2026-27 LS Program of Studies

TABLE OF CONTENTS Expressions of Quakerism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten Logistical Overview . . . . . . . 2 Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Logistical Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Language Arts Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Mathematics Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Science Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Social Studies Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Spanish Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Computer Science Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Performing Arts Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Physical Education Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Visual Arts Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Library Media Center/ Information Literacy Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Human Dynamics and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pre-Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 First Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Second Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Third Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Fourth Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Fifth Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

EXPRESSIONS OF QUAKERISM

A core belief of Quakerism is that “there is that of God in everyone.” Teachers value the individuality and voice of each child and create classroom environments where the concept of the light and six testimonies are explored in ways appropriate to the age of the students: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. Stories and activities connected to these concepts are shared, and projects across Meeting for Worship can the division help students look different depending reflect on these ideas and on the age of the children develop a growing underin a classroom and the standing of their connection format in which it is set. to our lives.

All lower school students gather weekly in Meeting for Worship, the center of Quaker expression. This time of quiet reflection is largely defined by each individual and informed by each person’s own religious tradition and identity. Sometimes a student or teacher may feel inspired to stand and speak, sharing a thought that is formed during worship. An example of a young child’s message might be, “Be kind to others,” or, “I love my school because you get to have so many friends,” or, “I’m really sad that my dog is sick.”

Meeting for Worship can look different depending on the age of the children in a classroom and the format in which it is set. For example, students meet for worship as a whole lower school division, with another class, or within their own classroom.

Teachers also carry the tenets of Quakerism into our conflict resolution program, as children are supported in working toward independence in solving problems with peers. Students are guided to develop skills of listening carefully, sharing feelings and ideas clearly, understanding others with empathy, and restoring relationships.

PRESCHOOL AND PREKINDERGARTEN LOGISTICAL OVERVIEW The Preschool Day

School begins at 8:00 am, with dismissal options at noon and at 3:00 pm. Early morning care is available at no extra charge, beginning at 7:30 am. Families may enroll in the After-School Program, with a choice of 4:45 or 6:00 pm pick-up, either by contract (for the same days each week) or as needed on a drop-in basis. Childcare is available during designated school vacations and on designated noon dismissal days.

Two Teachers in Each Classroom

In each preschool and pre-kindergarten classroom, there are two full-time teachers - a lead teacher and an assistant teacher.

There is also another early years assistant available to help out in classrooms throughout the school day as needed.

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“Specials”

Preschool and pre-kindergarten students have the opportunity to take part in classes with specialists each week. Preschoolers join music and movement classes in our arts studio twice a week. In pre-kindergarten, every student has classes each week in music and movement, physical education, and Spanish; students are also introduced to STEM Lab activities starting in pre-kindergarten. Art is integrated into the classroom by assistant teachers with the support of our early years art coordinator. Our librarians work with preschool and pre-kindergarten teachers to arrange visits to the classroom or for students to visit the library to check out books consistently.

Progress Reports and Conferences

Preschool and pre-kindergarten parent-teacher conferences are scheduled three times a year: mid-October, late January, and mid-April. Written reports are provided to parents in January and June. Communication between teachers and parents is always encouraged through personal conversation at drop-off or pick-up, or by email.

KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE LOGISTICAL OVERVIEW The School Day

Lower school begins at 8:00 am each morning and ends at 3:00.

While no “special” classes begin in kindergarten before 9:00 am, “special” classes (see below) may start at 8:20 am in grades one through five. Early morning care is available, at no extra charge, beginning at 7:30 am. Families may enroll in the AfterSchool Program, with a choice of 4:45 or 6:00 pm pick-up, either by contract (for the same days each week) or as needed on a drop-in basis. Childcare is also available during designated school vacations and on designated noon dismissal days.

Teacher/Student Ratio in Classrooms

Kindergarten classrooms each have lead teachers with fullday associate teachers. In grades one through four, associate teachers are assigned as needed, according to class size and the developmental needs of the students in those grades. This approach allows for greater flexibility in small group work as well as for simultaneous individual and group instruction. This model gives Friends a low student-teacher ratio, ensuring attention to each child.

Interdisciplinary Themes

Much of the lower school curriculum is integrated around themes, and teachers work in teams to coordinate projects across disciplines. For example, a first grader studying ants as part of an insect unit in the homebase classroom might also make a papier maché ant in art class and do internet research on ants with the support of the library media specialist.

Fifth Grade

Fifth graders continue to have a homebase and integrated curriculum, but in this last year of lower school, they have ad-

ditional responsibilities and privileges, including participation in the fifth grade musical theater production. Fifth graders are grouped in both homebase and color groups, which allows for increased interactions with their peers over the course of the day and a rotation between subjects that helps prepare them for moving classes in middle school. Other distinctive features of fifth grade include an overnight community-building trip that provides an experience away from home and campus.

“Specials”

Classes beyond the core subjects are known at the lower school as “specials.” From kindergarten through fifth grade, every student has classes each week in art, music, physical education, science, Spanish, and technology. Students’ work with technology includes digital and information literacy, research, and coding. Librarians also work with homebase teachers and specialists to integrate skills learned in multiple content areas and schedule regular visits for homebase classes to the library.

Homework

Throughout the lower school, reading is expected on a regular basis at home. For pre-readers and emerging readers, that might be in the form of listening to stories read to them by a parent or older sibling. The expectation for independent reading grows as the student matures. For our oldest students, the expectation is for independent reading of at least 120 minutes each week; students are encouraged to complete that reading in a way that works best for them. They might get engrossed in their book and read 120 minutes straight over the weekend, or they might want to pace their reading throughout the week.

Until they reach fifth grade, assigned homework is most often in the area of math and/or language arts, and occasionally in other subjects. Just as the expectations for reading progress over time, so do the expectations for other homework. In first and second grade, for example, students are assigned specific Fundations activities to support our reading program, and children have a variety of math and language arts hands-on activities that are extensions of their learning at school. In third and fourth grade, more specific work is assigned on a regular basis.

By the time they reach fifth grade, homework assignments are longer and occasionally not due for several days in order to support the development of good time management skills.

Optional Activities

Band is offered to fourth and fifth-grade students, and choir to fifth-grade students, and no audition is required. Band sectionals occur during the school day once a week, while the full band practices multiple times per week before the school day begins.

Choir practice for fifth grade is woven into the school day.

The After-School Program offers many activities for students of all ages, such as chess, drama, sports, and STEM activities.

Progress Reports and Conferences

Kindergarten through fifth grade conferences are scheduled three times a year: in October/November, late January, and mid-April. Written reports are provided to parents in January

and June. Communication between teachers and parents is always encouraged through personal conversation at drop-off or pick-up, or by email.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW LANGUAGE ARTS: OVERVIEW

Our lower school students engage in the expressive skills of writing and speaking and the receptive skills of listening and reading on a daily basis through an integrated approach. Students progress from learning to read in grades K-3, to reading to learn in grades 3-5. Our focus is on building skills in receptive and expressive language by enhancing students’ conceptual understanding, which allows for inference, prediction, and questioning on an increasingly abstract level. Throughout the program, students are immersed in a literature- and languagerich environment, exploring different genres and learning to appreciate a variety of cultures and traditions through reading and research. Challenging students to meet high standards, while developing an enthusiasm for learning and a lifelong love of reading, are key objectives of the program.

Our lower school stu dents engage in the We seek to provide students expressive skills of writwith a variety of skills and opportunities for self-expression ing and speaking and the receptive skills of that will allow for their fullest possible participation in the listening and reading on learning process and in the a daily basis through an school and broader communi- integrated approach. ties. In the language arts program, students are supported in expressing their ideas, feelings, and observations openly, effectively, and appropriately in both written and oral forms.

Again, expectations rise steadily throughout the program, with high standards in the development and organization of ideas, the use of strong word choice and clear sentence structure, and the application of proper grammar and mechanics. Encouraging students to feel confident in expressing themselves and in presenting their work is also of great importance.

