Lower School Curriculum Guide 23-24

The Lower School curriculum offers students a developmentally appropriate program that helps foster a love of learning. At Brimmer and May, we blend exploration and creativity with the development of important skills and core content. Our aim is to prepare all students for the demands of the Middle and Upper School curricula while nurturing their curiosity and spirit of wonder.

Dear Lower School Families,

With an average class size of 12, teachers personalize instruction in a student-centered learning environment. The school day offers a vibrant multinational community of learners in a child-friendly space to grow. In this supportive environment we want our students to appreciate the rewards of hard work and strive for their personal best.

Our state-of-the-art facilities complement our historical, residential atmosphere, making the learning environment dynamic for our younger students on campus. Our media-rich curriculum embraces emerging technologies that are changing the way students work and learn. The 300-seat theater provides students with an inspirational space to explore their creativity, learn the value of performance, and practice public speaking. Likewise, the use of our upper-level laboratories during Science ColLab lessons further our focus on the Creative Design Process.

Brimmer’s curriculum expands learning beyond the classrooms. Greater Boston’s performing arts, museum, and science programs enhance many of the classroom programs and content. Because the teachers’ professional development includes study tours to various countries, the social studies curriculum is authentic and inspiring. Our students learn about their neighbors near and far, embrace new languages, and value the rich customs and cultures throughout the world.

Students enjoy learning at Brimmer, and when joyful learners grow into confident students, their success follows.

Sincerely,

Judith Guild Head of School

Brimmer and May is a PK - 12 all gender day school that upholds high academic standards while implementing innovative ideas in a supportive and student-centered community. We develop lifelong learners who are informed, engaged, and ethical citizens and leaders in our diverse world.

Core Values

Brimmer’s Core Values serve as the moral guidelines and the foundation for character development throughout the School:

Respect | Responsibility | Kindness | Honesty | Equity

The Core Values give students clear, understandable guidelines for personal conduct and community engagement and help them create an environment of inclusion and acceptance. In addition, the Core Values promote interactions that are conducive to learning and foster personal growth. The Core Values are purposefully present in the daily life of the Lower School: each classroom prominently features these values for the children to see and to begin to inhabit, and teachers and students use these terms as common language to frame and discuss their many interactions throughout the school day.

In order to recognize and highlight interpersonal and community actions that exemplify the Core Values, the weekly Friday morning Share Assemblies include the presentation of Gators to both students and adults. At Share, the Lower School faculty present Gators to students to acknowledge and honor them for actions that go above and beyond in modeling the Core Values during the previous week.

The Core Values have provided foundational principles for the Lower School for more than three decades. They reflect the mindful work of the Lower School faculty and administration and our universal human values. These ethical guidelines, originally established in the Lower School, are embedded in the programming and pedagogy of the Middle and Upper Schools as well. They lie at the heart of the educational philosophy and mission of the School and are the moral guideposts for the community.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Inspired to Learn

We inspire students to be active learners, confident problemsolvers, and critical thinkers who work both independently and collaboratively.

Encouraged to Explore

We encourage students to engage their curiosity, expand their creativity, explore their interests, develop their voices, and strive for their personal best.

Empowered to Lead

We empower students to embrace opportunities, develop their intellect with character, and lead in the global community.

THE LOWER SCHOOL APPROACH

The Lower School has three overarching goals in its approach to the education of young children: inspiring a love of learning, encouraging creative exploration, and empowering young minds. As curriculum and programming are designed and implemented, these goals are pursued vigorously and with a student-centered focus.

Inspiring a Love of Learning

• Blending academic growth and achievement (in reading, writing, arts, math, digital technologies, science, language development, etc.)

• Offering a hands-on experiential and inquiry-based learning environment

• Learning about our interconnected and diverse world

• Providing a relevant and personalized learning environment that stimulates curiosity

• Offering multimedia resources with rich content for enhancing knowledge

• Realizing the art and beauty of storytelling and creative expression

• Creating an interdisciplinary curriculum where thematic focus helps students make sense of their world

Encouraging Creative Exploration

• Working through the Creative Design Process to solve real-life problems

• Learning to take risks and using a variety of problem-solving skills

• Applying the STEAM disciplines for creative problem-solving

• Exploring the Lower School Garden as an open-ended laboratory

• Learning with mixed grade levels in ColLabs to study the environment and explore an engineering problem

• Offering choices and opportunities for individual interests

• Using creative expression to expand possibilities for a deeper learning experience

Empowering Young Minds

• Developing a global understanding with empathy for others

• Exhibiting knowledge with an understanding of voice, point of view, and audience awareness

• Developing reading and research skills for content exploration

• Learning to be a self-directed learner and a curator of individual portfolios

• Building authentic relationships between teachers and students and equity in the community

• Working collaboratively with individuals with diverse views

• Valuing and celebrating individual strengths and interests

• Understanding self and responsible decision-making

Central Questions and Integrated Curriculum

In the Lower School, teachers take an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum design. This type of approach allows students to develop a deeper understanding of the different disciplines Brimmer teachers create meaningful, relevant, and challenging content that helps students make connections to the real world. This allows students to be more successful and achieve mastery in the classroom.

At each grade level a Central Question is presented at the beginning of the school year to frame students’ learning goals throughout the year. The Central Question serves not only as a lens to explore key concepts, themes, and ideas but also as the thread that interweaves multiple disciplines. This question challenges students to think critically and make connections as they discover and explore science, math, literacy, and history.

The Lower School’s approach to learning prompts students to strive for a higher level of learning and academic engagement.

Backward Design and Curriculum Planning

The curriculum design and planning in the Lower School is grounded in specific educational philosophies and methodologies,is informed by research, and incorporates the experience and expertise of the Lower School faculty.

Grant Wiggins’ and Jay McTighe’s “Backward Design” guides the Lower School faculty’s approach to their work. This curriculum, unit, and lesson planning approach requires teachers to

1. identify learning objectives

2. determine acceptable evidence of student understanding

3. plan learning experiences and instructional activities

Backward Design promotes student learning from proficiency to mastery. In using Backward Design, Lower School teachers are intentional: they plan lessons and units with clear goals and purposeful actions to achieve sought-after results.

Pedagogy and curriculum design are also grounded in and have evolved from the Coalition of Essential Schools 10 Common Principles, specifically by defining roles as “student as worker, teacher as coach,” providing an environment of “unanxious expectation,” and assessing learning through “demonstrations of mastery” (exhibitions and portfolios).

Lastly, Lower School teachers and administrators examine and use educational research to inform pedagogy, curriculum development, and programming.

Global Focus

The Lower School begins the educational process about the world and seeks to initiate student engagement with it through interdisciplinary study. At each grade level teachers introduce students to geography, history, language, cultures, and customs. Teachers work with students to develop cultural awareness and understanding; to present different perspectives; and to spark imagination, empathy, and curiosity about the greater world they inhabit. The Lower School’s global focus enables students to expand their understanding of what it means to be citizens not only of the School and local community but also of an interdependent world.

Some Global Focus Program Highlights

Pre-Kindergarten: The Natural World

Kindergarten: The 7 Continents; Geography

Grade 1: The United States, Canada, and Mexico; Geography and Maps

Grade 2: Massachusetts History; African American History; Brazil and the Amazon

Grade 3: African Geography and Culture; Kenya

Grade 4: Asia; The Silk Road; India; Japan; Immigration; World Geography

Grade 5: Colonial America and the American Revolution

LOWER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Creative Design Process

While foundational skills in literacy and numeracy are central components of the curriculum, so too are habits of mind that encourage critical thinking, collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and creativity. The Lower School develops these skills and habits of mind through the STEAM Program and design work. The Design Process is an iterative one, which includes generating ideas to address a problem, designing and brainstorming solutions, making a plan, testing a prototype, revising one’s plan as needed, and finally, sharing and showcasing the work. Through this iterative approach students learn scientific and engineering principles, as well as the essential skills of problem-solving, persevering, and sitting with the confusion and messiness of deep, generative learning.

The STEAM curriculum reflects the Lower School’s educational philosophy and implementation of the whole child learning model. The Lower School’s focus on empathy prompts students to create and to design prototypes with human needs in mind. Students learn that part of the Design Process is to take the user’s needs and desires into consideration. They discover that empathy is what drives innovation forward. It is empathy that propels all to be better designers as well as better people.

Students are also asked to be thoughtful about the materials they choose. They are challenged to consider the properties of materials and the purpose they will serve in their prototype. Reflecting on design choices is also a cornerstone of the STEAM Program, and the debriefing session is an essential part of the Design Process. This reflective process fosters the students’ ability to reason with evidence

and explain why their prototype worked the way it did, as well as learn about different design ideas from peers. As students grow this skill, they begin to calculate their design choices and learn from their experiences.

Authentic Assessment: Exhibitions, Project Based Learning, and Portfolios

EXHIBITIONS

Exhibitions are a hallmark of a Brimmer education. Students in the Lower School take part in Exhibitions of Knowledge that allow them to demonstrate what they have learned either in a unit of study or over the course of the school year. In and across several disciplines, Lower School students learn how to research, prepare, and present what they know with poise and creativity. These exhibitions promote active learning by encouraging students to think and work both independently and collaboratively and to approach learning with enthusiasm and confidence.

Exhibitions are an important assessment tool that allow teachers to evaluate how students integrate the skills they have learned and students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts and their depth of knowledge.

A Brief Listing of Lower School Exhibitions

Pre-Kindergarten: Informance, Portfolio Exhibition

Kindergarten: Informance, Portfolio Exhibition

Grade 1:French Breakfast, Portfolio Exhibition

Grade 2: Brazil Exhibition, Music Showcase, Portfolio Exhibition

Grade 3: Lego WeDo Insect Exhibition, French Plays, Music Showcase, Africa Portfolio Exhibition

Grade 4: FourthFest – India and Japan Exhibition, Music Showcase, Portfolio Exhibition

Grade 5: Rube Goldberg Simple Machine Exhibition, Music Showcase, Capstone Exhibition: What is Strength of Character?

Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning promotes student engagement with learning in more concrete ways and includes both the achievement of content learning objectives and the acquisition and development of core skills. Hands-on and multi-faceted projects inspire students to apply what they’ve learned to a deeper exploration of a topic.

Throughout each Project Based Learning experience, teachers incorporate formative assessment to guide and develop students in their work. Teachers use multi-dimensional assessment, including providing meaningful feedback, asking guiding questions, and offering coaching assistance to promote student understanding and success. They also encourage student self-reflection to assess progress and to promote student self-assessment as they advance through a project.

While completing their project work, students learn to engage risk-taking with excitement and see mistakes as learning opportunities. Throughout the Lower School, teachers engage Project Based Learning to empower students and support specific and general academic success. Frequently, students demonstrate their understanding and achievement before an authentic audience in

an Exhibition of Knowledge for classmates, Lower School students, faculty, parents, or the larger School community.

PORTFOLIOS

Throughout their Lower School years, students select work from multiple disciplines or interdisciplinary projects that demonstrate their growth, learning, and achievement. They include this work in a portfolio that moves with them from grade to grade as they progress through the Lower School. The portfolio also includes student reflections on individual pieces and year-end reviews. The portfolios are shared annually with the community at end-of-year Portfolio Exhibitions.

A dynamic form of assessment, portfolios serve as both documentation and self-evaluation for Lower School students. In addition, portfolios are alternative forms of assessment that teachers use to help them understand student growth and progress throughout the year and from one school year to the next.

