Learning Goals

St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School is a child-centered Armenian Institution committed to academic excellence. At the Elementary level, the core curriculum subjects are taught in English. The Armenian language and history are taught in Armenian, with an emphasis on creating awareness and instilling an appreciation of Armenian culture and traditions.

The curriculum of St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School is comprised of literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education and the fine arts. The Learning Goals under each core area represent the school's end of the year expectations for students in grade one. The first grade curriculum will include but not be limited to, these topics. The developmental level of students as well as their varying abilities and interests will be taken into account when designing and implementing instruction.

The purpose of the written progress reports is to inform families of students' individual progress in the achievement of these Learning Goals. Progress Reports are supplemented by Fall, Winter and Spring parent/teacher conferences. We believe that a child's success in school is enhanced by meaningful home/school communication.


 

Armenian

St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School uses the Armenian language series entitled "Mer Lezoun". This is a publication of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.

Reading

  • Read fluently with proper pronunciation paying attention to punctuation marks.

Comprehension

  • Retell stories read out loud.

Writing

  • Begin writing narrative and descriptive essays

Copying

  • Write meticulously 3-5 lines of the text paying attention to lower and upper case letters

Spelling

  • Spelling test on the above mentioned 3-5 lines

Grammar

  • Syllables

  • Nouns

  • Verbs

  • Pronouns

  • Adjectives

  • Major elements of a sentence (subject and verb)

Recitation

  • Recitation of poems

History

  • Early stages of Armenian history followed by the history of Ardashesian and Arshagouni Kingdoms, and the conversion of the Armenian Nation to Chritianity

Religion

  • Church

  • Lord's Prayer

  • Chalice/Curtain

  • Sharagans

  • Bible

  • 10 Commandments

  • Church Service

  • Ordination

  • Saints

  • Feast days and Prayers

General Knowledge

  • Seasons, in more detail

  • Plants (parts of a tree or flower)

  • Continents, oceans, islands, etc.

  • Day, week, month, year, leap year, century

  • Nutrition food

  • Different parts of the body

  • Good manners (greetings)

  • Parts of a computer

  • Additional Reading

  • Stories on space, continents and others

 

Literacy

Grade 3, 4 & 5

  • Decoding of the print-sound code should become automatic across the whole span of language

  • Independently read aloud unfamiliar level (at least) 38 nonfiction books with 95% accuracy or better

  • Easily read word with irregularly spelled suffixes

  • Use the cues of punctuation to guide themselves in getting meaning and fluently reading aloud from the increasingly complex texts they read

  • Use pacing and intonation to convey the meaning of the clauses and phrases of the sentences they read

  • Monitor their own reading, noticing when sentences or paragraphs are incomplete or when texts do not make sense

  • Use their ear for syntax to help figure out the meaning of new words

  • Infer the meaning of words from roots, prefixes and suffixes, as well as from the overall contextual meaning of what they are reading

  • Analyze the relations among different parts of a text

  • Raise questions about what the author was trying to say and use the text to help answer the questions

  • Capture meaning from figurative language and explain the meaning

  • Cite important details from a text

  • Compare one text to another they have read or heard

  • Discuss why an author might have chosen particular words

  • Say how a story relates to something in real-life experience

  • Explain the motives of characters

  • Discuss plot and setting

  • Use structure of informational text to retrieve information

  • Analyze the causes, motivations, sequences and results of events

  • Understand the concepts and relationships described in the story

  • Use reasoning and information from within and outside the text to examine arguments

  • Describe in their own words what new information they gained from a nonfiction text and how it relates to their prior knowledge

  • Follow instructions or directions they encounter in the more complicated functional texts they are now reading around 30 books a year, independently or with assistance, and regularly participate in discussions of their reading with another student, a group or an adult

  • Read and hear texts read aloud from a variety of genres

  • Read multiple books by the same author and be able to identify differences and similarities among them

  • Reread some favorite books or parts of longer books, gaining deeper comprehension and knowledge of author's craft

  • Read own writing and the writing of their classmates

  • Read functional and instructional messages

  • Listen to and discuss at least one chapter read to them every day

  • Voluntarily read to each other, signaling their sense of themselves as readers

  • Read good children's literature every day

  • Have worthwhile literature read to them to model the language and craft of good writing

  • Discuss underlying themes or messages when interpreting fiction

  • Read and respond to poems, stories, memoirs and plays written by peers

  • Identify and discuss recurring themes across works

  • Evaluate literary merit and participate informatively in peer talk about selecting books to read

  • Examine the reasons for a character's actions, accounting for situation and motive

  • Recognize genre features and compare works by different authors in the same genre

