Lower Elementary « Curriculum

Mastery of academic skills is the biggest challenge in grades 1-3. As children become competent readers, writers, and mathematicians, they are intellectually empowered to discover their world in new and exciting ways.

The lower elementary grades consist of a dedicated 1st grade class and two combined 2nd/3rd grade classes. The program offers a strong focus on basic skill development and increasing academic challenge within an integrated, interdisciplinary curriculum and a broad cultural perspective.

Major units integrate student questions into class projects. Computer use is introduced in 3rd grade. Students learn independence by choosing the work they will do during work times and by managing weekly homework assignments sent home in a packet. They also learn to present their work first to each other and then to their families.

Curriculum Details

First Grade Language Arts

Whole language and phonetic instruction with phonemic awareness: sound/symbol relationship; phonics skills: phonograms, vowels, digraphs; sight word vocabulary; decoding using phonics/contextual clues; spelling; literature comprehension, appreciation and structure; development of creative and expository writing; Handwriting without Tears manuscript writing; listening and speaking skills.

First Grade Math

Development of number sense; quantity/symbol relationship to 9999; place value to 1000's; estimation, patterning, classifying; addition with and without regrouping; Writing numerals; subtraction; concept of fractions; geometry; investigation of mathematical problem solving; graphing; measurement; time: hour, 1/2 hour; money.

First Grade History/Geography

Time/calendar; days of the week; creation myths; five kingdoms of life; seasons; formation of the universe-Big Bang; evolution of life- protista to mammals; needs of people: food, clothing, shelter, spiritual, transportation, defense; geography: continents, land and water forms, local geography; study of Miwok tribe.

First Grade Science

Living/nonliving; solid, liquid, gas; physical science exploration; study of vertebrates; botany: seeds, bulbs, tubers, germination, leaves/plants, gardening; recycling; animal study.

First Grade Health/Advisory

Sameness and differences; personal hygiene; emotions; conflict resolution skills; safety skills; nutrition.

First Grade Art

Curriculum integration; symmetry and balance with shapes, lines and forms; elementary printmaking without rollers; color mixing (primary, secondary and tertiary); positive and negative shapes; 3-dimensional building with cardboard and wood; clay sculpture: land forms, pinch pots and coils; Native American-inspired projects; exploration of different materials; skill and technical development.

First Grade Music

Rhythm: express beat through movement, dance, body percussion (clapping, patting, stepping, etc.), playing on a variety of percussion instruments; understand, express and notate quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests; improvise simple rhythmic patterns/accompaniment; develop and refine skills with multiple rhythmic textures in a group, identify various simple music elements, such as phrasing and form; Melody: Sing in tune with classmates, experiment with breath control and various elements of vocal technique, sing, read and play mi, sol, la pitches, compose/improvise on barred instruments—pentatonic scale (5 notes w/o half steps): do, re, mi, sol, la pitches; Harmony: play drone bass accompaniment (on do/sol pitches) to singing and movement on barred instruments; song repertoire/games: sing songs and play singing games which reflect diverse styles, eras and cultures; folk dance: circle and line dances; simple folk dances from many cultures; movement: opportunities for improvisation, review—locomotor (step, skip, leap, etc.) and non-locomotor (twist, bend, stretch, etc.) movement; music appreciation: explore skills in listening and moving to and describing music; continued discovery of the instruments of and selected music from the symphony orchestra; exploration of music of the Miwok tribe and other Native Americans; ensemble: basic technique on various percussion instruments, including barred instruments.

First Grade PE

Movement exploration; fundamental motor skills; parachute games; cooperative group games; rhythmic activities; tumbling; physical fitness awareness and evaluation.

First Grade Spanish

Numbers 0-10; Simple greetings; places in the school; common vegetables; colors, classroom objects, clothing, animals; familiar stories in Spanish; culture: food, holidays, songs.

Second/Third Grade Language Arts

2nd Grade: Literature based program; continuation of phonics skills; decoding phonetic elements; development of fluent reading w/expression; literal/inferential comprehension; creative and expository writing through writing process approach; writing mechanics: capitalization, punctuation; spelling; Handwriting Without Tears; listening, speaking, and presentation skills.
3rd Grade: Literature based program; vocabulary development; continue decoding; spelling; reading with fluency and expression; literature analysis: main idea, setting, character; literal and inferential comprehension; Handwriting Without Tears manuscript and cursive writing; creative and expository writing: writing process approach; writing mechanics: capitalization, punctuation; listening, speaking, and presentation skills.

