Lower Elementary Curriculum
 In each of the three Lower Elementary classrooms,
children are active participants in
their education. They are deeply engaged,
developing confidence and a solid sense of their
strengths and capabilities. These first through
third graders learn critical
thinking skills and gain respect for the
abilities of their classmates. Over the
course of three years with the same teacher,
they continue to build self-esteem and a
love of learning.
Children in the Lower Elementary have the
opportunity to explore the wonders of the
universe in a secure, supportive environment
with trusted friends while mastering challenge
after challenge.
Practical Life
Students learn to take responsibility for the
classroom environment as well as the school
grounds. Each group has a garden to tend to. The
children take their classroom jobs seriously and
enjoy caring for their surroundings.
Language
The language curriculum includes grammar,
vocabulary, etymology, spelling, handwriting,
sentence structure and reading comprehension.
They employ these skills in the creative writing
of journals, poetry, stories and letters. In
addition, they learn to gather and present
information that will be used to write research
reports.
Mathematics
The mathematics curriculum prepares students for
the appropriate use of mathematics in real life
situations. The areas of math that children will
study over three years include addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions
and geometry. Working with the Montessori
mathematics materials, the children begin with
the concrete and move toward abstraction. Each
concept is sequential and each material embodies
a step in the mathematical progression.
History
The history curriculum teaches emphasizes the
concept of time. Areas of study include parts of
a year, derivation of the names of days and
months, timeline of centuries, roman numerals,
clocks, fundamental needs of cultures throughout
the ages, timeline of the universe and The
Timeline of Life.
Geography
The geography curriculum emphasizes the various
types of land and water forms found on the earth
such as river, mountain, isthmus and strait,
along with the composition of the earth. The
children will also study the artificial
divisions and lines of the globe such as time
zones, the equator, longitude and latitude
lines, hemispheres, etc. In addition, children
will learn the names of countries by making maps
of the continents as well as theories of the
creation of the universe.
Natural Science
The natural science curriculum consists of the
studies of botany and zoology, both focusing on
nomenclature, classification, the order of the
natural world, and the interrelatedness of life.
Botany emphasizes various plants and trees.
Zoology emphasizes vertebrates and
invertebrates.
Physical Science
The physical science curriculum includes a wide
array of scientific notions including atoms and
molecules, planets, magnetism, nutrition, and
anatomy. The focus, based on the needs of the
children in the classroom, tends to be different
each year. The Farm
Lower El attends classes at the Natick Organic Farm several times
during the school year. The students study two
courses throughout the year, "The Interdependence of Plants and Animals, Bugs On the
Farm" and "Bugs on the
Farm".
Spanish
“When you learn a new language you gain
another world.” Goethe
With the objective to enrich students’
lives and to prepare them for active
participation in a multi-lingual,
inter-dependent global community, we continue to
teach Spanish in Lower Elementary School.
Beginning with a review and expansion of
familiar vocabulary, students expand their
knowledge to include the concept of days and
months, seasons and telling time, numbers up to
50, the weather, family and home, school and
activities, parts of the body and face,
transportation, places, opposites and basic
needs. Students learn phrases that guide them
through numerous activities. They also begin to
respond to questions about themselves and can
respond as a group and individually to simple
commands. The Spanish alphabet is introduced as
well as phonetics and spelling for beginning
writing activities. They read books in Spanish
aloud.
First through third years learn about unique
things in Spanish-speaking countries. Students
design Spanish vocabulary booklets about animals
and their habitats and are able to share this in
front of the class. In Lower El hey begin to
learn the concept of gender and number, the
tilde and about the use of articles. They form
simple sentences and create a custom wall
calendar in Spanish.
Flags, geography and folk tales of different
Spanish-speaking countries are introduced.
Students also learn poetry, authentic rhymes,
children’s games dances.
Art
In Lower Elementary we focus on the core
concepts in art: line, shape, color, value,
texture, space. A series of teacher-directed
projects make way for students’ personal
projects of their own design and construction.
In 2nd grade, Children will have a chance throw
on the pottery wheel.
Computer
In second and third grade, students begin basic
keyboarding. Children learn the correct position
for working at the computer and begin to learn
their letters and major punctuation without
looking at the keys. They learn basic Internet
safety and take virtual field trips using
teacher specified cites from museums and zoos.
They work with the multimedia program KidPix to
coordinate sound, image and text into a
multimedia presentation.
Music
Students are introduced to vocal rounds; staff
notation; Curwen-Kodaly hand signs; solfege;
introduction to Recorders; instrumental
improvisation; simple performances with
instruments and voice; simple two-part vocal
pieces; solidify Sol-Mi-La pitch relationships;
more complicated movement to music including
simple dances and more advanced games; develop
ability to differentiate between beat and
rhythm; further understand families of
instruments and how they work; be able to
identify and perform more complex rhythms
(Syncopation, dotted quarter followed by
eighth); introduced to songs in ¾ time; develop
an understanding of the Do pentatonic scale and
use it for simple improvisation; introduce
absolute pitch names in the treble clef.
Physical Education
In Lower Elementary children participate in
physical education classes for forty-five
minutes twice a week. The for first through
third years is on helping children discover the
joy in physical activity and in fitness, while
participating in games requiring movement and
learning about rules, sportsmanship and fair
play. Hand-eye coordination as well as gross
motor skill is developed at all levels.
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