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In the Indian Mountain School pre-kindergarten class, 4-year-old children join together to learn, work, and play. Problem-solving skills develop through play, as classmates learn to share and take turns. They make new friends–not only among their peers but also with older children in the school, ranging from kindergarten playmates to third-grade “Reading Buddies” and fourth grade friends too. Pre-kindergarteners grow in habits of mind required for independent learning: the readiness to try new activities and the patience to follow a project through to completion. The children develop phonemic awareness skills, learning to identify letters and sounds as they study topics related to the alphabet. (“Aa” is for apples, so we might make apple pies; “Dd” is for dogs, so we create our own stuffed, sock dogs.) All of the stories we read–fiction and non-fiction alike–are the subject of lively discussion, developing the children’s listening and comprehension skills. Block building, drawing, painting, modeling with clay, and manipulating toys provide enjoyable ways for class members to improve their fine-motor skills. In mathematics, we build number and counting skills and learn about sorting and patterns. The children measure objects and compare their sizes, graph the weather, and learn about place value in numbers as we keep track of the number of days we are at school with our “straw box.” We study topics in science and social studies and we participate in the Lower School’s year-long study theme, such as Native American or Maritime studies. Consistent throughout pre-k, the goal is to nurture each child’s desire to learn, teach them the routines and responsibilities of the beginning school world, and foster their ability to put new skills and knowledge into action.

The kindergarten year at IMS is a year of great academic and social development. Building upon the skills developed in pre-K, kindergarteners continue to learn the patience, problem solving, and listening skills needed to succeed in school through play, guided activities, and direct instruction.

Kindergarten is a year of increasing reading readiness. Students are read aloud to everyday to build listening and comprehension skills. In addition, students are taught foundation language skills such as phonemic awareness, which is an essential part of learning how to read. Students are taught to recognize each letter of the alphabet in correlation with its sound, to know the difference between vowels and consonants, and begin to read short (CVC) consonant-vowel-consonant words (ie. dog). Kindergarten also focuses on the recognition of high-frequency sight words.

Along with reading comes writing. For kindergarten, this includes learning proper letter formation in both upper and lowercase print. At the beginning of the year, a student may dictate a sentence to the teacher and illustrate it. By the end of the school year, however, students will be able to complete entries in a journal of his/her own.

Mathematics focuses on sorting, patterning and comparing data. Students will also learn number representation and formation and begin to learn the basic operations of addition, subtraction, time, money, and fractions.

In science and social studies, the focus in kindergarten is on the world that surrounds us. Discussion and activities related to home, families, holidays, and traditions are central to the curriculum. In addition, kindergarten takes part in the Lower School’s year-long study theme, such as Native American Studies or Outer Space. Throughout kindergarten, the goal is to encourage each student’s interests and abilities, teach basic academic skills, and to foster respect and love for both learning and the school community.

Learning in first grade becomes more organized and routine-based, but still with a lot of room for children’s creative exploration. First grade marks many, important milestones for young children as they develop into readers, writers and math students. In first grade, students also begin to develop a sense of independence. First graders now have to use the social skills they have developed in preschool and kindergarten in more mature ways. Therefore, knowing how to follow rules and take care of themselves becomes important. Becoming self-sufficient enough to navigate through school’s daily academic and social routines is an important part of first grade. The true magic of first grade happens as children develop the ability to understand what letters and numbers really mean. When they’re ready, they’ll be able to “crack the code” and read words and solve more complex mathematical problems.

Language Arts

First grade is traditionally thought of as the level where children learn to read. Not all children become fluent readers by the end of the first grade, but most master the foundation of skills for reading. Their reading material varies from simple rhymes, to classroom news, to patterned stories and beginner non-fiction books. By the end of the year, most are reading grade-level chapter books and some are reading at even more advanced levels. Writing, like reading, takes a variety of forms in first-grade. With the newfound ability to read and write individual words, children begin combining words in order to form complete sentences and gain further understanding of the written language. Writing activities include journal writing, writing creative stories, or documenting their work in other subject areas.

