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Lower Elementary - Curriculum
In our Montessori Lower Elementary classroom, we move from the simple to the complex and from the concrete to the abstract. The curriculum is integrated and flows from humanistic questions that Dr. Montessori thought were universal to all children: Who am I? Where do I come from? What is human about humans? What do humans need? How do I cooperate with the world?
History
Early work in the lower elementary class emphasizes anthropology and social history rather than memorization of dates and names of famous people. The teacher gives one of the Great Lessons about the first human beings along with a timeline depicting scenes from the story. Later history work involves using charts with questions concerning a group of people to explore any culture in the world at any time.
Geography
Geography is the story of the earth being formed. The children not only learn about oceans, continents, countries, capitals, major cities, rivers, mountains, population, economics, agriculture, etc. from the perspective of Social Science, but also from the perspective of science, as it relates to the earth.
Science
Geology: We study the earth's formation and the composition of its crust. We consider winds and their currents, the river, the cycle of water and much more.
Astronomy: The rotation of the earth around the sun significantly affects the pattern of life on earth. The consequences of this movement are covered in some detail. Children study day and night, the seasons, climatic zones, time zones, etc.
General Science: This is given to show why geological processes work the way they do: the three states of matter, viscosity of fluids, and how hot air rises and cooler air comes in to take its place. We also consider the adaptations that humans have made in order to survive in the geographical conditions in which they were placed. This includes racial characteristics.
Biology: Biology is the story of coming of life on earth. After the children learn about the land and water forms in Geography, they learn about the life forms that live in the water, on the ground, and in the air. The grandeur and beauty of animal and plant life opens the door to the study of Biology. We introduce different aspects of Botany, including roots, leaves, flowers, stems, seeds and fruits, by explaining their function and then analyzing and dissecting an actual specimen.
Zoology:In Zoology we consider mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and the major body functions (reproduction, skeleton, circulation, respiration, movement and protection). Human anatomy is studied as part of Zoology.
Language
Grammar is presented to improve the children's writing and reading. We review the parts of speech and progress to logically analyzing sentences into subject, predicate, direct object and so on.
Basic written language skills are given intensive review, according to the child's needs, to develop his proficiency in reading and writing.
Mathematics
Long multiplication, commutative and distributive laws, multiples and factors; long division, divisibility; fractions and basic operations using them; decimals; cubing, square root, cube root, ratio and proportion, measuring and introduction to the computer are covered during the elementary years.
Children begin with a concrete and sensorial exploration of mathematics. They have mastered counting and most of their basic facts. Each area covered in mathematics begins with something very concrete and often quantifiable. Subsequent presentations become more symbolic until eventually abstraction is reached.
Geometry: Polygons, angles and lines begin the elementary work in geometry. We begin with a whole figure, then analyze parts of it. In introducing the Pythagorean Theorem, we explain how the Egyptians used rope to make right triangles to mark off the boundaries of their property. We give a sensorial introduction to area of a rectangle and work up to deriving formulae for area of various plane figures. Solid geometry and volume are also covered.
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