Our fifth and sixth grade program is planned to have students actively involved in experiences that allow them to construct increased knowledge and functioning with content. Individual prior knowledge is assessed to create lessons that will challenge their current views and skills to increase the depth of understanding.  Often assessment is embedded in classroom activities and in individual work.

Journals are used to monitor your students ability to communicate and represent developing ideas. Organization and study skills are taught to increase retention of content concepts and vocabulary.

Student projects and presentations are used because making products for a purpose is a strategy that increases ownership and responsibility for learning. Rubrics are used to give guidelines for students to evaluate their efforts toward a learning goal.

Students are encouraged to take initiative and to actively pursue interests and to make choices. They are asked to engage, exert effort, and to think of error as necessary for learning. Students will learn to evaluate their thinking and to give feedback to peers that will help with improvement of products.