• ENGLISH AND RUSSIAN LANGUAGE ARTS

   Reading

  1. Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
  Students understand the basic features of reading. They select letter patterns and know how to translate them into spoken language by using phonics, syllabication, and word parts. They apply this knowledge to achieve fluent oral and silent reading.

  2. Reading Comprehension
  In Russian and English students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g., generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources). In addition to their regular school reading, by grade four, students read one-half million words annually, including a good representation of grade-level-appropriate narrative and expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information). In grade three, students make substantial progress toward this goal.

  3. Literary Response and Analysis
  In Russian and English students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children's literature. They distinguish between the structural features of the text and the literary terms or elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, characters).

  Writing

1. Writing Strategies                                                                                                                                                                                                      In Russian and English students write clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).

2.  Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)                                                                                                                      Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and Standard Russian. 

Students will:

• Write narratives.
• Write descriptions that use concrete sensory details to present and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.
• Write personal and formal letters, thank-you notes, and invitations.

Written and Oral Language
Students write and speak with a command of Standard English and Russian conventions appropriate to this grade level:

• Sentence Structure

• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Spelling (English)
   

Listening and Speaking

Students listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication. They speak in a manner that guides the listener to understand important ideas by using proper phrasing, pitch, and modulation.

• Comprehension
• Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication
• Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications

Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests that are organized around a coherent thesis statement. Student speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and Russian. Students will:

• Make brief narrative presentations
• Plan and present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays with clear diction, pitch, tempo, and tone.
• Make descriptive presentations that use concrete sensory details to set forth and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.

Recite poems, soliloquies, or dramatic dialogues, using clear diction, tempo, volume, and phrasing.

MATH

Number Sense

1. Students understand the place value of whole numbers:

• Count, read, and write whole numbers to 10,000. ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
• Compare and order whole numbers to 10,000. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
•  Identify the place value for each digit in numbers to 10,000.
•  Round off numbers to 10,000 to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.
• Use expanded notation to represent numbers (e.g., 3,206 = 3,000 + 200 + 6). . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )

2. Students calculate and solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division:

• Find the sum or difference of two whole numbers between 0 and 10,000. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  standard in the 2nd grade )
•  Memorize to automaticity the multiplication table for numbers between 1 and 10. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
•  Use the inverse relationship of multiplication and division to compute and check results. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
•  Solve simple problems involving multiplication of multidigit numbers by one-digit numbers (3,671 x 3 = __).
•  Solve division problems in which a multidigit number is evenly divided by a one-digit number (135 ÷ 5 = __).
•  Understand the special properties of 0 and 1 in multiplication and division. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
• Determine the unit cost when given the total cost and number of units.
• Solve problems that require two or more of the skills mentioned above.

 3. Students understand the relationship between whole numbers, simple fractions, and decimals:

• Compare fractions represented by drawings or concrete materials to show equivalency and to add and subtract simple fractions in context (e.g., 1/2 of a pizza is the same amount as 2/4 of another pizza that is the same size; show that 3/8 is larger than 1/4).
•  Add and subtract simple fractions (e.g., determine that 1/8 + 3/8 is the same as 1/2).
•  Solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of money amounts in decimal notation and multiply and divide money amounts in decimal notation by using whole-number multipliers and divisors.
•  Know and understand that fractions and decimals are two different representations of the same concept (e.g., 50 cents is 1/2 of a dollar, 75 cents is 3/4 of a dollar).

 4. Students understand the place value of whole numbers and decimals to two decimal places and how whole numbers and decimals relate to simple fractions. Students use the concepts of negative numbers:     ( 4th grade Math standards as adopted by the California State Board of Education )

• Read and write whole numbers in the millions.
• Order and compare whole numbers and decimals to two decimal places.
• Round whole numbers through the millions to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, or hundred thousand.
• Write the fraction represented by a drawing of parts of a figure; represent a given fraction by using drawings; and relate a fraction to a simple decimal on a number line.

 5. Students extend their use and understanding of whole numbers to the addition and subtraction of simple decimals: ( 4th grade Math standards as adopted by the California State Board of Education )

• Estimate and compute the sum or difference of whole numbers and positive decimals to two places.
•  Round two-place decimals to one decimal or the nearest whole number and judge the reasonableness of the rounded answer.

 6. Students solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers and understand the relationships among the operations: ( 4th grade Math standards as adopted by the California State Board of Education

 Solve problems involving division of multidigit numbers by one-digit numbers.

 7. Students know how to factor small whole numbers: ( 4th grade Math standards as adopted by the California State Board of Education)

• Understand that many whole numbers break down in different ways (e.g., 12 = 4 x 3 = 2 x 6 = 2 x 2 x 3).
• Know that numbers such as 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 do not have any factors except 1 and themselves and that such numbers are called prime numbers.

