In the Upper Elementary classroom, problem-based learning develops the fundamental skills that take students from the concrete learning in Lower Elementary to abstract thinking. In this plane of development, students are ready to look beyond individual facts and create meaning by synthesizing what they learn into their own coherent whole. Upper Elementary students begin to think critically and to see beyond themselves. Socialization becomes more important as children in the second plane advance closer to adolescence, and the classroom and curriculum are designed to start addressing this need.

As this social development takes on a more prominent role, individual values are further explored, particularly within the framework of the classroom and school communities. This exploration of self and of place is expanded beyond personal experience through their developing ability to apply abstract thought in all areas and is nurtured through the study of literature and the arts.

The Upper Elementary’s curriculum allows students to do in-depth research and to integrate academic knowledge and skills from across the curriculum. Math instruction uses a problem-solving approach that places emphasis on developing mathematical thinking and analysis. Language arts include literature studies, writing, and vocabulary. Individual and group research projects allow students to apply their reading and writing skills to geography, history and science.

Language

The upper elementary language curriculum involves learning the parts of the English language and then being able to produce them into the whole. The curriculum is broken into grammar, reading comprehension, writing skills, diagramming, vocabulary and word study.

In grammar, we look at the function and usage of words. The children are reintroduced to the parts of speech they learned in lower elementary: noun, adjective, pronoun, adverb, preposition, conjunction, article, interjection and verb. They begin lessons involving finer rules and situations. There are layouts, booklets, and handouts regarding follow-up activities and practice.

Reading comprehension is a skill used throughout every aspect of the classroom. There are specific lessons and assignments given to teach and improve this skill, but reading through reading circles and research through cultural studies are the real practice arenas. For example, when researching Argentina’s culture for geography, a child must read, comprehend, and produce a final product.

Writing can be a difficult area for a student. With our curriculum, we progress from the simple to the more complex areas of the writing process. To begin, the child will be introduced to subject/predicate. He or she will learn to recognize them in a sentence, as well as how to properly write his or her own “good” sentences. Sentence diagramming is included in this concept. Learning to diagram sentences early on gives students an additional tool in recognizing proper sentence structure. As their skill becomes more proficient, the sentences become more complex. In addition, the children are exposed to simple note taking skills, editing skills, outlining and webbing. These tools will aid the children with organization and writing throughout their lives.

Vocabulary and word study are intrinsic parts of our curriculum. The children are exposed to new vocabulary weekly through both class work and homework, and they have lessons and layouts pertaining to multiple word studies. Word study is broken into many concepts including synonyms, plurals, antonyms, correct expression, homophones, prefixes and suffixes. There are many lessons, layouts, shelf works and writing activities that occur daily pertaining to these topics.

All these areas are woven together throughout your child’s three-year experience in the upper elementary, creating thorough exposure and understanding of the English language

Cultural Studies

In Upper Elementary, Cultural Studies are taught in a three-year cycle, expanding upon and deepening the understanding gained in Lower Elementary.

Science is broken into zoology, human body studies, physical, chemical and earth sciences. Lessons are given in either a large group or small group, depending on the topic. There are always assignments and experiments given to the students as follow up work.

Zoology. This study looks in depth into the Animal Kingdom. We study them in order of evolutionary patterns: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Students also study the progression of invertebrate animals: sponges, worms, mollusks, arthropods and echinoderms. They learn how these animals are classified and organized by their characteristics.

Physical, chemical and earth science are built into the three-year cycle and woven into other subject areas as well so that the children see the purpose of learning Chemistry, for example.

Physical Science covers the topics of energy, simple machines, electricity, light, sound and forces.

Chemical Science covers the topics of the atom, physical and chemical changes, acids and bases, mixtures, compounds and solution.

Earth Science covers the topics of the layers of the earth, volcanoes, space, earthquakes, rocks and weather.

History. This area involves much research with many hands-on lessons and activities. The students learn about different events and people throughout history by researching their lives and living conditions. We focus on the fundamental needs of humans and how different cultures met these universal needs.

Archeology relates dinosaurs, fossils and evidence of human existence. We read and discuss many cultural stories and tell about the creation and evolution of humans. They learn about Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Neanderthal, and Homo sapiens.

We also touch on government, with a study of important national documents, the creation of our government, presidents, amendments and the electoral process. The students enjoy sharing their political views and ideas while learning how to be open-minded about others’ views as well. We learn important skills while “debating” certain topics and are eager to learn how certain mindsets came into existence.

Geography. This is another area of strong interest and attention. Geography is the study of the earth. This is where much of our earth sciences are tied in. We focus a lot on functional geography, understanding the earth and how it works through the study of the work of air, water and the make-up of the earth. We then study political geography and how boundaries are made. We learn about maps and work on making our own. This is often tied into History as well. We also study economic geography and look at how goods of the earth are made and traded through production maps.