Curriculum & Instruction
Considering a world that is rapidly changing, our curriculum emphasizes our responsibility to ensure that every student in our diverse, consolidated school district graduates ready for college and careers.
With an intense focus to empower all students with a great education that contributes to thriving communities, our curriculum challenges us to raise the bar, set higher standards, invest in our schools, and develop a well-educated and better-prepared workforce of tomorrow.
Our curriculum gives our students a strong academic foundation that helps propel them toward future success.
Elementary School Curriculum
Reading
First-grade readers develop early literacy skills such as blending and word segmenting as well as how to self-monitor their reading and self-correct their errors. They read the words by applying phonetic strategies and figure out unknown words by asking, “Does it look/sound right?” Their second job is to understand what they read. They have conversations about the characters and learn about the differences between fiction and non-fiction.
Writing
First-grade writers learn strategies to bring characters to life in their stories by making them move, talk, think, and feel. They write how-to factual books and become confident and resourceful writers by using their skills to spell unknown words.
Mathematics
First-grade students develop their understanding of the Base-10 number system. They use manipulatives, pictures, and numbers to add and subtract numbers through 20. They develop an understanding of measurement and explore the relationships between different geometric figures.
Science
First graders identify and examine seasonal patterns using weather-related data and compare the ways plants and animals use their body and senses.
Social Studies
First graders study true stories and folktales from around the world to explore concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics.
Reading
Second-grade readers continue to learn how to self-monitor their reading and self-correct their errors. Teachers encourage them to use phonetic skills to decode unknown words. They work on fluency and comprehension and learn different strategies for reading and understanding fiction and non-fiction text.
Writing
Second-grade writers learn to write narrative, opinion, and informational pieces. They study literacy techniques that authors use (e.g., the use of descriptive language) and then try them out in their own writing. Students learn to revise and edit to improve the clarity and impact of a written piece.
Mathematics
Second graders extend their understanding of the Base-10 number system by representing, writing, and comparing numbers to 1000. To strengthen their computational skills, they explore the relationship between addition and subtraction as well as the properties of operations.
Science
Second graders plan investigations, predict results, and gather and record data. Some topics they study include plants and animals and the environment they live in. Students also learn to classify materials based on their properties and functions.
Social Studies
Second-grade students learn about concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics through the study of citizenship and family history.
Reading
Third-grade readers improve their comprehension by reflecting on characters, themes, and the author’s craft. They continue to explore the structural characteristics of informational text and learn how to use text features to help them predict, infer, and summarize. Students extend their knowledge of English grammar and its conventions.
Writing
Third-grade writers learn how to write narratives, factual reports, and opinion pieces. They also learn how to respond to what they read in writing. They increase their writing stamina and independence and publish longer pieces that require drafting, revising, and editing.
Mathematics
Third-grade students expand their computational proficiency in addition and subtraction. They gain a foundational knowledge of multiplication and division through making arrays and equal groups. Third graders begin learning fractions and explore two-dimensional shapes and learn how to calculate area through the use of rectangular arrays.
Science
Third graders sharpen their skills at obtaining, recording and charting, and analyzing data in order to study the environment. Topics include extreme weather, life cycles, forces and motion, and the effect of changes in the environment on the survival of organisms.
Social Studies
Third-grade students learn about concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics through the study of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Reading
Fourth-grade readers improve their comprehension by engaging in meaningful discussions with partners and the teacher. They maintain reading logs and record their thinking about reading and refer to the text while asking and answering questions. Students deepen their thinking by reading a variety of genres. They learn to summarize using main ideas, key details, cause/effect, and problem/solution.
Writing
Fourth-grade writers further increase their writing stamina and independence. They publish longer pieces that require drafting, revising, and editing, using the computer as a writing tool.
Mathematics
Grade four students develop their rounding and estimating skills by generalizing their knowledge of place value patterns to make sense of larger numbers. Their fluency with factors and multiples increases as they focus on problem-solving multi-digit and multi-step multiplication and division problems.