Algebra and Functions

1. Students select appropriate symbols, operations, and properties to represent, describe, simplify, and solve simple number relationships:

• Represent relationships of quantities in the form of mathematical expressions, equations, or inequalities.
•  Solve problems involving numeric equations or inequalities. . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of this standard in the 1st grade )
•  Select appropriate operational and relational symbols to make an expression true
  (e.g., if 4 __ 3 = 12, what operational symbol goes in the blank?). . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 1st grade )
• Express simple unit conversions in symbolic form
  (e.g., __ inches = __ feet x 12).
•  Recognize and use the commutative and associative properties of multiplication
  (e.g., if 5 x 7 = 35, then what is 7 x 5? and if 5 x 7 x 3 = 105, then what is 7 x 3 x 5?). . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )

 2. Students represent simple functional relationships:

• Solve simple problems involving a functional relationship between two quantities (e.g., find the total cost of multiple items given the cost per unit).
•  Extend and recognize a linear pattern by its rules (e.g., the number of legs on a given number of horses may be calculated by counting by 4s or by multiplying the number of horses by 4).

3. .Students use and interpret variables, mathematical symbols, and properties to write and simplify expressions and sentences: ( 4th grade Math standard as adopted by the California State Board of Education )

• Use and interpret formulas (e.g., area = length x width or A = lw) to answer questions about quantities and their relationships.

 

Measurement and Geometry

1. Students choose and use appropriate units and measurement tools to quantify the properties of objects: . ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  these standards in the 2nd grade )

• Choose the appropriate tools and units (metric and U.S.) and estimate and measure the length, liquid volume, and weight/mass of given objects.
•  Estimate or determine the area and volume of solid figures by covering them with squares or by counting the number of cubes that would fill them.
•  Find the perimeter of a polygon with integer sides.
•  Carry out simple unit conversions within a system of measurement (e.g., centimeters and meters, hours and minutes).

2. Students describe and compare the attributes of plane and solid geometric figures and use their understanding to show relationships and solve problems:

• Identify, describe, and classify polygons (including pentagons, hexagons, and octagons). ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
• Identify attributes of triangles (e.g., two equal sides for the isosceles triangle, three equal sides for the equilateral triangle, right angle for the right triangle).
• Identify attributes of quadrilaterals (e.g., parallel sides for the parallelogram, right angles for the rectangle, equal sides and right angles for the square).
• Identify right angles in geometric figures or in appropriate objects and determine whether other angles are greater or less than a right angle. ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
• Identify, describe, and classify common three-dimensional geometric objects (e.g., cube, rectangular solid, sphere, prism, pyramid, cone, cylinder). ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade )
• Identify common solid objects that are the components needed to make a more complex solid object. ( RAIS’s students gained knowledge of  this standard in the 2nd grade)

3. Students demonstrate an understanding of plane and solid geometric objects and use this knowledge to show relationships and solve problems: ( 4th grade Math standard as adopted by the California State Board of Education )

• Visualize, describe, and make models of geometric solids (e.g., prisms, pyramids) in terms of the number and shape of faces, edges, and vertices; interpret two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects; and draw patterns (of faces) for a solid that, when cut and folded, will make a model of the solid.

 

Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability

1. Students conduct simple probability experiments by determining the number of possible outcomes and make simple predictions:

• Identify whether common events are certain, likely, unlikely, or improbable.
• Record the possible outcomes for a simple event (e.g., tossing a coin) and systematically keep track of the outcomes when the event is repeated many times.
• Summarize and display the results of probability experiments in a clear and organized way (e.g., use a bar graph or a line plot).
• Use the results of probability experiments to predict future events (e.g., use a line plot to predict the temperature forecast for the next day).

 

Mathematical Reasoning

1. Students make decisions about how to approach problems:

• Analyze problems by identifying relationships, distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
• Determine when and how to break a problem into simpler parts.

2. Students use strategies, skills, and concepts in finding solutions:

• Use estimation to verify the reasonableness of calculated results.
• Apply strategies and results from simpler problems to more complex problems.
• Use a variety of methods, such as words, numbers, symbols, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, and models, to explain mathematical reasoning.
• Express the solution clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical notation and terms and clear language; support solutions with evidence in both verbal and symbolic work.
•  Indicate the relative advantages of exact and approximate solutions to problems and give answers to a specified degree of accuracy.
•  Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results from the context of the problem.

3. Students move beyond a particular problem by generalizing to other situations:

• Evaluate the reasonableness of the solution in the context of the original situation.
•  Note the method of deriving the solution and demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the derivation by solving similar problems.
•  Develop generalizations of the results obtained and apply them in other circumstances.

  

HISTORY – SOCIAL STUDIES

Continuity and Change

Students in grade three learn more about our connections to the past and the ways in which particularly local, but also regional and national, government and traditions have developed and left their marks on current society, providing common memories. Emphasis is on the physical and cultural landscape of California, including the study of American Indians, the subsequent arrival of immigrants, and the impact they have had in forming the character of our contemporary society.