Learning Beyond the Classroom: Field Trips and Experiential Learning

FIELD TRIPS

The Boston area offers numerous educational resources and opportunities for young students to learn about science, history, art, culture, and many other topics. Throughout the school year Lower School teachers plan field trips to a variety of local sites to augment and enhance their students’ classroom learning.

A Sample of Recent Field Trips:

Pre-Kindergarten: Honey Pot Hill Orchards, Chestnut Hill Post Office

Kindergarten: New England Aquarium, Metropolitan Waterworks Museum

Grade 1: Massachusetts Audubon’s Blue Hills Trailside Museum, Museum of Science - Planetarium

Grade 2: Boston State House, Drumlin Farm

Grade 3: Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Grade 4: Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Peabody Essex Museum, Arnold Arboretum

Grade 5: Freedom Trail Tour, Plimoth Grist Mill/Plantation, Museum of Science, McMullen Museum of Art (Boston College)

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Lower School students have many opportunities to engage in experiential learning through classroom-related activities, field trips, community service, and Signature Programs. Specifically, the Garden, STEAM, and Design Lab Programs and curricula all provide experiential learning opportunities for students. These programs are described in the pages that follow.

Learning Support

The Lower School provides academic support through a combination of strategies, systems, and dedicated personnel. Academic support is provided through direct instruction; in-classroom observation and feedback; evaluation and recommendations; and consultation about organization, study skills, and strategies.

Teachers, teacher’s assistants, and specialists provide direct support to individual students or small groups in the classroom as a part of the Lower School’s teaching model. If more support is needed, teachers may also solicit the help of the School Nurse, School Counselor, the Lower

School Student Support Team (SST), Lower School administrators, and the Director of Academic Services. The Lower School SST is composed of the Lower School Head, Assistant Head of Lower School, Director of Academic Services, the Director of Teaching and Learning, the School Nurse, and the Director of Counseling Services.

The Lower School Director of Academic Services works to support student academic progress and provides support to classroom teachers in several ways: observes classes and offers feedback to teachers; lends expertise on learning strategies and insight on appropriate and effective learning resources for instruction; prepares learning profiles for students with educational assessments that indicate a range of learning differences; measures and interprets student progress on and against a variety of standardized testing instruments; teaches sections for specific academic support, e.g., reading literacy as needed; and meets with students individually on an interim basis to help them with organization and study skills, learning strategies, academic goal-setting, and self-reflection.

LOWER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Social and emotional development is an integral part of the Lower School Curriculum. The Lower School’s vision statement for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), which aligns with the SEL core competencies identified and promoted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), reads as follows:

The Brimmer Core Values serve as the foundation upon which the Lower School community strives to authentically and actively practice respect, responsibility, kindness, equity, and honesty. To foster a sense of belonging, our community aspires to be inclusive, welcoming, and safe; where everyone’s contributions are valued and respected.

Early Childhood SEL Skill Development includes becoming responsible friends, developing listening skills, cooperating, sharing, being kind and respectful to others, and building empathy and self-awareness among others.

Upper Elementary SEL Skill Development includes continuing to develop Early Childhood SEL Skills, building community, developing independence, finding and using one’s voice, and problem-solving.

We seek to cultivate an environment where students feel safe and supported at school in order to achieve their personal best academically. The Lower School focus on the Core Values, Buddy Groups, and the Share Assembly programs are designed

to address this need. Under the guidance of the School’s mission, Lower School faculty work to develop social skills, to promote ethical behavior by emphasizing individual responsibility and citizenship, and to inspire a propensity for personal integrity, compassion, and fairness.

ANTI-BIAS PROGRAMMING

Anti-Bias Education: Anti-Bias Building Blocks–An Elementary Curriculum for K - 5 Educators

With this curriculum the Lower School seeks to

• create a safe and comfortable classroom environment

• understand individual strengths, skills, and identity

• understand bias and discrimination

• confront and challenge bias and bullying

Self-Awareness Self-Management Social Awareness Relationship Skills Responsible Decision-Making

Standard 1: Respectfully expresses thoughts and feelings.

Standard 2: Responsibly able to seek help.

Standard 3: Shows openness and honesty

Standard 4: Understands one’s thoughts and feelings.

Standard 1: Adheres to Core Values as social and behavioral standards

Standard 2: Uses strategies to manage thoughts and emotions in kind and responsible ways.

Standard 3: Uses strategies to control impulses.

Standard 4: Demonstrates a growth mind set.

Standard 1: Recognizes the emotions of others and acts with kindness and respect.

Standard 2: Respects others by acting equitably.

Standard 3: Recognizes and appreciates the differences in our community.

Standard 4: Understands one’s role in a community and the impact of their actions and decisions on the group.

Standard 1: Able to navigate the give and take of friendships.

Standard 2: Cooperates and collaborates respectfully with others.

Standard 3: Applies the Core Values to resolve differences as well as conflicts.

Standard 1: Makes responsible choices for self and the good of the community.

Standard 2: Accepts responsibility and honestly reflects on the impact of one’s words and actions.

Standard 3: Makes positive contributions to classroom, school, and broader community.

Standard 4: Respects property and learning spaces.

Standard 5: Takes initiative to do what is right, fair, and equitable.

Standard 6: Makes choices one feels good about.

The Anti-Bias Building Blocks curriculum provides “a K5 curriculum designed for elementary educators who want to promote anti-bias concepts in order to create safe, inclusive, and respectful classroom and school environments. Each lesson plan helps teachers and children create a safe and comfortable classroom environment, explore their identity, understand and appreciate differences and analyze and challenge bias.” (from books. google.com/books/about/Anti_ Bias_Building_Blocks)

Lower School teachers present lessons during morning meeting, as an introduction to a social studies unit, or as part of the SEL curriculum. The activities used are hands-on and meaningful. Each lesson is followed by a debriefing session in which students are asked probing questions to help them understand big ideas and key concepts.

Buddy Groups

Teachers in the Lower School lead Buddy Groups of between six and eight students. Older students are matched with younger students and placed in groups. The Buddy Groups participate in a range of activities, including events and programs in Share Assemblies. Buddy pairs enjoy being together for Buddy Walks and Buddy Reads, for special field trips such as the annual Apple Picking Trip, and for all-School events. Buddies also often interact at exhibitions, performances, and other Lower School events. Buddy Groups promote personal connections between students and foster the older students’ sense of responsibility.

Share

Share Assemblies occur on most Friday throughout the school year. At Share, Lower School students come together for performances

by students and special guests. Buddy Group events are held during Share Assembly time as well. These weekly Lower School gatherings and activities build a feeling of community through shared experience. They also present the opportunity for students to learn how to be part of an audience during a performance and how to engage appropriately and successfully with their peers during Buddy Group activities.

Diversity, Equity Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)

Together with the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, the Lower School DEIB Committee, consisting of Lower School faculty and staff, develops and facilitates DEIB programming that focuses on identity, culture, representation, and experience. DEIB programming includes a global curriculum that begins with the study of self and community in Pre-Kindergarten and the world in Kindergarten and culminates in the Grade 5 study of Native Americans during the early colonial period. Throughout the Lower School years, students’ understanding and appreciation of cultures and communities around the globe broadens and deepens with each unit of study.

Beyond the academic curriculum, students are also able to participate in DEIB-focused Share Assemblies, lunch groups, and after school clubs (when offered). Lower School faculty participate in ongoing DEIB trainings and professional development throughout the year, which equips them with the knowledge, understanding, and language to engage with each student and to create equitable classrooms, where personal identity and self-expression are valued.

Community Building and Service Learning

The Lower School engages students in community building at micro and macro levels: in Buddy Groups, in the classroom, in grade-level activities and programming, in Share Assemblies and all-Lower School events, in all-School events, and through community service with populations and organizations beyond the School campus. Community building is important for young learners who need a comfortable, safe, and supportive educational environment in order to have the opportunity to grow and reach their personal best in their academic work.

In the Lower School, community service projects play a vital role in the life of students and reflect the School’s mission, which promotes reaching beyond the School community. Having a heart for civic engagement and an awareness of the importance of public responsibility happens over time for children. In addition, service-learning opportunities support the development of social skills and empathy and an understanding of self and others. They also provide an opportunity to learn how to build rewarding relationships with peers, teachers, and other community members.

The Lower School celebrates an annual Community Service Day in December when the students gather in the gymnasium to celebrate giving and to learn about each grade’s unique community service project.

OVERVIEW OF PROGRAMS

Creative Arts

The Creative Arts Program provides students with hands-on activities that explore creativity and encourage self-expression. The art, drama, and music curricula are process oriented. Lessons are designed sequentially to develop literacy and essential skills. Classroom activities focus on students’ enjoying and creating art with one another. Students are introduced to aesthetics, historical context, cultures, and genres using prints, artifacts, music, and literature. The teachers integrate the creative arts curriculum with the academic curriculum and incorporate the use of technology for student learning and enrichment. Opportunities to share and exhibit creative expression occur throughout the year. (A specific description of the creative arts curriculum is presented for each grade level in the pages that follow.)

Library and Digital Literacy

The Christopher Jones Lower School Library, located in McCoy Hall, serves students in PK - Grade 5. The library program focuses on fostering open-minded, diverse readers, as well as critical thinking and research skills. Library lessons connect to what the students are learning in the classroom and reinforce the Core Values.

All students visit the library once a week during a scheduled class that is focused on building information and digital literacy skills, as well as growing their love of reading and literature. Research and information skills are taught in an age-appropriate way with the goal of building a strong foundation for later academic work and research

in middle and high school. The Lower School Librarian works closely with classroom teachers to support the work that is happening in the classroom and to collaborate on research projects throughout the year. The Lower School Librarian helps students develop literacy skills that apply directly to the project work students are completing in language arts, science, and social studies. In the library, students learn how to sift through library resources and the vast amount of information that is available, how to evaluate the information they find, and how to use it effectively in their classwork.

Physical Education

Brimmer’s Physical Education (PE) Department seeks to provide all students with a safe and friendly environment so they can develop and enhance their movement skills. Teachers instill the importance of rules, safety, values, and sportsmanship. They prepare students for the future application of skills and encourage regular exercise and sports participation for health living and enjoyment.

The PE Department follows the goals and guidelines of the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America). According to SHAPE America, the goal of physical education is to develop literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. There are five standards aligned with this goal:

1. The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.

2. The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics related to movement and performance.

3. The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.

4. The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.

5. The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/ or social interaction.

The overall program and individual class activities emphasize participation, cooperation, teamwork, sportsmanship, and fun.

Interscholastic and After School Sports Programs for Grades 4 and 5

Each season, the Athletic Department offers a fourth and fifth grade after school sports program. In the fall, fourth and fifth grade students may participate in an optional, interscholastic soccer program. The School offers an interscholastic basketball program in the winter and an instructional running club in the spring. These programs offer students an introduction to interscholastic athletics, including the organization and structure of team practices and play, working with an athletic coach, understanding game rules, strategies and tactics, game officiating, and sportsmanship.

Technology

The effective use of technology enriches student learning experiences across disciplines and promotes higher order thinking skills. Laptop computers, iPads, and 3-D printers are used as learning tools to support classroom curriculum, develop research, writing, design, and presentation skills, and create interdisciplinary projects. Skills from keyboarding to coding to navigating the

internet safely are developed at appropriate age levels from PK - Grade 5. Students explore and use a variety of creative content to author, build, and share their final products with classmates and the community. Multimedia projects are designed as interdisciplinary enterprises and targeted use of applications provides greater familiarity and facility with the use of technology for learning.

