In third grade, students focus on thinking skills through completing a unit that encourages them to become better thinkers. Taking the learner from a concrete thinker to a more abstract thinker is also an objective at this level. To begin the year, students are asked to design a collage with items from their natural environment that relate to their personal characteristics and attributes. Later in the year, another such project is created to allow the student opportunities for self reflection and growth. After discussing their goals and topics such as greatest learning experiences and greatest accomplishments, students are asked to symbolically represent their thoughts in a mobile.
Fourth grade is a level that focuses on a systematic creative problem solving unit.
In addition to these units, the students also write another hard covered book to help them discover their growth and maturity in their learning. Fifth grade is a culminating year where the students apply the skills they have learned in grades one through four. This is a year that lends itself to opportunities through a series of projects that interest the students. In conjunction with the teacher, they choose activities in which they would like to apply their skills and talents. In addition to the pullout services, Hartwood identifies students for modified reading services over and above what is being provided in the classroom.