Lower School

Students absorb and internalize the essential elements of literacy through consistent practice of phonemic awareness and phonics skills, leading to word decoding, word study, spelling, and sentence structure. Students discuss fiction and nonfiction texts in read-alouds and small-group guided reading, practicing skills such as retelling stories, identifying the main idea and details, and finding evidence to support their comprehension. Additionally, Class I students apply elemental writing mechanics and spelling rules in their creative, narrative, persuasive, and research writing. Our learners cultivate and enhance their writing through the proper sequencing of events, adding pertinent details, and using robust vocabulary.

After an identity-focused and community-building introductory program promoting personal and communal growth, our students participate in a yearlong study of New York City’s five boroughs. The students study transportation, geography, and the city’s numerous and vibrant cultures.

In Class I, students focus on speaking and listening skills. Units of study include hobbies, seasons, food, emotions, and animals. Students are also introduced to basic Pinyin reading. Additionally, the students gain exposure to Chinese culture by learning about different holidays and traditional foods. Students learn poems, songs, and games designed to playfully introduce oral communication in Mandarin.

Students listen to stories, learn to find books in the library, explore trickster tales and folktales, and work on collaborative research projects.

Students read, sing, and play musical patterns derived from the pentatonic scale. They learn to listen through dictation, create through improvisation, and compose rhythms using simple rhythmic elements. Students sing at all gatherings and large assemblies.

Class I FunFit focuses on form and technique related to fitness concepts and gymnastic skills. Students are introduced to handstands and cartwheels, springboard jumps, and basic balance beam and bar concepts. They also explore rock climbing, body control exercises, balance, strength, and flexibility. Throughout Class I, FunFit students develop a sense of self-confidence, a better understanding of their bodies in space, and a sense of accomplishment.

Class I students develop their understanding of numbers through 100 as they use number bonds to compose and decompose, compare, add, and subtract multi-digit numbers. Students study shape attributes, ordinal numbers, non-standard measurement, grouping and sharing, explore halves and fourths, tell time, and count quantities of money.

Students study anatomical structure, bird identification, states of matter, the solar system, snails and squids, and soil chemistry. Class I scientists explored different types of gardens and conducted experiments on soil chemistry, discerning between nutrient-rich and contaminated soil.

As part of our general health education program, students learn to identify feelings and coping skills, understand the perspectives of others, and practice problem-solving skills.. Students also review sexual health themes from kindergarten related to identifying personal boundaries and asking for and receiving consent.

Students are introduced to the tools, techniques, materials, and practices of the art studio; they learn concepts through a variety of imagination-based projects, based on line, initiating their studio experience through a sequential journey of a simple dot as it becomes a line, and travels through two-dimensional space. This dot is the beginning of our fundamental graphic language. It teaches how to turn a dot into different qualities of line, how a line creates infinite shapes, and how to sustain concentration and stamina. Studio citizenship is emphasized throughout the year.

Students dive into our ballet unit, where they investigate the historical origins of ballet, develop basic technical knowledge, and use the steps and positions they have learned to create narrative dances. Students develop foundational knowledge of ballet, hip-hop, and jazz to explore a variety of movements and learn about the origins of the respective dance styles, including the study of Isadora Duncan and a collaboration with science on dances inspired by nature. Each study culminates with short dances choreographed by the students using their newly learned steps.

Students engage with locomotor patterns, functional movement exercises, and individual sport skills.

As students develop their reading fluency, they also develop listening and reading comprehension, as well as inferential and analytical skills. Their comprehension of fiction and nonfiction texts becomes more sophisticated; they share supporting evidence in discussions and writing with growing proficiency, and they hone skills such as summarizing, identifying character traits, and naming the main idea and details in a text. Students write creative, narrative, informative, and opinion texts. Instruction emphasizes the writing process, which includes brainstorming, planning, drafting, editing, and revision. Students become proficient in more advanced spelling patterns and writing mechanics, and learn joined italic cursive.

Students consider the impact of geography on one’s life, and through a study of civics, they explore their roles and responsibilities as members of a community. Students learn about the Lenape of Mannahatta and the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. Through reading stories, examining primary sources, and engaging in discussions, students developed an understanding of the ever-evolving needs of individuals and groups in historical New York City.

Students focus on speaking and listening skills. Units of study include family, calendar, food, sports, animals, time, location, seasons, and daily routines. Students are expected to respond to questions in Mandarin as the year progresses and practice reading and writing Pinyin. Additionally, students explore Chinese culture through the study of various holidays and traditional foods.

Through our class lessons, students grow to understand story elements, explore diverse characters and authors, and research animals and changemakers collaboratively. Each class has dedicated time to read for pure pleasure using print and electronic sources.

Students investigate the concept of overlapping and combining shapes to create compositions of complex forms in space. Color values and patterns are added to enhance the importance of individual form. Students learn about symmetry and repetition through exploration, paired with learning about the world of art. Studio citizenship is emphasized throughout the year.