World Languages

The Lower School’s World Languages Program focuses on the importance of beginning instruction at an early age. French is introduced to Lower School students in Pre-Kindergarten and continues through Grade 4. In Grade 5 students rotate

between three languages: French, Mandarin, and Spanish.

Skills learned in world language classes are integrated into the curriculum at each grade level. For example, Grade 1 students engage annually in a Crêpe Party when they make and share this French culinary treat, sing French songs, and make brief group presentations in French. Grade 3 students also have an annual event, the performance of two French plays based on well-known children’s stories. During the Grade 4 unit on immigration, students take part in a mock citizenship exam. This exercise requires students to listen and respond to questions posed in French so that they can experience, like

many immigrants, an oral exam conducted in a language that is not native to them.

A variety of language learning techniques are used as students learn a new language. The classes also help students develop a better understanding of French culture (A specific description of the world languages curriculum is presented for each grade level in the pages that follow.)

Early Childhood (PK - Grade 1)

The Early Childhood Program, PK –Grade 1, is designed to cultivate a love of learning in young children. During the early childhood years, students engage with the world using all their senses. They are full of wonder and eager to explore and make sense of the world. Whether building with blocks, listening to stories, reading on their own, engaging in imaginative play, exploring on the playground, learning to code, or forming letters, words, numbers, and mathematical equations, young children are doers, experimenters, and inventors. Through integrated, thematic curricula, teachers build on this natural curiosity and sense of wonder, and at the same time, lay the foundation for early literacy and numeracy.

At Brimmer, teacher-guided lessons are balanced with hands-on, multisensory learning activities and imaginative, exploratory play. Students’ academic learning is supported by the explicit teaching of social-emotional skills, including Brimmer’s Core Values of Respect, Responsibility, Kindness, Honesty, and Equity. Intentionally small class sizes allow us to offer a personalized approach that moves fluidly between individual, small group, and whole group instruction. Recognizing that there are distinct social, emotional, physical, and intellectual characteristics that define each stage of a child’s development, the early childhood curriculum is developed with these considerations in mind.

Pre-Kindergarten

CENTRAL QUESTION: What is my role in my community?

Overview

The Pre-Kindergarten Program offers a joyful and inviting entry into school. Each fall, the teachers welcome students into the classroom and work intentionally to build a sense of community among them. Through Drop-ins and Share Assemblies, Pre-Kindergarten teachers establish warm, supportive relationships with students and collaborative partnerships with families. Recognizing that young children learn best when the connection between home and school is strong, teachers take time and care in establishing these relationships.

The Pre-Kindergarten Program offers a rich, integrated curriculum that reflects the developmental characteristics of four- and five-year-old children. Teachers establish daily routines and schedules that match the natural rhythms of young learners and provide a sense of predictability. Through teacher-guided lessons, songs and games, and intentionally designed learning centers, children are invited to explore a range of activities across different disciplines. Hands-on learning experiences offer freedom of movement and exploration, as well as opportunities to engage in science and math curricula. Throughout the day, students may work independently, with a friend, in a small group, or with the whole class. While navigating different centers in the classroom, circle activities, and both indoor and outdoor play, students learn to mediate conflict and negotiate with peers. As members of the classroom and School community, Pre-Kindergarten students are guided by Brimmer’s Core

Values of Respect, Responsibility, Kindness, Honesty, and Equity.

Thematic Studies

The Pre-Kindergarten curriculum is centered around thematic studies that integrate the different subject areas and incorporate children’s literature, imaginative play, guided lessons, and hands-on exploration. Different themes focus on the young child’s everyday life and begin with an exploration of self, health and wellness, and one’s unique identity. Moving beyond oneself, students explore their families, their communities, and the natural world, particularly animals of interest. Thematic studies integrate reading, writing, science, and STEAM, and they allow students to explore topics of interest and pursue them in greater depth.

Language Arts

The Pre-Kindergarten language arts curriculum focuses on developing a love of books and reading and introduces students to foundational skills in literacy, including rhyme, alliteration, phonemic awareness, and story elements. Songs and games during circle time and hands-on activities in literacy centers reinforce these skills. High-interest fiction and nonfiction literature fills the classroom and is used to launch thematic studies, teach science and math concepts, build social-emotional skills, and enjoy a wonderful story told. Through shared read-alouds and independent “reading,” students are made familiar with the basic concepts of print.

At the start of the year, teachers introduce students to the names, forms, and sounds of the letters in their own names. Several months into the school year, students begin the Fundations PK Activity Set, which helps support their emerging understanding of

alphabetic principles. Through hands-on, sensory activities students build fine motor skills and continue to explore the forms and sounds of the uppercase alphabet. With daily practice writing their names and free drawing across the curriculum, students refine the accuracy of their letter formation, letter sound associations, as well as their representational drawings.

Social Studies

The social studies curriculum is integrated into the Pre-Kindergarten thematic studies and is focused on the Central Question: What is my role in my community? Through literature, teacher-guided activities, and free, imaginative play, students explore a variety of themes focused on self, family, community, and the natural world. Share Assemblies and inquiry into one’s own identity help students develop an appreciation of the rich diversity that exists among them and an honoring of their differences. Curriculum is developed and

materials are selected through a culturally responsive and anti-bias, anti-racist lens.

Math

The Pre-Kindergarten math curriculum introduces early numeracy through storytelling, nonfiction literature, hands-on activities, exploration of the natural world, and relevant experiences. Pre-Kindergarten students explore concepts such as counting, sorting, comparing and classifying, patterning, sequencing, measuring, and interpreting student-created graphs. Students build number sense through meaningful, real-world experiences and spatial awareness and simple geometric concepts through art and imaginative play, including building with blocks and constructing with 2- and 3-D materials. Engineering design challenges further these skills and students’ critical thinking as they imagine, plan, construct, test, modify, and invent solutions.

Science and STEAM

The Pre-Kindergarten science and STEAM curricula build on the natural curiosity and wonder of young children. During teacher-led walks on campus, recess on the newly designed playground, and time spent in the Lower School Garden, students actively explore and develop an appreciation for the natural world. In the classroom, through hands-on experiments, inquiries, and design challenges, students are guided to observe, make predictions, test hypotheses, gather information, and think creatively. Whether collecting bits of nature to create self-portraits, coding KIBO robots to provide locomotion to student-designed transportation systems, or studying the life cycle of different animals, students are actively engaged and exploring scientific concepts using all their senses.

LOWER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

World Language: French

The Pre-Kindergarten French curriculum helps students become familiar with the sounds and customs of the Francophone world. Using music, games, puppets, structured play, and stories, students become comfortable listening to and using the French language. Ear training is a critical component of language learning, especially for young children. The young child’s brain is programmed to recognize and internalize new systems and structures of language, and the earlier this learning begins, the easier it is for the student to become proficient in a second language. As young students develop familiarity with forms of expression in French, they are more likely to develop fluency in other languages. At Brimmer, teachers build on this window of opportunity, thus offering students an enduring advantage in language acquisition.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

In the art studio the school year begins with cooperative activities that focus on making each artist feel comfortable creating art. Students learn how to share materials and compliment their tablemates’ artwork. Their teachers, classmates, and the community celebrate each artist’s unique expression. The guiding principles of the Pre-Kindergarten Visual Arts Program are exploration, enjoyment, observation, and self-expression.

Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploratory process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements of art: color, line, shape, form, texture, and space. In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures. Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes.

Creative Arts: Drama

Pre-Kindergarten drama focuses on developing a student’s understanding of the difference between pretend and reality. The “start” and “stop” impulse is refined through verbal and physical games and activities. Imaginative play builds upon a child’s natural desire to role-play and experience what is seen in the world, while expanding communication skills in language and movement. Pre-Kindergarten students are encouraged to use their senses to explore their world and to describe their experiences

verbally. Students explore stories and literature by becoming different characters through physical movement and gesture. The Pre-Kindergarten class also explores their role as respectful audience members. Work reflects and expands upon classroom themes. Integrated lessons include storytelling, story-acting, and several other dramatic activities.

Creative Arts: Music

Young children respond naturally to music. Each child’s musical potential is honored through exploration of sound. Musical concepts include steady beat, high/low, loud/quiet, and singing voice/speaking voice. These content areas are experienced through singing games, beat motion activities, expressive movement, and active listening. Songs are chosen to reflect the interests and experiences of young childhood. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods are incorporated. The children’s voices and observations are used to improvise songs and chants as students explore their world together.

Physical Education

The PK Physical Education Program introduces students to movement, physical activity for health and wellness, and the enjoyment of physical activity for oneself and with others. Students are encouraged to have fun while exploring a range of movement activities and games.

Kindergarten

CENTRAL QUESTION: What can I learn from the world around me how to live well with others?

Overview

The Kindergarten Program offers a rich, integrated curriculum that reflects the developmental characteristics of five- and six-year-old children. Students at this age are both imaginative and literal. They learn best in an environment where they are free to explore, and at the same time, know boundaries and expectations. Classroom activities reflect the growing energy and enthusiasm of the emerging six-year-old, while also providing the support and consistency required of the more cautious five-year-old student. As cognitive skills grow, so do their physical beings, curiosity, and fine and gross motor skills.

The Kindergarten curriculum integrates the different content areas into an overarching theme: The World. Subjects are taught interchangeably and without boundaries so that students can explore topics in greater depth and detail. Students can be found practicing math concepts while immersed in the social studies curriculum, building literacy skills using educational technology, or discovering the wonders of science through social studies and STEAM-related design projects. The Kindergarten Program builds on the magical and ambitious thinking of children at this age, while also introducing them to more formal learning.

Language Arts

The Kindergarten language arts curriculum focuses on developing a love of reading and building foundational skills in reading, writing, speaking, and

listening. Throughout each day, Kindergarten students interact with rich, engaging literature that helps to build vocabulary, knowledge of story elements, and comprehension skills, including sequencing, making inferences, predicting, and connecting with different texts. Explicit, teacher-guided instruction using programs such as Fundations and Units of Study in Writing is balanced with shared read-alouds, book discussions, guided reading groups, independent reading, open responses in journals, hands-on activities in literacy centers, and literacy-related art and drama experiences.

Students work on building decoding and encoding skills, including sound-symbol relationships, phonemic awareness, rhyme, and syllabication, while also building knowledge of specific sight words and comfort and ease with inventive spelling and written expression. Fine motor activities throughout the day help to develop hand strength, as well as handwriting skills. Morning meetings, We Care Circle curriculum, read-alouds, and cooperative learning group activities help students become active listeners and build confidence in expressing their ideas. While students participate in daily reading and writing lessons, language arts learning is incorporated into every subject and is prevalent throughout each day.

Social Studies

The Kindergarten social studies curriculum launches students on a journey to becoming global citizens. The year begins with an exploration of maps, highlighting the continents and the countries where students have personal connections. Through the Kindergarten Where Are We Traveling? and We Care Circle curricula students begin

to develop an understanding of identity, diversity, community, and social activism, as well as early understandings of globalization and interdependence. Through hands-on activities, authentic stories, Share Assemblies, virtual field trips, artifact museums in the classroom, and a variety of design projects, students “travel” the globe learning about each of the seven continents. With an anti-bias, anti-racist approach, students explore family life, language, geography, education, celebrations, and animal habitats. Students simultaneously build social-emotional skills, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Science and STEAM

The Kindergarten science and STEAM curricula are designed to foster curiosity, exploration, discovery, and a love of the natural world. Embracing the unique characteristics of five- and six-year-old learners, science knowledge and skills are built through engaging, hands-on activities across different content areas. The science curriculum incorporates the question, What makes up the Earth? and is integrated into the yearlong study of the continents. As students visit each continent, they learn about different habitats and ecosystems while focusing on endangered species. They also study the states of matter and the life cycle of different flora and fauna as they travel around the world.

Kindergarten students have an active role in caring for the Lower School Garden. They plant, maintain, and harvest vegetable and herb gardens throughout the year, thus developing an appreciation and care for the plant life of the earth. Across the curriculum, Kindergarten students are guided through experiments and STEAM-related

LOWER SCHOOL CURRICULUM

design challenges that encourage observation, inquiry, data collection, and analysis. Through the Design Process, they develop problem-solving skills and find increasing comfort with using their own creativity to iterate and solve simple design challenges.

Math

The Kindergarten math program focuses on building number sense, utilizing multiple approaches to solving mathematical problems, and communicating mathematical reasoning. In Kindergarten, students build their knowledge and skills in the following core content areas: representing, relating, and operating on whole numbers; creating and extending patterns, collecting data and constructing and interpreting graphs; describing, categorizing, and sorting 2-D and 3-D shapes based on attributes. Throughout their explorations, Kindergarteners utilize manipulatives for problem-solving, explaining

their mathematical thinking, and following multistep directions.

World Language: French

Ear training is a critical component of language learning, especially for young children. The young child’s brain is programmed to recognize and internalize new systems and structures of language, and the earlier this learning begins, the easier it is for the student to become proficient in a second language. As young students develop familiarity with forms of expression in French, they are more likely to develop fluency in other languages. At Brimmer, teachers build on this window of opportunity, thus offering students an enduring advantage in language acquisition.

The Kindergarten French curriculum emphasizes oral communication. In a fun and positive environment, children develop a love of the Francophone world. Using music, games,

puppets, structured play, and stories, students become comfortable listening to and using the French language. Through singing students build their pronunciation, understanding, and memorization of familiar words and expressions.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

The guiding principles of the Kindergarten Visual Arts Program are exploration, enjoyment, observation, and self-expression. Each school year begins with cooperative activities that focus on making each artist feel comfortable creating art. Students learn how to share materials and compliment their tablemates’ artwork in celebration of each artist’s unique expression.

Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploratory process with

lessons that engage them in learning about the elements of art: color, line, shape, form, texture, and space. In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures. Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes.

Creative Arts: Drama

Kindergarten theater education expands students’ communication skills through both language and action. Drama helps young children to develop confidence and creative thinking and provides students with experiences that stress the importance of working cooperatively with one another. In Kindergarten drama, children venture into the world of creative play and experience the freedom to explore physical movement, gesture, and sound. Work reflects and expands upon classroom themes and knowledge. In addition, students listen to stories and bring them to life through

role-playing, movement, and sound. Kindergarten children are introduced to the theater concepts of character, setting, and story. Attention is paid to the students’ understanding of the difference between pretend and reality, and their ability to make choices within their pretend play. As the year progresses, students work cooperatively to build skills in problem-solving while creating original theater.

Creative Arts: Music

Young children respond naturally to music. Invitations for playful and joyful participation with organized sound are offered in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. Kindergartners develop tuneful singing skills, the ability to feel the steady beat of a song, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

Listening examples allow Kindergarten students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds, and improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement and musical compositions. Musical concepts also introduced include steady beat, sound versus silence, singing voice/speaking voice, and expressive movement. The full complement of classroom instruments is available to students

including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration.

Songs are chosen for Kindergartners that reflect the life experiences of childhood within this country and other nations. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods compose the classroom repertoire. In Kindergarten, music-making with classmates yields an opportunity to develop the concept of ensemble. Students learn the magic of sharing and cooperating to send musical messages and enjoy creative responses together.

Physical Education

The Kindergarten Physical Education Program introduces students to movement, physical activity for health and wellness, and the enjoyment of physical activity for oneself and with others. Students are encouraged to have fun while exploring a range of movement activities and games.

Track & Field Skills

Summer Games

Learning Activities

Indoor Games

Outdoor Games

Grade 1

CENTRAL QUESTION: What is courage?

Overview

The Grade 1 curriculum reflects the curiosity, excitement, and growing cognitive abilities of six- and seven-year-old students. While teaching specific academic skills, Grade 1 teachers also focus on the social-emotional learning (SEL) of students through circle activities, SEL-based design projects, and cooperative learning experiences. Because relationships with peers play a vital role in the daily experience and healthy development of early childhood students, teachers work intentionally to develop problem-solving skills, as well as comfort and confidence with navigating conflicts.

The Grade 1 curriculum is extensively integrated. This allows students and teachers to delve more deeply into topics and build their understanding of areas of study through explicit, teacher-guided instruction, as well as hands-on experiences in learning centers, the Design Lab, and across a variety of disciplines. The school year is marked by significant development in the areas of literacy and numeracy, as well as in a student’s ability to think more broadly and deeply.

Language Arts

The Grade 1 language arts program focuses on continuing to build a love of reading, as well as more advanced early reading and literacy skills. Explicit, teacher-guided instruction using programs such as Fundations and Units of Study in Writing is balanced with shared read-alouds, book discussions, guided reading groups, independent reading, open-response writing activities,

and hands-on activities in literacy centers. Grade 1 language arts instruction focuses on phonics, reading, and writing skills.

Fundations is the backbone of our phonics instruction. While systematically introducing sound-symbol relationships, teachers also address specific phonics rules and spelling patterns. With a word study approach, students simultaneously focus on word recognition, vocabulary, phonics, and spelling.

In Grade 1 teachers use a variety of texts, including fiction and nonfiction, to meet the needs and interests of individual readers. While following a sequence of specific reading comprehension strategies, teachers also organize smaller, guided reading groups to differentiate instruction and provide each reader with the appropriate level of challenge. Formal and informal assessments are performed throughout the year to respond to students’ strengths and areas of challenge.

In Grade 1 teachers use the Units of Study program to help students express their ideas in writing and develop specific writing skills. Students practice writing in complete sentences, and they learn how to write a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Conferencing with their teacher and sharing their writing with peers help students with editing and generating new ideas. Students continue to practice letter formation using the Fundations program.

Social Studies

The Grade 1 social studies curriculum focuses on the peoples and the geography of North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With an integrated and anti-bias, anti-racist approach

that incorporates language arts, science, and social studies subjects, students explore the genre of biography and learn about the courageous individuals who demonstrated perseverance and the pursuit of a just, equitable world. Grade 1 students study and design a variety of maps, compare Native American cultures of the Southwest, and explore the geography and customs of Mexico.

Math

The Grade 1 math program focuses on building foundational math skills and concepts. First Grade students build their knowledge and skill in the following core content areas: understanding addition and subtraction with a focus on developing number sense and utilizing strategies for solving problems involving addition and subtraction; understanding whole number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones; exploring linear measurement with both standard and non-standard units; reasoning about the attributes of and composing and decomposing 2-D and 3-D geometric shapes; and telling time to the nearest hour and half hour. In addition to explicit, teacher-guided lessons, students explore math concepts in daily math centers that address the needs of each learner. Math center activities include interactive math journals, hands-on learning opportunities, and cooperative games.

Science and STEAM

The Grade 1 science and STEAM curricula are focused on developing skills and knowledge in the areas of physical, earth, and life sciences, as well as scientific inquiry, technology, engineering, and the Design Process. While studying simple machines, first graders learn about force and

motion, and they also collaborate with Grade 5 buddies and science “experts.” In their study of the elements of the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars, they explore a variety of hands-on activities, fiction and nonfiction literature, and art-integrated projects.

Moving closer to home and an area of particular interest, Grade 1 scientists study pond ecosystems of the Northeast, as well as the life cycle of frogs. Throughout their studies, including units on coding and Blue-Bot robots, students learn about the scientific process. They make and record observations, hypothesize, make predictions, plan and carry out investigations and experiments, and draw conclusions. Consistent with their experience with the Design Process, students engage in hands-on projects, problem-solving, and iterative practices. This approach is both knowledge and inquiry based.

World Language: French

The Grade 1 French curriculum is based on the program Story in Action, which uses stories and music to teach French. Based on the story La Poule Maboule, which is about a chicken who thinks the sky is falling, students are guided through a range of motivating language activities that help develop confidence and competence in the French language. In Grade 1, the teacher and students speak French almost exclusively during lessons, as this helps students acquire the language at a faster pace.

Additionally, the “Gesture Approach,” a technique that uses hand signals, helps students learn and remember the important vocabulary found in the plays, songs, and other activities. Each word is associated with a gesture, so that the language is represented visually and

kinesthetically for the benefit of all language learners and their learning styles. Activities are varied so that students can work individually, with partners, in small groups, and as a whole class.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

The guiding principles of the Grade 1 Visual Arts Program are exploration, enjoyment, observation, and self-expression. The school year begins with activities that set a positive tone in the art studio. Students participate in lessons that highlight

the importance of respecting the creative process. They learn that each artist has their own unique way of creating and expressing themselves. Grade 1 artists observe and come to respect that each classmate takes a different amount of time to create their artwork and that there is no prescribed outcome for each student.

Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression.

Students are guided through an exploratory process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements of art: color, line, shape, form, texture, and space. In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures. Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes.

Creative Arts: Drama

Grade 1 Drama students develop confidence and creative thinking, while working collaboratively in small and large groups. Drama work expands students’ communication skills through language and action.

Grade 1 drama classes are scheduled in the Ruth Corkin Theatre, where students gain comfort in sharing their ideas on the stage. Class discussion incorporates the sets that are built on the stage for various productions and performances

throughout the school year. Audience behavior is a focal point as students take turns sharing their dramatic work.

Grade 1 students engage in theater activities that further develop listening and communication skills. Through storytelling activities and directed imaginative play, students experience both bringing a story to life and creating original stories. Students explore the importance of action, setting, characters, and story sequence. There is also a focus on cooperation in order to prepare students for ensemble work. Drama activities incorporate and expand on classroom themes and curriculum. Through sharing ideas in the drama classroom, students build a sense of community with their classmates.

Creative Arts: Music

Young children are intrigued with music’s power to send a message and invite a response. Invitations for playful and joyful participation with organized sound are offered in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. First graders develop tuneful singing skills, the ability to feel the steady beat of a song, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

Listening examples allow students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds. Improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement and musical compositions. Musical concepts also include melody, form, dynamics, and timbre (tone quality and character). The full complement of classroom instruments is available including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration. Songs are chosen that reflect the life experiences of childhood within this country and other nations. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods compose the classroom repertoire. In Grade 1, music-making with classmates yields an opportunity to develop the concept of ensemble. They learn the magic of sharing and cooperating to send musical messages and enjoy creative responses together.

Physical Education

Grade 1 Physical Education continues the development of students’ movement skills, an understanding of the health benefits of physical activity, and their introduction to a variety of activities, games, and sports. Students develop both their individual skills and their ability to cooperate with their classmates. They learn, succeed, and have fun as active participants in physical education class.

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

Overview

The primary goals for students in the middle and upper elementary grades are to continue to foster a love of learning and for students to share in the excitement of the learning process. Toward this ends, teachers work to develop each child’s intellectual, physical, social, and emotional skills. In the classroom, teachers seek to build

communities in which all children feel honored and respected. In an atmosphere of trust, teachers focus on building each student’s sense of self-confidence and responsibility. The Lower School offers a diverse environment in which children feel empowered to take risks and experiment with the world around them.

Grade 2

CENTRAL QUESTION: How does the environment around us influence our perspective?

Overview

Children come to Grade 2 inquisitive about the world and stimulated by the wealth of information provided by the written word. In Grade 2, the teachers’ goal is to create a diverse environment in which children feel empowered to take risks and experiment with the world around them. The curriculum is designed to help students recognize their unique talents and interests and to promote enthusiasm for learning. In Grade 2, as in all of the Lower School grades, teachers are committed to educating the whole child. Throughout the year, students explore and investigate content through the lens of a Central Question: How does the environment around us influence our perspective?

Language Arts

The Grade 2 language arts program is a balanced literacy block consisting of fluency, comprehension, writing, and word study. Through the reading workshop model, students are exposed to daily mini lessons that develop and enhance reading strategies. Students engage in small, differentiated literature groups, which focus on decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and expression. Grade 2 students are also exposed to a variety of genres in their reading selections. Read-alouds are often utilized to model good reading practices and to connect to and support a unit of study. Independent reading activities allow students to apply learned skills.

The Fundations reading program and the Words Their Way spelling program continue to grow the already established spelling and phonics skills. This program meets each student where they are on the spelling continuum. These programs allow for flexibility and individualization, and they help children build word knowledge.

The Units of Study in Writing program is used to enhance writing projects in Grade 2, including narratives, poetry, personal journals, opinions, and expository reports. Students engage in writing exercises across all content areas. Students are taught appropriate writing conventions and mechanics and encouraged to expand stories with more detail. They begin to learn how to edit for basic punctuation, spelling, and clarity.

Social Studies

Grade 2 begins the school year with an overview of important terms such as city, state, country, and continent. The Grade 2 Central Question, which ties all the content together, establishes its foundation in the social studies program. During the year, students delve into the question: How does the environment around us influence our perspective? In response to this question, students learn about Massachusetts and its various geographic features, and they make connections to its history. Students also take a closer look at Black American history in Massachusetts and the Underground Railroad with a focus on the freedom fighters, particularly their perspective and their courage to find a voice for their movement. To continue their development of global citizenship, students end the year with the study of Brazil. They examine the country’s culture, peoples, history, and geography. To demonstrate mastery, students showcase

their knowledge to the Brimmer community in the Grade 2 Brazil Exhibition. Opportunities for verbal and written expression are presented throughout the Grade 2 curriculum.

Math

The Grade 2 math program focuses on extending and securing foundational math skills and concepts. Second Grade students build their knowledge and skill in the following core content areas: extending understanding of base-ten notation; building fluency with addition and subtraction; using standard units of measure; and describing and analyzing shapes. Students develop fluency, flexibility, and problem-solving strategies through teacher-guided lessons, independent practice, and small group explorations. They engage in hands-on activities focused on developing connections between concrete, representational, and abstract ideas.

Science and STEAM

The Lower School Science and STEAM Programs are dynamic, hands-on curricula that utilize authentic experiences to build skills such as critical thinking, inquiry, collaboration, and empathy. Through the STEAM program students learn to think like innovators and develop problem-solving skills using the design process. Grade 2 students engage in engineering tasks that are reflective of their curricular content. For example, students design erosion barriers to prevent a building from collapsing during the study of soil. When investigating how bones break and heal, students are tasked to create a cast for a broken animal bone that can withstand weight. Students also engage in coding activities using platforms such as ScratchJr and Lego WeDo 2.0.

The science program in Grade 2 captures the children’s curiosity through hands-on investigation and exploration. Students in each grade level cover the three major science disciplines: life science, physical science, and earth science. Topics covered in Grade 2 include soil, the human body, light and color, and engineering. Using an inquiry-based approach, students learn to ask scientific questions and find answers to these questions as they construct their understanding of scientific concepts. Students have opportunities to investigate a problem, search for solutions, make observations, ask questions, test their ideas, and draw conclusions. Students plan and investigate collaboratively to uncover data that can be used as evidence to answer a question. The science program is rooted in the notion that scientific concepts are best learned when students’ curiosity is heightened when they feel empowered to take charge of their own learning.

In the spring second graders team up with third graders for an engineering ColLab. Students have an opportunity to engage in fun engineering tasks with a mixed cohort. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the students to get to know a future Grade 3 teacher.

World Language: French Grade 2 French uses Story in Action, a storytelling program, and music to teach French.

This year’s fairy tale, Le Chat et la Lune (The Cat and the Moon), delivers an emotionally charged, humorous story with an important moral. Because one animal believes that the moon has fallen into the water, all the others follow suit in panic; that is, until the king shows them that they are simply looking at a reflection. Written in the form of a play, the

story provides both familiarity and plenty of opportunity for the pleasant repetition of key vocabulary and structures. It becomes the focus for a range of motivating language activities that help students develop confidence and competence in French.

For Grade 2 students, the teacher continues the use of the “Gesture Approach,” a technique that incorporates hand signs to help students learn and remember the important vocabulary found in the plays, songs, and other activities. Each word is associated with a gesture, so that the language is represented visually and kinesthetically for the benefit of all language learners and their learning styles. Activities are varied so that students can work individually, with partners, in small groups, and as a whole class.

French classes meet three times per week for 30 minutes in the French library. The teacher and students speak French almost exclusively during lessons, as this helps the students acquire the language at a faster pace.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

As independent thinkers, second graders begin to contribute more ideas and become aware of the process of creating and expressing themselves through art. Exploration, enjoyment, observation, and self-expression are the guiding principles that Grade 2 artists experience in visual arts. Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploration process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements of art: color, line, shape, form, texture, and space.

In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes. Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures.

Second graders begin the year with activities that promote an understanding of the process of making art. Activities are designed to help students to be aware that each of their classmates is unique. Students continue to learn how to be respectful and supportive of one another in order to make the art studio a fun and exciting place to be.

Creative Arts: Drama

Drama students develop confidence and creative thinking, while working collaboratively in small and large groups. Drama work expands students’ communication skills through language and action.

Grade 2 drama classes take place in the Ruth Corkin Theatre. Students continue to gain comfort in sharing their ideas on the stage. Class discussion incorporates the sets that are built on the stage for various productions and performances throughout the school year. Audience behavior is a focal point as students take turns sharing their dramatic work. Grade 2 students engage in theater activities that further develop listening and communication skills. Through storytelling activities and directed imaginative play, students

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

experience both bringing a story to life and creating original stories. Students explore the importance of action, setting, characters, and story sequence. There is also a focus on cooperation in order to prepare students for ensemble work. Drama activities incorporate and expand on classroom themes and curriculum. During the year, the students also engage in various forms of assessment and reflection. Through sharing ideas in the drama classroom, students build a sense of community with their classmates.

Creative Arts: Music

Elementary-age children are intrigued with music’s power to send a message and invite a response. Invitations for playful and joyful participation with organized sound are offered in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. Second graders develop tuneful singing skills, ability to feel the steady beat in groups of two and three, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

Listening examples allow students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds. Children also learn to aurally decode, read, and write music with traditional notation for quarter note, eighth notes, and solfège syllables mi, re, do. Improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement and musical compositions. The full complement of classroom instruments is

available including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration, improvisation, and composition. Soprano recorders are part of the curriculum for melodic performance and note reading. At the end of the year, instruments of the concert band and symphony orchestra are introduced.

Songs are chosen that reflect the life experiences of childhood within this country and other nations. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods compose the classroom repertoire. In Grade 2, music-making with classmates yields an opportunity to develop the concept of ensemble. Students learn the magic of sharing and cooperating to create and appreciate a variety of musical styles.

Physical Education

Grade 2 Physical Education continues the development of students’ movement skills, an understanding of the health benefits of physical activity, and an introduction to a variety of activities, games, and sports. Students develop both their individual skills and their ability to cooperate with their classmates.

Grade 3

CENTRAL QUESTION: How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live and thrive?

Overview

The Grade 3 program develops each child’s intellectual, physical, social, and emotional skills. In the classroom teachers seek to build communities in which all children feel accepted and respected. In this atmosphere of trust, the focus is on building each child’s sense of confidence and responsibility. As students explore the continent of Africa throughout the year, they continue to develop their understanding of community, near and far, and how communities live and thrive relative to their geography, resources, and culture. Through carefully scaffolded hands-on projects and authentic learning opportunities, third graders grow to overcome challenges and ask inquiry questions to develop their own understandings while navigating a path to independence. They become active stakeholders in their own learning as they move into the highly integrated curriculum of the Upper Elementary grade levels.

In Grade 3, students explore the question: How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live and thrive? As students navigate the

water forms around the world, explore the unique adaptations of insects and plants, construct homes suitable to the different African regions and consider the ways climate change affects the water cycle, they engage in various open discussions, written reflections, scholarly research, and scientific discovery to delve into how communities of peoples, animals, and plants strive to live and thrive in their surroundings.

Language Arts

The Grade 3 language arts program balances critical thinking, active listening, and meaningful reading and writing activities. In Grade 3 students continue to build on their fluency, decoding, written expression, writing mechanics, and grammar skills. However, this approach is used not only in language arts classes but also in the integration of the reading and writing programs with other curricular areas, specifically science and social studies curricula (this includes both fiction and nonfiction reading and writing). Teachers focus on whole-class novel reading throughout the year, through which

students develop their inferencing and critical thinking skills as they respond to the literature in writing and by sharing ideas within their Literature Circles.

A wide variety of reading experiences are offered in Grade 3. Developmentally, third grade students are transitioning into the stage where they are “reading to learn.” Third graders learn to summarize information, identify cause-effect, make predictions, compare and contrast information from different sources, and connect prior knowledge and experience from their own lives to information found in a text. Literacy skills such as making inferences, reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and critical thinking continue to grow as students work toward independence, as they respond to literature in journal entries and they share ideas in differentiated Literature Circles. Students also learn to apply reading comprehension strategies to clarify information that does not make sense. Teachers provide opportunities for oral reading and discussion, sustained silent

reading, and shared reading. The Units of Study in Writing program is used in Grade 3 as students continue to sharpen their writing skills. Written expression focuses on the craft of writing, which includes organization, idea development, word choice, and writer’s voice. Topics included in writing mechanics instruction are grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Students engage in different genres of writing such as narrative, opinion, poetry, and expository to fine-tune their ability to write topic sentences, develop full paragraphs, summarize and identify main ideas, and express themselves clearly and creatively. The Words Their Way spelling program continues in Grade 3. It is a developmental spelling program that uses word study to find rules and patterns in words. Students work with level-appropriate word sort exercises in order to improve their understanding of different word patterns.

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

Social Studies

Throughout their school year, students focus on the Central Question: How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live and thrive? As students explore the various units in social studies and science, they develop an understanding of what living things need in order to live and thrive on earth.

The social studies program in Grade 3 helps students think inquisitively about the world. The primary topic students explore is African geography, which includes a focus on the development of atlas-reading skills. Students explore the continent of Africa through the perspective of geography and how it affects the way people and animals live. Throughout the year students examine different cultures and communities and how their surroundings affect the way they live and how they survive. Students also explore the country of Kenya and create a travel magazine as they tour the continent of Africa. Much of the social studies content is integrated with the language arts program. Relevant novels and primary and secondary resources serve as tools to teach students about perspective and point of view. The students learn note-taking strategies, how to write a three-paragraph expository paper, and how to deliver information in their first public speaking exhibition.

Math

The Grade 3 math program reinforces and extends the foundational math concepts introduced in the younger grades. Third Grade students build their knowledge and skill in the following core content areas: understanding multiplication and division and utilizing strategies to solve problems involving

multiplication and division within 100; interpreting and representing fractions, with a focus on understanding and manipulating unit fractions; understanding the structure of rectangular arrays and finding the area and perimeter of rectilinear shapes; and describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes. Through guided instruction, hands-on learning, and strategic problem-solving, all learners work to gain a strong conceptual understanding and build mathematical flexibility and fluency.

Science and STEAM

A hands-on inquiry-based approach is the foundation for the Grade 3 Science and STEAM Programs. Students in each grade level cover the three major science disciplines: life science, physical science, and earth science. Students are encouraged to ask questions, explore concepts, collect data, and develop inferences based on their observations. Students in Grade 3 study insects and plants, the role of water on earth, and mixtures and solutions. Using an inquiry-based approach, students learn to ask scientific questions and find answers to these questions as they construct their own understanding of scientific concepts. Students have opportunities to investigate a problem, search for solutions, make observations, ask questions, test their ideas, and draw conclusions.

In the spring third graders team up with second graders for a monthlong engineering ColLab. Students have an opportunity to engage in fun engineering tasks with a mixed cohort. It is also a wonderful opportunity for the students to reconnect with past homeroom teachers and for the second graders to get to know a future Grade 3 teacher.

As in all the grades in the Lower School, STEAM projects are integrated into each grade level’s curriculum. Grade 3 students rely on the Design Process thinking routine to build and test the prototypes they create. Students take on the perspective of an entomologist to design an insect trap that allows for the study of a new, imaginary species. In addition, students learn how to code using the Lego WeDo 2.0 by designing their own insect during their study of insects and plants. Incorporating their studies of Africa and water access and conservation, students engineer a prototype of a water filtration and transport system that can be used in an area with low access to clean water. Third graders are encouraged to approach each new task with empathy and ingenuity.

World Languages: French

Grade 3 continues the use of Story in Action, a storytelling program, and music to teach French. Classes meet three times per week for 30 minutes with the emphasis of the lessons on songs, rhymes, stories, and role-playing activities based on real communication situations. The vocabulary that is taught in this method has been carefully selected, as it is essential vocabulary for students during the initial stages of their language learning. In Grade 3 the teacher continues the use of the “Gesture Approach,” a technique that uses hand signs to help students learn and remember the important vocabulary found in the plays, songs, and other activities. Each word is associated with a gesture, so that the language is represented visually and kinesthetically for the benefit of all language learners and their learning styles. Activities are varied so that students can work individually, with partners, in small groups, and as a whole class.

In addition, students are introduced to reading in French as they read their scripts and practice their lines for the annual French plays. For many students, performing in French serves as the highlight of their language learning experience for the year. The plays are interdisciplinary collaborations among world language, drama, music, and visual arts. In their French classes, third graders work with the French teacher on pronunciation and comprehension. In drama students work with their teacher to develop their acting, blocking, staging, and movement skills. In music they explore traditional French folk music, and in the art studio, third graders create scenery, costumes, props, and the production’s printed program. This wonderful event truly celebrates Brimmer’s interdisciplinary approach.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

Observation, abstraction, invention, and expression are the guiding principles Grade 3 artists experience in visual arts. Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploration process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements and principles of design. The elements of art explored are color, line, shape, form, texture, and space, and the principles of art are pattern, space, composition, and balance.

Students in Grade 3 demonstrate knowledge of the materials and methods they have learned and begin to refine and self-assess their work. Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures.

In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students explore the role of the arts in their community and in society.

Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes. Third graders begin the school year with activities that focus on the process of making art. Students are given a concept for a project and throughout the process of creating their artwork, they are asked to make observations about their classmates’ approach to the lesson. Third graders become aware that some students may stand while they work, some artists like clean surfaces, and others like a messier approach. Students look at the project outcomes as a group and learn that each individual responds in a unique way to the same concept. This awareness helps students to be sensitive to their classmates and encourages them to focus on their own process as they create their works of art.

Creative Arts: Drama

In Grade 3, drama students develop confidence and creative thinking while working collaboratively in small and large groups. This drama work expands the students’ communication skills through language and action.

Grade 3 drama classes take place in the Ruth Corkin Theatre. Students continue to gain comfort in sharing their ideas on the full-sized stage. Class discussion incorporates the sets that are built on the stage for various productions and performances throughout the school year. Audience behavior is a focal point as students take turns sharing their dramatic work.

Students hone their problem-solving skills through dramatic activities, and they work collaboratively to create original theater. Scene work focuses on the sequence of events in a story, as well as settings and character development. Students explore improvisation to develop a comfort level with creating theater without direction.

In preparation for the Grade 3 French play, students explore dialogue using scripts. Student ideas are compiled to create a dramatic script in English before it is translated and performed in French. The Grade 3 class participates in the process of putting on a production through rehearsals and formal performances on the stage. Throughout the year, the students engage in artistic forms of assessment and reflection. Through sharing ideas in the drama classroom, students build a sense of community with their classmates.

Creative Arts: Music

Elementary-age children are intrigued with music’s power to send a message and invite a response. Invitations for creative and joyful participation with organized sound are offered in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. Third graders develop tuneful singing skills, the ability to feel the steady beat in groups of two and three, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

Listening examples allow students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds. Students also learn to aurally decode, read, and write music with traditional notation including rhythmic notation and note recognition on the treble staff. Improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

and musical compositions. The full complement of classroom instruments is available including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration.

Songs are chosen that reflect the life experiences of childhood within the country and other nations. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods compose the classroom repertoire. In Grade 3, music-making with classmates yields an opportunity to develop the concept of ensemble. They learn the magic of sharing

and cooperating to create and to appreciate a variety of musical styles.

Third graders may also elect to participate in Beginning Band. This ensemble, which forms in mid-October, meets weekly during the school day. Beginning Band is a yearlong commitment and is offered to students in Grade 3 who take lessons in piano, brass, percussion, or woodwinds. Students who are not in the ensemble participate in an elective program that occurs in their homeroom during the same meeting time.

Physical Education

As students transition into the upper elementary grades, they begin to engage in more complex movement skills and more activities, games, and sports that require strategy and teamwork. Students are introduced to and participate in a wider range of fitness and movement activities that help them develop their individual movement skills as well as their understanding and interaction in team play.

Grade 4

CENTRAL QUESTIONS: What is Identity? What is Culture?

Overview

Grade 4 students immerse themselves in the study of Asia. Two important questions— What is Identity? What is Culture?—help frame the students’ inquiry of the vibrant and unique cultures, traditions, and peoples of this continent. Students achieve a deeper understanding through carefully designed learning experiences that blend multisensory activities, opportunities for trial and error, and individualized instruction to achieve clearly established goals. A thoughtfully integrated curriculum affords students the opportunity to delve more deeply into topics, to problem solve, and to interpret concepts. With teachers as guides, fourth graders engage in a variety of learning experiences that foster cooperation, respect, independence, and perseverance. Personal responsibility is the cornerstone of the school year; the curriculum instills the tenets of the School’s mission to foster lifelong learning in order to prepare students to be global and ethical citizens.

Grade 4 introduces the regular use of the iPad, a tool for students to use more regularly to support them in their research and expression of their knowledge and creativity in dynamic new ways. Fourth graders have dedicated technology time each week in order to practice new skills that they will then actively apply in their learning. This technology period is the entry point to the development of stronger research and organizational skills. Whether students are using a laptop or iPad, they develop the skills they need to master a variety of

technological tools that support and enhance their learning and allow them to share it with others.

Language Arts

The Grade 4 language arts program is a literature-based curriculum that weaves reading comprehension, research, and writing together. The “reading to learn” concept continues its trajectory in Grade 4. Students become active participants in the integrated theme study by delving into a range of literature throughout the year. Numerous nonfiction and fiction texts are introduced to students as they develop a deeper understanding of culture and identity. Students begin to dissect their readings and dig deeper, moving beyond recall of plot events and main characters. Response journals are utilized to develop and practice written expression. Moving beyond the recall of basic details related to plot, students begin to examine text at a deeper level by making inferences, interpreting imagery and themes, and analyzing characters. Response journals are utilized to develop and practice written expression. These skills are developed through class discussions, as well as response journals where students incorporate new and theme-related vocabulary. Students begin to look at the material they are reading not just as readers but also as writers. Published works serve as mentor texts for developing writers and as models for the variety of genres they explore through the Units of Study in Writing program: folktales, opinion writing, poetry, and expository writing. Mini lessons focus on elaboration, organization, revision, mechanics, and grammar. Students become active proofreaders and editors of their own work as they move toward a deeper understanding of the writing process. Grade 4

students continue their progression through the different stages of the Words Their Way spelling program.

Social Studies

Grade 4 students engage in an integrated study of Asia throughout the year. They consider the various elements that shape culture and identity, and they observe and interpret the connections between these elements. Students use literature, both fiction and nonfiction, to learn about the various people and places that make up the continent of Asia. They engage in a variety of writing projects and have opportunities for reflection as they move through the timeline of Asian history. Specifically, the study of the Silk Road serves as a portal into Asian geography, environment, and modern cultural practices and influences. Students examine the culture and environment of Pan-Asia through informational readings and integrated projects. The annual FourthFest celebration highlights the history, geography, culture, and traditions of two specific Asian countries. Finally, students end the year exploring the cultural and social contributions of all immigrants to America with a special focus on the Asian-American experience. Fourth graders consider the process of becoming a United States citizen through an interactive simulation of the immigration experience.

Math

The Grade 4 math program supports students in utilizing foundational math skills to solve increasingly complex problems, with a focus on the following core content areas: developing understanding and fluency with both multi-digit multiplication and dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends; understanding fraction equivalence, addition and

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers; analyzing and classifying geometric figures based on properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry. Through guided instruction, hands-on learning, and strategic problem-solving, all learners work to gain a strong conceptual understanding and mathematical flexibility.

Science and STEAM

Throughout the Lower School, science investigations require that students become actively engaged in experiments in order to help them better understand the scientific process. Students in each grade level cover the three major science disciplines: life science, physical science, and earth science. Through an inquiry-based approach, students learn to construct their own meaning of scientific concepts. Students have opportunities to

investigate a problem, search for solutions, make observations, ask questions, test their ideas, and draw conclusions

At the start of Grade 4, students discover relationships between objects and outcomes through controlled experiments. They learn concepts such as independent and dependent variables. Through the course of the year, students study geology and investigate the characteristics of rocks and minerals as they learn how to identify various specimens. The electricity and magnetism unit introduces concepts in physical science that relate to energy and change. Through hands-on investigations, students explore the concepts of positive and negative charges, circuits, and alternative energy. Fourth graders also study one of the most complex machines ever created—the human body. The students learn the cellular makeup of muscles as well as how muscle filaments make the muscle contract or relax. Equipped with this knowledge, students are

challenged to design a prototype of a robotic arm. The year culminates in an Environmental ColLab where students from Grades 4 and 5 collaborate to find solutions to a range of environmental problems that face the global community.

Grade 4 students are well versed in the Design Process. Applying science concepts and content knowledge from other disciplines is automatic. Students design engineering projects to meet challenges, learn the fundamentals of coding, and actively apply technology skills to a variety of theme-based ideas. Spheros are programmed to become tour guides along the Silk Road, alternative energy sources are researched and designed in make-believe Japanese and Indian villages, and robotic arms are built to move objects from one place to another. Much of the STEAM curriculum is integrated with the other elements of the Grade 4 curriculum to develop greater understanding and so that projects

are authentic and applicable to the real world.