We acquire core materials that support the philosophy and objectives of our program, and that are aligned with Common Core State Standards and The Science of Reading research. As an innovative school, our curriculum and classroom tools are not limited to published materials. We value teacher-created materials aligned with best practices in language-arts research and instruction. In language arts, our materials include but are not limited to: Wilson Language Program, Core Knowledge Language Arts, Renaissance products, and Words Their Way. For assessments, we use a variety of formal and informal assessments to guide curriculum and instruction. Those include but are not limited to Renaissance products, Amplify, ERB, and unit assessments that accompany our language arts programs.

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MATHEMATICS: OVERVIEW

In kindergarten, we use the Developing Roots curriculum, which is aligned with the Common Core standards and incorporates guiding principles from NCTM. Lessons begin with an initial task (anchor task), which is designed to be open-ended to allow for multiple solutions and entry points for student exploration before formal discussion. Concept practice occurs through games, physical materials, and prepared work. Students also have a reflection journal to record their thinking.

In grades 1-5, we use a The “Singapore Math” “Singapore Math” based curapproach is grounded riculum, think!Mathematics, in problem solving and which was designed using emphasizes the developvarious educational learning ment of strong number theories and with content aligned to the Common Core sense, excellent mental Standards. The “Singapore math skills, and a deep Math” approach is grounded understanding of place in problem solving and value. emphasizes the development of strong number sense, excellent mental math skills, and a deep understanding of place value. Conceptual understanding is heavily emphasized in all topics presented. When approaching fluency instruction (basic fact fluency, broader computational fluency, or procedural fluency), we work with students to be efficient, flexible, and accurate in their approach. think!Mathematics lessons at all grade levels begin with an anchor task to introduce a given concept. This low-floor, highceiling problem or task is designed to provide opportunities for a range of student abilities. These anchor tasks provide access to a student beginning to understand a concept while simultaneously providing more advanced students an opportunity to explore more challenging solutions or approaches to the same problem. Students are allowed ample time to explore solutions to an anchor task informally and are encouraged to consider multiple solutions before formalized discussion begins.

In addition to anchor tasks, some other key instructional strategies include:

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Using the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract or C-P-A approach to introduce concepts with concrete manipulatives, pictorial representations, and lastly an abstract algorithm or representation. This progression gives students a solid understanding of basic mathematical concepts and relationships before they start working at an abstract level.

Using visualization constructs such as ten-frames, number bonds, and bar-modeling, a visual approach to solving word problems that emphasizes making representative drawings of a word problem before solving it. This helps students organize information and solve problems in a stepby-step manner.

Providing opportunities for students to monitor their own

thinking to encourage metacognition and develop attitudes of perseverance and confidence. You will often hear teachers asking students, “Are you sure? How do you know?”

Whether an answer is correct or incorrect, students are encouraged to demonstrate and articulate their thinking verbally and through writing.

For assessments, we use a variety of formal and informal assessments to guide curriculum and instruction. Those include, but are not limited to, Renaissance products, ERB, and unit assessments that accompany our math programs.

Math is also experienced and applied beyond “math class,” often in computer science and in science activities, which create additional opportunities for students to apply math in real-world situations. Teachers in these disciplines work with homebase teachers to use common language and approaches.

SCIENCE: OVERVIEW

Lower School Science is an inquiry-based program that nurtures curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking while closely aligning with the principles of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Through hands-on investigations and meaningful exploration, students develop the habits of scientists and engineers by asking questions, testing ideas, communicating their thinking, and learning from the world around them.

Students actively engage in science. They observe phenomena, investigate problems, gather evidence, collaborate with classmates, and communicate discoveries through discussion, writing, drawing, modeling, and design. Across all grade levels, students are encouraged to think critically, share ideas, revise their thinking, and develop confidence as learners and problemsolvers.

The program emphasizes both the scientific inquiry process and the engineering design process. Students use their natural sense of wonder to ask questions and investigate answers through experimentation and exploration. They also learn to identify problems, imagine solutions, build prototypes, test ideas, and improve their designs. These experiences help students develop perseverance, creativity, and flexible thinking while applying science concepts in meaningful ways.

Each year in lower school, students explore a wide range of topics in life, earth, and physical sciences. Concepts and skills are introduced using a “spiral” approach in which these ideas are revisited and expanded upon in increasingly sophisticated ways as students move through the grades. This allows students to deepen their understanding over time while strengthening scientific thinking and investigative skills.

Science learning takes place in both a traditional science lab and the STEM Lab. The STEM Lab provides prekindergarten through 2nd-grade students with flexible space and materials to investigate physical science and engineering concepts through

play, experimentation, and design challenges. The traditional science lab supports more formal investigations for older students and provides age-appropriate tools and materials for exploring. Both learning spaces encourage collaboration, communication, and active exploration.

Through investigation, questioning, exploration, and communication, Wilmington Friends’ Lower School Science program helps students build not only scientific understanding, but also curiosity, confidence, and a lifelong love of science and learning.

SOCIAL STUDIES: OVERVIEW

In pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, the social studies curriculum is centered in the homebase classroom, coordinated with work in specials. Students study physical geography, culture, biographies, and history. The curriculum expands from the students’ own experiences (self, family) to larger communities of which they are members and in which they have responsibilities (school, city, state, country), with global connections throughout the progression. Skills in research and presentation are emphasized with increasing expectations at each level, with both teacher-directed and student-selected topics. In fifth grade, social studies is taught by one of the fifth-grade teachers to all students in the grade; it is a regular rotation along with science and reading. In all of our social studies units, we view social studies through the lens of diversity and allow the Quaker principles of stewardship, peace, integrity, community, equality, and simplicity to provide a foundation for our learning.

SPANISH: OVERVIEW

The Spanish program is designed to introduce students to the Spanish language and to Hispanic cultures, both for their inherent value and to lay the foundation for future language learning and a lasting appreciation for diversity. Given demographic trends in our country, familiarity with this language and culture is especially valuable to students. The program revisits prior material to ensure that skills are reinforced annually, while new content is added to provide more variety and depth as students progress through the program. Students engage in activities that generate enthusiasm for the study of language and culture while learning basic communication skills in the target language. The program focuses on developing strong oral-aural skills while gradually introducing reading and writing in Spanish.

COMPUTER SCIENCE: OVERVIEW

(Please also see “Library Media Center/Information Literacy”) The computer science curriculum is a critical thinking and problem-solving course designed to encourage active learning, creativity, and exploration. It is presented through the following five strands: computational thinking; collaboration; computing practice and programming; computers and communication devices; and community, global, and ethical impacts. Our

curriculum is based on the National Standards set by the Computer Science Teachers Association. Beginning in fourth grade (and through 12th grade), students have school-issued laptops as part of the “one-to-one” technology program at Friends.

Computational thinking is an approach to defining and then solving problems in ways that can be implemented with a computer. Our students experience collaboration most often in pair programming activities and in the collection and analysis of data. Computing practice and programming involve exploring the use of programming to solve problems. Topics under computers and communication devices include teaching about computing devices in everyday life and how to troubleshoot commonly encountered software and hardware issues. Whenever a new technology is introduced to students, we engage them in discussion around the impacts of that technology.

PERFORMING ARTS: OVERVIEW

Children’s play is the foundation of a performing arts education. Speech, song, movement, and dramatic play combine to actively engage learners with the elements of music, movement, and drama. As students create music by chanting, singing, playing instruments, and moving, they learn 21st-century skills such as creative expression, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.

Through a sequential program encouraging active participation and self-expression, students develop musical understanding and appreciation. The music curriculum is coordinated with other classroom lessons - social science, for example - so that students might learn music from cultural traditions they are studying, or so that composer biographies are timed to fit with other biographical studies.

