SAFETY HARBOR MONTESSORI ACADEMY CURRICULUM GUIDE

Safety Harbor Montessori Academy is a community of teachers and learners whose goal is to inspirepassionate scholarship and compassionate citizenship. Children are guided by a deep sense ofintegrity, responsibility, compassion, and determination to achieve one's personal best, from ages 2-3years old all the way through Middle School.

The Montessori philosophy is at the center of everything we do at Safety Harbor MontessoriAcademy. We emphasize the natural rewards of learning that go hand-in-hand with an engaging, child-centered approach to education. All learning spaces encourage curiosity, independence, creative

thought, a strong work ethic, and respect for our local and global communities.

We created this curriculum guide with the goal of sharing and explaining the different types of work that our learnersexperience at each level of their development at Safety Harbor Montessori Academy.

EARLY CHILDHOOD LEVEL: THE FIRST PLANE OF DEVELOPMENT

Pre-Primary (Ages 2-3)

Development

The “absorbent mind” is blossoming at this stage of development. Untilage three, children learn by what Maria Montessori referred to as an“unconscious mind,” which they use to develop themselves effortlessly andwithout awareness of doing so. They are driven by an intense desire to “doit myself.” In response, the classroom is prepared so that the children canfunction as independently as possible. Preprimary children are at the peakof their sensitivity to order and language acquisition. Socializing with peersis primarily through playing individually, side by side with their peers.

Practical Life

Practical Life activities provide a link between the home and schoolenvironments and develop everyday life skills. Many of the activities at thislevel help to develop the child’s independence, such as toileting, dressing,and preparing a snack. Others help develop social skills, such as saying“please” and “thank you.” Practical life activities provide opportunities forfine and gross motor development, lengthening of the attention span, anddevelopment of organizational skills.

Sensorial

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Young children are sensorial learners. At this level they are exposed to a variety of sounds using music and rhythminstruments. They experience many textures in art activities such as finger painting and sand and water play.

The children are given activities to help them distinguish the primary andsecondary colors.

They experience different smells and tastes through gardening and snacktime. A variety of sensorial tools allow them to experience concepts suchas length, width, and varying weights.

Montessori manipulatives such as the broad stair, pink tower, knobbedcylinders, red rods, and color tablets may be introduced at this level.

Activities such as ‘sink or float,’ color mixing, and working with variousmanipulatives provide a sensorial experience for concepts that will beexplored more in-depth in later years.

Language

The children are experiencing a burst of language development and areespecially open to absorbing new vocabulary given to them. As theyexplore the world around them, they learn the names, labels, and meanings of the objects in their environment, giving themrelevancy.

Activities to develop visual discrimination abound at this level. When they are ready, the children are introduced to beginningletter sounds, letter recognition, opposites, sequencing, and storytelling.

Much of their spoken language development occurs through social interactions with both peers and adults. Through grace andcourtesy lessons, the children learn to express their feelings and properly interact with one another. Language development isenriched through songs and finger plays. The adults in the environment speak to the children with respect and in completesentences to be a model for proper language usage.

Mathematics

The use of concrete materials in math allows the child to experience theconcepts of size, shape, and quantity. One-to-one correspondence, simplepattern work, numeral symbols, quantity, and geometric shapes areintroduced in the classroom. Activities include peg work, puzzles, countingmaterials, use of the long number rods, and lessons with the sandpapernumerals. Counting and numeral recognition are also reinforced duringlarge group activities, such as during circle time.

Cultural Studies

The outdoor environment introduces children to the world of nature. Weseek to encourage a sense of wonder as children observe their naturalenvironment, from the tiniest flower to an emerging butterfly.

In the classroom, the children are introduced to caring for their garden andclass pets as an initial exposure to the needs of other living things. Inaddition, they are also introduced to sensorial concepts that will bedeveloped in future years.

Children learn about community helpers through visits from the local fire department and the sheriff’s office. They learn thatthey are in Safety Harbor, in the state of Florida, in the United States of America, and they learn about other countries andcultures by preparing for and attending our annual International Spring Festival.