World Language: French Grade 4 continues the use of Story in Action, a program that uses storytelling, songs, and role-playing activities based on real communication situations.

The story that is the focus of Grade 4 French is titled Comment y aller? (How do I get there?) It is based on an experience of a student from Quebec who decides to visit her friend in Paris. Students continue to increase their vocabulary in French by responding to the “Gesture Approach,” and they review previously learned words with the associated gestures. Throughout the year, there is an equal and strong emphasis on the development of all four language skills--reading, writing, listening, and speaking-—through a program that meets the needs of all language learners and their learning styles. Activities are varied so that students can work individually, with partners, in small groups, and as a whole class.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

Students in Grade 4 have developed a rich background in the arts from their previous work in the art studio, and they are ready to apply, practically, the skills they have acquired. The visual arts curriculum is designed to encourage students to take an active role in the creative process. During the school year, students will have the opportunity to enhance classroom projects by gathering ideas and inspirations outside of the school day. Occasionally students will have homework assignments such as completing worksheets, writing journal entries, and gathering images for research. This is a great opportunity for families to connect with the activities and art processes in which the students are involved.

Observation, abstraction, invention, and expression are the guiding principles of the Grade 4 artist’s experience in visual arts. Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploration process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements and principles of design. The elements of art are color, line, shape, form, texture, and space, and the principles of art are pattern, space, composition, and balance.

Students in Grade 4 demonstrate knowledge of the materials and methods they have learned and begin to refine and self-assess their work. Students apply their knowledge and describe the similarities and differences in works of art. Through informal critiques, they explain the strengths and weaknesses in their own work.

Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures. Students are encouraged to make their own material choices and to choose processes based on past experiences and knowledge of the processes they have learned.

In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students will explore the role of the arts in their community and in society.

Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes.

Creative Arts: Drama

Grade 4 drama students develop confidence and creative thinking while working collaboratively in small and large groups. Drama work expands students’ communication skills through language and action.

Grade 4 drama classes focus on the importance of cooperation through ensemble work, as students continue to develop skills as stage artists. Theater concepts and skills such as improvisation, memorization, and playwriting are expanded upon. Students build characters through their bodies and voices and in writing exercises.

Grade 4 creates and performs an original one-act play, while also collaborating with Grade 5 to create a dramatic musical production. Students participate in auditions, rehearsals, and formal performances on the stage. Grade 4 students are introduced to the elements of stagecraft, stage design, and production. Throughout the year, students analyze the successes and challenges of performances and assess their work as thoughtful performers. Through sharing ideas in the drama classroom, students build a sense of community with their classmates.

Creative Arts: Music

Elementary-age learners are intrigued with music’s power to send a message and invite a response. Invitations for creative and joyful participation with organized sound are offered in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. Fourth graders develop tuneful singing skills, an ability to move to the steady beat in groups of two and three, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

Listening examples allow students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds in a variety of musical forms. Students also learn to aurally decode, read, and write music with traditional notation including rhythmic notation and note recognition on the treble staff. Improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement and musical compositions. The full complement of classroom instruments is available including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration. Students explore the many ways they can engage with music, from singing games and folk dances to performing in a musical and composing music with modern technology.

Songs are chosen that reflect the life experiences of childhood within this country and other nations. Traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from a variety of cultures, styles, and time periods compose the classroom repertoire. In Grade 4, music-making with classmates yields an opportunity to develop the concept of ensemble. They learn the magic of sharing and cooperating to create and appreciate a variety of musical styles.

Annually in March, students participate in the Grades 4 and 5 Creative Arts Performance. This collaborative presentation

highlights the artistry, confidence, and teamwork of the students through visual arts, drama, and music. In addition, the Grades 4 and 5 Chorus performs at the Lower School Chorus and Band Concert and at a Share Assembly each spring.

Fourth graders may also elect to participate in the Grades 4 and 5 Band. This ensemble, which forms in mid-October, meets weekly during the school day. Band is a yearlong commitment and is offered to students in Grade 4 who take lessons in piano, brass, percussion, or woodwinds. Students who are not in the ensemble participate in an elective program that occurs in their homeroom during the same meeting time.

Physical Education

Students in Grade 4 are presented with more complex movement skills and more activities, games, and sports that require strategy, tactics, and teamwork. Students are introduced to and participate in a wider range of fitness and movement activities that help them develop their individual movement skills as well as their understanding and interaction in team play. Sportsmanship is always emphasized as is making physical activity fun, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Interscholastic and After School Sports Programs for

Grades 4 and 5

Each season, the Athletic Department offers a fourth and fifth grade after school sports program. The School offers an interscholastic basketball program in the winter and an instructional running club in the spring. These programs offer students an introduction to interscholastic athletics, including the organization and structure of team practices and play, working with an athletic coach, understanding game rules, strategies and tactics, game officiating, and sportsmanship.

Grade 5

CENTRAL QUESTION: What is strength of character?

Overview

The Grade 5 program is robust and highly interdisciplinary; the teachers encourage students to think creatively and challenge themselves to reach new levels of achievement. The comprehensive curriculum is integrated across disciplines, embodying academic rigor and creating innovative approaches to motivate and challenge each child and engage every student’s learning style. Different elements of the Grade

5 curriculum are connected by the Central Question: What is strength of character? Over the course of the year students analyze this question as it relates to themselves and to others. The pedagogical approach, termed “Windows and Mirrors,” fosters a thoughtful understanding of oneself and others and how we connect with people and events in literature, history, math, and science. Through the lens of “strength of character,” students explore the rise of the Renaissance and the path to the United States’ Revolutionary War. They delve deeply into the research and reflect on the qualities that embody strength of character. In this way, fifth graders practice reading, writing, creative arts, technology, and presentation skills through an interdisciplinary approach in which teachers connect their coursework to these topics and the following themes: change, community, and character. As leaders of the Lower School, students reflect on these themes, strengthening self-knowledge and taking risks that allow for greater confidence as they transition to Middle School.

Language Arts

The Grade 5 language arts program is a literature-based curriculum that is integrated with the social studies program. Students continue to develop and strengthen their vocabulary, comprehension, and written and oral language skills as they prepare for Middle School. Literature explores the traits and motivations of why and how a character demonstrates strength of character. Students develop strategies to help them understand written text. A gradual shift toward more advanced text and analytical thinking continues in the Grade 5 program. Students learn to read a text closely and to examine it on many interpretive levels. Reading

is practiced both orally and silently. In addition, students enjoy and benefit from having novels read aloud to them by their teachers.

The goal of the language arts program is to encourage students to express themselves creatively and to understand the commitment that successful writers must make to their writing. The writing process continues to play an important role in how students engage in writing projects. In their writing students work on organizational structure, idea development, language conventions, and revision of work. Vocabulary is primarily taken from the literature read, and spelling, writing, and grammar lessons are derived from the Units of Study in Writing and Words Their Way programs.

Social Studies

The Grade 5 social studies program is designed to help students develop an understanding of the American past, as well as to promote awareness and reflection of how the country came to be where it is today. The Grade 5 social studies curriculum focuses on the central theme of “strength of character” as students explore as students explore early American colonization, the American Revolution, and the formation of a new government. Map skills and research skills are incorporated into the study of the history, geography, and economics of these time periods and events. Critical thinking skills are promoted as students learn to observe, compare, classify, predict, and think reasonably and reflectively when looking at different examples of strength of character throughout history. Students begin to understand the perspective and experiences of the many people who composed and built early America, and they consider the impact on today’s world.

Students learn to collaborate with others through project-based learning inquiries, using primary and secondary sources. They conduct various exhibition projects during the year including a poetry slam, and the final project, the Grade 5 Capstone Exhibition, is the culmination of students’ work in the Lower School. Students are assigned a topic and asked to analyze and identify the characteristics of an individual or group who demonstrates strength of character. Students are assigned advisors, and the final product includes a written piece, an oral presentation, and an art/design/ tech project.

Math

The Grade 5 math program focuses on deepening students’ understanding and application of foundational mathematical concepts, preparing them for the more complex work of middle school. Fifth Grade students build their knowledge and skill in the following core content areas: operations with fractions, including building fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions and understanding of multiplication and division of fractions; operations with whole numbers and decimals to the hundredths, building fluency and extending division to include two-digit divisors; and understanding volume. Through guided instruction and exploration, students deepen their number sense and develop algebraic reasoning and strategic problem-solving skills.

Science and STEAM

Throughout the Lower School science investigations require that students become actively engaged in experiments in order to help them better understand the scientific process. Students in each grade level cover the three major science disciplines:

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

life science, physical science, and earth science. Through an inquiry-based approach, students learn to construct their own meaning of scientific concepts Students have opportunities to investigate a problem, search for solutions, make observations, ask questions, test their ideas, and draw conclusions.

Grade 5 students continue to learn the scientific method using a hands-on, inquiry-based approach. The Grade 5 science curriculum is designed with several objectives in mind: to understand that science is all around us, to develop critical thinking skills and the ability to communicate scientific concepts, to develop cooperative and purposeful work habits with peers, and to empower students to be responsible for their own learning. Students explore the concepts of simple machines, astronomy/ rockets, and cell biology/

nutrition. The year culminates in an Environmental ColLab where students from Grades 4 and 5 collaborate to find solutions to a range of environmental problems that face the global community.

In addition, students in Grade 5 work both independently and collaboratively to create several interdisciplinary STEAM projects using the Design Process. Students design engineering projects to meet challenges, learn the fundamentals of coding, and actively apply technology skills to a variety of theme-based ideas. While learning about simple machines, fifth graders are challenged to build a machine that can lift an egg from the ground and to design and program a Lego Mindstorms rover to explore the surface of Mars.

Grade 5 World Language Exploration

In preparation of their transition to Middle School and their selection of a world language, Grade 5 students spend a trimester exploring each of the following languages and cultures.

French Language and Francophone World Cultures

The focus of the Grade 5 French program is the exploration of the cultures, traditions, people, and geography of the Francophone world. This educational journey leads students through North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Caribbean islands. Students work to reinforce language and concepts they have learned throughout their language study at Brimmer while using online, spoken, and written activities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Francophone world.

Mandarin Language and Chinese Culture

The focus of the Grade 5 Mandarin course is to cultivate student interest in learning Mandarin and teaching students to communicate in Chinese in the following categories: greetings, numbers, body parts, animals, colors, food and drinks, and family. The course focuses on listening and speaking skills to help students develop a strong foundation in Mandarin using Chinese in Focus: Traveling in China series. Students explore culture, arts and crafts, videos, songs, rhymes, storytelling, projects, class skits, and videomaking.

Spanish Language and Spanish Speaking World Cultures

The focus of this course is to foster an appreciation for the Spanish-speaking world along with developing the capacity to use Spanish in basic communicative situations related to greetings, numbers, food, family, animals, colors, and clothing. Students use the SOMOS comprehensible inputbased curriculum and are exposed to simple reading exercises and writing projects. They develop listening and speaking skills through stories, songs, dialogues, games, short videos, and mini presentations.

Creative Arts: Visual Arts

Students in Grade 5 have developed a rich background in the arts and are ready to practically apply the skills they have acquired. The Creative Arts Curriculum is designed to encourage students to take an active role in the creative process. During the school year, students can enhance classroom projects by brainstorming ideas and finding inspiration outside of the school day. Students have homework assignments such as completing worksheets, writing journal entries, and gathering

images for research. This is a great opportunity for families to connect with the activities and art processes in which the students are involved.