Opportunities to participate in dramatic performance and dramatic play are woven throughout the curriculum, further developing creativity and self-expression. Through lower school, students cultivate a sense of themselves as creative and expressive individuals with responsibilities to a larger community, grow increasingly comfortable with risk-taking, learn movement and drama skills, and develop critical and creative thinking skills.

All students perform in winter and spring concerts, Opportunities to particiand every fifth-grade stupate in dramatic perfordent performs in a spring mance and dramatic play musical theater producare woven throughout tion. Fourth and fifth grade students may choose to the curriculum, further participate in band, and developing creativity and fifth grade students may self-expression. also choose to participate in choir —no auditions required.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION: OVERVIEW The mission of the Physical Education Department at WFS is to promote lifelong learning through physical activity, exercise, and sport while supporting students in making health-conscious decisions, meeting challenges, and participating in mentally positive behaviors.

The lower school physical education curriculum offers children the opportunity to develop their physical and social-emotional skills. The program is spiraling and sequential, offering ageappropriate games, activities, and fitness opportunities. Effort, empathy, cooperation, communication, and healthy risk-taking are emphasized and are considered essential components of a student’s growth as an athlete and community member.

VISUAL ARTS: OVERVIEW All lower school students receive formal Visual Arts instruction. Two art teachers lead the program at the lower school, teaching the core Visual Arts curriculum in an interdisciplinary fashion. The Visual Arts program is designed to be a vehicle for creative and personal discovery, in which students learn about themselves, their environment, world cultures, and the history of the visual arts. The program provides an ongoing exploration of concepts, techniques, and materials designed to develop each student’s ability to create innovative visual solutions. Students are encouraged to express themselves with joy, imagination, clarity, responsibility, and skill, and at all grade levels are encouraged to explore personal solutions to assignments.

LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER/INFORMATION LITERACY: OVERVIEW The Library Media Center (LMC) is an integral part of the lower school education program, fostering lifelong enthusiasm for the process of learning and for reading, developing an appreciation for different cultures through literature and non-fiction research, teaching specific learning skills, and developing students’ sense of responsibility in using a shared resource. We recognize that students retain skills best when our lessons are taught in the context of the classroom curriculum, so information-seeking strategies and other library-related skills are taught in various subject areas. Our program is based on the National Standards set by the American Association of School Librarians entitled Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

Teaching units are planned closely with classroom teachers, and lessons are integrated based on a unique combination of the Big Six Information Problem Solving Model as well as the I-Search model of inquiry. We have meshed the idea of the Big Six, which is a more linear approach to research, with I-Search to emphasize our interest in having students follow their interests.

The Big Six addresses essential steps of research, including task definition, locating and evaluating information, and presenting 6

information. I-Search, originally developed by Macrorie for the collegiate level, has been successfully adapted to the elementary level and is an excellent construct for multi-disciplinary learning. I-Search is designed to recognize inquiry as a non-linear process. It spirals as learners adapt new perceptions and new queries. Students become immersed in the topic by constructing good questions. Students WFS offers a distincdevelop ownership of the tive model in which topic because they choose it.

They feel empowered and information literacy is motivated to discover the interwoven with technolanswers. Journal writing is ogy so that students are built into this model; students practicing their skills in become more reflective and the most meaningful way deepen their awareness of possible. their topic and the process.

WFS offers a distinctive model in which information literacy is interwoven with technology so that students are practicing their skills in the most meaningful way possible. Students are introduced to many ways of organizing and presenting their ideas, from programs like Inspiration and Microsoft Office to Web 2.0 tools like Voicethread, Glogster, and Google Docs. At age-appropriate levels, students are introduced to Internet safety and their role in becoming good digital citizens. We embrace opportunities to collaborate with other students as well as other communities and cultures with a firm belief that sharing increases opportunities for global learning.

Additionally, the Library hosts author/illustrator visits to further the appreciation of literature. We have hosted Newbery authors Grace Lin and Rita Garcia-Williams, as well as Nick Bruel, Nancy Carol Willis, Kevin O’Malley, Peter Catalanotto, and Kate Klise; we have Zoomed with other classrooms as well as with poet/author Debbie Levy. The library contracts for speakers from the Delaware Humanities Council to enhance the classroom curriculum. The Library also coordinates interactive webcasts to connect students with authors and other experts.

HUMAN DYNAMICS AND DEVELOPMENT Human Dynamics and Development is a cross-divisional (lower, middle, and upper school) program at Wilmington Friends, encompassing social and emotional awareness, interpersonal relationships, and healthy living habits, including strategies and processes for making informed decisions. In the lower school, the program has division objectives regarding the development of a child’s self-concept and relationships with others. Themes in lower school Human Dynamics and Development include treating others with respect, building community, peaceful resolution of conflict, appropriate expression of emotions, taking healthy risks, increasing independence and self-reliance, and making informed and healthy choices.

Preschool Child-Centered Learning

Beyond its fidelity to best practices related to early childhood education, our preschool is guided by Quaker values and the understanding that young children can and should be at the forefront in decisions about what and how they learn. Our program emphasizes community and responsibility, with respect for each individual, through practices that encourage studentinitiated exploration. Recent research in neuroscience and longterm outcomes of early childhood programs has reinforced the value of this approach as a foundation for future learning and the development of so-called 21st-century skills. The programs that are most effective focus on developing young children’s capacity to construct knowledge, rather than on dispensing information with rigid instructions.

In our program, students’ interests and questions help determine the course of the learning process, with the teacher as a guide. Opportunities for self-expression are frequent and varied, and student work is documented regularly. Our program encourages students to reflect on and to inquire more deeply into what they are thinking and doing. An emphasis on play is at the heart of our early learning program.

As is true of other learning spaces at the lower school, the preschool classroom is designed to encourage creative thinking and collaboration, and there is significant focus on building a learning community with a sense of mutual respect and responsibility.

Language Arts

Preschool children are rapidly acquiring language, experimenting with verbal sounds and beginning to use language to solve problems and to learn concepts. The program seeks to make the most of the opportunity presented by this developmental stage. A key focus in the classroom is daily exposure to children’s literature, reciting poems and rhymes, and singing songs.

Objectives for receptive language development include following one-step directions and engaging in auditory and visual discrimination when recalling stories and songs. Children work with various manipulatives to develop fine motor skills; they utilize drawing and writing materials, and learn to cut with scissors. Children are encouraged and actively supported in using language skills to articulate their wants, needs, and thoughts throughout the day, in their communications with teachers and classmates.

Mathematics

Preschool students explore mathematical concepts each day.

They are exposed to numbers, counting, shapes, and colors through hands-on activities, everyday routines, and interactions with their outdoor environment. Counting, sorting, and patterning are incorporated into daily transitions, small group activities, and gross motor activities. Additional mathematical activities include comparing objects by size, shape, and color.

Math through literature is also a key element in exposing chil-

dren to new concepts and language to help support mathematical understanding.

Science

Preschool students are engaged in multi-sensory science experiences throughout the year. These activities encourage children to observe, predict, estimate, count, measure, record, discuss, and develop an appreciation for living things.

Social Studies

Appropriate to the age of our preschool students, social studies topics are examined through the children’s personal experience and the experiences of people around them. Students are encouraged to share their family traditions and celebrations with classmates, and teachers seek to provide additional resources, from within and outside of school, to help students develop an appreciation of different cultures. Students are active members of their classroom community, taking on “jobs” that demonstrate a shared responsibility for classroom management, and they engage in service learning that contributes to the broader community as well.

Visual Arts

The preschool visual arts program respects the ability of each child and honors the belief that young children can construct meaningful knowledge and understanding. The goal of the visual arts program in these early years is to promote individual imagination and creativity, communication with others, and the joy of creating group projects together.

