The Middle Years at Stanley

    • A Strong Foundation

      Stanley's 3-4-5 classrooms build on the strong foundation built in the K-1-2 program.

      While addressing the curricular needs of children in the upper elementary years, our program continues to value choice, creative exploration and experientially-based learning opportunities.

      Curiosity & Inspiration

      Our 3-4-5 curriculum is designed to tap into a child's natural curiosity, develop their ability to work for extended time on one project and inspire them to collaborate with peers.

      Engaging Children

      Lessons and activities seek to engage children and lead them to take an active role in their education. Our 3-4-5 classrooms are a highly creative and safe environment for our students to learn and grow.

      Multi-age Classrooms

      Our multi-age classrooms give children the opportunity to be the youngest, middle and oldest children in the classroom. This extended time also allows teachers to truly understand their students' individual strengths, challenges, and personalities, fostering a deeper connection built on trust and mutual respect. These relationships create a safe and supportive learning environment where students feel valued and heard, encouraging them to engage more fully in their education.

    Curricular Components

    • Teachers strive to ensure that all children see themselves in the curriculum and provide doors and windows so students can understand multiple perspectives.

      arrow  Reading: A blend of whole group and small group instruction, with a focus on genre and comprehensive strategies.

      arrow  Writing: Units of study that focus on the writing community, focusing on personal narrative, creative writing, informational writing and essays. 

      arrow  Spelling and Word Study: Utilize Orton Gillingham, a developmental multisensory and systematic approach to phonics, vocabulary and spelling instruction. Differentiated spelling groups with an average teacher student ratio of 1:7. Groups range from working on basic spelling to understanding morphology through Greek and Latin roots.

      arrow Social Studies: 3 year rotating curriculum: Colorado History, US History, World History. More advanced historical and sociological analysis and interpretation along with historical research. There is a strong focus on understanding complex topics with many perspectives.

      arrow  Mathematics: Small group differentiated math with advanced focus on Numbers Sense, Multiplication and Division. Complex Word Problems, Fractions, Decimals, Percents, Money, Geometry and Measurement, Patterns, Functions and Algebraic Structures. Average teacher student ratio of 1:5.  

      arrow  Science: Actively utilizing inquiry-based discovery. 3 year rotating curriculum: Earth, Life and Physical Sciences. 

      arrow  Choice: Offered two times per week for children to explore their passions and engage in play. 

      arrow  Social and Emotional: Multi-age classrooms provide a foundation for learning to live and work collaboratively in a community. In weekly social-emotional classes students proactively learn social skills. 

      arrow  Foreign Language: Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling method for teaching Spanish. 

      arrow  Technology: Weekly technology classes emphasize digital citizenship while teaching digital content creation tools. Used as a tool to enhance learning. 

      arrow  Beyond the Classroom: Field trips related to curricular units including yearly overnight trip to Cal-Wood Outdoor Education Program. 

      arrow  Service Learning: Classroom, grade level and all-school service learning projects such as Lowry Family Center food drives, Project Our Town, Project Angel Heart and Kynd Kits. 

      arrow  The Arts: Integrated artistic opportunities through all curriculum units. Visual Arts classes, weekly music and dance classes and annual 5th grade musical.

      arrow  Physical Education: Gradual incorporation of more traditional sport-based skills taught by units with a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and leadership.

      arrow  Homework: Weekly take-home packets focused on reading and math. Students are given developmentally appropriate amounts of homework with progressive levels of reading and length of assignments. 

    Writer's and Reader's Workshop Model

    • girl reading

      block  In Writer’s Workshop, children engage in genre studies that last six to eight weeks. This encourages children to work through the writing process, including; brainstorming, writing a rough draft, revising and editing, participating in peer conferencing, and publishing. 

      block  Instruction varies from whole class to small group and individual conferences. 

      block  Units of study may include memoirs, fiction, non-fiction research projects, and poetry. At the end of each unit students share their creations with a larger audience including classmates, other classrooms, or parents. 

      block  Reader’s Workshop is linked to Writer’s Workshop through the use of mentor texts. Teachers guide children through a number of mentor texts to discover techniques good writers use in their writing. 

      block  In Reader’s Workshop children are asked to read “Just Right Books” and dig deep into their thinking about the text.

      block Children are asked to focus on strategies that good readers use in a variety of genres, such as asking questions, inferring, determining importance, making connections, and accessing background knowledge.

      block  3-4-5 students also participate in book clubs throughout the year, allowing children to practice talking about books with their peers. 

    Robust Programming

    • Finding Nemo

      Each week our 3-4-5 students enjoy TWELVE periods outside of the classroom, including Dance, Spanish, Library, Science, Music, PE, Fine Art, Tinkering Art, Technology and Social-Emotional Learning.

      Our 5th graders perform a full-scale musical annually with an ensemble crew and stage craft. Previous shows included Finding Nemo: The Musical and Newsies!

    Leadership

    • teacherStephanie Collins, head of 3-4-5, is a Stanley alumna and graduate of the Stanley Teacher Prep Program. She was a 3-4-5 Lead Teacher for several years and her most recent role is the Head of 3-4-5. Stephanie has a high level of expertise in curriculum design and learning support.