measurement that includes adding and subtracting within 100, modeling problems on a number line and representing problems with both drawings and equations. They display linear measurement data on line plots, picture graphs and bar graphs and use that data to solve problems.

Second graders learn to tell and write times to the nearest five minute increments from analog and digital clocks. They use coins to count and solve problems.

Students begin to construct investigative questions that lend themselves to data collection and analysis. They learn that different questions require them to generate data in different ways. They may collect data that requires measurement, such as student height or the length of their shadows. They may also collect data by researching sources that are beyond their school and home.

Students in second grade Identify shapes and their attributes and draw shapes. They work with common two-dimensional shapes and with cubes as a representative of three-dimensional shapes. Additionally, students begin to partition shapes into rows, columns or equal parts. These activities lay a foundation for building arrays to understand multiplication and for finding the area of a space

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

A high-quality, science education is a hands-on, collaborative, and integrated environment centered in inquiry and discovery. In addition to learning important scientific concepts, students learn to think on their own, problem  solve, communicate, and collaborate, in a student-centered environment. In this earth science unit students will explore the different landforms and bodies of water that can be found on Earth and how they interact and change one another. Throughout the study of life science, students will be provided the opportunity to investigate outdoors and explore the natural environment. They will study deeply into what makes their local environment unique through the observations of plants and animals that live in that area.  In physical science, students explore the properties of matter and how different properties make material useful in designing and building different items.

The second grade social studies curriculum addresses concepts in geography, history, government, and economics through the lens of the local community. Students examine what is a community, how citizens live and work together in community, how communities change over time, and the role of citizens in a community. Using historical thinking, students create timelines of key events from their community’s past, explore changes over time, and investigate how descriptions of common events can differ. Students draw upon prior knowledge of spatial awareness, physical and human systems, and human-environment interaction from earlier grades to create more complex understandings and apply these concepts to the local community. They begin to understand how people, goods, and services move within the community. By exploring the role of local businesses in the community, students consider what happens when people cannot produce everything they want and how they depend on trade to meet those wants. Students are also introduced to local government and its functions. Through an examination of local public issues, students practice public discourse and decision making around community issues.

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing experiences. 

In third grade, students build upon work from previous grades as they use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic and gain fluency adding and subtracting within 1000. A key focus of this grade is developing an understanding of the meaning of multiplication and division. Beginning with equal-sized groups and arrays, students explore problems involving single-digit multiplication and division within 100. Later, they apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide including multiplying one and two-digit whole numbers by multiples of ten. They apply concepts of multiplication, addition, and linear measurement to create new understandings of area and perimeter. In addition to generating measurement data with fractional lengths and partitioning shapes into parts with equal areas, students spend a considerable amount of time developing an understanding of fractions as numbers. They continue to develop more sophisticated skills in reasoning with shapes and their attributes. With opportunities to explore shapes in different categories, students learn that shared attributes define larger categories. They use skills from throughout this grade to solve problems involving data and measurement including the contexts of time, liquid volume, mass, and scaled graphs. As in all mathematics courses, the Standards for Mathematical Practice are the “processes and proficiencies” by which all other mathematics standards are taught.

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

Using their everyday observations of motion and through a variety of activities, third grade students build on their prior experiences and explore concepts of motion and forces. They compare and contrast motion in terms of direction, speed, and the relationship with gravity and friction. Students will continue to build on the experiences and understanding gained in previous study of weather. Students make observations, collect data and investigate through models to make sense of weather conditions, severe weather phenomena, and how weather conditions differ in different regions of the world. Students take a deeper look into the physical and behavioral characteristics of organisms and their role in growth and survival. The function of different body parts is related to their environment and how animals survive in their environment. 

The third grade social studies curriculum introduces the history, geography, government, and economy of Michigan. Students learn about people and events from the past that have influenced the state in which they live. They study the geography of Michigan including the physical and cultural characteristics of different areas of the state. Using the context of their state, students explore human-environment interactions and their consequences. Using a geographic lens, students also examine the movement of people, products, and ideas across the state, and investigate how Michigan can be divided into distinct regions. Economic concepts are applied to the context of Michigan as students explore how Michiganians support themselves through the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services. By studying economic ties between Michigan and other places, students discover how their state is an interdependent part of both the national and global economies. The purposes, structure, and functions of state government are introduced. Students explore the relationship between rights and responsibilities of citizens. They examine current issues facing Michigan residents and practice making and expressing informed decisions as citizens. Throughout the year, students locate, analyze, and present data pertaining to the state of Michigan.

