lower school academics

language arts

From the very first day of kindergarten, students are encouraged to view themselves as readers and writers and to recognize and appreciate the strong connection between reading, writing, and speaking. Literacy skills and strategies are explicitly modeled and taught in the context of a workshop format that builds a sense of ritual and community around the written word. Due to their nature as “gateway” skills, opportunities for reading and writing are also integrated throughout the curriculum.

There are three main components to the Language Arts Program:

Reading

Students are given daily opportunities to read independently, with partners, and/or in small groups. During Reading Workshop, teachers support students in getting to know themselves as readers and in learning to select books that are “just right” for their reading levels. Teachers provide explicit instruction in decoding and comprehension strategies and regularly assess student progress to inform instruction. In addition to learning how to read, students discuss and explore why we read and make important connections between literature and life. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their reading lives and to recognize the value and importance reading holds in helping us better understand ourselves and the world around us.

Writing

In Writing Workshop, a strong emphasis is placed on the connection between reading and writing. Students learn to read like a writer and to write with the reader in mind. Writing skills, strategies, and conventions are embedded within units of study that help students explore a real world context for writing and examine the work of mentor authors. Students learn to write for different purposes and to develop their own unique voice as a writer. In immersing themselves within a particular genre or style of writing, the teacher guides students to identify the characteristics of that kind of writing, to appreciate the craft of mentor authors, and to incorporate what they have learned into their own work. Students learn to view writing as a means of sharing their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and experiences with others.

Word Study

Word Study acts as the contextual glue that binds reading and writing. In addition to the skills lessons embedded within the reading and writing programs, separate time is devoted at each grade level to Word Study opportunities that may include direct instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling strategies and conventions, or vocabulary and morphology. These opportunities vary due to grade-level expectations and the developmental needs of students.

Social Studies

The Social Studies curriculum at Sea Crest allows students to learn more about themselves, develop understanding and empathy for others, learn to respect and uphold the rights of their fellow human beings, and acquire the habits of globally aware individuals and productive adults. Students are able to recognize and understand the connections that exist between self, family, and community, as well as the connections between life in the past and life in the present. Teachers design units of study that provide students with opportunities to utilize critical thinking and inquiry skills in exploring concepts that relate to the social world. The curriculum integrates children’s learning in all academic areas from reading to mathematics to art.

Mathematics

Our math program is grounded in the belief that math is more meaningful when it is purposeful, rooted in real-life contexts and situations, and when children are given the opportunity to become active participants in their own learning. In addition to traditional fact practice, teachers utilize a variety of manipulative materials, models, mathematical tools, games, and collaborative group work to engage students in problem-solving opportunities that reinforce skills and expand conceptual understanding. All students are challenged to develop the computational skills, mathematical reasoning, and creative problem-solving strategies that will help prepare them to meet the demands of higher-level mathematics and the job market of the future.

The program is divided into six mathematical strands: “Numbers and Numeration,” “Operations and Computation,” “Data and Chance,” “Measurement and Reference Frames,” “Geometry,” and “Patterns, Functions, and Algebra” that are woven throughout the grade-levels. Each strand is carefully articulated to ensure students are exposed to an ever-increasing body of mathematical knowledge that grows in complexity and sophistication each year.

Science

The primary goal of the Lower School Science curriculum is to encourage children to develop a sense of curiosity, appreciation, and respect for the natural world. Students explore the physical, life, and earth sciences through hands-on experimentation, observation, research, and discussion. Inquiry-based investigations challenge students to think “scientifically” and offer opportunities to engage in the scientific process. Throughout these explorations, students gain insight into the connection between all living things, a sense of global responsibility, and an appreciation for the role science plays in our everyday lives.

Spanish

Lower School Spanish is taught using the Immersion Language Model. The immersion method entails learning a foreign language by living it. Classes are taught almost entirely in Spanish and everyone is encouraged to use Spanish as their primary form of communication. Students learn Spanish by participating in everyday conversational situations through subject content instruction. While in Spanish class, students will live in a Spanish speaking environment for that period of time. In addition to the benefits of learning a second language, an emphasis is placed on exploring the customs and traditions of the various Spanish-speaking cultures throughout the world. There is a strong focus on multiculturalism.

Physical Education

Promoting a healthy lifestyle through a positive experience is fundamental to our lower school physical education program. In our lower school program, we teach communication skills (verbal and non-verbal), encourage cooperation and teamwork, and model positive attitudes while working to help our students develop a strong, positive self-image. The physical education program provides opportunities to build a caring community. When students fall and hurt themselves, we encourage others to “stop and help each other out.” When differences occur during a game, teachable moments arise for “working out” differences so the game can continue. Trust and respect are taught and expected, lending to more time for games to continue. Finally, we strive to create a fun environment where risk taking, giving your personal best, and never giving up become lifelong habits.

Character Education

Character education is a foundation upon which our school is based. With the goal that all of our students live our Guiding Principles, we use a Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging and joyful classrooms, kindergarten through eighth grade. With daily community building routines like morning meetings, collaboratively created classroom rules, positive language, and logical consequences, we work to build a strong foundation in positive social skills that sets the stage for an excellent academic learning environment.

Our Guiding Principles

I do nothing to harm myself or others.
I am responsible for my behavior.
I take pride in myself and in my work
I leave it better than I found it.
We are each other’s keepers.

Service Learning

Our program seeks to help students develop understanding and empathy for others, learn to respect and uphold the rights of their fellow human beings, and acquire the habits of globally aware individuals and productive citizens. We do this by embedding service learning throughout our curriculum. All of our service learning projects are intended to teach our students that they can make a difference in the world. Examples of service learning projects at the different grade levels include:

Kindergarten—building intergenerational relationships with our senior citizens as part
of a family study.
First Grade—studying hunger and nutrition through a farms and farmers-market unit.
Second Grade—learning how pollution impacts the ecosystems of our waterfront areas in the context of a sandy beach and harbor study.
Third Grade—working to understand and protect the fragility of wetlands during a
wetlands unit.
Fourth Grade—learning about and advocating for the protection of endangered species during the course of a feature article writing unit.
Fifth Grade—exploring child labor in parts of the world today while studying slavery
in our own history.