Specials

The K-4 elementary vocal music curriculum focuses upon the development of independent musicianship. Singing is the foundation of all music skills as the voice is the instrument. Music skills are sequentially taught through the musical processes of performing, responding, creating and connecting. Students develop independent musicianship by learning to read and write musical notation through grade appropriate songs. Exploring movement and creating new arrangements of music through song games and rounds allows students to make choices towards innovative solutions. Students listen and respond to music making cultural connections with language arts, social studies, art, and science through interdisciplinary learning. Communicating through the language of music enables students to independently explore the world around them through self-expression.

Students in grades K-4 explore and create art work using subject matter of architecture, design, landscape, portrait, still life, and symbol systems. They have many opportunities to explore a variety of materials while building and practicing skills and techniques that increase in complexity with each grade. Art units integrate classroom themes in language arts, social studies, math, and science, and students develop an ability to transfer and apply knowledge from one situation to another, which results in deep authentic learning. Following the Arts Propel model of perception, production and reflection, students gain understanding and appreciation of the visual arts and their role in the world around them, across cultures and throughout history.

Physical Education: In first grade physical education students continue to build a repertoire of movement responses related to manipulating objects (throwing, catching, kicking, etc.), loco-motor movements (skipping, galloping, sliding, rolling) and non-locomotor movements (bending, twisting, turning) and begin to refine these movements towards a mature form. Beyond beginning to understand what the body can do, students begin to understand the concepts related to movement such as; Effort (amount of muscular effort need for a particular movement as well as the speed and rhythm of the movement ), Space (where the body can and should move in a given situation) and Body Awareness (the relationship between the mover and other movers, boundaries, and equipment. ) In addition, the first grade students begin to understand the physiological concepts related to movement such as heart rate and strength as well as the importance of daily physical activity. The learning environment in grade 1 emphasizes continued effort and exploration with an emerging focus on having students tolerate initial failure and to keep trying.

Health & Wellness: In first grade, students learn about the food pyramid and how to select healthy snacks and the importance of daily physical activity, obeying safety rules at school, home and in the neighborhood. Basic hygiene is also reinforced. Students learn the importance of treating others with respect, and how to express feelings in appropriate ways. They practice ways to refuse things that are not good for them. The Farmington Youth Officer teaches bicycle safety and stranger safety; the Farmington Fire Department teaches fire safety.