Music

There are many outlets for creative expression within daily work cycles and planned group exercises. Children are guidedthrough group lessons using songs, finger plays, instruments and rhythm activities. Not only do these exercises aid in thedevelopment of fine and gross motor skills, visual perception, and auditory processing skills, but they also help develop self-confidence and an appreciation for music.

Art

Masterpieces are displayed through out the classroom to introduce the children to art appreciation. These artworks and theircreators connect with the cultural lessons being taught throughout the year, and are used to introduce the language of art tothe children.

The children are exposed to art exploration with multiple mediums and tools. They are encouraged to create with paint andbrushes of varying sizes, clay, glue, crayons, markers, scissors, and much more.

Technology

We believe young children need to work with concrete objects, and thatmost young children are exposed to an excessive amount of “screen time”through television, smart phones, tablets, and computers. For this reason,we minimize the use of screen-based technology until first grade.

Physical Education

Children explore what their bodies can do through creative play,movement to music, and obstacle courses. They are introduced tolocomotor activities such as hopping and jumping and manipulative skillssuch as throwing and rolling. They also follow simple directions. Dailyoutdoor playtime allows the children to develop their muscles andcoordination through climbing, swinging, sliding, running, and learning toride a tricycle and scooter.

Spanish

Children at this level effortlessly absorb the Spanish language lessons through songs, simple conversation, and concreteobject lessons given twice a week in the classroom. The children learn the building blocks of the Spanish language such ascolors, numbers, days of the week, and basic vocabulary.

Library/Media

The media specialist comes to the classroom twice a week with story booksthat support the lessons being focused on in the classroom. The childrenlearn proper care of books, sequencing and to love literature!

Primary (Ages 3-6)

Development

Primary children remain in a sensitive stage for order, languagedevelopment, and sensorial learning. They now possess a “conscious mind”which allows them to direct themselves more effectively, and to applythemselves to a more complex task and bring it to completion. They willrepeat an activity until they have mastered it and then be ready to moveon. By giving the children freedom with responsibility, they are able toprogress through the curriculum at their own pace, making choices thatenable them to maximize their development.

Practical Life

Practical life exercises are the foundation of the primary level. They help to develop the children’s independence, sense oforder, concentration, and fine motor skills. These exercises can be divided into four categories: preliminary, applied, grace andcourtesy, and control of movement.

Preliminary exercises help children learn the basic movements of all societies such as pouring, scooping, and carrying work.Applied exercises enable the child to learn about care and maintenance that is helpful in every day life, including care of person(hand washing) and care of environment (sweeping and table washing). Through grace and courtesy activities the childrenlearn to engage in proper social interactions, enabling them to be thoughtful and respectful friends. In the control ofmovement area, the child refines his coordination through activities such as walking on the line, jumping, and dancing.

As the children become more capable, the practical life activities increasein complexity, progressing from simple one step exercises, to multiple stepactivities that require great concentration and organization, more refinedmotor control, planning, and an increased attention span. They also helpthe child feel empowered by his own abilities.

Sensorial

The sensorial materials allow the children to develop observation,comparison, judgment, reasoning, organization, and decision making skills.They also help prepare the child for math through the activities ofmatching, sequencing, sorting, grading, classifying, and patterning. Thesensorial materials make it possible for the child to distinguish and classifyin areas such as color, shape, size, sound, smell, texture, weight, andtemperature. The children become organized thinkers as they completethese exercises.

Language

The language area helps the children to develop an appreciation for spoken and written language and literacy readiness. Itstimulates the children's natural love of language and literature. Spoken language is introduced first, utilizing the child'ssensitive period for language, and progresses to written language and then reading. Through a variety of lessons, games, andactivities the children develop their auditory, visual, and fine motor skills. Through repeated exposure to sounds and how theyjoin together to make words, the children develop their phonetic awareness. The sounds of the letters are introduced throughspoken language and also through the sense of touch by using the sandpaper letters. Gradually the children begin to combinethe letters into words using the movable alphabet. At the same time the children are developing their fine motor and visualskills in preparation for reading. They essentially teach themselves to read and write by combining these skills.

Mathematics

The mathematics program introduces concepts in a hands-on, concretemanner before moving to more abstract concepts. Each math concept isisolated and introduced to the child individually; starting with quantity,then numeral symbol, and then the correspondence between the two. Thisparallels the work they receive in the practical life and sensorial areas byexposing the children to patterning, sequencing, and matching.

