Orange County Public Schools Wetherbee Elementary School

Grade Level Expectations

Reading/Language Arts

• Uses strategies (context clues, word structure, and phonics) to construct meaning from various texts, graphics and charts.
• Summarizes, checks other sources, rereads, discusses and uses text features to clarify understanding and monitor comprehension.
• Determines main idea, supporting details and facts and arranges events in chronological order.
• Describes author's purpose and how it influences the text.
• Reads and organizes information from several sources including maps, charts and photos for a variety of purposes.
• Knows differences between fact, fiction, and opinion.
• Recognizes the use of comparison and contrast.
• Prepares and revises, in cursive, a written piece that focuses on a central idea, uses effective organization, varies sentence structure, has precise word choice, supporting details, and ideas and facts relevant to the story line or purpose.
• Produces final documents with correct spelling, punctuation and grammar to communicate effectively.
• Writes for a variety of occasions, purposes and audiences.
• Uses technology to create, revise, retrieve, and verify information. Uses listening strategies to understand information presented orally in a variety of forms (speeches, directions, stories, songs).
• Speaks for specific occasions, audiences and purposes using verbal and nonverbal strategies.
• Understands similes, metaphors, symbols, analogies, alliteration, and idiomatic language.
• Understands development of plot, how conflicts are resolved, and makes inferences and draws conclusions regarding story elements.
• Knows similarities and differences of characters, setting and events in various texts.
• Responds critically to fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama.
• Understands cause and effect.
• Knows themes recur in literary works and identifies major information in non-fiction texts.

Math

• Divides multi-digits whole numbers fluently, including solving real world problems, demonstrating understanding of the standard algorithm and checking the reasonableness of answers.
• Represents addition and subtraction of decimals and fractions with like and unlike denominators using models, place value or properties.
• Adds and subtracts fractions and decimals and verifies reasonableness of answers, including in real world situations.
• Estimates fraction and decimal sums and differences, and uses rounding techniques.
• Determines the prime factorization of numbers.
• Analyzes and compares properties of two-dimensional figures and three dimensional solids.
• Describes, defines, and determines surface area, volume of prisms by using appropriate units and selecting strategies and tools.
• Uses the properties of equality to solve numerical and real world situations.
• Constructs and describes a graph showing continuous data.
• Identifies and plots ordered pairs on the first quadrant of the coordinate plane.
• Compares, contrasts, and converts units of measure within the same dimension (length, mass, or time) to solve problems.
• Solves problems requiring approximation, selection of appropriate measure tools, and precision of measurement.
• Derives and applies formulas for area of parallelograms, triangles, and trapezoids from the area of a rectangle.
• Identifies and relates prime and composite numbers, factors, and multiples within the context of fractions.
• Uses the order of operations to simplify expressions which includes exponents and parentheses.
• Describes real-world situations using positive and negative numbers.
• Compares, orders, and graphs integers, including integers shown on a number line.

Science

• Observes records, analyzes and communicates results of scientific investigations to answer questions and explain events.
• Uses various tools to compare and measure materials.
• Understands that matter can undergo both physical and chemical changes.
• Demonstrates that the flow of energy in a system can be traced and described.
• Describes how energy takes various forms and can be converted from one form to an-other.
• Demonstrates that changes in speed or direction of motion of an object are caused by forces.
• Explains that Earth's surface is in a continuous state of change as waves, weather, and shifts of land constantly change and produce new features.
• Understands that Earth's natural resources are limited and need to be protected.
• Explains that the tilt of the earth as it rotates and revolves around the sun causes changes in seasons, length of day, and energy available.
• Knows that all organisms are composed of cells.
• Identifies similar and different structures in living things.
• Identifies major organs in the human body and explains their functions.
• Explains that adaptations to their environment may increase the survival of a species.
• Understands that living things compete in a climatic region for resources like food, water, air and space.
• Knows that green plants use carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight to turn minerals and nutrients into food for growth and maintenance.
• Plans an experiment with a hypothesis, observations, data analysis and a conclusion.

Social Studies

• Utilizes timelines to identify and discuss American History time periods.
• Compares cultural aspects of ancient American civilizations (Aztecs/Mayas; Mound Builders/Anasazi/Inuit).
• Describes interactions among Native Americans, Africans, English, French, Dutch, and Spanish for control of North America.
• Demonstrates an understanding of political, economic, and social aspects of daily colonial life in the thirteen colonies.
• Describes the introduction, impact, and role of slavery in the colonies.
• Identifies and explains significant events leading up to the American Revolution.
• Explains economic, military, and political factors which led to the end of the Revolutionary War.
• Examines the significance of the Constitution including its key political concepts, origins of those concepts, and their role in American democracy.
• Identifies the causes and effects of the War of 1812.
• Identifies major United States physical features on a map of North America.
• Locates and identifies states, capitals, and United States Territories on a map.
• Describes the push-pull factors (economy, natural hazards, tourism, climate, physical features) that influenced boundary changes within the United States.
• Describes the impact that past natural events have had on human and physical environments in the United States through 1850.
• Uses geography concepts and skills such as recognizing patterns, mapping, graphing to find solutions for local, state, or national problems.
• Identifies how trade promoted economic growth in North America from pre-Columbian times to 1850.
• Recognizes the positive and negative effects of voluntary trade among Native Americans, European explorers, and colonists.
• Explains how and why the United States government was created.
• Analyzes how the Constitution has expanded voting rights from our nation’s early history to today.
• Identifies ways good citizens go beyond basic civic and political responsibilities to improve government and society.
• Gives examples of powers granted to the federal government and those reserved for the states.
• Identifies the fundamental rights of all citizens as enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
• Uses primary and secondary sources to understand history.