Academics

Kindergarten Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
Kindergarten students will receive instruction in reading, writing, and listening, speaking, & viewing. By the end of Kindergarten, students will be able to:

Demonstrate developing understanding of concepts of print, such as how to hold books, how to track print, and how to distinguish words from pictures and letters from words • Identify previously taught high frequency words quickly and reread grade level text with appropriate expression • Identify some basic sight words • Write letters of the alphabet and begin to represent words with letters • Recognize sentences and begin to understand that sentences begin with capital letters and end with some type of punctuation • Sustain their attention for an age-appropriate length of time while reading or listening to books • Retell or reenact stories using more complex vocabulary and longer sentences • Identify and produce rhyming words • Identify, blend, and segment sound parts in words

Mathematics:
Kindergarten students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of Kindergarten, students will be able to:

Understand small numbers, quantities, and simple shapes experienced everyday • Count, compare, describe, and sort objects • Develop a sense of properties and patterns • Connect numerals to the quantities they represent • Model (act out or use objects) problem solving involving simple addition and subtraction situations • Recognize and name basic geometric shapes and spatial relationships • Compare objects in terms of their measurements • Identify coins by name and value, and make fair trades with pennies, nickels, and dimes • Follow a daily schedule to help develop the concept of time • Collect data and make picture graphs

Science:
Kindergarten students will use inquiry to focus on questions about the world around them, including questions related to earth science, physical science, and life science. By the end of Kindergarten, students will be able to:

Describe different types of motion and the effects of gravity on objects • Identify parts of things such as tools or toys • Describe, compare, and sort items according to physical attributes such as number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and motion • Use their senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound to sort physical objects into groups • Use their senses to make observations about the physical world around them • Demonstrate awareness of similarities and differences of physical attributes of the world around them, including awareness of similarities and differences between living and nonliving things, between animals and plants, and between parents and offspring.

Social Studies:
Kindergarten students will begin to explore the foundations of history, geography, government, and economics. By the end of Kindergarten, students will be able to:

Identify, describe, and explain major national holidays • Identify and explain the meaning of important national symbols • Use words and phrases related to chronology and time correctly to explain how things change • Describe American culture through diverse community and family celebrations and customs • Identify and explain very basic characteristics of maps and globes, and state where they live by street, city, county, state, nation, and continent • Explain the creation and importance of rules, as well as the qualities of honesty, patriotism, loyalty, courtesy, respect, truth, pride, self-control, moderation, and accomplishment • Describe types of work that people do to earn income • Explain the concept of exchanging money for goods and services.

1st Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
First grade students will be engaged in reading, writing, and listening speaking, & viewing. By the end of 1st grade, students will demonstrate mastery of many concepts and skills, including the following:

Apply more advanced phonics skills when reading and writing words, sentences, and stories • Read high frequency words and first grade text with appropriate accuracy, speed, and expression • Use strategies to gain meaning from grade level text • Write a story that shows focus and organization • Expand sentences and recognize paragraphs • Apply basic rules of language and spelling • Recognize and use grade level vocabulary

Mathematics
First grade students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of 1st grade, students will be able to:

Understand and use place value notation for numbers less than 100 • Represent quantity with numbers, models, diagrams, and number sentences • Add and subtract numbers less than 100 • Measure length, weight, capacity, and time (hour, half hour, days in week, months in year, duration or sequence of events) • Build, draw, name, and describe basic geometric figures • Pose questions and collect data, and organize and interpret data represented by tally marks, pictures, and bar graphs • Problem solve, develop arguments, use language of mathematics, make connections, communicate

Science:
First grade students will use inquiry to focus on questions about the world around them. By the end of 1st grade, students will be able to:

Observe, measure, and communicate weather data • Identify what things can do when put together and what cannot be done when things are not put together • Create drawings that correctly depict a specific thing being described • Make observations, ask questions about, and investigate patterns • Recognize sources of light and explain how shadows form • Note repeating patterns in shadows, weather ,and daily needs of plants and animals • Demonstrate awareness of the characteristics and basic needs of living things • Differentiate between various sounds in terms of pitch and volume

Social Studies:
First grade students will explore history, geography, and government through the study of selected heroes from American history. In addition, they will continue to acquire basic economic concepts By the end of 1st grade, students will be able to:

Identify and describe the lives of significant historical American figures • Explain how American folktales characterize our national heritage • Describe the cultural and geographic systems associated with selected historical figures • Locate their own city, county, state, nation and continent on a simple map or globe • Describe the positive character traits of the selected historical figures • Explain the meaning of patriotic language in selected American songs • Identify, describe, and explain basic ideas related to goods, services, scarcity, producers and consumers, and spending and saving.