Performing Arts

Preschool students have many opportunities to sing, move, and listen to music. They participate in regular movement and music classes in support of daily exposure to music in the classroom. Students explore tone and rhythm, and elements of sound, silence, space, and time in children’s songs, traditional folk songs, seasonal music, and with instruments.

Pre-kindergarten Child-Centered Learning

As with our preschool program, the pre-kindergarten program is guided by Quaker values and draws on best practices in early childhood education. Our program emphasizes community and responsibility, with respect for each individual, through practices that encourage student-initiated exploration.

Language Arts

Through immersion in a literature- and language-rich environment, pre-kindergarten students begin their journey to literacy.

Our focus is on developing reading and writing readiness through multi-sensory experiences and direct and explicit phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, with an emphasis on auditory and visual discrimination, listening skills, and spoken language development. Sample objectives for pre-kindergarten students in receptive language include learning to recognize 7

rhyming patterns, following multi-step directions, and engaging in auditory discrimination with phoneme units. In expressive language, objectives include students appropriately expressing their feelings and recalling and restating facts and sequences from stories read aloud. Students also begin to create and share their own stories through storytelling and illustration. Toward goals specific to reading readiness, students learn to identify letter sounds and to discriminate letters and words; they are introduced to beginning consonant sounds, and learn to recognize upper and lower-case letters. They experience the functionality of written words in a variety of contexts, and are asked to demonstrate left-to-right directionality. Fine motor activities are also emphasized as children learn to write their uppercase letters, refine their pencil grip, and explore small manipulatives.

Mathematics

Students in pre-kindergarten experience math through a variety of hands-on, everyday activities like taking attendance and learning to interpret the class calendar. They are exposed to math terminology and incorporate it into their vocabulary.

Students gain a foundation for number sense and mathematical operations by learning to count with one-to-one correspondence, reading numerals, and developing an understanding of the value of numbers (e.g., by matching a number to a set).

Pre-kindergarten students work extensively with patterns, space, shape, and measurement as foundations of algebra and geometry. Our pre-kindergarten mathematicians also learn to classify objects, to recognize patterns in data, to make graphs, and to estimate and hypothesize.

Science

Pre-kindergarten science focuses on hands-on, discoverybased experiences related to classroom themes and children’s interests. These activities, as well as field trips that support the lessons, provide students with the opportunity to develop an appreciation for the life cycles of living things and to discuss their observations about the world in which they live. Students learn to recognize similarities and differences, often recording characteristics like size, color, shape, and weight. Through guided instruction, pre-kindergarten students make observations using the five senses. Using appropriate tools, students are encouraged to communicate, classify, predict, and infer about the world around them.

Social Studies

Pre-kindergarten students first approach social studies by building self-awareness. They learn and communicate about themselves, their feelings and ideas, their responsibility for their actions independently and interactively (e.g., sharing), their capacity for self-reliance, and their uniqueness in identity and in what they can contribute. Students broaden their study to family, including a sharing of traditions and celebrations, and then to a more global view through an introduction to celebrations from around the world, fostering an early appreciation for a variety of cultures.

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Spanish

In pre-kindergarten, students explore Spanish through songs, movement, and stories. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, the course builds foundational listening and speaking skills while introducing basic greetings, everyday concepts, and Hispanic cultures.

Performing Arts

The pre-kindergarten program offers a variety of experiences in singing, moving, listening, and playing, with activities that encourage both group cooperation and the expression of individuality and independence. Students explore the elements of sound, silence, space, and time. They echo tonal and rhythmic patterns, master the concept and production of a steady beat, and distinguish between sounds produced in different ways and by different sources. Dance activities emphasize following a rhythm and interpreting tempo and dynamics through movement. Those and other activities help lay the foundation for more formal study of rhythm, melody, and musical notation and dynamics.

Physical Education

Using a variety of materials and activities, pre-kindergarten students are engaged in movement activities that develop foundation skills. Understanding and negotiating the physical environment and integrating locomotion with levels and pathways are fundamental principles during the pre-kindergarten year. Students also learn how to handle equipment safely and properly.

Visual Arts

The pre-kindergarten visual arts program respects the ability of each child and honors the belief that young children can construct meaningful knowledge and understanding. The goal of the visual arts program in these early years is to promote individual imagination and creativity, communication with others, and the joy of creating group projects together.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

Students are introduced to the idea that the materials in the LMC have a specific order. Children begin to use the borrowing and returning procedures of the LMC. They are also taught responsible library behavior, including care of and responsibility for shared resources. They learn the roles of author and illustrator; and when listening to literature, they are asked to predict outcomes and to relate stories to personal experiences.

Respectful listening skills are emphasized, including focus on the person reading or telling the story. Pre-kindergarten students are also introduced to book selection, as they identify areas of interest and favorite authors. Recognizing that children of this age learn in kinesthetic ways, they engage in a variety of hands-on activities to engage this learning style. They participate in acting out stories, engaging in authentic experiences, and visiting/working in role-playing environments.

Kindergarten

Language Arts

In kindergarten, students work on the specific reading and writing skills they need to become literate learners. Through a variety of approaches, students further develop their phonological awareness, learn the sound-symbol relationship, and increase their inventory of sight words. In reading readiness, skills include blending syllables and sounds orally into words.

Students identify and separate words into beginning, medial, and ending sounds. Read-alouds from a broad selection of genres and authors heighten students’ pleasure in books and provide enhanced vocabulary as well as exposure to literature and information. Kindergarten students develop their ability to listen for content and to predict possible story outcomes.

Students become more involved in the process of writing and develop a conceptual understanding of print as “talk written down.” Expressive language is emphasized, as students convey feelings, ideas, fantasies, and observations verbally and in drawing and writing. There is an increasing emphasis throughout the year on expressing ideas with text, which includes phonetic spellings and learned words. Handwriting strokes and writing conventions are taught concurrently throughout the year.

Mathematics

Kindergarten students explore four main topics: number, measurement, geometry, and operations. Throughout the year, they work on visualizing numbers as sets through a process called subitizing. In their number unit, they work on verbal counting, sorting, and cardinal numbers. In measurement, they focus on length and weight using non-standard measurements.

Geometry focuses on spatial relationships as well as shape and geometric attributes. Lastly, in operations, they work on more number visualization, addition and subtraction stories, and developing fluency with addition and subtraction to 10.

Science Kindergarten scientists begin asking big questions like: What happens when I push or pull something? Why do animals live in certain places? How does the weather change from day to day? They explore patterns in local weather, investigate how objects move, and discover what plants and animals need to survive. Through hands-on experiences, students learn to observe, ask questions, and begin developing simple models and solutions. These foundational experiences nurture curiosity and help students make sense of the world around them.

Social Studies

As in pre-kindergarten, students in kindergarten continue to focus on their sense of identity as it relates to their family and their classroom, expanding to the school community and the idea of community responsibility more generally, with global parallels explored along the way. Through active participation, students are encouraged to develop responsibility and to make independent decisions while gaining an appreciation for the ways in which others contribute to classroom and school life.

Conflict resolution skills are modeled, and students begin to assume independent responsibility for them. Students strengthen collaborative skills through work and play as partners, in small groups, and with their entire class. Stewardship and service learning play a formative role in this process.

Students also continue to develop an appreciation for diversity among individuals and cultures. By engaging in the study of assigned topics, students develop observational skills and broaden their view of the world around them. The introduction of research skills enables students to develop an awareness of the range of available resources to find answers to their questions.

As in pre-k, students in kindergarten continue to focus on their sense of identity as it relates to their family and their classroom, expanding to the school community and the idea of community responsibility more generally, with global parallels explored along the way.

Spanish

In kindergarten, students learn and practice basic conversational routines in Spanish, including asking simple questions, following classroom directions, and expressing preferences.

Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, the course builds everyday vocabulary, such as numbers, days, body parts, and weather, through songs, movement, and storytelling while celebrating Hispanic art, food, and cultural traditions.