Science
Fourth-grade students learn about energy—its motion, transfer, and conversion. They interpret patterns of changes over time related to deposition and erosion in landscape formation.
Social Studies
Fourth graders learn about concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics through the study of the regions of North America.
Reading
Fifth-grade readers’ ability to draw conclusions and make inferences increases. They read increasingly complex texts and begin to compare and contrast literary devices such as chronology, figurative language, and dialogue, when two authors give different accounts on the same topic or event.
Writing
Fifth-grade writers further increase their writing stamina and independence. They publish longer narrative, opinion, and informational pieces that require drafting, revising, and editing, using the computer as a writing tool.
Mathematics
Grade five students’ understanding of the Base-10 system to include decimals deepens. They generalize whole number patterns, round numbers, and use fraction models. They also practice their computational fluency in all four operations, with an emphasis on multiplication and division, to solve mathematical problems as well as develop an understanding of volume.
Science
Fifth-grade students learn about ecosystems and matter and its interactions. They learn about the effects of human activity on Earth and study the relationships between Earth and nearby objects in the solar system.
Social Studies
Fifth graders learn about concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics through the study of early exploration through the U.S. Revolution (1400s-1700s).
Reading
Sixth-grade readers become increasingly independent in their ability to draw conclusions and make inferences. They read varied and complex texts; they analyze literary works and learn how to identify and reference credible claims in digital and print sources.
Writing
Sixth-grade writers refine their writing by incorporating techniques such as the effective use of dialogue, transitions, and descriptions. They publish longer narrative, opinion, and informational pieces that require drafting, revising, and editing, using the computer as a writing tool.
Mathematics
Sixth graders learn number theory concepts including the study of relationships between fractions, decimals, and percentage to refine problem solving skills. They begin to work with negative integers as they graph points on a coordinate plane. They begin to explore concepts related to statistical variability and distributions.
Science
Sixth-grade students learn about biological evolution through the study of molecules, plants, and animals. They study waves and the transfer of energy and learn about the relationships between volume, matter, and density. Students learn about engineering concepts by creating and testing a model to solve a design problem.
Social Studies
Sixth graders learn about concepts of history, geography, civics, and economics through the study of world geography.
Middle School Curriculum
Humanities
Seventh-grade students can use their reading and writing skills to conduct research to learn new content and present information in a variety of modalities for various audiences and purposes.
Reading:
- Demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts at grade level, independently and proficiently.
- Demonstrates comprehension of nonfiction texts at grade level, independently and proficiently.
Writing:
- Writes narrative texts at grade level routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of audiences, purposes, and tasks, independently and proficiently.
- Writes expository texts at grade level routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of audiences, purposes, and tasks, independently and proficiently.
Speaking and Listening:
- Engages effectively in collaborative discussions at grade level with the knowledge of audience, purpose, and task, using grade-appropriate vocabulary independently and proficiently.
Ancient World:
- Demonstrates understanding of the philosophical foundations and development of the ancient world and why empires rise and fall.
- Demonstrates understanding of ancient civilizations and how the concept of self-government developed.
- Demonstrates understanding of how geography and resources impact the development of civilizations.
Mathematics
Seventh-grade students can exhibit conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition at grade level.
Algebra:
- Demonstrate understanding and application of expressions, equations, and inequalities.
Geometry:
- Demonstrates understanding and application of geometry to include scale drawing, angle relationships, circle measurements, uniqueness of a triangle, and three-dimensional measurement.
Statistics and Probability:
- Demonstrates understanding and application to include inferences about larger populations from samplings.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of probability to include calculating theoretical probabilities and applying simulation methods.
Numbers and Operations:
- Demonstrate understanding and application of operations and rational numbers.
- Demonstrate understanding and application of proportional relationships.
Science
Seventh-grade students can independently apply scientific principles, use abstract skills to explain the causes of complex systems, analyze phenomena for evidence of causes and processes that often cannot be seen, and conceptualize and describe them through a variety of ways.