2nd Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
Second grade students will be engaged in reading, writing, and listening, speaking, & viewing. By the end of 2nd grade, students will demonstrate mastery of many concepts and skills, including the following:

Read high frequency words and second grade text with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression • Recognize and use grade level vocabulary • Use strategies to gain meaning from grade level text • Apply more advanced phonics skills when reading and writing words, sentences, and stories • Read longer, more complex texts, including chapter books • Begin editing and revising their work

Mathematics
Second grade students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of 2nd grade students will be able to:

Understand and use multiple representations of numbers to connect symbols to quantities • Understand multiplication as repeated addition • Understand fractions as parts of a whole • Understand relationships using =, <, and > • Describe and classify 2 and 3 dimensional figures • Directly compare length, weight, and capacity of concrete objects • Tell time to the nearest 5 minutes • Count back change, and use decimal notation and dollar and cent symbols • Problem solve, develop arguments, use language of mathematics, make connections ,communicate • Pose questions, collect data, and create simple tables, picture and bar graphs, and Venn diagrams

Science:
Second grade students will use inquiry to focus on questions about the world around them, including questions related to earth science, physical science, and life science. By the end of 2nd grade, students will be able to:

Raise questions about the world around them and seek answers through observation and exploration • Recognize attributes of sun, moon, and stars • Identify and describe sources of energy • Demonstrate changes in speed and direction using pushes and pulls • Locate sources of heat and light energy • Form ideas about natural and manipulated changes such as changes in the Earth’s surface and changes in the attributes of materials • Determine the sequence of the life cycle of common animals in their area • Relate seasonal changes to observations of how trees change throughout a school years

Social Studies:
Second grade students will study important historical figures in Georgia, as well as the Creek and Cherokee cultures in Georgia. In addition, 2nd graders will begin to examine the basic concept of government and continue to acquire basic economic concepts. By the end of 2nd grade, students will be able to:

Identify and describe the lives of significant figures in Georgia history and show how these figures exhibit positive traits of citizenship • Describe the Georgia Creek and Cherokee cultures • Locate and describe the major topographical features of Georgia • Describe the cultural and geographic systems associated with historical figures in Georgia and with the Creek and Cherokee people • Define the concept of government, identify the roles of specific elected officials, and identify specific government buildings • Relate the concepts of opportunity costs and allocation of goods and services to prior understanding of economics

3rd Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
Third grade students will be engaged in reading,writing, and listening, speaking, & viewing. By the end of 3rd grade, students will be able to:

Read grade level text with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression • Read a variety of text • Recognize and use grade level vocabulary • Use strategies, such as summarizing, to gain meaning from text • Work independently on research projects • Use the writing process to produce pieces, including reports and essays

Mathematics
Third grade students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of 3rd grade ,students will be able to:

Understand place value through ten thousands • Add and subtract using properties and estimation • Understand the relationship between division and multiplication and between division and subtraction • Multiply/divide a 2-3 digit whole number by a 1-digit whole number • Model addition and subtraction of decimals and common fractions • Measure length, perimeter, area, and elapsed time • Classify triangles by sides and understand circles • Create and interpret tables and graphs (using scale increments) • Problem solve, develop arguments, use language of mathematics, make connections, communicate

Science:
Third grade students will use inquiry to focus on questions about the world around them. By the end of 3rd grade, students will be able to:

Explain how heat is produced and the effects of heating and cooling • Describe the effect of magnets on common objects and in other magnets • Describe the ways in which the parts of an object influence or interact with one another • Represent objects in the real world with geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, maps, and stories; and compare/ contrast these representations to their objects • Compare objects, record findings accurately, and analyze data in order to answer their own questions • Use information about the relationship between the form and shape of an object and that object’s use, operation, or function to explain fossils, rock cycles, and features of plants and animals • Differentiate between habitats in Georgia and the organisms that live in our state • Recognize the effects of pollution and humans on the environment.

Social Studies:
Third grade students will explore the origins of American democracy as well as the lives of important Americans. In addition, 3rd graders will continue to acquire basic economic concepts. By the end of 3rd grade, students will be able to:

Explain the political roots of American democracy • Discuss the lives of selected Americans who expanded people’s rights and freedoms in a democracy • Locate and describe the major topographical features of America • Describe the cultural and geographic systems associated with historical figures in American democracy and explain how these Americans display positive character traits • Explain the importance of the basic principles that provide the foundation of a republican form of government • Describe and explain economic concepts involving productive resources, taxation for public services, and interdependence and trade

4th Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
Fourth grade students will be engaged in reading, writing, and listening, speaking, & viewing. By the end of 4th grade, students will demonstrate mastery of many concepts and skills, including the following:

Read and comprehend texts from a variety of genres • Understand and learn from texts independently • Read and understand informational texts from other content areas as well as from language arts • Use a variety of strategies, such as summarizing, to understand texts • Use writing as a tool to show comprehension • Use evidence/reasoning to support opinions and solutions to problems • Write effectively for a variety of audiences and purposes

Mathematics
Fourth grade students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

Use properties of the four arithmetic operations to solve and check problems involving whole numbers • Determine when and how to use rounding • Solve problems involving multiplication and division of whole numbers (2-3 digits by 1-2 digits) • Add and subtract simple decimals and common fractions with common denominators • Measure weight using metric and standard units, and also measure angles • Understand and construct plane and solid geometric figures; and graph points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane • Use mathematical expressions in problem solving situations • Identify features and tendencies of graphs • Problem solve, develop arguments, use language of mathematics, make connections, and communicate