Second/Third Grade Math

2nd Grade: Place value (to 10,000's), reading and writing; addition and subtraction with regrouping; concept of multiplication and division; estimation; graphing; concept of fractions ; money; time; measurement; solid and plane geometry; problem solving in mathematical situations; exploring mathematical thinking; oral and written mathematical explanations.
3rd Grade: Place value (to 10,000's), reading and writing; addition and subtraction with regrouping; concept of multiplication and division; estimation; graphing; time; concept of fractions; money; measurement: perimeter; standard/metric; solid and plane geometry; problem solving in mathematical situations; expressing mathematical thinking; oral and written mathematical explanations.

Second/Third Grade History/Geography

Time: B.C./A.D, millennia, eras; creation myths; Age of Exploration and Colonial America; study of Australia or African cultures; needs of people: food, clothing, shelter, spiritual, arts, transportation, defense; geography: physical and political of North America, Africa and Australia; comparison of cultural study to local culture.

Second/Third Grade Science

Formation of universe; solar system; evolution: protista to mammals; study of invertebrates via Great Barrier Reef; study of sound; botany: study of Australian animals; environmental studies; Reed Creek study.

Second/Third Grade Health/Advisory

Self awareness: areas of strength and weakness; sameness and differences; conflict resolution skills; safety skills; nutrition; personal hygiene.

Second/Third Grade Art

2nd Grade: Art History curriculum integration; painting and drawing exploration; mixed-media sculpture projects; beginning use of rulers, templates and compasses; plant and flower still life; collages, assemblages, paper cut-outs; clay sculpture and hand building pots; complex patterning and symmetry; use of chalk, oil pastels and Prismacolor pencils; papier mache animals.
3rd Grade: Drawing from nature and observation; watercolor techniques; introduction to perspective; puppet making; study of patterns and designs from other cultures; clay pottery (hand-building and slab techniques); clay figures (standing); portraiture; 3-D construction with man-made and natural materials; cooperative problem solving with 3-D building; line and contour drawing.

Second/Third Grade Music

2nd Grade: Rhythm: Rhythmic improvisation; beat continues to be internalized and expressed; focus on 2/4, 4/4 meter, accented beats; understand, express and notate quarter notes, eighth notes, quarter rests, pick up notes; Melody: Sing in tune with classmates; read, sing, play, improvise on all pitches of the pentatonic scale (5 note scale w/o half steps – do, re, mi, sol, la); la pentatonic (la, do, re, mi, sol) and re pentatonic (re, mi, sol, la, do) introduced and explored; Harmony: Moving drone; la and re pentatonic modes – drone bass accompaniment; Song Repertoire/Games: Sing songs and play singing games which reflect diverse styles, eras and cultures; Folk Dance: Review and intro to more complex circle and line dances and simple folk dances from many cultures; Movement: Ongoing opportunities for improvisation, review - locomotor and non-locomotor movement; Music Appreciation: Explore skills in listening to and describing music; continued discovery of the symphony orchestra and music of many cultures; exploration of Australian and African music (2 year cycle); Ensemble: Continued refining of techniques for barred instruments and other percussion instruments.
3rd Grade: Rhythm: Continuing opportunities for rhythmic improvisation; development continues – keeping the beat in various tempos, styles; understand, express and notate whole, half, quarter and eighth notes, quarter rests, pick up notes, intro to triplets; Melody: Sing in tune; canon (round) singing, two-part harmony; add mi pentatonic (mi, sol, la do, re) and sol pentatonic (sol, la, do, re, mi) modes; improvise and compose pentatonic melodies with poetry as text; Harmony: Refine playing of drones introduced in 1st – 2nd grades; Song Repertoire/Games: Sing songs and play singing games which reflect diverse styles, eras and cultures; Folk Dance: Learn more complex dances, review simpler ones, improvise and create new versions of previously learned dances; Movement: Cooperative group choreography; more opportunities for creative movement; Music Appreciation: Listen to, analyze and describe various elements of music (tempo, form, dynamics, choices of instrumentation in a piece, etc.); experiment with developing criteria for evaluating musical performances, apply criteria to one’s own work; continued discovery of orchestral music and music of many cultures; exploration of Australian and African music (2 year cycle); Ensemble: Improvise/compose arrangements for groups; soprano recorder study begins; refine all techniques learned for barred instruments and various other percussion instruments.

Second/Third Grade PE

Cooperative games; group games; sports lead-up games skills; tumbling; rhythmic activities; physical fitness awareness; physical fitness evaluation; cooperative and group games; introduction to team sports: baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball, cross country, gymnastics; introduction to exercise physiology.

Second/Third Grade Spanish

Review of vocabulary; numbers 20-49; alphabet; conversations; calendars: days/months/dates/birthdays; the body; school subjects; verbs: tener and estar; time; extended family; basic objects: classroom/home; skits: 3 bears; role plays: fruit and veggie stand; culture: food, holidays, songs.