 1. Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.

• Identify geographical features in their local region (e.g., deserts, mountains, valleys, hills, coastal areas, oceans, lakes).

2.Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.

3.Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

• Research the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled here, and the people who continue to come to the region, including their cultural and religious traditions and contributions.
• Describe the economies established by settlers and their influence on the present-day economy, with emphasis on the importance of private property and entrepreneurship.
• Trace why their community was established, how individuals and families contributed to its founding and development, and how the community has changed over time, drawing on maps, photographs, oral histories, letters, newspapers, and other primary sources.

4.Students understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives and the basic structure of the U.S. government.

• Determine the reasons for rules, laws, and the U.S. Constitution; the role of citizenship in the promotion of rules and laws; and the consequences for people who violate rules and laws.
• Discuss the importance of public virtue and the role of citizens, including how to participate in a classroom, in the community, and in civic life.
• Know the histories of important local and national landmarks, symbols, and essential documents that create a sense of community among citizens and exemplify cherished ideals.
• Understand the three branches of government, with an emphasis on local government.
• Describe the lives of American heroes who took risks to secure our freedoms (e.g., Anne Hutchinson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Jr.).

5. Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an understanding of the economy of the local region.

 

SCIENCE

Physical Sciences  

1.Energy and matter have multiple forms and can be changed from one form to another. Students know:

• Energy comes from the Sun to Earth in the form of light.
• Sources of stored energy take many forms, such as food, fuel, and batteries.
• Machines and living things convert stored energy to motion and heat.
• Energy can be carried from one place to another by waves, such as water waves and sound waves, by electric current, and by moving objects.
• Matter has three forms: solid, liquid, and gas.
• That when two or more substances are combined, a new substance may be formed with properties that are different from those of the original materials.
• All matter is made of small particles called atoms, too small to see with the naked eye.

2.Light has a source and travels in a direction. Students know:

• Sunlight can be blocked to create shadows.
• Light is reflected from mirrors and other surfaces.
• The color of light striking an object affects the way the object is seen.
• An object is seen when light traveling from the object enters the eye.

 

Life Sciences
Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism’s chance for survival. Students know:

• Plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
• Examples of diverse life forms in different environments, such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests, grasslands, and wetlands.
• Living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.
• When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or move to new locations.
• That some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared and that some of those resembled others that are alive today.

 

Earth Sciences
Objects in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns. Students know:

• The patterns of stars stay the same, although they appear to move across the sky nightly, and different stars can be seen in different seasons.
• The way in which the Moon's appearance changes during the four-week lunar cycle.
• Earth is one of several planets that orbit the Sun and that the Moon orbits Earth.
• The position of the Sun in the sky changes during the course of the day and from season to season.

 

Investigation and Experimentation
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. Students will:

• Repeat observations to improve accuracy.
• Differentiate evidence from opinion.
• Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
• Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.
• Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.

 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

 The health curriculum encompasses building self-esteem and coping skills, building decision-making and relationship skills, and body awareness. Within the physical education program, students develop fitness and wellness, experiment with creative movement, play games and develop leisure and sports skills.

• Movement Concepts
• Body Management
• Locomotor Movement
• Manipulative Skills
• Rhythmic Skills
• Fitness Concepts
• Aerobic Capacity
• Muscular Strength/Endurance
• Flexibility
• Body Composition
• Self-Responsibility
• Social Interaction
• Group Dynamics

  

MUSIC

 Music education exposes students to a wide variety of experiences that help develop an appreciation of the arts.

• Listen & respond to music

•  Learn to sing in pitch by ear training, solfeggio tones, singing, & games

• Develop rhythmic dexterity by echoing rhythm & melodic patterns

• Coordination from moving to music

• Act-out songs

 

VISUAL ARTS

 Artistic perception
Students perceive and respond to works of art, objects in nature, events, and the environment. They also use the vocabulary of the visual arts to express their observations.

• Develop Perceptual Skills and Visual Arts Vocabulary.
• Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design. 

Creative expression

Students apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of media to communicate meaning and intent in original works of art.

• Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools.
• Communication and Expression Through Original Works of Art.

Historical and cultural context

Students analyze the role and development of the visual arts in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting human diversity as it relates to the visual arts and artists.

Aesthetic Valuing

• Students analyze, assess, and derive meaning from works of art, including their own, according to the elements of art, the principles of design, and aesthetic qualities. 
• Make Informed Judgments ( Describe how and why they made a selected work of art, focusing on the media and technique, select something they like about their work of art and something they would change)

Connections, relationships, applications

Students apply what they learn in the visual arts across subject areas. They develop competencies and creative skills in problem solving, communication, and management of time and resources that contribute to lifelong learning and career skills. They also learn about careers in and related to the visual arts.