Math

First graders begin to grasp more abstract mathematical concepts. Children are introduced to time, money, and the meaning of numbers greater than those they can count. Because first graders still learn best by working with physical objects, children are provided with materials to use during math lessons such as number cubes, pattern blocks, and color rods. First graders begin to do simple addition and subtraction problems. They learn to count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, which will help them later when doing math equations. They also work with 2- and 3-dimensional geometric shapes. The Indian Mountain Lower School utilizes an updated Houghton Mifflin math program.

Social Studies

Kindergarten is a year of increasing reading readiness. Students are read aloud to everyday to build listening and comprehension skills. In addition, students are taught foundation language skills such as phonemic awareness, which is an essential part of learning how to read. Students are taught to recognize each letter of the alphabet in correlation with its sound, to know the difference between vowels and consonants, and begin to read short (CVC) consonant-vowel-consonant words (ie. dog). Kindergarten also focuses on the recognition of high-frequency sight words.

Along with reading comes writing. For kindergarten, this includes learning proper letter formation in both upper and lowercase print. At the beginning of the year, a student may dictate a sentence to the teacher and illustrate it. By the end of the school year, however, students will be able to complete entries in a journal of his/her own.

Mathematics focuses on sorting, patterning and comparing data. Students will also learn number representation and formation and begin to learn the basic operations of addition, subtraction, time, money, and fractions.

In science and social studies, the focus in kindergarten is on the world that surrounds us. Discussion and activities related to home, families, holidays, and traditions are central to the curriculum. In addition, kindergarten takes part in the Lower School’s year-long study theme, such as Native American Studies or Outer Space. Throughout kindergarten, the goal is to encourage each student’s interests and abilities, teach basic academic skills, and to foster respect and love for both learning and the school community.

The second grade school year begins with the review and practice of skills presented in earlier grades. Material that may have challenged the students at the end of their first grade experience will now be patiently mastered.

Second grade is a time to apply the children’s understanding of letters and numbers to the development of their independent reading and their analytical, mathematical thinking. Their developing ability to listen and speak clearly supports the growth of their organization, focus, and most importantly, their confident and effective communication skills.

Second grade scholars work to become accurate, fluent, and expressive readers. They process information more rapidly and make connections to new concepts quickly. Each second grader is taught to use an expanding and more sophisticated vocabulary to discuss people, places, actions, ideas, and events. The literal and inferential comprehension of materials is developed through direct instruction. The children’s experience with a wide variety of quality narrative and non-fiction literature, in groups and as individual readers, presents opportunities for the practice of phonics and reading strategies appropriate to their ability. Second grade readers develop an appreciation and an affinity for literature that encourages them to read often and independently from several genres.

As writers, the students work with lessons that explore writing for different purposes and specific audiences. The second graders craft expository pieces and narratives that are guided by the steps of the writing process; plan, draft, conference, revise, edit, and publish. At the second grade level, the students master the conventions of language usage and grammar through direct instruction, lessons that are integrated in their writing across the curriculum. The writing instruction cultivates the second grader’s confidence as authors of clear, concise, coherent, and creative self-expression.

Mathematics in the second grade emphasizes place value, word problems, reasonable thinking, patterns, estimation, probability, measurement, time, and money. The students practice addition and subtraction facts to become more proficient with their computational skills. The second grade students extend that understanding to develop their number sense and the ways in which mathematics works in their world. The students come to see and understand the meaning behind the symbols and algorithms. Moving from the concrete to the abstract, they make connections between complex concepts, articulating their process as they work with numbers far greater than those they can physically count.

In both science and social studies the second graders utilize research and observation to increase their knowledge of their world. Students study the people and places that come together to make the State of Connecticut unique. They build upon their earlier studies of family and community and apply that understanding towards a deeper appreciation of the rules and obligations of citizenship and the responsible use of regional resources.

Some of the materials used over the course of the second grade school year are; Houghton Mifflin Math, Wordly Wise Book A, Curriculum Associates’ Language Skills Book B, Steck-Vaughn Spelling, and from Great Source, Write Away.