Each new concept is introduced using step-by-step progression. After thequantities 1-10 are mastered using a variety of materials, the decimalsystem is introduced, beginning with work from 1-100. This is followed bymany lessons using the golden beads to facilitate understanding of ourbase 10 system through the thousands. Numeral cards correspond to thiswork that help the child understand place value.

The four operations of mathematics are introduced, as well as an

introduction to fractional parts. Materials are available to help withunderstanding these concepts and in memorizing basic facts. The sensesare also used to introduce two and three dimensional geometric figures and their names.

In order for the child to move from the concrete to the abstract, much repetition is necessary. Most concepts are introducedusing multiple materials, allowing the child to construct mathematical concepts through discovery, rather than through formalteaching. The children progress through the curriculum at their own pace, allowing for genuine understanding before movingon.

Cultural Studies

Children's natural curiosity is encouraged as they question, observe,analyze, and communicate about the world. Exploration of the world andthe continents is done through the use of maps, globes, and land and waterforms.

They are encouraged to explore various cultures through pictures, objects,food, songs, and games. World flags are also introduced starting with theirown country's flag.

The passage of time is presented with the units of time, days of the week,months of the year, and seasons. Annual holiday traditions andcelebrations around the world are also introduced.

Our school-wide International Spring Festival provides each classroom theopportunity to study a specific country’s customs, geography, music, food,clothing, and language.

Music

Music is a daily part of the primary classroom, both during group time, and in work cycle. An introduction to the classiccomposers, beginning musical notation, and exploration with musical instruments, such as tone bars and bells, help childrendevelop their ears. Various genres of music are played during rest and group time, and children are introduced to sounds madeby a variety of instruments.

Art

Art is a part of the daily environment at the early childhood level. Minimasterpieces from Degas to Warhol, displayed along with images of theartist, are displayed in the room. These are used to introduce the languageof art, including medium, artist, art history, format, and style.

Exploring with materials: including paint with brushes of variable sizes,crayons, markers, glue, scissors, and play dough, helps students developinto creative artists.

Kindergarten children visit the art room once a week for formal art lessons.

Technology

An iPad is available in each primary classroom for teacher use, learningapplications for kindergarten students, and to play music. Additionaltechnology is sometimes used to support reading activities.

TV/DVD players are occasionally used in the primary classrooms forvirtual field trips and educational videos that coincide with unit studies.

Physical Education

Skill building activities, non-competitive games, and music movement allow children to develop a positive attitude towardsexercise. Activities include simple, non-competitive games, instruction, and practice with locomotor skills such as hopping,skipping, and jumping, use of equipment such as jump ropes and floor scooters, and manipulative skills with balls and bats.Children participate in field day activities at the end of each school year to showcase what they have learned.

Spanish

The preprimary and primary Spanish curriculum takes advantage of the fact that children are in a sensitive period for learninglanguages. The children effortlessly absorb the Spanish language, introduced through simple conversation and song.

Students learn introductory conversation, colors, numbers, family names, and basic vocabulary. Verbal skills are practicedthrough songs, games, finger plays and conversational patterns. Simple, natural, conversational structure is used to facilitateunderstanding.

Spanish lessons are twice a week.

Library/Media

Story time is the focus of media lessons at this age level. Lessons are focused on listening skills, book care, illustrations, andverbal interaction about the story being read. Authors and illustrators are introduced with pictures, along with the booksbeing read. The main goal is to foster a love of reading through fiction/nonfiction materials, felt boards, puppets, and art andsong.

Children visit the library/media center once a week.

ELEMENTARY LEVEL: THE SECOND PLANE OF DEVELOPMENT

Lower Elementary (Ages 6-9)

Development

At ages six to nine years, children have entered the second plane ofdevelopment. This age group brings about the development of the‘reasoning mind’, along with a vivid imagination. Thinking abstractly is nowpossible, although concrete materials are still necessary to help studentsdevelop genuine understanding. Students need time and freedom toexplore concepts of interest. “Big work” holds great appeal at this stage ofdevelopment.