Building on foundational skills, Class II students expanded their knowledge by learning structured movement combinations in jazz, hip-hop, and social dance. Students are introduced to the cultural roots and history behind select dance styles, helping them understand how dance reflects different communities and time periods. They also explore basic choreography sequences, collaborating in groups to experiment with shapes, patterns, and storytelling through movement.

Class II students continue to develop a wide range of activities and motor skills. They engage in a rope jumping unit, basketball dribbling and shooting, use of scoops, and striking using a variety of implements.

Students apply their understanding of place value and addition and subtraction skills to numbers up to 1,000. Students build their fact fluency and apply the part-whole concept of number bonds to the traditional algorithms, with and without renaming. Our measurement study introduces students to standard units of length and weight. As Class II students explore multiplication and division, modeling and comparing fractions, and work with two- and three-dimensional shapes.

Students explore botany, ecology, biology, geology, and chemistry through the study of rocks and geological change; the biology and ecology of the earthworm; properties of magnets; mineral identification; exploration of plants; chemical and physical properties of common household powder; students design their own experiments.

Students engage in a wide array of topics that encompass both social-emotional well-being and aspects of sexual health. The lessons are intended to promote empathy, reduce stereotyped thinking, practice being assertive and kind, and learn about the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Students are also introduced to reproduction and ways to keep their bodies healthy and safe.

Students study digital citizenship, animation, coding, computational thinking, robotics, and pattern recognition. They are also introduced to design to enhance their understanding of coding concepts such as sequencing, basic true/false conditionals, loops, and debugging.

Students sing, move, and play musical games derived from the methodologies of Carl Orff and Zoltán Kodály.. They cultivate the joy of making music while developing essential skills such as maintaining a steady beat and singing with accurate pitch. They learn to read, sing, and play patterns using notes derived from the pentatonic scale and an evolving set of rhythms.

Class II FunFit focuses on form and technique related to fitness concepts and gymnastic skills. Students are introduced to handstands, forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, springboard jumps, and basic balance beam and bar concepts. Students learn how to combine skills to create a mini routine. Rock climbing, body control exercises, balance, strength, and flexibility are introduced and practiced. Class II FunFit students develop a sense of self-confidence, a better understanding of their bodies in space, and a sense of accomplishment.

Students develop inferential thinking through book discussion and writing about the text. They practice skills such as analyzing character traits and motivations, summarizing, identifying themes, and making connections within and between texts, all with an emphasis on citing specific details to support their interpretations. Additionally, Class III writers craft longer and more advanced narrative, expository, argumentative, and persuasive paragraphs, sharpening their writing structure with strong topic sentences and supporting details. Lessons on advanced spelling patterns, grammar, and conventions are woven into the writing curriculum.

Class III students build upon their understanding of identity and community from kindergarten through Class III and engage in an in-depth study of United States geography. Lessons on the fundamentals of the United States government lead to a deep dive into the history of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the United States.

Students continue to practice character recognition and write simple characters; they learn sentence composition and continue exploration of Chinese culture through the celebration of various holidays.

Students are introduced to the online library catalog and Dewey Decimal System; they are read to, engage in reading, develop research skills, and learn about periodicals.

Students develop their understanding of drawing and constructing 3D forms by building on their knowledge of overlapping shapes. Lessons involving the preliminary study of materials, design, and construction allow students to learn to navigate volume, layering, painting complex form, and mixing color. Projects are inspired by nature and global artistic traditions. Studio citizenship is emphasized throughout the year.

Students have two periods of music a week. One period is devoted to elementary theory, singing, and rhythmic percussion exercises. The second class is an instrumental period in which students learn violin, viola, or cello, or the recorder.

Class III FunFit focuses on form and techniques related to fitness concepts and gymnastic skills. Body control exercises, balance challenges, rock wall climbing, and strength and flexibility training are incorporated throughout the year.

Class III mathematicians increase their understanding of place value with numbers to 10,000; compute multi-digit addition, subtraction, and division problems; explore scaled picture and bar graphs; expand their knowledge of fraction concepts and equivalency; measure with standard units; analyze angles and shapes; calculate area and perimeter; determine elapsed time; and add and subtract money.

Students will design and construct bridges using newspaper as well as study sustainable architectural design, water filtration, and chemical testing; they also study the human body and behavior, and the anatomical structure of crayfish.

As part of our health education programming, students learn more advanced conflict resolution skills and emotional regulation strategies; how to identify important qualities in friendships, and how to be upstanders. They also practice mindfulness and cultivate a growth mindset. As part of our sexual health programming, students learn about the importance of positive body images, how to keep their bodies healthy and safe, and begin to explore the social-emotional and physical changes in puberty.

Students complete an engineering unit through the study of simple machines. The study of robotics and exploring block coding occurs through various online and offline activities.

Students develop spatial and mechanical skills through the use of basic tools and practices of a wood shop, and build a small functional object.

Students learn about jazz and hip-hop by exploring the history and cultural roots of each style. They develop technical skills such as isolations, footwork, and rhythmic precision. The students are introduced to dance composition by creating short movement phrases. Through guided improvisation and collaborative exercises, they begin to craft their own choreography.

