Lower School
History and Geography
First Grade
Children learn more about maps and globes. They review the seven continents and major oceans, learn about the major directions, geographic terms, and places relevant to what they are studying. Students begin their study of ancient civilizations and are introduced to ancient Egypt. Since religion is so important in the story of civilization, children are introduced to the history of major religions. Kindergarteners study about very early hunters and nomads who crossed from Asia to North America. They are instructed in the topics of American colonization, the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, and more national symbols.
First Grade / Second Grade
In first grade children extend their knowledge of ancient civilizations and world religions. They learn major geographical features of Asia, and as they learn about India they are introduced to Hinduism and Buddhism. They learn about China, including Confucius, the building of the Great Wall, and important inventions. Students become familiar with modern civilization and culture in Japan and ancient Greece in connection to their Language Arts literature study. Children are introduced to the beginnings of Constitutional government in America, James Madison and “we the people” govern ourselves. They learn about the War of 1812, westward expansion of the nation, and the story of the Civil War. Through narrative and biography they are introduced to the importance of immigration to our country. In connection with these historical studies, children learn about the geography of the Americas.
Second Grade / Third Grade
In second grade children build on their earlier study of Greece and learn about Ancient Rome. They learn about the legend of Romulus and Remus, and how the Romans adapted the Greek religion. They are introduced to Julius Caesar and explore life in the Roman Empire. Students learn about the Vikings in connection with their Language Arts study of Norse mythology. Their study of world geography includes important rivers of the world, the use of atlases, and bar scales to measure distance. Children continue to learn about Native Americans, early explorers, and the settlement of the original thirteen colonies.
Third Grade
In third grade children are introduced to the history of Europe including the Middle Ages. They are introduced to the developments of the Christian church, the spread and development of Islamic civilization, and the history of early and medieval African kingdoms. They continue to build upon their knowledge of Ancient Egypt, the medieval dynasties of China, and the geography of Africa. The children expand their work with maps and globes, learning about latitude and longitude, the Prime Meridian, the International Date Line, and the representations of elevations and depressions on relief maps. Study continues with a brief look at the French and Indian War, an extended look at the American Revolution, the making of a constitutional government, early presidents and politics, and ideas and people in social reform movements before the Civil War.
Language Arts
First Grade
Children continue systematic instruction and practice in decoding letter-sound relationships, working toward the goal of more independent reading and writing. They master common sight words, read phonetic stories, and with assistance, they read “beginning reader” books. They are offered many opportunities to express themselves in print. They practice handwriting, dictation, and learn some conventions of written language, including capitalization, end punctuation, making words plural by adding s, and writing common contractions. They practice going over what they have written and correcting their mistakes. The children are introduced to a varied selection of poetry, literature, and classic selections. They take part in a drama and learn about some terms and conventions of drama.
First Grade / Second Grade
Children continue systematic instruction and practice in decoding letter-sound relationships. There is regular practice in spelling and vocabulary enrichment, handwriting, and sentence dictation. A balance is struck between creativity and the correct use of conventions: spelling, capitalization, end punctuation, and complete sentences. Nouns, verbs, common prefixes and suffixes, antonyms and synonyms, and familiar abbreviations are introduced. Through a combination of reading aloud and independent reading the children are introduced to a varied selection of literature, (Greek myths, tall tales, stories from around the world) poetry, and classics. They learn more about the terms and conventions of drama, including comedy and tragedy, playwright, theater, stage, act, and scene.
Second Grade / Third Grade
Independent reading and writing are encouraged. Reading instruction continues with systematic attention to decoding skills as needed. Children practice giving speeches and are given regular practice with spelling and vocabulary enrichment. They refine their handwriting skills and continue writing from dictation by the teacher. They are offered many opportunities for writing both imaginary and expository essays. They learn more grammar and conventions of the written language, including parts of speech, sentence types, helping verbs, homonyms, and letter writing. Through a combination of reading aloud and independent reading, they are introduced to a variety of literature: poetry, Greek and Roman mythology, Norse mythology (in connection with their study of the Vikings). The children learn how to use the library.
Third Grade
Independent reading and writing are encouraged. Children practice giving speeches. They are given regular practice with spelling and vocabulary enrichment. They continue to use the library and learn what a bibliography is. They are offered many opportunities for both creative and expository writing, in various contents and subject areas, with a stronger emphasis than previous grades on expository writing, including summaries, book reports, and essays. They learn how to organize and develop a brief essay and the paragraphs in it. They enjoy poetry, stories from around the world, classics, literature in connection with Colonial times and the Middle Ages.
Mathematics
First Grade
Children define sets, count and write numbers to 100, count by twos, fives, and tens. They identify ordinal position, a dozen and half-dozen, and pairs. They are introduced to the concept of place value, recognize one-half, one-third, one-fourth, and interpret simple graphs. They show how different combinations of coins equal the same amounts of money. Children learn their addition and subtraction facts up to 12 and practice them until mastered. They learn about zeros and two-digit addition and subtraction without regrouping. They learn to solve basic one step story and picture problems. Students learn more about measurement and geometrical skills.
First Grade / Second Grade
Children learn to recognize and write numbers to 1000. They count by twos, threes, fives, tens, and hundreds. They continue to develop their understanding of place value, writing numbers in expanded form, and rounding to the nearest ten. Students create and interpret simple bar graphs, practice with fractions: one-half, one-third, one-fourth, one-fifth, one-sixth, one-eighth, and one-tenth. They continue working with money values, computing with mastery to 18, two and three digit addition and subtraction without regrouping. Children begin studying multiplication, measuring in linear units, estimate and measure liquid volumes, solve simple word problems, and measure and record temperature. Students tell time to fiveminute intervals, solve problems on elapsed time, and reinforce topics in geometry.