Science:
Fourth grade students will gather and interpret data and make models to focus on “doing” science related to earth science, physical science, and life science. By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

Differentiate between observations and ideas • Use records, tables, or graphs to identify patterns of change • Write instructions and make sketches that allow others to carry out a scientific procedure • Compare and contrast attributes of stars and planets • Model position and motion of the Earth, moon, and sun • Describe how mirrors, lenses, and prisms affect the way in which light travels • Identify simple machines and explain their uses • Demonstrate how sound is produced • Describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem • Identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms

Social Studies:
Fourth grade students will begin the formal study of United States history, from the development of Native American cultures to the year 1860. Concepts in geography, government, and economics will interface with the study of history. By the end of 4th grade, students will be able to:

Explain the development of early Native American cultures in North America • Describe the European exploration of North America and explain the factors that shaped British colonial America, as well as the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution • Analyze the challenges faced in governing the new American nation, westward expansion, and the abolitionist and suffrage movements • Locate the important geographical features of the United States, both natural and man-made, and describe how these physical systems affect the growth of the U. S. • Describe and explain the significance of selected historical documents and of governmental functions as they relate to democratic beliefs and freedoms • Use economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, specialization, voluntary exchange, productivity, and price

5th Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts:
Fifth grade students will receive instruction in reading, writing, and listening, speaking, & viewing. By the end of 5th grade, students will demonstrate mastery of many concepts and skills, including the following:

Read and comprehend texts from a variety of genres and a variety of subject areas • Construct new knowledge by making connections between new and previously held ideas • Write for a variety of purposes • Understand a problem or conflict in text and determine an appropriate solution • Use background knowledge and experiences to draw conclusions and make valid generalizations • Use evidence/reasoning to support opinions and solutions to problems

Mathematics
Fifth grade students will be actively engaged in developing mathematical understandings in real and relevant contexts. By the end of 5th grade, students will be able to:

Classify counting numbers into subsets (odd/ even, prime/composite); find factors and multiples; and use divisibility rules • Find equivalent fractions and dd/subtract fractions/mixed numbers with unlike denominators • Understand and apply percentages to circle graphs • Compute area and volume of simple geometric figures and measure capacity • Understand congruence and the relationship of circumference to diameter of a circle • Represent and investigate mathematical expressions algebraically by using variables • Discuss advantages and disadvantages of various types of graphs (including circle graphs) • Problem solve, develop arguments, use language of mathematics, make connections, and communicate

Science:
Fifth grade students will investigate evidence related to scientific concepts. They will conduct experiments and do research that focuses on earth science, physical science, and life science. By the end of 5th grade, students will be able to:

Use records, tables, or graphs to predict patterns of change • Identify and find examples of constructive and destructive forces while relating the role of technology to monitoring and controlling these forces • Explain the difference between physical and chemical change • Describe the relationship between electricity and magnetism • Classify organisms into groups • Compare and contrast characteristics of learned behaviors and of inherited traits • Identify plants, animals, single-celled organisms, and multi-celled organisms • Relate how microorganisms are harmful or beneficial

Social Studies:
Fifth grade students will continue the formal study of United States history, beginning with the Civil War and culminating with the present. Concepts in geography, government, and economics will interface with the study of history. By the end of 5th grade, students will be able to:

Explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War, and analyze the effects of Reconstruction • Describe and explain life in America from the late 19th century to the present, including the U. S. involvement in various wars and conflicts, the Great Depression and the New Deal, the Cold War, and significant people and events during this time period • Locate important places in the United States, both natural and man-made • Describe and explain how geography affects economic growth and expansion of the U. S. • Explain the protection of citizens’ rights under the constitution, including the process for and history of amending the U. S. Constitution • Use economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, specialization, voluntary exchange, productivity, and price incentives to illustrate historical events

S.C.O.P.E. Curriculum Overview

Barrow County Schools serve students identified as gifted in the SCOPE Program (Synthesize, Collaborate, Originate, Produce, and Evaluate). The SCOPE Program provides gifted students with learning opportunities that they would not otherwise experience in the regular classroom. Within the program, students are exposed to a wide variety of studies presented at appropriate levels and pace. Gifted students receive stimulation in the areas of creative thinking and problem solving with opportunities to interact with their intellectual peers. Special instruction is offered to students identified as academically gifted.

The goals of the S.C.O.P.E. Program are to allow intellectually gifted students to:

Demonstrate critical thinking, problem-solving and higher level thinking skills and apply them to everyday situations

• Develop advanced research and communication skills and methods
• Transfer learned concepts to different contexts
• Develop and practice creative thinking, creative problem-solving skills, and creative expression
• Participate in a variety of activities that encourage exploration in broad-based issues, themes, and problems
• Explore GPS content that is extended, compacted and accelerated, and not pursued in the regular curriculum
• Discover that the more they learn, the more they need to know
• Develop an intrinsic desire to learn

The SCOPE curriculum is designed to challenge students by extending/enriching and/or compacting/accelerating the Georgia Performance Standards and includes mastery of complex systems of knowledge and development of thinking skills. Within the gifted curriculum, the students have opportunities to explore advanced content and develop products and advanced learning skills.