​Lower Elementary Curriculum
​(1st-3rd grades)

---

Welcome to our Lower School! Our integrated curriculum for advanced learners focuses on creativity and critical thinking founded on respect and kindness. We foster each student's academic success by enabling them to take risks, challenge themselves, pursue their interests, and develop a growth mindset for lifelong learning.

English & Language arts

English and Language Arts encompasses a wide range of skills. Meeting daily, students work on writing, reading, literature, expression, spelling. Writing skills include both learning how to write in print and in cursive, as well as learning how to communicate through writing, including an introduction to grammatical structures. 

• Literature studies using Jr. Great Books, poetry, and children's classics:
  • Year 1: Charlottes' Web, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
  • Year 2: The Cricket in Times Square, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Frog and Toad Are Friends, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and (if time) 101 Dalmatians.
  • Year 3: Phantom Tollboth, The Borrowers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and My Father's Dragon.
• Vocabulary and grammar using Wordly Wise 3000
• Print and cursive using Handwriting Without Tears
• Expression and oral presentation through theater and dramatization of Mo Willems' books, such as Elephant and Piggie.

Mathematics

Students meet four times per week for 85-minute classes (with half-time movement breaks), advancing through math levels at their own pace. They will be introduced to problem solving and concepts not generally taught to younger grades, like set theory.

integrated civilizations and cultures

We integrate the study of countries, continents, or civilizations from around the world over the course of three years.  These integrated units of study include an immersive study of the history, cultures, language, engineering advances, art, and music of the culture or civilization. Through the study of the cultures, we also learn and practice the social and emotional skills of our community that is integral to a child. In addition to content, students learn skills such as non-fiction reading, problem solving, and being part of a community. Each year we also complete units in economics, civics, and geography.

• Year 1: Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, Africa
• Year 2: Native Americans, Aztecs, Australia, the Amazon
• Year 3: Mesopotamia, Vikings, Japan, the Arctic

integrated science

Our integrated science units are built on hands-on labs and exploration, as well as integration with non-fiction language arts. Organized around central questions and experiences that encourage curiosity, students act as investigators, performing lab activities, making observations, and testing ideas. With purposeful connections to language arts, we read and discuss science articles, keep observations in a science notebook, analyze figures and data, and learn to support our thoughts with evidence.

Spanish

Students meet twice a week with our Spanish teacher to learn through play and daily conversation.

future skills

Through visual and logic puzzles, students practice their computational and problem-solving skills. Children are introduced to computing using visual computing with LEGO Education SPIKE.

Our students also meet as a group with our school counselor in Community Class, building social-emotional skills to help them in lower school, upper school, and beyond!

MOvement

Each day begins with our daily morning walk, daily recess, and 15 to 20-minute mid-class breaks, in addition to weekly Physical Education.

Music

1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders also benefit from a variety of instruments to help learn note reading, rhythm, and working in harmony, all while building dexterity.

Lower school - Fast Facts

upper elementary - curriculum