  • Note and talk about author's craft

  • Demonstrate the skills we look for in the comprehension component of content

 

READING STANDARD 2: Getting the Meaning

  • Note and talk about author's craft: word choice, beginnings and endings, plot, and character development

  • Use comparisons and analogies to explain ideas

  • Refer to knowledge built during discussion

  • Use information that is accurate, accessible and relevant

  • Restate own ideas with greater clarity when a listener indicates non-comprehension

  • Ask other students questions requiring them to support their claims or arguments

  • Indicate when their own or others' ideas need further support or explanation

  • Learn new words every day from their reading

  • Recognize when they don't know what a word means and use a variety of strategies for figuring it out (for example, ask others, look at the context, find the word in use elsewhere and look for clues there)

  • Know meanings of roots, prefixes and suffixes

  • Talk about the meaning of most of the new words encountered in independent and assisted reading

  • Notice and show interest in understanding unfamiliar words in texts that are read to them

  • Know how to talk about what nouns mean in terms of function for example, (“water is for drinking”), features (“water is wet,”) and category ("water is a liquid")

  • Know how to talk about verbs as "action words"

  • Talk about words as they relate to other words, synonyms, antonyms or which word is more precise

 

WRITING WORKSHOP:

  • Write daily

  • Generate their own topics and spend the necessary amount of time to revisit and refine their writing

  • Extend and rework pieces of writing (for example, turning a paragraph from a memoir into a fully developed piece)

  • Routinely rework, revise, edit and proofread their work

  • Over the course of the year, polish 10 or 12 pieces for an audience in and beyond the classroom

  • Write for specific purposes of their own (for example, writing a birthday card for a parent or friend)

  • Consciously study appropriate specific elements of a favorite author's work to refine the quality of their own work

  • Apply criteria (both public and personal) to their writing

  • Orient or engage the reader to (set the time, indicate the location where the story takes place, introduce the character, or enter immediately into the story line)

  • Build and present a believable world through the precise choice of detail

  • Create a sequence of events which unfolds naturally

  • Provide pacing

  • Develop a character, often by providing motivation for action and having the character solve the problem

  • Add reflective comments (especially in an autobiographical narrative)

  • Provide some kind of conclusion

  • Engage the reader by establishing a context for the piece

  • Identify the topic

  • Provide a guide to find action in the story

  • Show the steps in an action in considerable detail

  • Include relevant information

  • Use language that is straightforward and clear

  • May use illustrations detailing steps in the process

 

Producing Literature

  • Write stories, songs, poetry and plays –conforming to appropriate expectations of each form

  • Produce a piece that incorporates elements appropriate to the genre after engaging in a genre study

  • Build on a thread of a story by extending or changing the story line

 

Responding to Literature

  • Support an interpretation by making specific reference to the text

  • Provide enough detail from the text so the reader can understand the interpretation

  • Go beyond retelling

  • Compare two works by an author

  • Discuss several works that have a common idea or theme

  • Make connections between the text and their own ideas and lives

  • Introduce the topic, sometimes providing a context or clue

  • Have an organizational structure that is useful to the reader

  • Communicate the ideas, insights or theories that have been elaborated on or illustrated through facts, details, quotations, statistics and information

  • Use diagrams, charts or illustrations as appropriate to the text

  • Have a concluding sentence or section

  • Employ a straightforward tone of voice

  • Incorporate transitional words and phrases appropriate to thinking

  • Embed phrases and modifiers that make their writing lively and graphic

  • Use varying sentence patterns and lengths to slow reading down, speed it up, create mood

  • Embed literary language where appropriate

  • Reproduce sentence structures found in various genres they are reading

  • Notice when words do not look correct and use strategies to correct the spelling (for example, experiment with alternative spellings, look the word up in the dictionary or word list)

  • Correctly spell all familiar high frequency words

  • Correctly spell words with short vowels and common endings

  • Correctly spell most inflectional endings, including plurals and verb tenses

  • Use correct spelling patterns and rules such as consonant doubling, dropping e and changing y to i

  • Correctly spell most derivational words (for example, -tion, -ment, -ly)

  • Use words from their speaking vocabulary in their writing, including words they have learned from reading and class discussion

  • Make word choices that reveal they have a large enough vocabulary to exercise options in word choice (for example, more precise and vivid words)

  • Extend their writing vocabulary by using specialized words related to their topic or setting of their writing (i.e., the names of the breeds of dogs if they are writing about dogs)

  • Use capital letters at the beginnings of sentences

  • Use periods and other end punctuation correctly, nearly all the time

  • Approximate the use of quotation marks

  • Use question marks

  • Use capital and lowercase letters

  • Use contractions

 

