As students enter the secondary phase of their elementary school experience at Richmond Friends School, they continue to learn through individual exploration, small group interactions, and all-class activities. It is important for each of these forums to be used since each contributes something different to the full development of the child. Individual study allows a student to specialize the educational process for themselves; helps create personal excitement for learning; and allows for individual expression. Small group study allows students to work together towards a collective goal; provides an opportunity to strengthen social skills; and provides a forum for students to help each other. Entire-class activities allow for the inclusion of many different points of view or personal knowledge; provides a place for each child to be heard by everyone else; and allows for the building of a stronger classroom community.

The primary means for students to follow individual study is through personal projects. Students begin to learn about areas of personal interest for extended periods of time in order to create projects that help to educate the entire class. Students are encouraged and guided to apply what they learn to create learning aids (called products) for the rest of the class, which is usually introduced to the entire class during a formal presentation. Occasionally, the entire class will study a single topic, with each student specializing in one particular aspect of that topic. At other times, individual students, with teacher guidance, will focus on learning about topics that are completely of their own interest. Occasionally small groups of two or three students will be allowed or even encouraged to organize a project on a topic of group interest.

Small groups are used in several ways in the 3rd to 6th grade classroom. They are the primary means for math instruction and are also sometimes used in science experiments and writing activities. In math and science experiments, it is often beneficial for students to help each other in going through the process to arrive at a conclusion or answer. It often aids the “helper” as much as the person who is helped, since the “helper” strengthens their knowledge and confidence and may gain a different point of view. The gaining of a different point of view is what makes small groups so valuable to the writing process as students have each other check their writing drafts for interesting and detailed content as well as grammatical proficiency and correct spelling.

There are just as many learning activities that the entire class embarks upon together. Recess is decided upon by all of the students through consensus, which requires that everyone agree on what the class will do for the recess activities each week. Field trips are often taken by the entire class to ensure that everyone in the class can share some meaningful experience and to help build togetherness between the students. Often brainstorming is done by the entire class so that many different voices, opinions, and thoughts can be brought to bear on any particular subject.

The individual, small group, and entire-class learning activities in class are based upon study in many areas. The following section includes the main areas of learning and provides a brief listing of subtopics in each area.

Language Arts

The study of the language arts is a critical area of study since the accumulation of information in almost all other areas depends upon this one area. While there are some mini-lessons presented to the class, groups of students, or individual students to focus on areas that might need improvement, everything else that is done in class (whether reading a science experiment or talking in Spanish) uses and therefore provides a learning opportunity in the language arts.

Reading

Reading provides students the opportunity to develop the following skills:

Writing

Writing provides students the opportunity to develop the following skills:

Oral communication

Oral communication provides students the opportunity to develop the following skills:

Math

Like so many other areas of learning, people often learn math best in different ways or at different ages. With that limitation, the 3rd to 6th grade class uses age- and grade-independent math groups. These groups are malleable to allow for, depending on the math topic under consideration and the guidance of the teacher, a student to go from one group to another. Whole class math activities, like a baseball card activity in the spring and numerous measurement activities, also provide opportunities to establish basic math skills for all the students.

Geometry

Geometry provides students the opportunity to develop the following skills:

Measurement (mostly metric, but a little English too)

Learning about measurement provides students the opportunity to learn about:

Computations

Studying computations helps students learn:

Number Sense

Number sense instruction includes learning about:

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving helps students:

Science

Science is not just the study of scientific information; it is also a process for answering questions. It is important to understand that process and be able to use it to answer one’s own questions, no matter what subject the question concerns, with a probable answer. Learning the scientific process, using it through experimentation, and gaining knowledge on scientific subjects are all important aspects of a sound science curriculum. Although occasional class or group study into scientific topics, like the water cycle or rock cycle, provides some background scientific knowledge, much of the learning concerning other scientific areas of study are taken up through individual projects.

Scientific Processes

Students learn about the scientific process through:

Scientific Areas of Interest

Some of the areas our students study include:

Social Studies

Social studies concerns learning about our community, our society and others in the world, and what has already happened in those societies. Much like science, social studies we focus on through some small group and all-class activities, like the teacher reading a book to the class about the Underground Railroad, or small groups making a map to illustrate where the main branches of the Underground Railroad were. Much of the study of history and the world is provided through individual projects.

History

Some of the topics our students learn about include:

Geography

Geography lessons include:

Cultures

Our cultural studies focus on:

Art

Art education in the 3rd to 6th grade class includes what could be called appreciation, attempting to gain an insight into different forms of art, as well as learning how to participate in different types of art and just simple personal exploration into art. Creating art is a personal expression; therefore, every artistic endeavor is greeted with honest encouragement. Do-exactly-what-I-do types of art activities are not encouraged; activities that allow everyone to express themselves differently are explored.

Music

Music education includes:

Performance

Students are encouraged to perform through:

Fine Arts

The fine arts are explored through:

Spanish

Studying Spanish is important to the 3rd to 6th grade class because it allows us to get deeply involved with a language that is becoming more prominent in our country and our local community. With assistance from our Spanish instructor and other community members, we attempt to learn about the Latin American culture and verbal and written Spanish.

Writing

Students practice Spanish language skills with:

Verbal

Students develop Spanish proficiency by:

Social and Emotional Growth

Personal growth in the field is just as important as development in the preceding areas of knowledge. Students are encouraged to solve their problems by discussing their points of view and trying to come to a better understanding of the situation. Students are encouraged to express themselves, but at the same time to consider how they affect the people around them. Students are encouraged to be an active member of their local and world communities and to try and improve both.

Social Growth

Our lessons for social growth focus on:

Emotional Growth

Our lessons for emotional growth focus on:

Physical Growth

Since children physically mature at different rates, it is important to incorporate learning activities into the curriculum that allow them to be physically active and increase their ability to control muscle movements in a safe environment. The 3rd to 6th grade class has a 30-minute period each morning for concerted physical game-playing outside and a free-play time after lunch for up to 30 minutes each day.

Physical growth is streesed through:

Technology

The world around us is becoming increasingly more technologically complex. With this in mind, it is important to not only use technology in the classroom to gather information but also to build a comfort level with and understanding of technology. These aspects become more prominent in the 3rd to 6th grade classroom.

Our technology lessons focus on:

Assessment

To adequately encompass all of the skills and abilities that children bring to the classroom, it is imperative that a wide variety of student assessments be done and that they draw from several viewpoints. It is also necessary to have authentic assessments that display actual student abilities, rather than a test maker’s skill or any abilities that the student has not yet developed. Therefore, standardized tests are not included as a tool for assessment.

The 3rd to 6th grade class uses a continuing showcase portfolio as the main means of assessment. This invites student selection of the portfolios contents, reflection about progress, goal setting for the future, and teacher/student/parent collaboration in portfolio reviews. Four times a year formal assessments are done. Twice a year (once in mid-autumn and once at the beginning of spring) the teacher meets with student and parents to collectively review the contents of the student's portfolio and to set goals for future work. Also twice a year (in mid-winter and at the end of the school year) the teacher writes an evaluation of each student's performance that includes references to the student's portfolio and other assessments, which may include: