Elementary
Ages 6-9 Years
The Montessori lower elementary curriculum covers the first three years of elementary school. It offers the elementary child freedom of movement and freedom of choice, within a carefully prepared, beautiful environment, full of hands-on, engaging and interesting materials. The students choose activities that appeal to their interests and match their abilities, guided by a Montessori certified teacher.
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The curriculum offers an individualized educational plan for each child, all within a supportive community. There are also many group activities, so students learn how to work cooperatively and problem solve with others. The curriculum and environment encourages cooperation, not competition. The schedule and curriculum encourage students to delve deeply into the different subjects. There are prolonged and unbroken work times to aid in the development of concentration. The different strands of the curriculum are woven together to form a cohesive whole.
The Montessori Difference
How Do We Compare to Conventional Schools?
MONTESSORI STUDENTS
CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL
Mathematics
A fair portion of the curriculum is devoted to Geometry and related lessons including use of the Geometry Cabinet (study of plane shapes), Constructive Triangles (exploring the triangle as a basic building block of other shapes), sticks and nomenclatures (used to explore many geometric concepts, such as parallel, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, convergent and divergent lines, etc.). Rounding it off is the introduction to fractions and factors & multiples.
Through repetition and practice with many different hands on materials children develop a deep understanding of the decimal system and place value, and how the various operations work. Children also begin to memorize facts for
all four operations.
Language
listening to stories read by the teacher.
Our Language Arts program builds on the foundation laid in preschool, which sets the stage for the children to master tasks such as: Reading, Writing, Spelling, Dictionary Skills, Poetry, Novel Studies, Penmanship & Handwriting, Parts of Speech and a love of literature. Each skill builds on another and forms a solid base, which leads to ease of integration with other subjects. Writing a research project on whales or explaining how a math equation is worked out is easily achieved as a result. In addition the children learn to value reading for pleasure as is evidenced by how much they enjoy book browsing, reading with a friend, reading to the teacher or a volunteer, reading in a small group, and
Many of our other academic areas also support the language arts, especially vocabulary development. As an example, in geometry lessons, we learn what the root word of a shape name means. Triangle means three angles, quadrilateral means four lines, etc. In history, we learn the origins of the names of the week. Monday is named for the moon, Sunday for the sun, etc. In geography, we learn that hemisphere means half of a sphere or globe, and the equator is related to the word for ‘equal’ as it is an imaginary line that divides the earth into two equal halves. In math, we learn that the word ‘fraction’ comes from the Latin ‘fractus’, meaning to divide or break into parts. In this way, children develop a rich and well developed vocabulary, and a fascination with words.
Our language curriculum is also enriched with the introduction of another language, currently French, through songs, games, stories and conversations. Ms. Sudha, our current lead teacher, is also introducing the students to Hindi. In this way, we plan to give the children a strong foundation in acquiring other languages, and a passion and interest for other world languages.
Physical and Cultural Geography
In our Geography curriculum we look at the formation of the Earth, its place in the solar system, its atmosphere, weather and seasons and its various land and water features. We also explore ways of representing these features through the use of maps - finding our way with lines of longitude and 3 latitude and a compass. A major component of this curriculum is the study of continents, countries of the world and their capital cities.
The curriculum is enriched with cultural experiences, such as celebrating the Lunar New Year, a major celebration for many people, explorations of the celebrations of light (e.g.
St. Lucia, Diwali, Hanukkah), and many other experiences. We welcome families into the classroom to give presentations about their culture and traditions. Such presentations might include holidays, music, dance, food, traditions.
History
In History, we review the origin of the universe, explore the concept of time and visit in capsule form how the ancient civilizations evolved. Intertwined with this is a study of the common needs of people and how they apply to each time period. The common needs of people framework allows us to study how different peoples have met their needs for shelter, clothing, food, transportation, defense, government, community, spiritual needs, such as art, music, dancing, spiritual expression. How different people have met these needs depends on when and where they lived, what challenges they faced and what resources were available for them to use.
History lessons also include learning about the measurement of time, using clocks, calendars and timelines. Important annual events of the calendar, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Independence Day, etc., provide opportunities for us to explore America’s history.
Natural and Physical Science
The Science curriculum allows opportunities for students to see scientific demonstrations and carry out their own experiments. Opportunities exist to explore concepts such as sink and float, magnetic and non-magnetic, effects of various conditions on plants, the water cycle, etc.
Botany: Plants are one of the key components that sustain animal life on earth. In our Botany studies, we learn about the plant anatomy, plant physiology, plant geography, plant industries and horticulture. Children use charts and reference materials to learn how to classify the plants around them.
Zoology: Animals have inhabited the Earth for millions of years, growing from simple one-celled organisms to the diverse variety we see today. Our Zoology studies encompass an overview of the animal kingdom and classification suitable for the Elementary classroom. We also explore animal needs and how they are met.
Physics and Astronomy: Supernovas, stars, asteroids, meteors, satellites and galaxies! Students discover the wonder and power of a tiny atom, and 4 all its potential. This comprehensive curriculum provides plenty of activities to explore the mysteries of the universe, to discover many answers to why and how things exist and behave, and to seek further answers to questions that inevitably arise.
Health
Our elementary students participate in a weekly Amazing Athletes program, where they are introduced to and practice skills for the following sports – football, soccer, basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball and hockey. They also engage in aerobic activities, and safe stretching, warm up and cool down activities. The students also participate in weekly class meetings, where they learn emotionally safe ways to talk about emotions, relationships and to solve problems. The Montessori School of Pullman encourages excellent nutrition as part of our health curriculum. We provide opportunities for children to prepare and serve healthy snacks. Students also study the various
systems of the body, and how the systems work together (e.g. the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, the skeletal and musculature systems).
We use the North American Montessori Center's curriculum materials in our school.
Lower elementary curriculum. (2019). Available from https://www.montessoritraining.net
Montessori at a glance. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.northendmontessori.com/montessori-at-a-glance/