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing

In fourth grade, students deepen their understanding of multiplication and division with concepts like factors, multiples, and multiplicative comparisons. Multiplication also allows students to conceptualize qualities of number including prime, composite, and square. With a deeper understanding of number and place value, students solve problems involving multi-digit arithmetic. They also use multiplication and division to partition 360 degrees into smaller parts and develop the concept of angle measurement. In addition to angles, attributes including parallel and perpendicular sides, and line symmetry increase the sophistication with which students draw and classify shapes. They also develop formulas for calculating area and perimeter for rectangles (building from the more concrete ideas of area and perimeter developed in third grade) and use these formulas to solve problems. Work with fractions is extended from third grade as students learn decimal notation for fractions and develop strategies for generating equivalent fractions. As in all mathematics courses, the Standards for Mathematical Practice are the “processes and proficiencies” by which all other mathematics standards are taught. it is helpful to also consider the order of the content within your district’s primary instructional resource.

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

A high-quality, science education is a hands-on, collaborative, and integrated environment centered in inquiry and discovery. In addition to learning important scientific concepts, students learn to think on their own, problem  solve, communicate, and collaborate, in a student-centered environment. Through the study of physical science students will explore energy associated with heat, light, sound, electricity, motion, and with energy moving from place to place. Students will be given the opportunity to recognize what they need to know about energy and design a device to transfer energy from one form to another.  Life science helps students to become familiar with plant and animal structures that are not visible. This study also deepens students’ understanding of the structure and function of organisms, specifically focusing on the senses and the response to stimulus. Earth science will continue to build on previous study of processes that shape Earth. Students will observe, investigate and create models  to make sense of the changes to the surface of the earth. 

In fourth grade, students learn about four disciplines that are the focus of social studies: history, geography, government, and economics. They explore the questions studied by these different social scientists about people and places. Students begin by using a familiar context, Michigan and its people, to review the questions historians ask. Students then expand their lenses to those of geographers, political scientists, and economists to examine the United States. By exploring the focus of each social studies discipline, students construct questions to guide their study of the United States throughout the year. Students will also explore the United States through the social studies discipline of geography. In exploring the United States in spatial terms, students first consider the location of the United States. They learn about and use a variety of geographic tools such as maps, globes, and satellite images to answer the question “Where is the United States?”. Using literature and primary sources, students also explore the United States through the lens of human geography with a focus on the themes of movement and human/environment interaction. Throughout 4th grade, students deepen their understanding of economic principles and examine how an economic system works using the United States as an example, learn how the United States government functions and explore the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Elementary teachers in Rochester Community Schools deliver literacy instruction using a comprehensive literacy approach which research has shown is most effective. Students progress along a continuum and build upon previous learning. Teachers provide instruction at various levels of the continuum in order to meet the needs of all their students. Most children remain at one stage for an extended period of time. It is not unusual for a child to be at a particular stage throughout a grade level. 

Reading Workshop 

A variety of literacy activities may occur during the reading workshop. The teacher begins with a whole class mini-lesson focusing on a skill or strategy that will benefit all students. Next, the teacher may meet with guided reading groups or have conferences with individual students about their reading. During this time, students self-select and read books that are at their independent reading levels where they can read almost all the words accurately and fluently. Comprehension of the text is of the utmost importance. 

Read Aloud 

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a carefully selected text which may be fiction or nonfiction. Some read aloud sessions include student responses with partners turning to talk to each other about the text to aid in comprehension, and other sessions are for enjoyment and vocabulary development. 

Shared Reading 

A text is read together as a class. Texts are chosen based on literary value or a skill or strategy the teacher wants to target. It is often a text that would be too difficult for some students to read if they were asked to read it alone. Students read the text multiple times and are engaged in discussion about the text, skill or strategy. After practice, the teacher may ask the students to demonstrate their learning by completing a task related to the text. 

Small Group Instruction 

The teacher works with small groups of students in a variety of formats. This may include Guided Reading with a group of readers who have similar reading needs. Books or articles that are at the students’ instructional level are used. Teachers may utilize strategy groups with readers who are working on a specific strategy or skill. Students may also work in book clubs based on interest and topic. In all small group formats, the teacher provides feedback and supports the students as they read text. The text in all small groups may be above, below or at what is considered grade level and dependent upon the focus of the group. Students are able to learn and practice new skills or strategies that will help them grow as readers. 

