CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

Many of the learning opportunities challenge students to apply their knowledge in solving everyday problems. Journal writing and other activities related to the writing process happen daily. Students will be engaged in cooperative learning activities. They will share in and complete activities with classmates and teachers. They will participate in the assessment process by completing rubrics and reviewing them with the teacher.

Standards-based units offer students opportunities for hands-on learning experiences, cooperative group activities, and community activities. Units of study in the Lower Elementary Classroom include Electricity, Life Cycles, Objects in the Sky, The Pilgrimage and New England Colonies, Rhode Island History, The Olympics, local legends and folktales such as Johnny Appleseed and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Units integrate Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, Math, Technology, and the Arts.

Our program provides each student with a comprehensive language arts program. Each student is assessed and placed in small reading groups appropriate to their needs. We focus on the specific needs of the student, vocabulary acquisition and in-depth reading strategies. Students engage in Writer’s Workshop and write for a variety of purposes. Students, with staff assistance, apply a four step writing process.

Students work toward National standards in mathematics. Students use prior knowledge and learned practice to apply math daily. Students engage in new math concepts and  incorporate the necessary applications to solve a variety of problems.

Staff and students work with the Literacy Coordinator, Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, and School Psychologist on a weekly basis.