Elementary Program
The Age of Reason
During the elementary school years, students have an increased focus on social development.
Cooperative and/or peer-supported learning are essential elements of the elementary program. Elementary children have an immense appetite for knowledge and are capable of great effort and concentration. They have an increased ability to tell fact from fiction, to reason, to problem solve. The elementary child does not want to be given answers but, rather, wants to be given the tools to be able to discover things on his or her own. Within the elementary classroom, students have opportunities to develop their research minds, which helps them answer life’s big questions.
The Elementary Program
There are two levels in the elementary program, Lower Elementary (grades 1–3) and Upper Elementary (grades 4–6). Classes are dual language, with alternating instructional days in English and Spanish. Each classroom is led by two Montessori trained guides, one of whom instructs in Spanish and the other of whom teaches in English.
*****Due to the specific challenges of beginning a dual language program for English-dominant students with no exposure to Spanish in third grade, in its first two years, Mi Escuela Montessori will have a transitional program:
-
Lower Elementary (grades 1-2) will be served in a fully implemented dual language program.
-
Upper Elementary (grades 3-4) will be served in a modified foreign language enrichment program, not a full dual language immersion program. Students will have daily Spanish enrichment classes for years one and two and will transition into a fully implemented dual language program in year 3.
The Elementary Curriculum
In the early elementary weeks, students are introduced to the Five Great Lessons, which form the framework of the work they will do for the next 8 years.
According to Paula Polk Lillard, “Montessori stated that for the elementary child, ‘the power of imagination is what educates.’ The facts of these stories represent the truths of the universe (and the progression of human civilization) as we know them, but they appeal to the child’s imagination to comprehend those facts and their meaning.” The Five Great Lessons give students enough information to spark further interest and provide a context around which to organize the knowledge they accumulate. Continually revisited and extended throughout grades 1–8, the Great Lessons provide students with a big picture that integrates study across multiple subjects and demonstrates the interconnectedness of science, history, language, and math.
Great Lesson 1
The Story of the Creation of the Universe
Great Lesson 3
The Timeline of Humans and Civilization
Great Lesson 5
The Story of Numbers Through Time
Great Lesson 2
The Story of the Coming of Life
Great Lesson 4
The Story of Communication in Signs