Third grade is a year of very visible academic and individual growth. Third graders make great strides acquiring new skills and learning how to apply and incorporate their prior knowledge in new ways. Throughout the year they gain increased confidence in themselves and their abilities. They are expected to do more independent work and to make productive contributions when working in a group.

Most lessons in third grade teach to a variety of learning modalities. When possible, hands-on exercises and games are part of learning a skill. This is particularly true in math, where great emphasis is placed on children learning the multiplication facts. We also cover place value, money, time, addition and subtraction with regrouping, word-problem strategies, and number sense.

Reading groups generally begin with a skill lesson, either phonics and/or a literacy skill such as predicting outcomes or identifying main idea. We read chapter books in a variety of genres. Third graders work on comprehension questions and projects, have discussions, practice oral reading fluency and expression by reading aloud round robin style, and sometimes also present a dramatic reading at our Morning Circle.

In our language arts block we work on grammar basics, structured spelling and phonics exercises, proper formation and practice of cursive writing, editing skills, and writing. The focus of writing is to combine these skills to produce a complete piece of writing. Writing topics cover a wide variety of genres. With teacher guidance, students move through the writing process, starting with generating and organizing ideas, then editing the first draft for spelling, grammar and mechanics, on to revising their work, and lastly producing a final copy.

Our social studies units include: map skills, geography and characteristics of the eastern United States, early explorers (1000-1600’s), and U.S. history from the Pilgrims to the Revolutionary War. In addition, each year we choose a Lower School study theme around which many cross-curricular units are developed. Topics have included The Circus, Native American Studies, China, Medieval Times, Maritime Studies, and Space.

Fourth grade is a time of dramatic growth. During this pivotal year, students take on increased responsibility as leaders of the lower school. They enjoy acting as role models for the rest of the student body. They lead by example, showing how best to act in the hallways and on the playground, as well as leading the Pledge of Allegiance at Morning Circle. They are responsible for the daily raising and lowering of the flag, as well as our school’s classroom recycling program. Additionally, fourth graders take on more independent work in the classroom than they did in the lower grades, achieving in both individual and group endeavors. This greater role that fourth graders play within the lower school community assists them in transitioning to the more significant level of personal and community responsibilities they will have when they move on to middle school.

Our math curriculum is a skill-based program from Houghton Mifflin in which we concentrate on the mastery of basic computational skills. These include advanced addition and subtraction, multiplication and two-digit long division. We use games and manipulative materials to reinforce and expand upon concepts such as place value, money, fractions, decimals and situational problem solving. Fourth graders are also introduced to basic algebra.

In reading, we explore several different genres, including historical fiction, biography, mystery and fantasy. In small, reading groups, we concentrate on oral reading with good voicing and expression, comprehension, character and plot development. At least one of the chapter books that the students read relates to the current All-School Theme. We also foster and develop confident presentation skills, such as speaking with expression and fluency, by reading aloud in both small groups and for the entire student body at morning Circle. Students also work on Spelling and the study of vocabulary is enhanced through the use of Wordly Wise.

In 4th grade we utilize the Collins Writing Program, which helps students to improve their writing fluency, organizational and editing skills. This program strives to help students become better writers through the use of five types of writing. The students will be given times to be “totally creative” (Type One,) times when they will move through a process of creative and critical thought (Types Two through Four,) and finally a time when the use of critical thinking and style is paramount (Type Five.) The progression of this program helps to remove obstacles that many people face when writing, such as fear of evaluation and fear of failure. We will use this program across all content areas.

In social studies, the fourth grade focuses on four different units. We begin the year with the study of Map Skills, which leads to our second unit, Landforms. This unit culminates in a project that is shared with the school. Our third unit concentrates on United States History with a focus on Westward Expansion, including the Oregon Trail, Pioneer Life and Lewis and Clark. Our final unit, which we explore throughout the year, includes various aspects of our yearly Lower School Study Theme. In past years we have explored themes such as, the Circus, Medieval Times, China, Maritime studies, Native American studies and Space. When working on projects, students learn to use many research tools including books in the library and the Internet.