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The curriculum is interdisciplinary, focused on broad social studies themes that bring together ideas and skills from varied subject areas. In the younger grades, students are immersed in themes such as families, Germantown, Native American culture, Colonial America, and Asian and African countries. Students in upper grades undertake in-depth studies of Ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and Islam. To a significant extent, language arts, music and visual art, and even mathematics are integrated into these thematic studies. Learning is enriched by travels to natural, historic, and cultural sites, by many opportunities to perform on stage, and by experiences learning and working with neighbors in Germantown and members of other communities.
LANGUAGE ARTS
The goal of the language arts curriculum is to develop avid, knowledgeable, lifelong readers; strong writers; confident speakers; and careful listeners. We use a wide range of language experiences to nurture critical and reflective thinking, including compelling literature and a reader’s workshop approach. There are meaningful opportunities for students to enhance their written expression as well. Thoughtful instruction in composition, spelling, vocabulary, mechanics and reading are also key components of our program.
MATHEMATICS
Our mathematics instruction is designed to ensure that students acquire both a competence in mathematical processes and a thorough understanding of these processes. Students make mathematical connections and further their development of problem-solving and logical-thinking skills.
Every day, our students have opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge of and comfort with mathematical vocabulary and principles that govern the number system. Students are able to explain their process as well as achieve and demonstrate accuracy. They are taught standard algorithms while strengthening their conceptual understanding. The mathematics curriculum, “Investigations in Number, Data and Space,” is used in grades K-5 as a foundation for developing these mathematical skills and capabilities.
SOCIAL STUDIES
The social studies program serves as the thematic center of the Lower School curriculum. Through social studies, students develop a broad knowledge of and respect for history, geography and populations across diverse cultures and communities. Teachers design each thematic unit to provide entry points for students to learn from multiple perspectives. Students study local and global communities, paying particular attention to history, culture and customs.
There are many occasions to integrate the social studies program with language arts. Coordinating the music, art and woodshop programs with social studies enriches the subjects and provides rich interdisciplinary connections and thematic unity. Samples of the social studies curriculum include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Kindergarten students create structures with blocks and other building materials as part of the building and architecture unit. Through field trips to historic sites in the Germantown community, they begin to understand how houses and other buildings serve the human need for shelter. The Kindergarteners also explore cultures and communities from around the world.
- The 1st graders study the history of Germantown and Germantown Friends School. They also focus on the diversity within the Germantown and Greater Philadelphia area through a variety of studies of families, Asian cultures and communities, murals and markets.
- The 2nd graders study the Lenape of the early 17th Century, learning about Colonial Pennsylvania life. Students read and write historical fiction in language arts as a part of the unit.
- The 3rd graders delve into African nations as well as the country of Japan. Each cultural study gives students the opportunity to explore the history, the people and the customs.
- The 4th graders explore Ancient Greece and its contributions to modern society. The segment culminates in an integrated experience known as “Greek Day,” which involves the art, woodshop and physical education departments.
- The 5th graders study the Middle Ages and the rise of Islam.
ART
Students in the Lower School art studio are given the opportunity to explore a variety of different media. They are encouraged to experiment, engage and create using paint, clay, collage, sculptural and digital media in a structured and supportive environment. The studio work is closely tied to studies in the classroom as well, from prehistoric to contemporary art. Lower School artists develop a series of sequentially taught skills throughout their art experience, including color mixing and theory, tempera painting, clay, claymation, paper collage, watercolor, monochromatic printing and oil pastel. Students attend art class once a week for 40 minutes in half-classroom groups and 80 minutes for 5th-grade students in a half-year interval.
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COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
The Lower School Computer Lab serves as a resource for teachers and students and a clearinghouse for best practices in integrating the use of technology into everyday classroom instruction. The lab is equipped with 24 networked Macintosh computers and a color laser printer; the software used includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Internet browsers, and Photoshop Elements. One of the Lower School’s fourteen SMART Board interactive whiteboards is located in this lab, as are scanners and digital and video cameras. Computer studies begin in the second half of the 1st grade year. Teachers use various technological aides such as digital photos, interactive web sites, SMART Board displays and collaborative lessons, productivity software and educational software to engage students. Students are expected to become increasingly independent in their ability to explore, collaborate, create or present information using technology. They are taught to exercise responsible digital citizenship when accessing materials via the network.
A cross-grade course entitled “Ethics in Media and Technology” is taught in 2nd through 5th grades. It includes discussions on and explorations of video game use, parental restrictions, cell phone and e-mail etiquette, social networking concerns and how to accurately judge the quality of web resources. READ MORE
HEALTH EDUCATION
Health education in Lower School is designed to familiarize students with basic anatomical and physiological systems relative to the total framework of a healthy body. This includes providing information on nutrition, healthy life habits and human sexuality. The classes provide age-appropriate opportunities to discuss information about growth, development and human sexuality in its physical, emotional and social dimensions. Health classes meet once a week for four weeks in 1st through 4th grades, and once a week for six to eight weeks in 5th grade; health topics are integrated into the Kindergarten curriculum and activities
LIBRARY
The library serves our student population in a variety of ways. Our collection consists of fiction and nonfiction titles that support and enhance the Lower School curriculum and stimulate interest in various topics. We hope to instill in our students a love of the written word and to create a generation of lifelong readers. At the end of the school year, students are given a list of suggested summer readings and encouraged to participate in the Vacation Reading Club online blog, a program designed to promote recreational reading and book discussions during the summer break. All Lower School students visit the library once a week. READ MORE
MUSIC
The goal of the music curriculum is for students to become more skillful, enthusiastic music makers and audiences. Folk songs, representing a variety of cultural traditions, rounds, hymns, spirituals and contemporary children's music form the basic repertoire throughout the Lower School. Assemblies often provide an opportunity for singing as a community. Instrumental activities are introduced as appropriate throughout the grades. Games involving song and movement lay the foundation for dances work. Kindergarteners have music three times a week; 1st through 5th graders meet twice weekly.
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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
The goal of the physical education department is to provide developmentally appropriate activities that are inclusive, stimulating and safe for all students K-12. Our emphasis is on leading students to discover and develop their individual movement skills and interests through participation in co-educational classes at each grade level. By providing opportunities to develop the social skills requisite for successful group work, competence in movement skills and an appreciation for the diversity of movement activities, fitness and skill levels, we hope students will participate actively in class activities and beyond. In Kindergarten and 4th grade, students attend PE four times a week. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes meet daily, and the 5th graders meet three times per week.
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SCIENCE
The Lower School science program is highly experiential, with hands-on activities in every period at all grade levels. We believe that children learn best by first-hand observation and doing science. We build on children’s natural curiosity, teaching them about a wide variety of physical science, earth science, life science and natural history topics. A strong environmental focus permeates the program. We teach extended, in-depth units, favoring mastery and competence over broad coverage. Our goal is to lay a foundation for young learners to become scientifically literate in both their knowledge and skills. We make frequent use of the outdoors and take our students on regular field trips to see how the topics they are studying relate to the world around them. We want them to maintain their sense of wonder about their environment and their excitement about studying it, even as they are beginning a more formal study of science. Kindergarteners have science once a week in half groups. Students in 1st through 5th grade have science twice a week.
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WOODSHOP
Lower School Woodshop begins in 3rd grade and offers a highly interactive hands-on experience with tools and materials. Students develop confidence in manual dexterity, problem-solving and understanding of how things fit together, as well as learn about safety. A variety of techniques, such as carving and shaping, joinery, mechanical fastening and applying finishes are explored in the program to give each student a broad understanding of the scope of woodworking.
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