Grades 1-4 Core Curriculum

The Reading curriculum offers a full range of phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, study skills, listening, and speaking activities. Students read various genres, including stories, poems, plays, folk tales, fables, biographies, and nonfiction. Foundational reading strategies and skills are explicitly taught and modeled. Our reading program, the classroom library collections, and the school library collections are continuously maintained to encourage students to read books with diverse perspectives, places, and people. Reading instruction is scheduled every day, and reading skills are strengthened and reinforced in all of the other subject areas. Students are encouraged to read independently for their own enjoyment in addition to reading during instructional time.

Through the Writing curriculum, students are taught how to generate ideas and to organize and enhance ideas by using transitions and vivid details. Foundational skills such as handwriting, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary are explicitly taught. Writing instruction and practice occur through every subject in the curriculum, allowing students to practice and reinforce their learning in multiple ways.

The Mathematics curriculum is based on the belief that math competency is best reached through an intentional progression from hands-on, concrete experiences to visual representations and, eventually, more abstract thinking. Students learn the “why” and “how” behind mathematical concepts through exploration, instruction, hands-on activities, and problem-solving. There is also an emphasis on building solid foundations in basic facts and number sense, developing fluency, automaticity, and flexibility when working with numbers. During math lessons, children are given ample opportunities for extra practice, reinforcement, and enrichment when appropriate. Problem-solving is emphasized in all grades. Where possible, mathematics skills are reinforced and applied in other subject areas, particularly in science.

The Science curriculum focuses on four major areas: Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Engineering and Design. The curriculum acts as a continuum; lessons in each consecutive year build on what has been taught the previous year. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) promote a three-dimensional approach to science. Our students learn science in a well-equipped Innovation Lab, as well as in the classroom and outside on our extensive campus. Students enjoy hands-on experiments and learning through observation. A systematic approach to exploring science combines the scientific method with content knowledge and provides essential building blocks for deeper scientific understanding.

The Social Studies curriculum has an especially strong link to the School’s mission, particularly with developing global citizens. Each grade’s curriculum includes world history, European history, and US history with topics drawn from the Core Knowledge Sequence™. Students are led to make current and local connections to the concepts and content taught. Geography and mapping skills are taught and applied in each unit of learning. We are often able to use our advantageous position here in England to take field trips that promote students’ understanding and enhance their learning.

Instruction in Spanish begins in Kindergarten and continues through Grade 4. The objectives of this program are to develop an awareness of the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries and to introduce students to the language and its sounds. This instruction provides a firm foundation for the formal study of the language, which commences in Grades 5-8.  Additionally, we hope to motivate students to pursue further language study.