Practical Life

Students continue to refine their skills and their abilities to beindependent and care for themselves. This includes food preparation,portioning and nutrition, and responsibility for personal items.

They care for and maintain a clean and organized learning environment.This includes the classroom as well as the outdoor garden area.

Patience, movement with purpose, respect, and manners are just a fewexamples of the work students practice within the community. Exploring peace education is a main emphasis of the classroom.

Language

The Montessori language curriculum naturally and seamlessly immerses students in a language rich environment filled withdiverse nomenclature. It utilizes an integrated and crosscurricular approach in teaching language skills. This approach includesthe history of language.

Reading comprehension and fluency are a focal point. Independent and group reading is promoted through a wide variety oftexts encompassing many genres of literature, classic and current. Comprehension skills are taught through sequencingactivities, vocabulary building, and group discussions. Readers also practice higher level skills, such as finding the main ideaand learning to make inferences.

More fluent readers are encouraged to use reading skills to research areas of personal interest. It is our goal to instill a life-longlove of reading for information and enjoyment in our students.

Many types of writing are introduced, including letter and poetry writing.Narrative writing is practiced through creative story and journal writing.Students learn to read through writing and to write through reading. Forexpository writing practice, students are encouraged to read forinformation and to write research papers. Proper paragraph form ismodeled. Cursive handwriting is formally introduced at this level. Thisactivity appeals to students’ senses and is a point of interest.

Stories written by Maria Montessori accompany concrete symbols for theparts of speech. The stories help students make connections andremember abstract grammar concepts. Students analyze sentences usingthese symbols.

Word study cards encourage independence in learning. Through “wordstudies” students sequence, classify, and match a progressive series ofcards acquiring knowledge about compound words, abc order, antonyms,synonyms, homophones, homographs, suffixes, prefixes, capital letters,abbreviations, apostrophes, contractions, commas, and quotes.

Our spelling program remains based on phonetic work introduced at the primary level, which continues into the study of moreabstract phonograms. Spoken language is encouraged with opportunities for public speaking, sharing, story telling, playperformances, and singing on a daily basis.

Mathematics

Specialized Montessori math materials provide the foundation for our math curriculum. These materials are aestheticallypleasing and reveal relationships in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra, helping students to both understand and memorize.Our materials build upon each other and have similar elements that allow students to master new work quickly. Thesematerials give students the opportunity to have independent practice after receiving teacher directed lessons, allowingstudents to progress at their own pace.

Students work through the math materials learning about odd and evennumbers, greater than/less than, patterning, place value, graphing, time,estimation, rounding, money, decimals, and fractions. Students learn tounderstand, read, and write large numbers. Our three dimensionalhierarchy materials allow students to practice building numbers,combining, borrowing, and exchanging concretely. They work with theseand other materials to learn the four basic mathematical operations. Thematerials allow students to perform operations with large numbers up tobillions, an idea that is especially appealing to students at this age.Students move towards abstraction and are introduced to word problemsand algebraic concepts.

Geometry studies allow students to explore geometric solids, triangles andother polygons, angles, lines, parts of a circle, congruence, equivalence,symmetry, and measurement.

Cultural Studies

The elementary cultural curriculum is centered on the Five Great Lessons. These “great lessons” are designed to capture the

spirit and imagination of the students, impressing upon them the vastness and wonder of our universe. They provide afoundation for our exploration of history, geography, science, measurement, and human culture. As part of our integratedcurriculum these stories and lessons offer extensions to our study of language, math, and geometry. The Great Lessonsinitially tell stories of history; from the creation of the universe to the timeline of life. The later lessons introduce students tothe history of writing and math.

From these impressionistic lessons we delve into the study of geography.We explore and research physical and political geography topics such aslandforms, the layers and composition of the earth, flags, resources,economics, and cartography. Further study of the biosphere and habitatsties into our work involving the universal needs of humans and culturaltraditions throughout the world.

The Great Lessons also begin our initial studies into the sciences; fromchemistry and electricity to botany and zoology. The students learn toclassify, research, paraphrase, write science reports, and enjoy thediscoveries they make as scientists. Experiments help round out the skillsets of students as they learn to observe, record, publish and share theirresults.