Class III Physical Education explores the application of sports skills and introduces defensive concepts in dynamic gameplay. Students develop an understanding of sportsmanship while exploring competitive activities. Through functional movement exercises, students develop coordination, balance, and stamina while increasing their fitness capacity.

Through classwide novel study, readers refine their comprehension skills, making inferences, summarizing increasingly complex texts, analyzing character development, and identifying themes. Students interpret literature within a historical context studied in Social Studies. Class IV readers move beyond the literal understanding of a text and examine symbols and figurative language. Students develop the habit of citing textual evidence in both written analysis and literature discussion. Students study advanced grammar and mechanics, and spelling instruction focuses on morphology and Greek and Latin roots. In writing, students engage in a thoughtful writing process to plan, draft, and edit as they craft opinion, narrative, expository, and creative writing projects, increasing in complexity. Students analyze verse and write their own poetry inspired by mentor texts.

Class IV engages in a yearlong study of migration and immigration in the United States. Students analyze push and pull factors that drive migration, the ways in which migrant communities have enriched and contributed to the culture of the United States, and issues of social justice. Students research Ellis Island, life in the Lower East Side tenements, Angel Island, Mexican immigration during the Great Depression, and the Great Migration. Students discuss current events through the use of nonfiction news articles.

Students continue to speak, write, and listen with a focus on the consolidation of previously learned material. Students perform a short play in Mandarin.

Through picture book read-alouds, role-play scenarios, and creative activities, students develop their sense of self and identity during a time of transition from Lower to Middle School. Lessons emphasize developing a growth mindset and embracing mistakes and imperfections as part of the learning process. Students practice mindfulness techniques as they learn more about feelings, emotions, and self-regulation. Special focus is given to navigating changing friendships in adolescence and handling social conflict in positive ways. Students have many opportunities for leadership and giving back in their community and are supported in assessing their strengths, areas for growth, and goals throughout the year. Students also discuss healthy food choices and body image, and continue to build on their knowledge from Class III on the physical and social-emotional changes in puberty.

Students rotate through the following three courses, each of which takes place over ten weeks:

MEASURE/CUT/CODE: The “Measure / Cut / Code” trimester in Class IV Studio Art introduces students to 3D printing through learning first to use the traditional craft tools of compass and straightedge. Patterns inspired by works that date back to Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece lead into Islamic geometric designs, all realized with cut paper and collage. Students then learn to write simple computer programs that allow them to create circular geometric designs in plastic.

PHOTOSHOP: Students are introduced to the professional-level digital image editing software Adobe Photoshop. They explore how to edit digital photographs and create original digital images, gaining confidence in using powerful features like layers, selections, adjustments, and the text tool. Their work culminates with shooting digital photographs around the School and the neighborhood. Using Photoshop, they combine and layer these photos to create colorful digital collages based on their visions.

PRINTMAKING: Students are introduced to printmaking vocabulary and asked to consider how printmaking differs from other visual arts media. They practice observational exercises as they make preparatory still life drawings on thick watercolor paper and collage them with paper and string to build matrices for printing polychrome collagraphs (a form of relief printing). By combining aqueous pigments and a paste binder, they make their paints with which they print multiple impressions by hand using a baren.

Class IV students explore foundational grooves, isolations, and footwork while studying the cultural roots of hip-hop dance. They then focus on composition and choreography. During structured rehearsals, students develop their original group pieces, learn to collaborate, give and receive feedback, and make choreographic choices that reflect their personal expression. The year culminates in a student-choreographed dance showcase.

Students deepen and extend their computational fluency and understanding of mathematical concepts. Topics include place value with numbers to 1,000,000; techniques for rounding and estimation; multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems; multiples and factors; fractions and fraction operations; decimals and decimal operations; line graphs and line plots; measurement with compound units; area and perimeter; angles, lines, shapes, and solids. Math instruction emphasizes challenge, collaborative problem solving, and flexible thinking.

Students investigate acids, bases, and pH; examine sustainable energy; explore the structure, growth, uses, and prevention of mold, including student-designed experiments. Students also study the behavior and anatomical structure of snakes, as well as independent, student-led experiments culminating in the Lower School Science Fair.

Students engage in further study of the Dewey Decimal System; they work collaboratively to research reptiles with the science department, among other topics.

In Class IV, the students explore the Snap interface by coding animated short stories; they engage in an independent research project focusing on women in STEAM. They use digital and print sources, present their findings, and engineer a moving sculpture to represent the achievements of their STEAM pioneer. Their unique automata offer a way for students to explore mechanical elements, such as cams, levers, and linkages. We conclude our year with an exploration of physical computing by programming robots to interact with the environment.

Students continue their two periods of music a cycle, with one period devoted to elementary theory, singing, and rhythmic percussion exercises. The second class is an instrumental period in which students build on their previously acquired skills in violin, viola, cello, or the recorder. Class IV students also participate in handchime ensembles, which perform at the main assemblies of the year.

In Class IV Physical Education, students explore competition through modified gameplay in a variety of sports and movement games. They demonstrate an understanding of rules and strategy and learn to work together as a team.