Mathematics

  • Number and Operations in Base Ten
    • Place Value
    • Addition
    • Subtraction
  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
    • Understand Multiplication
    • Understand Division
    • Multiplication and Division Patterns
    • Multiplication and Division
    • Apply Multiplication and Division
    • Properties and Equations
  • Number and Operations-Fractions
    • Fractions
  • Measurement and Data
    • Measurement
    • Represent and Interpret Data
    • Perimeter and Area
  • Geometry
    • Geometry

 

Science

KNOWATOM: Third Grade Science System The KnowAtom Third Grade Science system introduces students to the Scientific Method and Engineering Design Process. Students learn how to gather data using instruments such as pan balances and graduated cylinders and use these measurements to draw conclusions. The 13 unit curriculum covers all of the elementary-level science, engineering and technology standards through topics like the water cycle, classification, types of energy and bridge construction. Teachers receive original student readers to reinforce the units’ topics and quizzes to assess student understanding.

Unit Topics

  • Unit 1: Understanding Atoms
  • Unit 2: Satellites
  • Unit 3: The Anatomy of Earth
  • Unit 4: Weather and Water
  • Unit 5: The Food Chain
  • Unit 6: Insect Life Cycles
  • Unit 7: Energy in Motion
  • Unit 8: Electricity
  • Unit 9: Magnetism
  • Unit 10: Sound
  • Unit 11: Light
  • Unit 12: Engineering Bridges
  • Unit 13: Skyscrapers
  • Unit 14: Engineering Bridges

 

Social Studies

 

Massachusetts and its Cities and Towns: Geography and History

Using local historic sites, historical societies, and museums, third graders learn about the history of Massachusetts from the time of the arrival of the Pilgrims. They also learn the history of their own cities and towns and about famous people and events in Massachusetts’ history. In addition, they read biographies of prominent Massachusetts people in science, technology, the arts, business, education, or political leadership in order to learn how they contributed to Massachusetts history.

 

CONCEPTS & SKILLS

Students should be able to:
Apply concepts and skills learned in previous grades.

 

History and Geography

  • Explain the meaning of time periods or dates in historical narratives (decade, century, 1600s, 1776) and use them correctly in speaking and writing.
  • Observe visual sources such as historic paintings, photographs, or illustrations that accompany historical narratives, and describe details such as clothing, setting, or action.
  • Observe and describe local or regional historic artifacts and sites and generate questions about their function, construction, and significance.
  • Use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, and titles to locate places on contemporary maps of New England, Massachusetts, and the local community.
  • Describe the difference between a contemporary map of their city or town and the map of their city or town in the 18th, 19th, or early 20th century.

 

Civics and Government

  • Give examples of why it is necessary for communities to have governments (e.g., governments provide order and protect rights).
  • Give examples of the different ways people in a community can influence their local government (e.g., by voting, running for office, or participating in meetings).

 

Economics

  • Define what a tax is and the purposes for taxes, and with the help of their teachers and parents, give examples of different kinds of taxes (e.g., property, sales, or income taxes).
  • Define specialization in jobs and businesses and give examples of specialized businesses in the community.
  • Define barter, give examples of bartering (e.g., trading baseball cards with each other), and explain how money makes it easier for people to get things they want.

Barter is the direct exchange of goods and services between people without using money. Trade is the exchange of goods and services between people.

 

LEARNING STANDARDS

Building on knowledge from previous years, students should be able to:

New England and Massachusetts

  • On a map of the United States, locate the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) and the Atlantic Ocean. On a map of Massachusetts, locate major cities and towns, Cape Ann, Cape Cod, the Connecticut River, the Merrimack River, the Charles River, and the Berkshire Hills.
  • Identify the Wampanoag’s and their leaders at the time the Pilgrims arrived, and describe their way of life.
  • Identify who the Pilgrims were and explain why they left Europe to seek religious freedom; describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth Colony.
    • the purpose of the Mayflower Compact and its principles of self-government
    • challenges in settling in America
    • events leading to the first Thanksgiving
  • Explain how the Puritans and Pilgrims differed and identify early leaders in Massachusetts, such as John Winthrop; describe the daily life, education, and work of the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
  • Explain important political, economic, and military developments leading to and during the American Revolution.
    • the growth of towns and cities in Massachusetts before the Revolution
    • the Boston Tea Party
    • the beginning of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord
    • the Battle of Bunker Hill
    • Revolutionary leaders such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere
  • Identify the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights as key American documents.
  • After reading a biography of a person from Massachusetts in one of the following categories, summarize the person's life and achievements.
    • science and technology (e.g., Alexander Graham Bell, Nathaniel Bowditch, Robert Goddard, John Hayes Hammond, Edwin Land, Samuel Morse)
    • the arts (e.g., Henry Adams, Louisa May Alcott, John Singleton Copley, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Geisel, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Frederick Law Olmsted, Norman Rockwell, Henry David Thoreau, Phyllis Wheatley)
    • business (e.g., William Filene, Amos Lawrence, Francis Cabot Lowell, An Wang);
    • education, journalism, and health (e.g., Clara Barton, Horace Mann, William Monroe Trotter)
    • political leadership (e.g., John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Edward Brooke, Benjamin Franklin, John F. Kennedy, Paul Revere)