Music

The lessons are designed to best meet the needs and interests of the childand to encourage a lifelong joy of making and appreciating music. Students are introduced to the basic elements of music.Activities like drum circles help internalize concepts like rhythm and tempo, while singing and playing pitched instrumentsputs the students’ knowledge of melody, harmony, and notation into practice. Students also learn from the lives and music ofcomposers of the past and present.

Art

At this level, the timeline of art is used to teach the progression of mankind’s understanding. To enhance students’ awarenessof art as a visual journey, students use assorted mediums and complete a variety of projects.

Classes meet for an hour each week, and students work on basic drawing skills as well as spending time on longer-termprojects during these sessions.

Technology

Basic typing and formatting are taught so that students can turn researchand other writing into a finished product. Students gain exposure to usinga keyboard and all of the word processing basics: font selection, centering,and alignment. They also begin to use computers and iPads in theirresearch at this level. In addition, Montessori apps and educational gamesare used for independent practice and extra academic review. The teachersuse their large screen computer for lessons and presentations to the class.

Physical Education

Sportsmanship and teamwork are stressed at this level. Studentsparticipate in gym and outdoor games, which are often set to music.Students are introduced to team sports, such as flag football, basketball,soccer, wiffle ball, and volleyball. For football, they practice catching,throwing, flag pulling, hand-offs, offense and defense, receiver routes,rules, and game strategies. In basketball, students practice dribbling,shooting, passing, offense and defense, pivoting, rebounding, lay-ups, andrules. Students learn the basics of soccer. They learn dribbling, proper throw-ins, headers, corner kicks, offense and defense,how to play different positions, and rules. During our wiffle ball unit, students learn to throw, catch, how to play various

positions, batting, proper grip, proper stance, fielding, and rules. For volleyball, students learn to say the score correctly, torotate so that they may play different positions, proper volleying techniques, serving, setting, and rules. Students also learnsquare dancing. Along with dance moves, square dancing helps students practice social graces.

The students have the opportunity to participate in after-school co-ed intramural sports, including flag football, basketball,soccer, and wiffle ball. Students participate in field day activities at the end of each school year.

Spanish

Culture and geography of Spanish speaking countries is introduced, in addition to day to day conversational skills. Lessonsteach vocabulary in different situations and places complemented by games and songs in an encouraging atmosphere. Basicvocabulary such as colors, numbers, days of the week, food, animals, body parts, and clothing are learned through these songsand games. The focus is on oral language, accompanied by an introduction to the Spanish phonetic code.

Library/Media

Media classes are held each week for 30 minutes. Students are taught about the various sections of the library, how tonavigate the library, and the computer skills required to find the books they want. They learn the parts of a book, genres, andhow to locate information efficiently through games, hands-on activities, scavenger hunts, stories, and songs. Book talks arefrequently held throughout the year to promote novels or chapter books of interest, helping to encourage our students tobecome avid readers. Students check out books on a weekly basis.

Upper Elementary (Ages 9-12)

Development

Nine to twelve year olds are becoming more socially centered, exploringthe wider society outside of their family. It is in these wider relationshipsthat they see and build a strong sense of morality, exploring what societydeems to be right and wrong. Fairness and justice are hugely important.Abstract thought is well-developed so students work less frequently withconcrete materials, although they still make use of them to aid theirunderstanding of complex concepts.

Practical Life

Students develop life skills through sharing the care and maintenance oftheir environment. Some examples include washing tables, preparing thedaily snack, caring for class plants and animals, and raising and loweringthe flag. Students help develop and implement community service andphilanthropic projects.

Cultural based group projects provide opportunities to explore publicspeaking, presentation development, and working collaboratively with a group. Students are encouraged to develop a systemof organization to aid in time management.

Practical life work at the upper elementary level provides students with life skills that will be useful as they grow intoadulthood.

Language

The language areas of study include guided and independent reading, advanced comprehension strategies, spelling,vocabulary, the writing process and mechanics, as well as advanced grammar work, sentence study, and the development oforal language skills.

Students learn about the diversity of language through the study of the parts of speech. Each part of speech is introduced witha concrete symbol, and students move through an advanced, in-depth study of each part of speech. Sentence analysis work

follows, which helps students learn to structure sentences and analyze them to ensure grammatical correctness.