Computer Science

Students at this level are introduced to basic computer hardware and software terminology that is relevant to their work.

Kindergarten students are introduced to programming using physical robots (Beebots and Roamer) and transition their programming skills using a graphical Logo programming environment. We emphasize at this early age the importance of planning and thinking about a program before attempting to execute it. In these environments, they also explore math concepts such as non-standard measurement. Class discussions involve robots, how they are different from humans, and how they can be helpful to society. Math applications are also used, reinforcing concepts taught in the homebase classroom.

Performing Arts

Kindergarten students participate in activities with increasing attention to accuracy; where any thoughtful response might have been encouraged in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten students are guided toward an accurate musical response to help them develop a vocabulary of musical sounds and movements.

Throughout the year, students focus on patterns, rhymes, tempo, and dynamics. Students continue to work with percussion instruments (pitched and unpitched) and begin to distinguish characteristics (e.g., ascending vs. descending) of melodic phrases.

Physical Education

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Kindergarten students develop an understanding of the physical environment in which they move. Locomotion and nonlocomotor movements, in self-space and general space, allow children an opportunity to develop and explore their individual skills in a safe physical environment.

Visual Arts

Students in kindergarten develop basic skills of drawing, cutting, and the use of attachment methods, while still focusing on self-expression and personal exploration in a process-centered environment. As concepts and new materials are introduced— including the elements of design, line, shape, color, texture, and pattern, which are revisited throughout the year—projects continue to be open-ended and process- rather than productdriven. Students explore both two- and three-dimensional materials. Units are coordinated with and integrated into the homebase classroom curriculum.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

Kindergarten students continue to use the borrowing and return procedures of the LMC. They also learn to name two possible sources of information to answer a question and begin to work more formally in groups to pursue and generate information. As part of the coordination of LMC teaching with classroom curricular goals, the students experience “authentic learning” activities, such as acting out nursery rhymes. They continue to participate in both listening and interactive story times, drama groups, and individual consultations for book selection.

Kindergarten students learn basic terms and functions of the computer, and acquire foundation skills such as how to use the mouse, log on and off a network, open and close folders, and start and quit programs. They learn the basics of keyboarding (left-hand versus right-hand keys, space bar, delete key, and shift key). They also create artwork in graphics programs and begin to transfer skills between programs. With careful teacher guidance, students begin to explore the Internet as a source of information and means of communication, viewing selected web pages. The i-SAFE curriculum is used to teach Internet safety topics.

First Grade

Language Arts

First-grade students continue to develop their decoding ability, reading fluency, and sight word recognition. Comprehension of written text develops through setting a purpose for reading, implementation of reading strategies, and discussion of story elements. In addition, students’ understanding of new vocabulary words helps to strengthen their comprehension. Students are exposed to various genres, both through reading and in directed writing assignments. They also undertake their first research study, using library resources and preparing a final project. First grade is a year of tremendous progress in writing. First graders work on punctuation, grammar, and editing skills, as well as phonetic spelling and handwriting. Specific 10

decoding objectives include using sound-syllable relationships, understanding word patterns and families, and a beginning structural analysis of words.

Mathematics First graders focus on four critical areas: adding and subtracting numbers to 20; building understanding of the relationships between whole numbers and place value, with practice grouping into tens and ones; developing an understanding of linear measurement using non-traditional units; and exploring geometric shapes and their attributes. The use of ten frames, number bonds, and other pictorial tools is highlighted as a way to strengthen mental math skills.

Science

First graders explore the natural world by observing patterns in the sky, investigating light and sound, and learning how animal and plant structures help them survive. One of the highlights of the year is a cross-curricular unit on monarch butterflies, developed in collaboration with Spanish, art, and homebase classrooms. In science, stuThrough expiriments, dents observe the life cycle of the monarch—from egg to models, and hands-on activites, students begin caterpillar to butterfly—and investigate wing coloring and to build essential scimigration. The unit culmience skills such as asking nates with students modeling questions, making obsermonarchs as they “migrate” vations, and identifying through the school to Mexico patterns in the world as part of the Day of the around them.

Dead celebration in Spanish class. Through experiments, models, and hands-on activities, students begin to build essential science skills such as asking questions, making observations, and identifying patterns in the world around them.

Social Science

Students in first grade use the theme of “Wants vs. Needs” as the focus for social studies. The year begins with a unit on the wants and needs of the class, the individuals in the class, and the school community. Students also begin to learn about the services that enable neighborhoods and cities to function.

Through the study of cities in the United States, including Wilmington, and in Spanish-speaking countries, the students are able to recognize how cities are organized to meet the wants and needs of their citizens. First graders also take a close look at more rural and suburban areas in the U.S. and abroad to understand some differences between urban, suburban, and rural settings, as well as the different ways in which wants and needs are met. Throughout this work, students develop map and citizenship skills and an awareness of similarities and differences among individuals and communities.

Spanish

In first grade, students continue building their Spanish skills by practicing basic conversational routines, telling time, and expanding their vocabulary to include numbers 1–39, family,

nature, and community life. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, the course introduces beginning reading in Spanish while exploring Mexican geography, history, traditions, art, music, Aztec culture, and Monarch migration through stories, music, and interactive activities.

Computer Science

First-grade students continue to build and transfer their programming knowledge using both physical and graphical programming environments, such as Scratch Jr. and KIBO. Math applications are also used to reinforce concepts taught in the homebase classroom.

Performing Arts

In first grade, students begin to understand the conceptual foundations of music, and they learn to identify symbols and terminology such as the repeat sign, dynamics, forte, piano, tempo, meter, accent, bar line, time signature, and introduction. Through a variety of activities, students begin a more formal sequential study of rhythm and melody. For example, first graders listen to recorded music focusing on particular elements, such as distinguishing between duple (simple) and triple (compound) rhythms, and they perform more complex rhythmic and melodic exercises, like singing and playing rounds. First graders also continue to develop their ability for aural recognition of instruments (like violin and trumpet), and learn to identify the basic orchestral instruments and their families.

Physical Education

First graders engage in fitness activities while continuing to develop their foundation skills. Children are introduced to multi-step directions while becoming more sophisticated in their knowledge and use of shuttle, relay, and line formations.

Lead-up and tag games, utilizing concepts and skills that underlie team sports, are also introduced. First graders develop an understanding of fair play, safety, and cooperation through group play.

Visual Arts

The first-grade visual arts experiences are connected to student interests, their environment, and other disciplines.

Students explore concepts and topics that include the elements of design and ways that artists use and organize them. They engage collaboratively to generate ideas and discover ways of using various tools and techniques. Some of the projects at this level may involve multiple sessions. Each project is designed to accommodate students at their own level of development.

Open studio sessions have been interspersed between assignments to allow students investigative choices. They paint, print, draw, collage, weave, and sculpt. First graders also design portfolios that are kept in the studio as a way of organizing and storing their works in progress. They produce visual art journals that will be revisited periodically throughout their lower school experience. It is in these journals that students will document their learning using vocabulary that describes the concepts and their personal solutions to assignments. Stu-

dents will contribute their own work to ongoing group

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

First graders become increasingly sophisticated in their approach to information sources, acquiring a conceptual understanding of citing sources and developing their ability to read for information and to take notes with adult assistance. In two different units, they work together to identify and categorize facts. They learn to approach a research topic by examining many different library books in a “book tasting.” First graders continue to participate in drama groups and increase their book selection skills through individual consultation with the library staff.

First-grade students expand their understanding of computer terminology and function. They add skills in keyboarding and word processing and learn to highlight, edit, and proofread text. Since they begin to do more story writing in first grade, students use tools to assist them in planning and brainstorming.

They also begin to use a greater variety of tools for creating and manipulating graphics, increase their understanding of the Internet, and begin to define its place in information-seeking and problem-solving strategies they learn in the integrated curricula of the homebase classroom and the Library Media Center.

