3rd to 5th Grade Academics - Private School in San Clemente CA

Our Lady Fatima Academy’s academic programs develop the whole child and differentiate for diverse needs by building on students’ strengths and addressing growth opportunities.

This is accomplished through engaging and meaningful learning experiences that:

empower students to be agents in the learning process
exceed academic standard
andprepare students for high school, college, and careers.

These meaningful learning experiences are:

goal drive and rigorous
authentic and constructive
multi-modal and active
collaborative
personalized and differentiated
culturally and Linguistically Responsive
assessed formatively and summatively

Through rigorous and engaging curriculum and instruction, Our Lady of Fatima Academy fulfills our mission of nurturing individuals to discover their God-given gifts, encouraging them to use these gifts in the service of others, and empowering them to be models of integrity and peacemakers who work for justice.

Reading

At this level we shift from learning to read to reading to learn. Students continue to build strong reading comprehension skills by:
● engaging in meaningful reading discussion,
● learning to make inferences and support their claims
● understanding author’s purpose and point of view
Additionally, students engage in a myriad of informational and narrative texts from various cultures around the world.

Writing

Students learn elements and conventions of academic writing. Beginning with support in third grade, students learn to independently write well formed, five-paragraph essays by the end of fifth grade. Students explore the following elements of writing:
● Informative writing
● Opinion/Persuasive writing
● Narrative writing
● Study of Latin & Greek affixes and roots
● Context-based spelling, grammar, and vocabulary

Math

Math in third through fifth grade is closely related, as each grade builds upon the learning of the previous year. The main concepts taught in these grades are:
● Using the four operations to solve problems with whole numbers through decimals by the end of fifth grade
● Strong understanding of base ten operations and place value
● Operations with fractions and decimal equivalence by the end of fourth grade
● Measurement and conversion between customary and metric system
● Concepts of geometry such as identifying shapes, angles, and graphing coordinates by the end of fifth grade

Religion

We help build the whole child through examples and teaching virtues. Students also learn about:
● Catholic traditions and theology
● Lives of the saints
● Sacraments

Additionally, students attend Mass each week, 3rd grade with their big buddies and 4th & 5th grade with their little buddies.

Across these grades, students learn how to actively engage in their communities through their understanding of government and history.

In 3rd grade, students learn about California through

Geography and Economics
American Indians of California
American Symbols and Landmarks
U.S. and Local Government

In 4th grade, students learn California History

CA Indian Nations
Henry Dana Jr. & reading of Two Years before the Mast
Mission system, St. Junipero Serra, and completion of the Mission Project
CA Gold Rush & reading of By the Great Horn Spoon
California in the 1900s and reading of Sylvia & Aki

In 5th grade, students learn American History

In science, we follow NGSS standards by engaging students in observing, making predictions, experimenting, and reflecting the following sciences:

Earth science
Life science
Electrical engineering