 

Cities and Towns of Massachusetts

  • On a map of Massachusetts, locate the class’s home town or city (Watertown, MA) and its local geographic features and landmarks.
  • Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance. (H, C)
  • Explain the meaning of the stars and stripes in the American flag, and describe official procedures for the care and display of the flag.
  • Identify when the students’ own town or city was founded, and describe the different groups of people who have settled in the community since its founding.
  • Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
  • Give examples of goods and services provided by their local businesses and industries.
  • Give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by their local government, such as public schools, parks, recreational facilities, police and fire departments, and libraries.

 

*Note-The SSAES Curriculum Guidelines for Social Studies is directly derived from the Massachusetts History & Social Science Curriculum Framework.


 

Art

  • Use variety of media to create 2-D and 3-D artwork
  • Use and understand the elements of design
  • Expand knowledge of color through study of color wheel
  • Explore complexities of form and space by using found objects and mixed media
  • Work cooperatively in groups. Learn and use appropriate vocabulary related to methods, materials, and techniques

 

Music

  • Learn songs by rote; echo singing; matching tones in appropriate range
  • Identify musical aspects of sound (1ong/short, up/down, high/low, soft/loud, fast/slow)
  • Create body movement to music and rhythm; dances; additional verses to songs; dramatizations of songs, moods, stories
  • Perform music alone and with others
  • Improvise and create music
  • Use the vocabulary and notation of music
  • Respond to music with aesthetic judgments
  • Continue the music learning experience independently
  • Perform and/or respond to music of ever-widening variety
  • Continue musical participation out of school as both a performer and a consumer

 

Technology Curriculum

Technology Mission Statement

St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School provides for the educational needs of all students through integrating technology-rich curriculum in the areas of basic skills and decision making and encourages a desire for learning, positive social interaction, and mutual respect. This mission is essential if our students are to become productive members of society with its ever-changing technology.

Computer Classroom Vision

St. Stephen’s students will use technology as a tool and resource to facilitate the development of lifelong learners who are equipped for the present and future world of higher education, work and personal pursuits. All students will have access to a technology-rich learning environment that supports and extends the school’s curriculum standards.

Goals and Objectives

St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School actively supports the use of technology to enhance learning and to prepare students for productive lives in the Twenty-first century. Through technology, students will have rich learning experiences as they strengthen skills and critical thinking to acquire, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from multiple sources. They will also gain proficiency in communicating and conducting research electronically, enabling them to function effectively and productively in the Information Age.

The objectives are appropriate for each elementary grade level's development readiness. They should be met by the end of the academic year. However, any of these objectives may be introduced earlier than the specified grade level, depending on students’ readiness. Formal keyboarding instruction will begin in Grade 3 with the use of a keyboarding curriculum and will be continued in succeeding grade levels to increase speed and accuracy. With this proficiency, students will use technology more efficiently and possess a vital skill for further education and future employment.

 

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

LEVEL 2 GRADES 3, 4, 5

By the completion of grade 5 all students should be able to perform the following tasks:

 

Tasks

  • To use the numeric key pad, shift key and symbol keys.

  • To apply proper usage of fingers on the keyboard.

  • To develop and improve touch typing-keyboarding skills.

  • To effectively participate in teacher directed key boarding instruction.

  • To change the view of a window using the mouse.

  • To create a folder and place files in it.

  • To name or rename a file.

  • To backup files from the HD by saving to a floppy disk.

  • To open two programs simultaneously and switch between programs.

  • To master the basic skills of management such as creating new documents, renaming, saving, closing and exiting files.

  • To advance word processing skills.

  • To customize documents by using alignment, margins and simple tabs.

  • To understand word wrap, headers and footers and page breaks.

  • To use editing features such as copy, cut, paste, and find/replace.

  • To use a spell check.

  • To use Word Art to customize documents.

  • To use a desktop publishing program effectively.

  • To understand the differences between portrait and landscape view in a document.