Spelling instruction is based on learning common rules and patterns, wordorigins, and Greek and Latin roots. Students proceed at their own pacethrough the programs Spelling Power and Words Their Way.

Vocabulary development occurs through the use of the vocabularyprogram, Vocabulary Workshop. Short stories, poetry, and nonfictionpassages are studied through the Daybook of Critical Reading and Writing.

Students explore literary analysis in small groups using high interestnovels. They are encouraged to use higher level critical thinking skills toanalyze text. These critical thinking skills include: questioning, clarifying,predicting, summarizing, and inferencing. Reading for information is also asignificant part of the curriculum and is woven throughout language andcultural studies. Reading comprehension is supplemented through the useof the SRA Reading Lab.

The writing process is taught in a writing workshop setting. Students focuson writing for an audience through the study of narrative, nonfiction,realistic fiction, poetry, persuasive, and opinion writing.

Research and expository writing is interwoven throughout the cultural curriculum. Students learn the steps of the researchprocess from forming questions through writing a research paper. Prewriting, outlining, and editing are emphasized as part ofthe writing process.

Collaborative group projects help to develop interpersonal communication skills. These projects are presented to the class,providing frequent opportunities for public speaking. Students also participate in the Tropicana Public Speaking Competitioneach year.

Mathematics

The mathematics program introduces all new concepts in a hands-on,concrete manner before moving to abstraction. Students work at a paceand level appropriate for their individual development.

The curriculum typically includes multiplication and division, multiples andfactors, fraction concepts and operations, decimal concepts andoperations, ratio and percent, pre-algebra concepts, estimation,probability, and data analysis. Students also study geometry, includingpolygons, geometric solids, area, volume, lines, angles, congruence,similarity, and symmetry.

Students are presented with both application and computationalproblems. Logical reasoning, creativity, and problem solving areemphasized. There are several opportunities to apply mathematicalknowledge across curriculum areas.

Students follow the Montessori mathematics curriculum in fourth and fifthgrade and transition to a more traditional, text based program for sixthgrade. Math classes for sixth graders are held in the middle school, and classes are mixed-age with the middle school students.This ensures a good fit between students’ ability and level of challenge.

Sixth grade math courses offered may include General Math, Pre-Algebra, Honors Pre-Algebra, and occasionally HonorsAlgebra 1. Texts are chosen for each group of between five and ten students, depending on their needs. For homework,students use Daily Math Practice.

Cultural Studies

Cultural studies are the heart of the upper elementary curriculum. We emphasize the interconnections between the social and

natural sciences, mathematics, and language arts, as they are all expressions of the human struggle to understand the worldaround us.

Scientific studies begin with a review of the great lessons, followed by anintroduction to the different branches of scientific study. The chemicalfoundations of the universe and the fundamentals of physics areintroduced. Students learn about the organization of our biospherethrough the Timeline of Life. Over the course of a three year cycle, studentsstudy biology, chemistry, physics and earth/space science. Through the useof the scientific method and hands-on experiments, they answer questionsabout our world.

By exploring our shared history and culture, we present opportunities forstudents to engage in meaningful dialogues about other cultures andenvironmentally different regions. We strive to show how interconnectedwe are as part of the larger community.

Physical, cultural, and economic geography is studied both independentlyand in relation to history. Students continue the study of the fundamentalneeds of humans and explore how different groups of people have metthose needs throughout history. We explore topics on a three year cycle, including world and American history, andgovernments.

Music

Concepts from lower elementary are reexamined and revisited. Activities like drum circles help internalize concepts likerhythm and tempo, while singing and playing pitched instruments puts into practice the students’ knowledge of melody,harmony and notation. Students learn from the lives and music of composers of the past and also explore more recent trendsin music like recording and film music.

Creativity is greatly encouraged through activities like composing and visualizing music through art or movement.

Art

Using the timeline of art as a starting point, students are introduced to famous artists and their works. Students also work ontheir own fundamentals.

During hour lessons each week, students start off with a drawing warm-up exercise designed to teach them to really look attheir world. A sketchbook is kept with these warm-ups and sketches of plans for projects for the entire year as a “diary” oftheir art journey.

