ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Lower School - Grades 1st-4th

Grades 1st & 2nd
Developmentally, students are learning how to become more independent and responsible for the choices they make, and learning to tolerate and embrace their differences. With increasing attention span and greater retention, they begin to identify when they do not know something. Integrated studies develop a deeper understanding of the connectedness of all subjects and, at the same time, teach students how to think like an expert in the various disciplines. Instruction is supplemented with manipulatives and hands-on enrichment experiences. Listening skills, oral presentation skills, and a comfort with public speaking are fostered, providing tools for personal expression through language. An extensive use of manipulatives provides concrete visual and tactile connection to abstract mathematical concepts, and students learn through their own discoveries that math is everywhere. An emphasis on trial and error fosters critical thinking and problem solving and a recognition that the journey to a solution has its own inherent value.

Grades 3rd & 4th
Differentiation becomes more student-driven as children come to understand their own learning styles. Students become more self-reliant and are able to advocate for themselves as learners. Students strengthen informative and persuasive writing and public speaking skills; the math workshops support problem solving, critical and creative thinking, and practical application of math skills. Students engage in both collaborative and independent work and have opportunities for extension projects to be able to explore areas of personal interest. Students strengthen core skills such as research, use of technology, organization of materials and time, writing, non-fiction reading, and are challenged to express personal experiences, ideas, and imagination as well as synthesize factual information.