Internet safety is woven into every topic that is taught.

Second Grade Language Arts

Second-grade students develop reading comprehension and fluency through a variety of experiences, including reading independently, in pairs, and in larger groups. They make more sophisticated inferences and predictions, draw conclusions, and differentiate between fiction and non-fiction. Second graders deepen their understanding of spelling patterns, phonics, and word structures. In their writing, students learn to organize their thoughts, improve their handwriting, and use proper writing mechanics. A growing awareness of parts of speech is also developed. There is a greater emphasis beginning in second grade on following written (as well as oral) directions, and on moving beyond phonetic spelling, as students proofread their work using tools such as a personal dictionary and an editing checklist. The basics of process writing are developed further, including writing narratives, opinion pieces, and non-fiction research projects.

Mathematics Second graders continue to develop their understanding of place value and number patterning, and to work on strengthening their mastery of addition and subtraction facts. Using a variety of strategies, including algorithms, students work on adding and subtracting three-digit numbers. Second graders apply addition and subtraction skills to real-world problem solving and begin to use bar modeling to visualize word problems. Second graders learn basic geometry concepts, telling time, and measurement. Students also begin working with basic multiplication facts and fractions.

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Science

As second graders continue their science journey in Lower School, they investigate how the land changes over time and what natural forces—like wind and water—cause those changes. Students explore the phases of matter, observing how materials can be similar or different, and how the properties of materials relate to their use in everyday life. They also explore how matter can be changed by heating or cooling, discovering that some changes are reversible and others are not. Students become budding botanists as they investigate what plants need to grow and explore how many types of living things can thrive in a particular place. Through observation, classification, and hands-on experiments, second graders deepen their understanding of the world around them.

Social Science

Highlights of the second-grade social studies curriculum include a study of how ideas, innovations, and human choice impact communities. A hallmark of the year is the Second Grade Wax Museum, where each student embodies a person who has made a positive impact on the world. Like other units, this study incorporates research, including the organization and synthesis of ideas. Second-graders also study the state of Delaware, as well as a study of inventors (problem-solvers), which leads to the research and development of their own invention.

Spanish

In second grade, students continue building their Spanish skills by practicing everyday conversational routines, exchanging personal information, and expanding their vocabulary to include numbers 1–100, family, nature, home and school life, and expressions of personal preferences. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes such as the Wax Museum, the course deepens oral and written communication while exploring Puerto Rican geography, history, Taíno culture, and traditions through stories, music, and interactive activities.

Computer Science

In the second grade curriculum, students apply math skills in a Logo programming environment. These challenges require students to look for repeating units within structures and decide how to program them most efficiently. Students are also introduced to a graphical programming environment called Blockly that they use to program a suite of Wonder Robots.

Performing Arts

Continuing the sequential study of the fundamentals of music, the rhythmic and melodic material gradually increases in complexity. Second graders are introduced to more involved exercises and are required to master more challenging listening, instrument-playing, reading, and writing skills. Students learn both aural and visual recognition of repeated, similar, and different phrases in music, and begin to label them as A, B, and C to derive form. They practice recognition of material from notation (without hearing it), and compose and write notation for short songs and rhymes. Second graders continue to expand 12

their musical vocabulary to include terms such as timbre, crescendo, and decrescendo.

Physical Education

Second graders participate in games with three or more rules, with a continued emphasis on fair play and safety issues related to movement. They integrate foundation skills with basic sport skills in simple lead-up games and cooperative activities.

Visual Arts

The second grade curriculum continues with concept-oriented projects, which last for consecutive classes. The topics and themes continue to connect visual arts with student interests, their environment, and other disciplines. Works are created using a variety of visual arts concepts, tools, and techniques, including drawing, painting, rubbing, printing, and sculpting.

These students explore various elements of design, introduced in the previous year, in more The second grade curdepth. Color, texture, shape, and form are revisited in each riculum continues with concept-oriented projassignment. During open ects which last for constudio sessions, students collaborate, work independently, secutive classes. The topgenerate and investigate ics and themes continue personal ideas, and turn ideas to connect visual arts into works of art. Using tools with student interests, appropriately and with care, their environment, and repurposing and fabricating other disciplines. forms needed for creations are also recurring themes.

Students are encouraged to talk about their work, respond to the works of others, and document each project in their ongoing journals. Throughout the year, they will produce works for and curate several group displays.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

With growing independence, second graders locate their own books and learn to choose titles that match both their interests and reading level. They develop research skills through skimming and scanning, extracting information from varied sources, and planning individual and group projects with more formal written and oral reports. Nonfiction is a focus; an in-depth biography unit explores how people change the world and culminates in an annual event where students deliver biographical speeches and present web-based posters with research and video. Book tastings, book talks, drama, and an interdisciplinary bird unit weaving art, science, and literature continue throughout the year. Art, science, and literature are interwoven in a rich unit that includes outdoor observation and identification of birds in their natural habitat. Children then return to the Art Studio to create drawings of birds they have seen.

In technology, second graders expand general computer skills while learning about servers, networks, and document management. They begin two-handed keyboarding, continue work in graphics and multimedia, and are introduced to Web 2.0 technologies. Students grow more sophisticated in navigating

selected web pages, and Internet safety is woven throughout all projects.

Third Grade

Language Arts

Third grade is the year when children transition from learning to read to reading to learn. They become readers with a purpose. Working with realistic fiction, mysteries, fantasy, nonfiction, and poetry, students learn to use observations to make inferences and dig for deeper meaning in the text. They sharpen their decoding skills through word study and the use of context clues. Students learn techniques for finding, processing, and understanding information, and for explaining the information in their own words. In third grade, students develop their writing skills through an integrated approach within the social studies units. They learn to inform, persuade, entertain, and reflect. They become more adept at expressing and organizing their ideas clearly and sequentially in paragraphs. Revising and editing skills enhance their final pieces. Students also learn how to read and write in cursive.

Mathematics

Third graders continue to develop their mental math skills by deconstructing numbers with a focus on multiplication and division facts. They use these skills to add and subtract three-digit numbers with regrouping, and multiply and divide multiple-digit numbers. Students develop their ability to solve two-step word problems through the use of bar models. They work more extensively with fractions, learning to compare and find equivalent fractions. Geometry becomes more sophisticated as vocabulary broadens to include types and properties of lines, angles, and polygons, including parallel and perpendicular lines.

Science

Third graders explore weather patterns around the world and investigate ways to reduce the impact of weather-related hazards. They study how plants and animals grow, inherit traits, and adapt to environmental changes, including how life today compares to life in the past. Students investigate balanced and unbalanced forces, as well as magnetic interactions, to understand how motion and design are connected. Throughout the year, students ask questions, conduct investigations, and use evidence to explain scientific ideas and solve real-world problems.

Social Studies

Third graders explore North America, with a focus on the regions of the United States. Using the concept of “Stewardship” as the central theme for their studies, students learn the definition of stewardship and sustainability. They learn how to become stewards of each other, their communities, and the world, and the relationship between stewardship and Quakerism. Students develop their research skills as they learn about states, national parks, and the Native American cultures that have been present there. The third-grade physical geography

studies include skills such as identifying various land formations and using different types of maps, depending on the information needed.

Spanish

In third grade, students expand their Spanish communication by answering questions in complete sentences and applying basic grammar concepts, such as noun gender, plural forms, and simple verb conjugations. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, including environmental stewardship, the course builds vocabulary around landforms, weather, seasons, sports, and daily life. Students deepen their reading and writing skills while exploring Guatemalan geography, history, music, and traditional handicrafts through stories and interactive activities.

Computer Science

Basic programming skills continue to develop, as students are introduced to the Scratch graphical programming language and programming concepts such as sequencing, iteration, conditional statements, event handling, variables, and synchronization. Third graders begin to explore how external technologies, such as LEGO WeDo, can be used with Scratch. This allows them to begin to build and experiment with Scratch, to turn on motors, and to manipulate gears and pulleys in their LEGO creations.