Technology

Students’ are encouraged to use the internet as a research tool and forword processing. Students work daily with typing programs to buildaccuracy. Educational and skill-building computer games are used toenhance the class work. Presentation programs such as Keynote andPowerpoint are introduced, and students are encouraged to use digitalvideos and photos to present information. Computers are used on a dailybasis and are an integral part of the classroom and curriculum.

Physical Education

Sportsmanship and teamwork continue to be a focus at this level. Studentsenjoy active indoor and outdoor games set to music as well as squaredancing. They continue to improve their skills in flag football, basketball,soccer, wiffle ball, and volleyball. Personal-best fitness is introduced at thislevel. The students jog, do sprints, learn proper stretching techniques,

jump rope, and do sit-ups. Students also work to improve upper bodystrength by doing planks, push-ups, modified and regular pull-ups, monkeybars, and parallel bars. Upper elementary students also have the opportunity to participate in after-school co-ed intramural sports. Students participate in field day activities at the end of each school year.

Spanish

Conversational and writing skills are emphasized at this level. Grammatical concepts are introduced, such as verb conjugation.Conversational situations promote understanding and appreciation of the language and culture, and allow students to engagein activities that make use of their newly acquired language skills. Music and food are incorporated into the lessons to addpractical interest. The text, Spanish is Fun, Level 1, is used at this level.

Library/Media

Media lessons consist of activities focused on navigating the library, genres, nonfiction organization, and utilizing referencematerials for research. Using the “Big 6” research steps, the students begin to become more independent and problem-solvetheir queries. Internet safety and reliability is studied and discussed. Students actively participate through scavenger hunts,center activities, shelving, internet activities, and games. Book talks play an important part in the media curriculum throughoutthe year. Students come to the library to read silently and relax for the first session of each month. Students are allowed tocheck out books and/or Kindles during media hours all week.

MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL: THE THIRD PLANE OF DEVELOPMENT

Middle School (Ages 12-14)

Language

Language Arts includes the study of vocabulary, literature, grammar,mechanics, writing, and oral communication. To increase students’ wordvariety and power, this course utilizes Vocabulary Workshop, a vocabularydevelopment program. The study of genres and thematic development areat the core of the literature curriculum. Novels, short stories, and poetryare used to teach students to analyze and discuss the characteristics ofgenre, learn literary terms, and reinforce skills in decoding, comprehension,and reading fluency.

Instruction in English grammar usage and mechanics is emphasized. Notesare taken in class to strengthen skills and are to be applied in all writingassignments. Writing instruction focuses on paragraph development, aswell as how to write a variety of assignments such as journals, shortstories, newspaper article, business letters, and research papers. Oralcommunication includes listening skills, actively participating in groupdiscussions, articulating ideas, and making formal presentations to thegroup. Students learn a variety of communication skills such asacknowledging others, “I” messages, active listening, goal setting, and group decision-making.

Mathematics

The mathematics curriculum is designed to develop mathematical thinking and enhance computational and problem-solvingabilities. Students are provided instructional and enrichment opportunities which enable them to explore and discoverconcepts for themselves.

Courses may include General Math, Pre-Algebra, Honors Pre-Algebra, Introductory Algebra, Honors Algebra, and Honors

Geometry. Ability grouping provides the flexibility necessary to meet individual developmental differences. Texts are selectedbased on the students' needs in each group. Group sizes range from five to ten students, allowing for individualized attention.Students are encouraged to present their mathematical thinking to the group.

The honors courses use a “flip the classroom” approach, making use ofSofia and Kahn Academy for introductory lessons. Each course of studyemphasizes real-life connections and utilizes computers, calculators, andother math tools to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Cultural Studies

The Social Studies curriculum integrates history, geography, economics,and government in thematic units. Social Studies is centered around U.S.history, physical and cultural geography, and ancient world history. Everyother year, students participate in an in-depth study of economics,culminating in a visit to Finance Park. Concepts are reinforced throughshort lectures, individual and group work/research, dramatic role play,strategic game simulations, and student led presentations. We follow analternating two-year cycle of study:

Year A - World HistoryYear B - United States History

Classroom instruction and labs utilizing hands-on activities develop the students’ understanding of the world around themand the joy of discovery. With the use of the scientific method, math, technology, and research skills, students develop criticalthinking skills. To clarify and understand key ideas and concepts, students develop creative projects. Upon completion, theypresent their research, diagrams, demonstrations, and experiments to the class. In addition, outdoor and off-campuseducational experiences reinforce concepts studied in the classroom. As in Social Studies, we follow a two-year alternatingcycle.

