:: Elementary

Characteristics of Development

·         Children are transitioning to the reasoning mind, developing new powers of abstraction and imagination, and a heightened interest in social life, morality and justice.

Classroom Support

·         To support their growing intellectual capabilities, the Elementary classroom introduces children to the vastness of the universe and emphasizes the interconnectivity between academic subjects.

·         Storytelling is central to the curriculum. Many lessons are introduced to the children as stories, and language learning overflows into all subject areas.

·         The Great Lessons—which are presented orally to the entire class each year—are exciting renditions of the creation of the universe, the dawn of life, the birth and history of humankind and cultures, and the rise of language and mathematics. These stories inspire children to begin research on the aspects of creation that most fascinate them. They develop written and verbal ways to communicate their findings and ideas. 

·         The Story of the Alphabet introduces children to the development of spoken and written languages all over the world and in relation to the movement of humankind.

·         Word study introduces students to the structure of words—including prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin roots—in a variety of subject areas and contexts. For example, when using math materials, students might discuss the meaning of “deca or deci” as those prefixes appear in decagon, decimeters, etc.  

·         Children are introduced to dictionary-use, alphabetical order, parts of speech and the function of words.

·         Interactive lessons help children discover the concepts underlying parts of speech like nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. The guide might give students the opportunity to “act out” the action of a verb, for example, or ask students to come up with an object without a name when introducing nouns.

·         Grammar Boxes provide concrete and interactive ways for children to learn and practice labeling parts of speech in provided sentences. Once children have worked through all the Grammar Boxes, they are asked to find and label their own sentences elsewhere.

·         Elementary students also do sentence analysis and diagramming, encouraging further thinking about the roles of subjects, different kinds of verbs, appositives, and compound and complex sentence structures. 

·         Children do comparative studies of different styles and genres of writing. They examine poems, scientific writing, persuasive essays, speeches, plays, stories, fables, myths, and are also asked to write their own.

·         While doing independent research in various subject areas, children are asked to write and speak about what they read, which helps develop reading comprehension.

·         Over time students improve in areas of grammar, spelling, punctuation and complexity of vocabulary without the guide having to correct work. Guides avoid correcting students’ work so as not to interfere with the innate desire for self-expression. Guides model correct usage instead.

·         As students develop competency and confidence, they have greater interest in ensuring their accuracy in these areas. At this point, the guide might place greater emphasis on other grammar rules, such as capitalization and comma usage. Students frequently ask for proofreading help as they take ownership of their work.

Tips for Families

·         Anything you want your child to be doing, you should be doing! Let your children see you reading and writing.

·         Your child should be reading at home. Students who read more seem to develop a facility for language in all areas, from comprehension to grammar skills.

·         We encourage you to continue reading with your child. Material that is slightly above your child’s reading level is wonderful to share.

·         Try not to correct your child or make reading and writing feel like drudgery. Do model correct usage when you speak and write.