Second Grade / Third Grade
Second graders learn to read and write numbers up to six digits. They practice identifying place value to hundred thousands and learn to order and compare numbers. They identify perfect squares and square roots to 100, read Roman numerals to twenty, are introduced to the concept of negative numbers, and create and interpret bar and line graphs. Mastery of addition and subtraction facts is expected, computation both with and without regrouping, multiplying two whole numbers with and without regrouping, and division facts to ten. Second graders continue practice with linear and liquid measurements. They reinforce topics in geometry and learn about angles, area, and perimeter.
Third Grade
Third graders read and write numbers up to nine digits and recognize place value to one hundred million. They round to the nearest thousand and learn Roman numerals from 1 to 1000. They plot points on a coordinate plane, using ordered pairs of positive whole numbers. They review and extend earlier work with fractions and decimals and by third grade should have mastered all basic whole number operations. They learn to identify factors of a given number as well as common factors of two numbers. Third graders practice solving two step word problems and extend earlier work with measurement. Children expand their knowledge of geometry and learn to compute volume.
Music
First Grade
Children learn to echo short rhythms and melodic patterns; play simple rhythms and melodies; and recognize like and unlike phrases. Students are introduced to the concept of musical notation. They learn about the families of instruments of the orchestra, and the role of the conductor. They are introduced to classical music and composers, and to music that tells a story. Children are introduced to ballet and other types of dance, as well as to opera and jazz.
First Grade / Second Grade
Children learn to gradually slow down and get faster, and gradually increase and decrease volume; to recognize verse and refrain; to recognize a scale as a series of notes; to sing the C major scale using “do re mi”; and to recognize more musical notation. Children build on their introduction to instruments and the orchestra by becoming more familiar with the string and percussion families, and with keyboard instruments.
Second Grade / Third Grade
Children learn to recognize harmony and sing rounds; recognize a theme and variations; and become familiar with more musical notation. Children build on their introduction to instruments and the orchestra by becoming more familiar with the brass and woodwind families.
Third Grade
Children reinforce musical skills learned in previous grades and also learn to name the ledger lines and spaces of the treble clef; sing or play simple melodies while reading score; understand meter signatures (4/4, 2/4, and 3/4); and understand terms such as legato and staccato. They become familiar with vocal ranges, female (soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto) and male (tenor, baritone, and bass).
Science
First Grade
Children explore the interdependence of living things and their environment. Students get an overview of the major systems of the human body, the idea that everything is made of matter, different measuring tools and measurement. They observe and experiment with electricity and explore the solar system. They continue to be introduced to the lives and achievements of scientists.
First Grade / Second Grade
Children are introduced to the idea of the life cycle, and learn about the life cycles of plants and various animals. They continue their study of the weather by learning about the water cycle. The study of the human body continues with a more detailed look at some of the systems, viewing cells under a microscope, and keeping healthy with proper diet and exercise. They begin to explore how tools and simple machines work. They are also introduced to orienteering using a compass. Students continue to be exposed to the biographies of scientists.
Second Grade / Third Grade
Children are introduced to the ways scientists classify animals. The study of the human body continues with a more detailed look at some of its systems. Students observe and experiment with light and simple optics. Through experiments and observation, they learn about sound. Children build on their earlier studies of habitats as they are introduced to ideas and terms related to ecology and ecosystems. They build on their introduction to the solar system by exploring astronomy in more detail. Students continue to be introduced to the lives and achievements of scientists.
Third Grade
of the human body by examining in more detail how the circulatory and respiratory systems work. They learn about different blood cells, blood types, the structure of the heart, and about heart attacks. Students are introduced to terms and concepts of chemistry: a simple model of an atom, electrical charge, familiar elements, and they do simple experiments with solutions and crystallization. They continue their study of electricity in more detail. 5 Students are introduced to the field of geology and the study of the earth. Building on what they know about weather, children study topics in meteorology. They continue to study the biographies of various scientists.
Visual Arts
First Grade
Children learn more about the elements of art, including color, line, shape, and texture. They look at the use of color in many works and they continue to identify and use different kinds of lines. Children identify and use basic geometric shapes and note how artists in the works being studied use these shapes. They learn to describe qualities of texture in natural objects and works of art. Children discuss examples of different kinds of paintings, create their own, and study about murals. In connection with their learning about ancient civilizations, children learn about the art of those civilizations.
First Grade / Second Grade
Children continue to build on their earlier learning about elements of art. They learn how lines and shapes can indicate movement and they come to understand the term landscape. Children are engaged in looking at, talking about, and comparing art. In connection to what they are learning in World History, children are introduced to architecture of these ancient civilizations.
Second Grade / Third Grade
Children begin paying attention to two new elements of art, light and space, and start to think about how all the elements work together to form a design. They look for patterns, balance, and symmetry in a variety of works. In connection with what they are learning in World History, children are introduced to examples of the art of ancient Rome, as well as some Byzantine art, such as mosaics.
Third Grade
Children are introduced to the art of the Middle Ages in Europe, including examples of several medieval Madonnas. Students are introduced to Islamic art, the art of Africa, and some examples of the art of China. Children become familiar with works of art representative of the “new” nation they are learning about in history, the U.S. after the mid-eighteenth century. They also learn about the architecture of Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.