Year A - Life ScienceYear B - Physical Science

Art/Music/Drama

Each month, students are taught art history lessons or they will work onindividual projects to strengthen skills they have learned previously. Oneproject combines interior one-point perspective with art history. An artelective is taught every Friday afternoon. The focus of the art elective isstudent, driven and this focus changes each cycle. Different ideas arepresented, and they choose an art project and medium to pursue for theelective. The principles of design: balance, emphasis, unity, rhythm, andproportion are reinforced. Two of the cycles are dedicated to producingthe school’s yearbook. The yearbook staff learns to use an online site todesign pages and spreads, while learning to incorporate the themethroughout the book.

Once a month, a music appreciation lesson is presented to the entire class,which focuses on different styles of music. Students learn about andperform the music and dance which is native to the areas of the world theyare studying for the Spring Festival. Music electives are offered based onstudent interest. They have included guitar, rock band, drumming, songwriting, and chorus.

When possible, a drama specialist works with the students every other week in areas that include improvisational skills,dramatic writing, stage presentation, and expressing emotions theatrically.

Library/Media

Media focuses on internet safety, reliability, validating sources, and citing sources properly.

A review of library skills is revisited at the beginning of the semester through games, scavenger hunts, and internet activities.An author study or novel is shared with the students. The first lesson of each month is dedicated to silent reading for pleasure(either a novel, newspaper, or magazine). Lively discussions are encouraged, focusing on netiquette, novels read, researchtechniques, bias found in media, and technological advancements. Students are allowed to check out books and/or Kindlesduring media hours all week

Technology

Online research using primary and secondary sources is conducted on adaily basis, and many writing assignments are required to be typed.Students are allowed to present projects in a format of their choosing,including slide show presentations (PowerPoint/Keynote), videos that arerecorded and edited by students, writing and recording songs, and othercreative formats. Online typing lessons are completed weekly, andpersonal goals are set to increase speed and accuracy. Additional typing,document creation, and proper formatting are taught and integratedthroughout many assignments across all subjects. Online video lessonsand tutorials are used in a variety of ways to reinforce what has beentaught in class. Additionally, students use a web-based application to planand manage the school lunch program.

Physical Education

Personal-best fitness is more of a focus at this level and is practiced twiceweekly. Students continue to play sports and other active games, often setto music. Sports practice at this level focuses more on advanced strategies. Written assessments are given at this level to checkfor understanding of sports rules and exercise concepts. The students have the opportunity to participate in a co-educationalathletic league, competing against other schools in flag football, soccer, and basketball. Off-campus electives, such as bowling,gymnastics, kayaking, rock-climbing, ice-skating, and volleyball allow students to explore additional interests.

Spanish

Spanish lessons are structured to facilitate the transition to a traditional high school. The curriculum is designed to helpstudents attain a desirable level of proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. More advanced vocabulary and verbconjugations are taught. Conversational skills are practiced daily to encourage practical usage. Hispanic cultures are exploredmore extensively, including samples of music, dancing, and food. Active learning games are incorporated to hold studentinterest. Students are able to earn high school credit for Spanish 1, and those willing to take on an additional challenge levelare able to earn credit for Spanish 2 as well. Students use the text, Spanish is Fun, Levels 1 and 2.

Library/Media

Media focuses on internet safety, reliability, validating sources, and citing sources properly.

A review of library skills is revisited at the beginning of the semester through games, scavenger hunts, and internet activities.An author study or novel is shared with the students. The first lesson of each month is dedicated to silent reading for pleasure(either a novel, newspaper, or magazine). Lively discussions are encouraged, focusing on netiquette, novels read, researchtechniques, bias found in media and technological advancements. Students are allowed to check out books/kindles duringmedia hours all week.