Ryan Curriculum
Gull Lake Community Schools and Ryan Intermediate has aligned it's curriculum with national standards. You may click on the following links to understand the individual content areas that will be addressed throughout the school year. If you have further questions please contact your child's teacher or the Ryan Intermediate office at 269-548-3700.
- Course Catalog
- 3rd Grade Course Offerings
- 4th Grade Course Offerings
- 5th Grade Course Offerings
- 3rd - 5th Grade Math Standards
- 3rd - 5th Grade ELA Standards
Course Catalog
3rd Grade Course Offerings
Welcome to Third Grade!
Third grade is considered by many to be the first of the intermediate years. Students begin an important transition from learning academic skills such as reading and writing. They begin to use these skills to learn new information. In Gull Lake, third graders will learn independence and responsibility.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Third graders will focus on the writing process to get their ideas down on paper clearly. Specific skills emphasized this year include selecting a topic, using pre-writing strategies, drafting, revising their writing, self and peer editing, and publishing. Narrative, opinion, and informational writing are the main genres studied this year.
The third grade Reading textbook is part of a literature series by McGraw Hill. Each literature unit targets specific reading skills. Students practice comprehension strategies as they learn to read for pleasure, gather and learn new information, and grow in confidence and competence. Spelling, phonics, listening, and speaking skills are integrated into each unit.
MATHEMATICS
Third grade students will cover many new skills during Math classes this year. By the end of the year, students should be able to demonstrate proficiency in 1 digit multiplication and division facts, demonstrate proficiency in addition and subtraction with regrouping (up to four digits) and use problem solving strategies involving all four operations. Students will also learn more about fractions, geometry and measurement.
SCIENCE
Third grade Science gives students a chance to explore the world and the way it works. Science units this year include weather, forces and interactions. and ecosystems. Students will build skills through the use of the Scientific Method, Engineering Process, and hands-on activities.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Students will study Michigan history in third grade. They will extend their skills in map reading by learning to interpret and use various types of maps. Students will also be introduced to Michigan economics and the levels of government.
ART
Once a week, students will attend Art class for 56 minutes. Students will participate in many facets of the arts including drawing and painting.
MUSIC
Twice a week students will participate in Music class. Students will be exposed to different songs, learn basic notes and be exposed to different genres of music.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Twice a week, students participate in PE class, building on their knowledge of team sports and individual physical skills.
SPANISH
Once a week, students participate in Spanish class learning foundational skills of the Spanish language and culture.
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY (PLTW) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, AND MATH (STEAM)
Students are immersed in energized, hands-on activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the real world.
They experience integrated learning that blends computer science, engineering, science, and apply their math and English Language Arts (ELA) across disciplines.
GULL LAKE VIRTUAL PARTNERSHIP
The Gull Lake Virtual Partnership is a program of Gull Lake Community Schools and is available to all students residing within Kalamazoo County and all school districts that are contiguous to Kalamazoo County. All classes in the traditional school, Gull Lake Virtual Partnership and Gateway Academy are available to all students enrolled in Gull Lake Schools.
Gull Lake Virtual Partnership Course Catalog
ASSESSMENT & REPORTING
All Ryan Intermediate students are assessed in Reading, Writing, and Math using a combination of national, State and locally developed tools. For third graders, this includes the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP which measures academic progress in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. The NWEA assessment which is a nationally normed Assessment, that tracks student scores in reading and math. Parents are kept informed through regular progress reports and conferences.
4th Grade Course Offerings
Welcome to Fourth Grade!
Fourth grade is a fun year filled with growth, learning, and leadership. Students build on and apply the foundational skills they learned in the lower elementary grades. Fourth-graders also have hands-on learning opportunities such as swimming at Borgess Health Center and visiting our capital Lansing.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Fourth graders will focus on the writing process to get their ideas down on paper clearly. Students will continue to build strategies for selecting a topic, using pre-writing strategies, drafting, revising their writing, self and peer editing, and publishing. In fourth grade, we focus on building a structure for writing in three major genres: Narrative writing, informational writing, and opinion writing. Within the writing genre, students will learn craft strategies to help them develop detail, as well as supporting evidence.
The fourth grade reading textbook is part of a literature series by McGraw Hill (Wonders). Each literature unit targets a specific reading skill. Students practice comprehension strategies as they learn to read for pleasure, gather and learn new information, and grow in confidence and competence. Phonics, listening, and speaking skills are integrated into each unit.
Major emphasis is placed on the following: Determining main idea and detail, supporting thinking with text evidence, understanding text structure in informational text, using context clues to infer the meaning of new words, determining theme in a text, and comparing poetry, drama, and prose. In addition, students are taught strategies to increase reading fluency, accuracy and vocabulary.
