First Grade

LANGUAGE ARTS

World Fairy tales and nature stories, pictorial introduction to the alphabet, beginning writing and reading.

MATHEMATICS

Quality of numbers, skip counting, introduction to the four operations of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication, Roman numerals, multiplication in rhythm, introduction to mental arithmetic and math facts.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS & ACTIVITIES 

Spanish and Ojibwe language and culture, speech, class play, form drawing, wet-on-wet painting, beeswax modeling, singing, pentatonic flute, knitting, jump rope, folk dance, bean and circle games. 

Second GRade

LANGUAGE ARTS

Development of written and oral language skills through exploration of riddles, Aesop’s fables, myths, legends, and other cultural stories. Using materials drawn from classroom literature, children begin reading and writing longer sentences and reading more proficiently.

MATHEMATICS

Continuing to grow the children’s capacity with the four processes of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division introduced in grade one, children now also move into place value, multiplication tables, telling time, math games and geometric patterns.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Spanish and Ojibwe language and culture, pentatonic flute, class play, crocheting, knitting, felting, wet-on-wet painting, beeswax modeling, form drawing, as well as movement games that develop coordination, dexterity, spatial orientation and rhythm. In the spring of their second grade year, rising third graders plan and plant the garden with their parents and teachers.

Third GRade

LANGUAGE ARTS

Creation stories from various cultures, Anishinaabe history and stories, farming and gardening from different cultural perspectives, grammar, punctuation, narrative writing, parts of speech and spelling and introduction to cursive handwriting.

MATHEMATICS

Review of Place Value, adding and subtracting 3 and 4 digit numbers with borrowing and carrying, math facts, multiplication tables, measurement, money, length, weight, liquids and mental math.

LIFE ARTS

Shelter-building, cooking, spinning, weaving, dyeing, basketry, making maple syrup, gardening, beekeeping, and farming.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Spanish and Ojibwe language and culture, speech, class play or puppet show, pentatonic and a string instrument (is recommended to begin as an after school activity), form drawing, wet-on-wet painting, beeswax modeling, singing rounds, crochet, games, multi-cultural music, and folk dancing. Third graders keep journals for farming and gardening. Support for both children and parents through the 9 year change is included in the curriculum during the third grade year.

Fifth Grade Curriculum

Language Arts: Reading
The stories of fifth grade center around five ancient cultures. Areas of study include Ancient India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece.

The fifth-grade reading curriculum is really a process of deepening and developing their already existing reading skills. Oral reading, group reading, reading quizzes and book reports, may be included.

Writing
Writing continues to develop during fifth grade with more focus on formal writing such as report writing. Continuing to work on grammar, spelling, writing flow and imaginative depiction.

Mathematics: continuation of fractions into decimal fractions and percent, and the introduction of geometry. Fractions are developed into decimal fractions and decimal numbers. All four operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—with decimals are introduced. Percentages are then introduced. Fifth-grade geometry is freehand geometric drawing. The relationships between expansion and contraction and within points, lines and shapes are examined. We divide the circle into its 360 degrees and draw and examine triangles, hexagons and circles. Tools such as compasses may be introduced. The mathematical work is concluded with an introduction to area.

Science and Social Studies:

Botany and the world of plants: Children examine the various phyla of the plant world, learning how to identify them as well as studying their development, reproduction and role in the natural and human world. Direct observation of plants and botanical formations are made by the students and scientific terminology is also introduced.

The fifth grade geography curriculum is centered on the ancient cultures studied and North America. The study of North America is a continuation of the local geography and history completed in fourth grade when the children studied the area of Minnesota. Native American cultures are an integral part of our studies as students learn about our states in the U.S. and the countries that border the U.S. Cultural geography is included with regional music, literature, history and art are brought into the classroom to give the children a specific sense of the individual place.

The Arts and Field Trips: Recorder, singing, speech and movement are included as well as painting, and work with clay. Monthly field trips, guest speakers, and work with the IEN Garden are offered on Thursdays.

Fourth Grade

LANGUAGE ARTS

Norse and Finnish sagas, grammar (parts of speech, verb tense, punctuation), letter writing, report writing and narrative writing.

MATH

Fractions, averages, long multiplication, long division, square numbers, factors, multiplication tables, geometrical drawing, and mental math.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Local and state history and geography, including Native American studies, and map making.

SCIENCE  Zoology (human and animal).

Additional subjects and activities:  Spanish language and culture, speech, class play, stringed instrument (if available), form drawing, wet-on-wet painting, beeswax modeling, pottery, singing rounds, pentatonic flute, cross-stitch, games, folk dancing.

Offsite learning: 4th graders are invited to join the Thursday Multi-age Enrichment Class for field work opportunities related to their studies such as visits to the Science Center during the Zoology Block, visits to the Beltrami History Museum during a block on Minnesota history, and arrangements to learn folk dancing. Guest speakers from the Indigenous Community are invited on the second Thursdays of the month.