Earth and Space Science:
- Makes claims with evidence and reasoning of how Earth’s surface has changed in terms of local to global.
- Makes claims with evidence of how human activities and technologies can mitigate the impact of increases to population.
- Makes claims with evidence describing how the use of natural resources as well as use prior data from past events and can make predictions of future events.
Life Sciences:
- Constructs a claim with evidence and reasoning for how organisms' behaviors and specialized structures can increase the probability of successful reproduction.
- Develops a model that demonstrates how matter and energy are transferred between biotic and abiotic factors and what roles organisms play within ecosystems.
- Analyzes data to determine the impact resource availability has on biodiversity and population size in an ecosystem.
Physical Science:
- Uses evidence that fields exist between different objects and that distance and magnitude can change the strength of an electric force based on charge.
- Identifies the different types of kinetic and potential energies that exist and apply them to models in practice.
- Investigates the relationship of how energy is transferred, how well the matter retains or radiates heat, mass, and change in the average kinetic energy.
Humanities
Eighth-grade students can use their reading and writing skills to conduct research to learn new content and present information in a variety of modalities for various audiences and purposes
Reading:
- Demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts at grade level, independently and proficiently.
- Demonstrates comprehension of nonfiction texts at grade level, independently and proficiently.
Writing:
- Writes narrative texts at grade level routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of audiences, purposes, and tasks, independently and proficiently.
- Writes expository texts at grade level routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of audiences, purposes, and tasks, independently and proficiently.
Speaking and Listening:
- Engages effectively in collaborative discussions at grade level with the knowledge of audience, purpose, and task, using grade-appropriate vocabulary independently and proficiently.
Government and Civics:
- Demonstrates understanding of the philosophical foundations and development of the United States political system.
- Demonstrates understanding of the philosophical foundations and development of the United States political system.
Mathematics
Eighth-grade students exhibit conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition at grade level.
Functions:
- Demonstrates understanding and application of functions to include linear functions.
Algebra:
- Demonstrate understanding and application of expressions and equations to include multi-step equations, systems of linear equations, properties of integer exponents, and scientific notation properties.
Geometry:
- Demonstrates understanding and application of geometry to include transformation of figures, angle relationship; and the Pythagorean Theorem; and dimensional measurement.
Statistics and Probability:
- Demonstrates understanding and application of statistics and probability to include bivariate data and two-way frequency tables.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of the number system to include irrational numbers.
Grade 8 Algebra (all the above plus)
Mathematical Functions:
- Demonstrates understanding and application of functions, graphs, and features.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of functions and transformation to include piecewise functions and absolute value functions.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of exponents and exponential functions to include operations with polynomials.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of quadratic functions and solutions.
- Demonstrates understanding and application of linear equations: inequalities and systems.
Science
Eighth-grade students can independently apply scientific principles, use abstract skills to explain the causes of complex systems, analyze phenomena for evidence of causes and processes that often cannot be seen, and conceptualize and describe them through a variety of ways.
Earth and Space Science:
- Develops and uses models of the earth-sun system to explain the cyclical patterns of seasons and models of Earth’s interior to illustrate convection.
- Explains the role of gravity in ocean tides, the orbital motions of planets and their moons, and asteroids in the solar system.
- Examines and interprets data to describe the role that human activities have played in causing the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Life Sciences:
- Constructs arguments based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
- Communicates through writing and in diagrams that chromosomes contain many distinct genes and that each gene holds the instructions for specific traits of an individual.
- Explains the process and outcomes of asexual and sexual reproduction in writing and through models. Compares and contrasts advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction.
- Uses models to describe the process of natural selection and the physical attributes of an organism in relation to their environment.
Physical Science:
- Determines if a chemical reaction has occurred through analysis of data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact.
- Develops models that describe and predict changes in particle motion and that demonstrate Newton’s third law.
- Uses Newton’s first and second laws to provide evidence that change in an object’s speed depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