Observation, abstraction, invention, and expression are the guiding principles for Grade 5 artists’ experience in visual arts. Curriculum is designed and presented in a manner that encourages each child’s individual creativity and self-expression. Students are guided through an exploration process with lessons that engage them in learning about the elements and principles of design. The elements of art are color, line, shape, form, texture, and space, and the principles of art are pattern, space, composition, and balance.

Students create artwork using a variety of 2-D materials and processes such as painting, drawing, collage and printmaking and 3-D materials such as wood, cardboard, and clay to create sculptures. Grade 5 artists are encouraged to make their own material choices and to choose approaches based on past experiences and knowledge of the processes they have learned. In May students will plan and execute an artistic component for their Grade 5 Capstone Exhibition.

Students in Grade 5 demonstrate knowledge of the materials and methods they have learned and begin to refine and self-assess their work. They apply their knowledge and describe the similarities and differences in various works of art. Through informal critiques they explain the strengths and weaknesses in their own work and share constructive comments with classmates.

In addition, lessons introduce students to aesthetics and art history using prints, artifacts, and

books that feature works of art from various historical periods, cultures, and genres. Students explore the role of the arts in their community and in society. Art lessons are often planned in collaboration with the classroom, music, and drama teachers in order to complement academic themes.

Creative Arts: Drama

Drama students develop confidence and creative thinking, while working collaboratively in small and large groups. Drama work expands students’ communication skills through language and action.

Grade 5 drama students continue to hone their creative skills as young performers. Students express their cumulative theatrical knowledge through several performance opportunities. They explore ensemble building, character development, and scene structure through improvisation and script work.

The Grades 4 and 5 production is a platform for Grade 5 students to further explore the processes of auditioning, casting, preproduction, rehearsal, and performance skills. As part of the rehearsal process, students keep journals to reinforce character development and reflect on their artistic contributions. Throughout the school year, students assess their work as thoughtful performers. Through sharing ideas in the drama classroom, students build a sense of community with their classmates.

Creative Arts: Music

Elementary-age children are intrigued with music’s power to send a message and invite a response. Invitations for creative and joyful participation with organized sound are offered

MIDDLE AND UPPER ELEMENTARY (GRADES 2-5)

in each music class. Students energetically interact with music by singing, playing, moving, and listening. Fifth graders develop tuneful singing skills, an ability to move to the steady beat in groups of two and three, and sensitivity to the artful nuances of music.

Listening examples allow students to aurally analyze and recognize sounds. Students also learn to aurally decode, read, and write music with traditional notation. Improvisation activities lead to the creation of movement and musical compositions. The full complement of classroom instruments is available including small percussion and barred instruments for sound exploration. Students explore the many ways they can engage with music, from singing games and folk dances to performing in a musical and

composing music with modern technology.

Fifth graders may also elect to participate in the Grades 4 and 5 Band. This ensemble, which forms in mid-October, meets weekly during the school day. Band is a yearlong commitment and is offered to students in Grade 5 who take lessons in piano, brass, percussion, or woodwinds. Students who are not in the ensemble participate in an elective program that occurs in their homeroom during the same meeting time.

Physical Education

Grade 5 physical education offers students a wide selection of physical movement activities, including fitness regimes, games,

and sports to engage in both individually and with teammates. Grade 5 also introduces Lower School students to interscholastic sports team play, which becomes available to all students throughout the year in Middle School. Sportsmanship is always emphasized as is making physical activity fun, rewarding, and enjoyable.

Interscholastic Athletics

Each season, the Athletic Department offers a fourth and fifth grade after school sports program. In the fall, fourth and fifth grade students may participate in an optional, interscholastic soccer program. The School offers an interscholastic basketball program in the winter and an instructional running club in the spring. These programs offer students an

introduction to interscholastic athletics, including the organization and structure of team practices and play, working with an athletic coach, understanding game rules, strategies and tactics, game officiating, and sportsmanship.

Signature Programs

The Lower School Signature Programs enhance the core curriculum and provide students with an opportunity to apply what they have learned to interdisciplinary problem-solving. These programs include project work using the Design Process (see earlier “Lower School Approach” section) with an experiential education component. Teachers encourage students to use their experiences to enhance their learning in the classroom as well.

ColLabs Engineering ColLab

The Engineering ColLab is designed to promote collaboration among students in Grades 2 and 3. Units are focused two-week, hands-on experiences that help students develop an understanding of engineering. Units have included the following: Bridge Building, Hot Air Balloons (understanding how they work and building one), Bouncy Balls (making balls that can bounce as high as possible), and Dog Biscuit Carriers (made with recycled materials).

STEAM/Environmental ColLab

The STEAM/Environmental ColLab is an inquiry-based science program for Grades 4 and 5 that promotes active learning by challenging students to think and work both independently and collaboratively. During this two-year interactive program, students explore eight topics

SIGNATURE PROGRAMS

relating to nature and the environment. Topics are Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Climate Change, Gardening, Composting, Water Use, Animal Biomimicry, and Water Filtration. Units are focused two-week, hands-on experiences that bring the current environmental concerns to life for the students.

Design Lab

The Lower School makerspace is a space that allows students to be collaborative, innovative, flexible, persistent, and self-motivated. The students engage in design and STEAM projects using the Design Process. Students build the skills of empathy and apply foundational knowledge to create and to develop solutions for real-world problems in the Design Lab. Through the STEAM program the students gain a deeper understanding of the world, think creatively and critically, collaborate and share ideas, and apply knowledge to create innovative designs. With all its resources, the Design Lab is another place where students are nurtured and challenged to use their heads and their hands to solve problems. It is a space in the Lower School where a child’s imagination can soar as they explore different low-tech and high-tech tools with the guidance of their teacher. The various materials available allow the students to create, design, and construct an understanding of how things work. In the Design Lab, students can share ideas with one another, collaborate on a project, and experience the rewards of persistence.

Science and STEAM

The science and STEAM curricula at Brimmer are designed to foster a love of learning through curiosity, exploration, and discovery.

STEAM is an educational mélange of learning that uses science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics as entry

points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The design and implementation of the STEAM curriculum in Grades PK –5 is founded on the understanding that children are inherently inclined to solve problems and seek solutions. This approach leads to the development of students who are thoughtful risk-takers, who engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process to solve real-world problems. The STEAM program has elements of inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and responsive teaching approaches, all of which allow learning to be active, student-directed, and integrated across various content areas. All of this is done through the lens of the Design Process. Beginning in PK, students go through the steps of the Design Process when completing an engineering task. Not only are the students developing problem-solving skills, but they are also learning how to reason based on how their prototype works. Metacognition is an important aspect of engineering and a key component of teaching engineering. As students grow and reflect, they develop the capacity to use the data they collect while testing to understand and interpret feedback. They begin to set clear criteria for success through testing their own work, and they start to make thoughtful, calculated decisions based on these experiences. As developing engineers, students assess what is not working in their own design so they can make design choices to create a successful beta, make improvements, and plan updates for their models.

Lower School Garden

The Lower School Garden is an outdoor classroom where students connect with nature and learn

ENRICHMENT BEYOND THE SCHOOL DAY

about ecology, healthy eating, where their food comes from, and how to take care of the environment. The Garden is a special learning environment in which all Lower School students play a role. Each grade level, PK - 5, maintains this green space through various hands-on activities such as planting and tending vegetables and flowers, tilling soil, weeding, watering, pruning, and harvesting. The Lower School Garden is a fully functioning garden where students learn through experience. Much of the food grown is served in School lunches. The Garden is fully integrated into the Lower School Curriculum and allows Brimmer students to engage in authentic scientific observation and inquiry in an outdoor setting, right on campus.

Share Assemblies

Share Assemblies are held on most Fridays throughout the school year. At Share, Lower School students come together for performances by students and special guests. Additionally, Buddy Group events are held during Share Assembly time. These weekly Lower School gatherings and activities build a feeling of community through shared experience. They also present the opportunity for students to learn how to be part of an audience during a performance and how to engage appropriately and successfully with their peers during Buddy Group activities.

Enrichment Beyond the School Day

Extended Day

The Extended Day Program provides children with a warm and relaxed atmosphere that fosters sharing and cooperation. The program provides a supportive play environment, creative activities, and a quiet time for study. The Extended Day Program is a true extension of Brimmer as it follows the School’s mission of promoting collaboration and a sense of personal responsibility.

The Extended Day Program begins at the end of the academic day and operates weekdays until 5:30 p.m. from the opening day to the last day of school in June. For children in PK - 2 the daily schedule also includes a snack and supervised playtime either on the playground or inside. Children in Grades 3 – 5 participate in indoor/ outdoor play and a choice of age-appropriate indoor activities. In addition, the schedule includes supervised homework time in a quiet study area.

The faculty offer students choices among a variety of activities. The older students can find the appropriate balance between doing homework and having fun with friends. The students particularly enjoy being in the multiage groups. Throughout the year, after school clubs are offered for an additional fee and generally include chess, community service, cooking, crafts, karate, yoga, a technology club, and a math club. However, new offerings are proposed annually. Students in the Extended Day Program can also take advantage of the After School Music Program, tutoring, as well as attend Middle and Upper School athletic events.

After School Clubs

As part of Brimmer’s Extended Day Program, the School hosts after school clubs. These clubs meet once a week for one hour and are open to all students beginning at the end of each semester. Children enrolled in a club may remain at school in the Extended Day Program between dismissal and 3:15 p.m. After school clubs are offered for an additional fee. A variety of clubs are offered with different grade-level participation (descriptions may be found on our website). Recent offerings have included:

Drama Club (Grades 2 – 5)

Chess (Grades 1 – 3 and 4 – 5)

Journalism (Grades 3 – 5)

Lego Challenges (Grades 1 –3)

Soccer Club (PK)

Sports Smorgasbord (Grade K – 2)

Weird Nature Science (Grade PK – 2 and 3 – 5)

After School Music Program

The study of music increases higher order thinking skills, builds self-esteem, and encourages self-discipline and commitment. Brimmer’s After School Music Program provides quality musical instruction and seeks to strengthen music appreciation and literacy. Throughout this program, students in PK - Grade 12 can take private instrumental and voice lessons on campus. They receive a music education tailored to their individual needs based on their interest, age, and personal goals. In addition, lessons are designed to support students who are committed to participating in the School’s band ensembles.

At the end of the school year all musicians are encouraged to share their talents with their families at a recital on campus. Each program highlights the accomplishments of emerging Lower School musicians playing onstage with accomplished Upper School musicians. It is an opportunity for families to celebrate the hard work of their own musician and to support the growth of all the enthusiastic musicians in the School community.

The After School Music staff, of more than a dozen highly qualified musicians and educators, is hand-selected based on recommendations from the professional music community. Many hold graduate degrees in music performance or music education. Most importantly, the instructors have experience working with children.

Interscholastic Sports for Grades

4 and 5

Each season, the Athletic Department offers a fourth and fifth grade after school sports program. In the fall, fourth and fifth grade students may participate in an optional, interscholastic soccer program. The School offers an interscholastic basketball program in the winter and an instructional running club in the spring. These programs offer students an introduction to interscholastic athletics, including the organization and structure of team practices and play, working with an athletic coach, understanding game rules, strategies and tactics, game officiating, and sportsmanship.

Lower School Learning Spaces

Corkin Art Studio

Corkin Theatre

Cummings Hall

French Library

Hastings Innovation Center

Jones Library and Design Lab

Lower School Garden

Lower School Music Studio

McCoy Hall

The Mugar Family Playground & Outdoor Learning Space

Thompson Gymnasium & Campus Athletic Field

LOWER SCHOOL LEARNING SPACES