MATHEMATICS
Fourth grade students will cover many new skills during Math classes this year. Students will have an overview of place value concepts including rounding at the beginning of the year. We then move on to multiplying multi-digit numbers and long division using a variety of methods. Fourth graders will also continue to build upon their fraction skills, learning how to compare fractions with different denominators, add, subtract and even multiply fractions! It is IMPERATIVE that fourth graders have mastered their multiplication and division facts to help them with their success for ALL math units!
SCIENCE
Fourth grade Science gives students a chance to explore our Earth and the way it works. Science units this year include Energy and Waves, Processes that Shape the Earth, and Structure, Function, and Information Processing. Students will build process and learning skills through the use of the Scientific Method and lots of hands-on activities.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Students will study four main social sciences in fourth grade this year: Three Branches of Federal Government, the Regions of the United States, the History of Immigration, and the focus on our Market Economy. They will extend their skills in map reading by learning to interpret and use various types of maps. Students will also use various projects and activities to showcase their learning.
ART
Students will attend art class once a week for 56 minutes. Students will participate in many facets of the arts including drawing and painting.
MUSIC
Twice a week students will participate in Music class. Students will be exposed to different songs, learn basic notes and be exposed to different genres of music.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Twice a week, students participate in PE class, building on their knowledge of team sports and individual physical skills.
SPANISH
Once a week, students participate in Spanish class learning foundational skills of the Spanish language and culture.
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY (PLTW) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, AND MATH (STEAM)
Students are immersed in energized, hands-on activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the real world.
They experience integrated learning that blends computer science, engineering, science, and apply their math and English Language Arts (ELA) across disciplines.
GULL LAKE VIRTUAL PARTNERSHIP
The Gull Lake Virtual Partnership is a program of Gull Lake Community Schools and is available to all students residing within Kalamazoo County and all school districts that are contiguous to Kalamazoo County. All classes in the traditional school, Gull Lake Virtual Partnership and Gateway Academy are available to all students enrolled in Gull Lake Schools.
Gull Lake Virtual Partnership Course Catalog
ASSESSMENT & REPORTING
All fourth grade students will be assessed using a variety of grade level, district and state assessments. Academic progress is shared through report cards and discussed at conferences.
5th Grade Course Offerings
Welcome to Fifth Grade!
LANGUAGE ARTS
Fifth graders use the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing to publish authentic writing for an audience. Each trimester, they have a specific emphasis on either narrative, informational, or persuasive writing. Writing is expected in all content areas as well.
The fifth grade reading textbook is Wonders by McGraw-Hill, and is used in combination with novel studies and independent reading. Students are challenged to read across multiple genres as they make inferences about characters and themes. They value informational text and its structures, as well as their main idea, and use them as a way to learn content and apply it to everyday situations. The focus on summarizing spans both literary and informational texts.
MATHEMATICS
Fifth grade continues to build on a student's understanding of numbers and their value with an emphasis on decimals and fractions less than one whole. By the end of the year, students should be able to master adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals and fractions. Students also multiply and divide whole numbers using the standard algorithm. Their understanding of computation is challenged by problem solving in each of these areas. Students also learn more about converting measurements, geometry and order of operations.
SCIENCE
Science units in fifth grade are centered around the Next Generation Science Standards, and include life science, earth science, and physical science. Animal adaptations and classifications are included in the life science unit. Earth science focuses on the Earth's spheres with an emphasis on environmental influences in the hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere and atmosphere. Matter is the physical science content as properties and states are explored. All science units include writing with the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning format and the Engineering Design Process model of thinking.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Fifth grade social studies is heavily weighted in history content spanning the years of Early America through the start of our nation. Civics, economics, geography and sociology are all taught through the lens of the history of our country. Students are engaged in learning about Native Americans, exploration, Thirteen Colonies, and the American Revolution as they continually ask, "What can we learn from the past to make us better citizens today?"
ART
Students will attend art class once a week for 56 minutes. Students will participate in many facets of the arts including drawing and painting.
MUSIC
Twice a week students will participate in Music class. Students will be exposed to different songs, learn basic notes and be exposed to different genres of music.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Twice a week, students participate in PE class, building on their knowledge of team sports and individual physical skills.
SPANISH
Once a week, students participate in Spanish class learning foundational skills of the Spanish language and culture.
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY (PLTW) SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ARTS, AND MATH (STEAM)
Students are immersed in energized, hands-on activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the real world.
They experience integrated learning that blends computer science, engineering, science, and apply their math and English Language Arts (ELA) across disciplines.
GULL LAKE VIRTUAL PARTNERSHIP
The Gull Lake Virtual Partnership is a program of Gull Lake Community Schools and is available to all students residing within Kalamazoo County and all school districts that are contiguous to Kalamazoo County. All classes in the traditional school, Gull Lake Virtual Partnership and Gateway Academy are available to all students enrolled in Gull Lake Schools.
Gull Lake Virtual Partnership Course Catalog
ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING
All Fifth grade students will be assessed using a variety of grade level, district and state assessments. Academic progress is shared through report cards and discussed at conferences.