Elementary Curriculum
Lower Elementary—Grades 1 & 2
The Lower Elementary program at The Spring Hill School is designed to transition the child from the stage of a sensorial relationship with the environment to learning through intelligence and imagination. Primary children say, “Help me do it myself”, and elementary children say, “Help me think for myself.” They are interested in what is fair and just, and are becoming outgoing and social. Their need for organization and routine is replaced with a drive to learn more information.
The role of teachers is to ‘strike the imagination’ and guide discovery. Lessons are given to individuals, small groups, and the whole class. Spring Hill teachers are committed to the success of each child and individualize curricula to appropriately engage and challenge them. Because our school is small by design and our student-teacher ratio is low, social/emotional needs of children are addressed organically during school time as well as through specific components of the curriculum.
Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year, and parents also may consult with teachers at any time. We encourage families and caregivers to become involved and there are many ways to participate in our wonderful educational community. Assessments are done three times per year. Teachers work with students on academic and emotional skills for test taking that reduce anxiety and help them understand their role in their own learning.
Curriculum
| Reading & Writing | History | Math & Science | Music, Art + Spanish | PE, Wellness + Social/Emotional Development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phonics, reading strategies, fluency + comprehension, elements of a story | Land + water forms, mapping | Mathematical Mindset & growth mindset | Weekly music classes focus on voice, drumming, rhythm + composition; appreciation study of musicians such as: Mozart, Debussy, Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, Beethoven, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin | Daily physical education: Individual and team building activities that help students develop skills and confidence, sportsmanship, motor skills, coordination, and risk-taking through physical fitness |
| Literature circles, Reader's Theater, independent + reading, poetry recitation, music integration | Concepts of time | Mathematical Content Standards and Eight Mathematical Practice Standards | Weekly art classes and appreciation study of artists such as: Chagall, Calder, Picasso, Faith Ringold, Monet, Georgia O'Keefe | Frequent conferencing to ensure that each child feels safe and valued |
| The history of writing, handwriting (print + cursive) | Fundamental needs of people | Making sense of problems + persevere in solving them; use appropriate tools strategically | Daily Spanish classes focus on speaking, writing, vocabulary, and cultural study | Mindfulness classes |
| Grammar + word study | Early America | Addition, subtraction, place value, multiplication, measurement + geometry | “Sing & Speak” Spanish | Community meetings, conflict resolution |
| Handwriting, cursive + print | Study of remarkable people | Systems in physical, life, earth + space sciences, patterns of light + sound | Stewardship + care of environment | |
| Journal writing, self-expression, verbal presentation of knowledge + ideas | Presidents | Living + nonliving things, classification, ecology, botany, zoology, interdependence of living things, research projects | Service learning | |
| Types of writing: expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing | Civil rights | Design Thinking: creative problem solving using empathy, creativity, innovation + collaboration | Nutrition, cooking + gardening |
Schedule
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30–8:45 | Gathering, Singing, Mindfulness | All-School Community Meeting | |||
| 8:45–9:00 | Work Period, Small-Group Math Lessons | ||||
| 9:00–9:30 | Art/Makers | ||||
| 9:30–10:30 | Science & Geography | ||||
| 10:30–11:00 | Community Circle | Science Experiments | |||
| 11:00–12:00 | Spanish/PE | Music/Spanish | Extended Work Period | Spanish/PE | |
| 12:00–1:00 | Lunch | ||||
| 1:00–2:00 | Language Arts | Gardening, Cooking, Sewing, PE | |||
| 2:00–2:30 | Story + Dismissal | ||||
| 2:30–3:00 | Language Arts/Class Jobs | Yoga, Drama, PE | Spanish/PE | Language Arts/Class Jobs | Class Job/Weekly Reflections |
Upper Elementary—Grades 3 & 4
Students in Upper Elementary are hardworking, industrious, and curious. They are concerned with fairness and justice, global issues, and relationships. At this stage, young learners can concentrate on reading and thinking for long periods of time and enjoy logic and problem solving. To support this important stage of development, the Upper Elementary curriculum and classroom is dynamic, challenging, and engineered with purposeful work in order to help develop confident, caring, and global citizens. Students and teachers collaborate to develop academic and social emotional goals and, as a result, students in Upper El own their education!
Spring Hill teachers are committed to the success of each child and individualize curricula to appropriately engage and challenge students. Because our school is small by design and our student-teacher ratio is low, social/emotional needs of children are addressed organically during school time as well as through specific components of the curriculum.
Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year, and parents also may consult with teachers at any time. We encourage families and caregivers to become involved and there are many ways to participate in our wonderful educational community. Assessments are done three times per year. Teachers work with students on academic and emotional skills for test taking that reduce anxiety and help them understand their role in their own learning.
Curriculum
| Humanities + Literacy | Science + Makers | Math | Social + Emotional Development | Signature Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building a reading life, reading to learn, character studies, comprehension, accuracy, fluency, expanding vocabulary | NGSS Science Bundles, garden, integrated arts, research projects, data collection + analysis | Mathematical Mindset & growth mindset | Frequent conferencing to ensure that each child feels safe and valued | Daily Spanish classes, study of culture |
| Reading workshop, independent + shared reading, music integration | Science & Makers classes (inspired by Stanford d.school, Design Thinking & scientific inquiry) | Abstract + quantitative reasoning | Mindfulness classes | Weekly music classes focus on voice, drumming, rhythm and composition |
| Opinion, expository, poetry, narrative persuasive essays, historical fiction, journaling, thesis-based essays, research + citations | Evidence of patterns + systems in the natural and designed world | Attention to precision | Community meetings | Weekly art classes with comprehensive visual arts curriculum, creative expression, and art appreciation |
| Writers workshop, Reading without Tears, grammar + word study | Living things, traits of organisms, survival + habitat | Mathematical Content Standards and Eight Mathematical Practice Standards | Conflict resolution | Makers classes and projects integrate hands and mind with practical and vocational skills such as sewing, weaving, print making, pottery, cooking, metal arts, tinkering, coding, and model making |
| Speaking + listening, presentation of knowledge + ideas | Weather + climate, energy, forces + motion, aquaponics | Four operations, place value, fractions, introduction to decimals, measurement + geometry, statistics, data + probability | Stewardship + citizenship | Daily physical education: Individual and team building activities that help students develop skills and confidence, sportsmanship, motor skills, coordination, and risk-taking through physical fitness |
| Citizenship, government, California history + geography, local economies, Native Americans, immigration |
Schedule
| MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00–8:30 | Indoor/Outdoor Play | ||||
| 8:30–9:00 | Morning Meeting, Singing, Mindfulness | All-School Community Meeting | |||
| 9:00–10:30 | Language Arts/Math | Language Arts/Math | Language Arts/Math | Language Arts/Math | Language Arts/Social Studies |
| 10:30–11:00 | PE/Spanish | ||||
| 11:00–12:00 | PE/Spanish | PE/Spanish | |||
| 12:00–1:00 | Lunch | ||||
| 1:00–2:00 | PE/Spanish | STEM/Music | STEM/Art | PE/Spanish | STEM |
| 2:00–3:00 | Social Studies | Social Studies | |||
Keep Exploring
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