Lower Elementary Overview
The Lower Elementary classroom is a multi-age environment covering 1st to 3rd grade. It is a sequenced learning environment, filled with beautiful Montessori materials as well as traditional learning resources like a library, computers, tablets, and other supportive technology.
The Lower Elementary environment has a strong emphasis on time management skills. Students are taught to manage their time with daily, weekly, and long-term plans and projects. Each day, cooperative learning and care for the environment is expected.
A majority of the class time is student work time, where students can concentrate and explore a variety of topics. Students are expected to do most of their work at school, with the exception of a few projects. Students are given daily homework to help reinforce lessons from the week. Students will be given the chance to develop their public speaking skills by speaking in front of the class, other classes, and parents and teachers. Public speaking is a very important skill to master, and the more practice a child gets speaking in front of people, the easier it becomes. Students will also be responsible for completing written reports based on their research using appropriate internet resources as well as print material. Long-term projects are customized for each ability level. Students do oral reports of their completed projects to the class, other classes, as well as the parents. Some work is collaborative, encouraging teamwork and cooperation, and some work is individual, fostering a sense of independence and autonomy.
Language Arts in the Lower Elementary class is a time to learn the different rules of grammar, reading, literary devices, and beginning poetry. It is also when the students begin writing their own original poems and stories. The students begin working on reading comprehension and word study skills, as well as the rules of spelling.
Mathematics is a time when the students perfect the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). Montessori math materials are used to encourage higher level thinking, as well as lay a tangible foundation upon which all future math skills will be laid. Students also become proficient in not only word problems, money, non-standard units of measure, fractions, and decimals, but also in geometric lessons like shapes, solids, lines, angles, area, perimeter, and volume.
In the Lower Elementary classroom, culture lessons focus on History, Matter and Astronomy, Botany, Zoology, Culture Geography, and Physical Geography. In addition to the culture lessons, students work on Critical Thinking Skills, Coding and Robotics, Art, Music, and P.E.
Please click here for an overview of the Lower Elementary Curriculum.