Writing Workshop 

Using a format similar to a reading workshop, students engage in a variety of writing activities. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through minilessons and conferences. Students use notebooks to collect ideas and practice strategies as they work their way through the prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing process. An important aspect of the workshop involves students sharing their writing with others and getting feedback. 

Shared Writing 

The teacher and students work together. At times, a “shared pen” technique is used that involves the children in the writing. It is an instructional approach with a focused outcome. In grades K-2 the outcome may be as simple as composing sentences, messages, or stories. In grades 3-5 the outcome might include writing dialogue, outlines or using previously-gathered information to generate a research paper. 

Spelling, Phonics and Grammar Instruction 

Instruction in these areas utilize a similar workshop format and are woven throughout all elements of the literacy model. Teachers help students to use spelling, phonics and grammar to support successful reading and writing. Students learn and interact with high-frequency words most commonly found in texts they will be reading and writing. Grammar is taught within the context of authentic, writing experiences. 

In fifth grade, students build upon their understandings of the base ten system and operations with whole numbers to create new understandings and efficiencies for operations (including standard algorithms) with multi-digit whole numbers, decimals, and fractions. Their work with decimals includes comparing, rounding, and solving problems using all four operations. Students also spend a considerable amount of time engaging with fractions including adding and subtracting with unlike denominators, multiplication, and the beginnings of division. Geometric topics move from sorting shapes based on common attributes to creating hierarchies. For example, students will be able to articulate why all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares which is reasoning students will use in later courses including high school geometry. An additional geometric topic developed in fifth grade is the concept of volume which builds from experiences with area in third and fourth grades. Students also integrate geometric ideas with other concepts such as length and distance to make sense of and utilize the coordinate system to solve both geometric and algebraic problems. As in all mathematics courses, the Standards for Mathematical Practice are the “processes and proficiencies” by which all other mathematics standards are taught.

Bridges in Mathematics Resource

Elementary students across the district are developing mathematical mindsets through the implementation of our new comprehensive K–5 curriculum resource, Bridges in Mathematics.

In Bridges classrooms, students play an active role in their own learning as well as in the classroom community. They talk about math by sharing observations, explaining their thinking, and asking questions; use hands-on activities, along with a variety of math tools and visual models, to understand how mathematical concepts work; build stamina for solving complex problems that require perseverance; and play games in small groups to have fun practicing what they learn.

Bridges also offers families support through their website: Bridges Family Support. Here, parents and caregivers can access general information, including an overview, frequently asked questions, and specific support by grade level.

A high-quality, science education is a hands-on, collaborative, and integrated environment centered in inquiry and discovery. In addition to learning important scientific concepts, students learn to think on their own, problem  solve, communicate, and collaborate, in a student-centered environment. Earth science studies the growing problem of plastic disposables to introduce the systems of Earth; atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. Students explore each system and develop a model to describe the ways the systems interact and the effect of change on one or more of the systems. Throughout physical science, 5th grade students continue their exploration into the properties and structures of matter. Students will investigate the concept that matter is made up of smaller particles that can be seen, learn about phase change and explore gases as a state of matter. 5th grade students study life science by exploring the interaction of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem. Students will build models of food webs and describe the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in the balance within an ecosystem. 

The fifth grade social studies curriculum is a chronological study of early American history through the adoption of the United States’ Bill of Rights. By applying the tools of historians, including the use of primary and secondary sources, students explore how significant events shaped the nation. They begin with an introduction to the United States Constitution which, as the first unit of study, retrospectively frames their study of the early history of the nation. As they study the meeting of “Three Worlds” they explore interactions among American Indians, Africans, and Europeans in North America. Students also examine how these interactions affected colonization and settlement. They explore how the geography of North America influenced daily life and economic activities as the three distinct English colonial regions developed. Throughout the course, students learn how ideas about government, colonial experiences with self-government, and interactions with Great Britain influenced the decision to declare independence. Within the historical study, emphasis is placed on ideas about government as reflected in the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Students examine how and why the Founders gave and limited the power of government through the principles of separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, protection of individual rights, popular sovereignty, and the rule of law (core democratic values). Throughout the course students develop capacity for responsible citizenship as they apply the values and principles of constitutional democracy in the United States to contemporary issues facing the nation.