Performing Arts

By the end of third grade, students acquire a sound understanding of the musical notation system. The curriculum in music continues to be coordinated with classroom study, and math skills are reinforced as students learn note values and time signatures. Third graders begin instruction on the soprano recorder. They also continue to expand their musical knowledge and vocabulary—learning, for example, to distinguish between major and minor tonalities and to understand terms and concepts such as staccato, legato, and syncopation.

Physical Education

Third graders participate in a variety of team sports. Through team play and experience following the specific rules for each activity, students learn about positive social interaction, selfcontrol, self-discipline, and sportsmanship. Third graders use their conflict resolution skills in more competitive settings and learn to understand increasingly complex class and game rules.

Third graders engage in activities that combine locomotion, force, and time with manipulation skills.

Visual Arts

In third grade, assignments increase in depth and complexity.

An overriding theme is realistic imagery, which involves observing the world around us with attention. Manipulative skills - such as drawing and painting, modeling, and three-dimensional construction - continue to develop. Design elements, principles, and multi-disciplinary themes are combined with visual arts concepts. At this level, craftsmanship and organizational skills become more important in the studio process. Students 13

explore a variety of techniques, and displays are produced to present the learning outcomes. Students are given opportunities to respond to each other’s works and to reflect on their own works in their ongoing art journals.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

In third grade, students grow more independent across the steps of the I-Search model — evaluating information needs, locating books by call number, taking notes from and citing varied sources, and using reference materials including encyclopedias, databases, and e-books. The LMC work connects closely with curricular themes, and book tastings and genre-focused book talks continue to broaden their reading lives.

Formal lessons introduce mind mapping, outlining, and Web 2.0 presentation tools, and students blog about books to share and learn from peers. This grade marks a significant shift in applications, as students transfer prior skills to a wider range of tools — navigating multiple open documents and working between applications. In multimedia, they design presentations with three or more slides; on the Internet, they develop keyword strategies, compare search approaches, and begin using online databases. The Big 6 information skills are introduced as a framework for electronic research, and Internet safety is woven throughout all projects.

units, drawing and interpreting graphs, and several different geometry topics. These topics cover measuring angles using a protractor, understanding the properties of squares and rectangles, and calculating perimeter and area. Fourth grade students also learn to identify triangles and other polygons by their attributes. Students are asked to work collaboratively on open-ended problems where more than one solution may exist as well as complete enrichment opportunities to enhance their problem-solving skills.

A key component of our program is the use of models that are taught from three perspectives: the concrete, the pictorial, and the abstract. As students work through each of The fourth grade math these models, they become program focuses on proficient at representing their knowledge in multiple number operations using multi-digit numbers, ways. They use manipulatives, both concrete and algebraic patterns, fracvirtual, to explore topics tions, measurement and when they are first introdata, and geometry. duced. They are then able to explain, both verbally and through writing, their thinking about different types of problems. In addition, students are taught to use the bar modeling approach to problem solving, an approach that emphasizes making representative Language Arts drawings of a word problem before solving it. “Estimating before calculating” is reinforced when utilizing the learned Fourth-grade students read from several genres, including a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts. They read both assigned standard algorithms. Mental math strategies are encouraged and practiced throughout the year. materials and books that they choose, and are expected to report on their reading, both in writing and orally. Fourth graders use context clues more in their reading, with greater attention Science to cause and effect in a story. Within the variety of material, Fourth graders investigate how energy moves and changes inferential comprehension becomes increasingly important. The form through light, sound, heat, and electricity, and how it development of a student’s vocabulary to increase understandrelates to motion and design. They explore waves, map Earth’s ing of text is also an important aspect of our program. Students features, and examine how natural forces like water, wind, and learn how to use evidence from text to support their thoughts ice shape the land—and how humans can reduce their impact. and ideas. Learning to analyze word patterns and structures Students also study how the internal and external structures of adds to the students’ understanding of the English language. In plants and animals support survival, growth, and reproduction. developing their writing skills, students are expected, as they A highlight of the year is the Electric Invention Convention, progress through fourth grade, to use correct punctuation and where students apply their knowledge of circuits and creativity sentence structure, to demonstrate an increasing understanding to design and build original electric inventions to share with the of formal grammar as it applies to effective writing skills, and to lower school community. develop ideas effectively into paragraphs. Fourth graders also grow more independent in the process of editing and revising.

Fourth Grade

Social Studies

Mathematics

The fourth grade math program focuses on number operations using multi-digit numbers, algebraic patterns, rational numbers, measurement and data, and geometry. Students learn how to recognize and extend algebraic patterns, find factors and multiples, and solve word problems involving the four basic operations, including multi-digit multiplication and long division. They also learn how to compare and order fractions, find equivalent fractions, and use decimal notation. Other key topics include measuring with metric units, converting 14

The theme of “How Communities and Societies Organize Themselves” is emphasized throughout the social studies units of fourth grade. Students learn about the different systems by which people organize communities and societies, and about the role and function of government. Past units have included the Paleolithic era, the Norse culture, Ancient African Kingdoms, Ancient Greece and Rome, the Age of Exploration, colonial life, the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and a student-created Mini-society. Students develop research and information literacy skills in conjunction with technology such as Google Docs, databases, and websites. Their research

is based on finding, evaluating, and synthesizing information to explore and express new understandings.

Spanish

In fourth grade, students expand their fluency in Spanish comprehension and oral expression through everyday classroom and personal interactions. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, the course develops student vocabulary, number fluency up to 1,000, and questioning skills. Students deepen their communication while exploring Spain’s history, geography, sports, currency, art, and architecture, as well as Spain’s cultural influence throughout Hispanic America.

Computer Science Students continue working in the Scratch graphical programming environment and use it to explore probability. They also program games and use external technologies to control them.

Parforming Arts

As students progress in developing their musical understanding and skills, there is growing emphasis on accuracy, facility, and clarity. In addition to refining their singing and instrumental techniques and undertaking more challenging pieces, fourth graders also learn to recognize a greater variety of instruments by name and family and a greater variety of musical styles (jazz, folk, classical, etc.) and forms such as fugue. They also develop their knowledge and use of musical notation and structure, working in a greater variety of meters, key signatures, forms, and harmonic combinations and changes. Their vocabularies continue to grow with symbols and terms like natural, Allegro, Andante, and fermata. Fourth graders also have the option of participating in band.

Physical Education

Fourth graders continue to participate in team sports with an emphasis on physical and social skills. Age-appropriate progressions allow fourth graders to develop accuracy while throwing, striking, and kicking from static and dynamic positions. They become more efficient in carrying and manipulating objects during skill and drill work and in lead-up games.

Visual Arts

Students in fourth grade continue working with multi-disciplinary themes for many of the studio projects. Working with both two and three-dimensional materials, students use their knowledge of visual arts structures and functions to compose works and communicate ideas. Students manipulate the elements of design in sculpture and on a picture plane, and organize the elements with thought given to the principles of unity, balance, scale, contrast, and rhythm. In fourth grade, students are beginning to recognize perspective drawing. Visual images of masterworks from a variety of cultures and time periods are used on an ongoing basis to inspire greater appreciation for artistic movements and techniques. This group of students also explores cultural symbols and patterns. All assignments are recorded in their student art journals while using proper vocabulary and terminology.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

By fourth grade, students develop independence in locating materials and using information, as well as comparing and contrasting sources for relevance, consistency, and comprehensiveness, and begin identifying inconsistencies across materials.

Reading for information is strongly emphasized, with lessons focused on highlighting keywords, citing sources, and paraphrasing. Genre and new-acquisition book talks continue, and the I-Search Model anchors a nonfiction unit in which students explore personal interests, practice diverse note-taking strategies, and focus on translating notes into original work.