 

By the completion of grade 5 all students should be able to perform the following tasks as well as all indicators listed for level 1:

 

  • To develop and plan a slide presentation.

  • To create a slide show using a multimedia program.

  • To create a slide show using information gathered for a research project.

  • To edit text in slides in a slide show presentation.

  • To format slides in a slide show presentation using good layout and design concepts.

  • To organize slides in a meaningful order to convey an idea.

  • To insert a graphic from a file into a slide.

  • To import graphics from the Internet into a slide.

  • To re-size a graphic in a slide.

  • To use transitions.

  • To be aware of giving credit to sources and to create a citation slide.

  • To learn to critique a presentation using a teacher-created evaluation sheet.

  • To use a drawing program.

  • To apply special effects (size, re-size, flip, rotate) to a graphic.

  • To use line, pointer and text tool in a draw or graphics program.

  • To understand the basic principals of page layout and design.

  • To understand database terminology such as record, field, category, sort/arrange, search/query, etc.

  • To search, sort and print out information from a database.

  • To understand what a spreadsheet is and how it is used.

  • To create an original spreadsheet.

  • To effectively use a spreadsheet application to chart and create a graph to represent survey data.

  • To use different types of graphs to represent the same data.

  • To edit individual cells in a spreadsheet.

  • To save and retrieve a spreadsheet.

  • To display or remove grid lines on a spreadsheet.

  • To change the design of a spreadsheet. (Column width, font size)

  • To add a graphic to a spreadsheet.

  • To use computer aided software to strengthen skills in curriculum areas.

  • To understand what a LAN is.

  • To log off and on a network.

  • To open a web browser.

  • To use a search engine.

  • To demonstrate competency in using information and communication networks.

  • To use the internet as a research tool and educational resource.

  • To create electronic bookmarks/favorites.

  • To enhance projects using online resources.

  • To work cooperatively on a project based webquest.

  • To understand Internet terminology.

  • To use teacher-guided search engines for research purposes.

  • To use a flash drive to move electronic files from one computer to another computer.

  • To delete files from the hard drive.

  • To understand and follow the rules posted in the computer lab.

  • To understand and follow rules contained in the school's Acceptable Use Policy that is signed by both students and parents.

  • To understand the consequences of not complying with the school's Acceptable Use Policy.

  • To understand and respect copyright information.

  • To understand how technology is used in daily life.

  • To work in a group setting to create a presentation in conjunction with the classroom teacher.

  • To analyze and evaluate websites with regard to their purpose.

  • To understand that websites are sponsored and may have commercial links.

  • To understand that computers have handicap accessibility available where needed.

  • To understand the dangers associated with using the Internet.

  • To understand what controls are in use on the school's network to keep students as safe as possible on the Internet.

  • To learn Internet safety rules.

  • To alert parents to Internet Safety websites.

  • To learn proper E-mail ettiquette.

  • To understand the meaning of cyber-bullying and its consequences.

  • To learn the importance of proper ergonomics for sitting at a computer station.

  • To use the Internet to effectively gather research data regarding a specific topic.

  • To record the sources of Internet research facts.

  • To cite sources in student work.

  • To organize facts garnered from Internet research.

  • To learn about the meaning and importance of key words when conducting a search.

  • To be able to analyze and evaluate the usefulness and reliability of a particular website.

  • To communicate with the classroom teacher by way of a classroom blog.

  • To Introduce computer programming.

  • To become familiar with the Armenian keyboard.

  • To create documents and slide shows typed in Armenian in conjunction with the Armenian teacher.

  • To search websites written in Armenian.


 

Physical Education

The Physical Education curriculum includes a balance of skills, concepts, game activities, rhythms and dance experiences designed to enhance the cognitive, motor, affective and physical fitness development of every child. Learning experiences encourage children to question, integrate, analyze, communicate and apply cognitive concepts. Activities that are taught in the curriculum allow children the opportunity to work together to improve their emerging social and cooperation skills. These activities also help children develop a positive self-concept. Ongoing fitness activities are part of the continual process of helping children understand, enjoy, improve and/or maintain their physical health and well-being. Grade decisions are based on ongoing individual assessments of children’s skill acquisition as they participate in physical education class activities and/or their effort to do their best while displaying cooperation and positive sportsmanship. The class is designed so that ALL children are involved in activities that allow them to remain active, successful and having fun.

  • Demonstrate mature form in locomotor skills
  • Combine locomotor patterns
  • Move in expressive ways
  • Kick, throw, catch and strike objects in changing environments
  • Use feedback to improve performance
  • Know the rules, procedures and safe practices for participation and respond appropriately
  • Share space and equipment with others

 

617-926-6979
school@ssaes.org
47 Nichols Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472

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