In technology, fourth graders take on more challenging projects across multimedia presentations, Internet and database research, spreadsheets, and word processing. They work more independently, using a wider range of electronic databases guided

by I-Search skills, and have regularly scheduled keyboarding practice. Students are also asked to think more critically about the tools and resources they use. Internet safety is revisited with an introduction to social media and responsible use, and students work more extensively with Web 2.0 technologies.

Fifth Grade Language Arts

Fifth grade is a culminating step in the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Students use active reading skills when engaged in fiction and non-fiction texts. These skills include: summarizing material, self-monitoring, inferential thinking, using specific details from the text to support responses, and identifying and discussing literary elements. Fifth graders read both assigned materials and books that they choose.

Students are expected to communicate clearly, in both written and oral form, and to demonstrate their ability to draw inferences from both concrete and abstract materials. Our program also focuses on the development of a student’s vocabulary and word-attack skills in order to decode and understand the meaning of new words. Fifth graders develop their writing skills by adding depth and breadth to substance while applying correct sentence structure and demonstrating an increased understanding of formal grammar as it applies to effective writing. Students use their writing skills to inform, to persuade, to entertain, and to express personal ideas. There is a continuing emphasis on peer review and active participation in classroom discussions, and particular emphasis on using newly acquired vocabulary in a variety of contexts and across academic disciplines.

Mathematics

In fifth grade, students explore relationships between numbers, focusing on place value and our base-ten system. The students continue to develop their fact fluency and their ability to multiply and divide large numbers. Fifth graders study various ways to represent values less than one: decimals, fractions, and percents. Through different problem-solving strategies such as bar models, tables, and computational algorithms, they develop strategies to find solutions in all three categories, enabling them 15

to move more freely from one form of notation to another and to better select the method most relevant to a given situation.

Students develop a variety of computational and estimation strategies for multiplication and division, such as using reasoning based on multiples, approximating and adjusting, or breaking large problems down into smaller, simpler ones. They also use estimation to check the validity of their answers.

Throughout the year, students explore problems in-depth, devising their own strategies, using a variety of concrete materials, and often searching for multiple solutions. They work individually as well as in a variety of groupings as they express their thinking verbally, in writing, and through visual representation.

Science

Fifth-grade students learn how to evaluate data and evidence in order to make and substantiate claims that address scientific questions. These skills support the development of conceptual understanding and foster the ability to use knowledge to make predictions and explain phenomena. Students also engage in problem-solving activities that encourage them to develop new ideas based on previous learning.

Life science in fifth grade is explored in terms of two human body systems: the nervous system and the reproductive system.

Students discover how the three main parts of the brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem) communicate with neurons to function as a system that helps the body do all of the tasks it consciously (and subconsciously) does throughout the day.

Students explore human reproduction in terms of the physical, emotional, and social changes that people experience during puberty, and have the opportunity to learn the correct scientific/medical terminology for reproductive anatomy.

Students investigate matter and its interactions through an introductory unit on chemistry. Students practice measuring weight, volume, and length using the metric system, and document observations about matter they encounter. They design their own experiments to identify substances and predict what will happen when certain substances are combined.

The environmental science unit is designed to guide students to a deeper understanding of the complexity of environmental problems, their causes, and potential solutions. The unit stresses data collection and analysis, as well as reading for pertinent information. Students learn that all energy in ecosystems comes from the sun, and explore how energy moves through ecosystems from producers to consumers to other consumers.

Students also explore the four Earth spheres (geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere) and the ways in which they interact with one another.

Social Studies

Fifth-grade social studies is focused on particular aspects of United States history, with comparative study of the history, 16

culture, and geography of other countries around the world. Students examine how people have handled struggle and conflict, and how people stand up for what they believe and promote change in the face of injustice. Fifth graders study historical events and conflicts, making connections globally and to current events when relevant. Topics include branches of government, cultures of Western Africa, immigration, and the civil rights movement. The learning process emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, working efficiently and respectfully within a group, and informed decision making.

There is an emphasis on skill development, including note-taking, map skills, and research skills. Throughout the year, fifth graders produce research projects in a variety of styles, lengths, and manners of presentation.

Students examine how people have handled struggle and conflict, and how people stand up for what they believe and promote change in the face of injustice.

Spanish

In fifth grade, students build on a broader vocabulary to strengthen their Spanish communication, using complete sentences to express themselves, share feelings, and exchange personal details. They expand their grammatical understanding to include noun-adjective agreement, sentence structure, and simple verb conjugations. Working in collaboration with homebase and specialist teachers to support cross-curricular themes, the course enhances student writing skills and ability to ask original questions. Students put these skills into practice through an ongoing bilingual pen pal exchange. They also deepen their cultural connection by exploring Cuban history, music, authentic readings, poetry, and the evolving relationship between Cuba and the U.S.

Computer Science

Fifth-grade computer science represents the culmination of a six-year, progressive course of study. In fifth grade, students solve and code solutions to algebra and geometry problems.

They also program Finch robots, transferring their knowledge and skills from Scratch. Students continue to explore the “why” behind technology. How are various data forms stored in binary? What is the derivation of the number 1024 in the computer world?

Performing Arts

There is special emphasis on musical theatre, as fifth graders prepare for their musical production. By the end of fifth grade, students can read, write, and perform melodies and accompaniments through singing and playing classroom instruments (including the recorder). They are able to perform with independence and an understanding of a range of musical concepts, symbols, and terms. At this point in the program, many students have defined their musical preferences and take a more focused interest in musical expression and style. Fifth graders have the option of participating in band and/or choir.

Physical Education

Fifth graders continue to participate in team sports, an approach that provides leadership opportunities and helps develop efficient locomotion skills. The mechanics of bouncing, dribbling, throwing, striking, and kicking are emphasized.

Working with stationary and moving targets, students can improve visual tracking skills while integrating balance, force, and time. Sportsmanship, cooperation, and responsibility are an integral part of the program. Fitness testing and participation in strength-building and cardio-respiratory activities help students develop the habits and mindset for a healthy lifestyle.

Visual Arts

The projects presented in fifth grade are planned in conjunction with cross-disciplinary areas of study. This program is designed to guide students to new visual expression territories that will facilitate their transition to middle school. Students are exposed to surveys of past and contemporary relevant interdisciplinary works and reflective writings. They learn to analyze their own work and the work of others, including learning how to meet targets. Students participate in discussions regarding the relationship between visual expression, creativity, and responsibility, and are introduced to the potential of digital technology as an important tool of visual expression and inquiry. Technical objectives are achieved in the fields of drawing, two- and threedimensional design, painting, digital photography, and photomontage. Key works investigate overarching interdisciplinary themes, and personal journals are used to record important ideas, reflections, and future goals in areas of interest.

Library Media Center/Information Literacy

By fifth grade, students work independently through the full I-Search process — formulating strong research questions, locating and evaluating sources, and organizing and presenting findings effectively. They differentiate fact from opinion, recognize inconsistencies, and evaluate sources for currency, authenticity, and objectivity across disciplines. Students explore literary genres, write book reviews, create an e-portfolio, and select favorite picture books to share with their early years buddies.

Fifth grade marks the culmination of a six-year, progressive course of study, preparing students for the transition to middle school. Technology use moves beyond basic skills to sophisticated, purposeful application and higher-order problem solving.

Students produce multi-page word processing documents, manipulate original and inserted images, and design multimedia presentations with multiple slides, graphics, and sound. Internet skills include analyzing website components, citing sources, and refining keyword strategies. Additional online databases are introduced, and the I-Search model continues to anchor research work. Keyboarding practice and Web 2.0 tools remain part of the program throughout the year.

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Wilmington Friends School 101 School Road Wilmington, DE 19803 www.wilmingtonfriends.org