Early Childhood
Grades 1 & 2
One/Two brings together the first and second grades to create a community of learners. Building a sense of belonging and camaraderie among the One/Two students is an essential aspect of our social curriculum, and it is interwoven throughout both years. Our multi-age classroom structure provides opportunities for leadership and mentoring. For example, in literacy work, we have emerging readers and writers working alongside and together with classmates who can express themselves on paper, read with confidence, and understand content-rich texts.
Language Arts
Through our Language Arts curriculum, students read fictional and factual books, and focus on expression through the written and spoken word. Children are introduced to decoding skills, as well as story structure and comprehension. They develop the use of full sentences, appropriate capitalization and punctuation, and standard spelling conventions. Through daily writing activities, students record and express their thoughts, and develop their skill for writing creative stories and poetry. Faculty draw from both Project Read and Handwriting Without Tears curricula, building on students’ exposure to these programs in PreK/K.
Mathematics
While Language Arts small groups are grouped by ability, our math program is taught by grade, with projects throughout the year where One/Two students work collaboratively. Our focus is on helping students gain a deep understanding of math concepts through the use of manipulatives (such as Cuisenaire rods, unifix cubes, pattern blocks, base 10 blocks, and dice). Faculty draw largely on Marilyn Burns’s approach to teaching mathematics for math instruction in these grades.
In Grade One, students discover the relationships between numbers and patters through the use of manipulatives. Math units include number sense, numeration, number and geometric patterns, balancing equations, addition, subtraction, missing addends, multiplication as repeated addition, value systems, simple fractions, time, and money. Estimating, predicting, graphing and problem solving are integrated into the curriculum.
In Grade Two, students continue mathematical exploration through the use of literature and manipulatives, enabling them to ‘see’ and understand more complex ideas and content. Students further their understanding of multiplication and division, shapes and properties, logical reasoning, measurement, and begin to gain understanding of multiplication and division.
Click here to view the entire Grade One/Two Curriculum, which includes a comprehensive overview of Science, Technology, World Language, the Arts, and Athletics, as well as information on Language Arts and Mathematics.
Classroom Themes
Our thematic curricula alternate biennially between the overarching themes of “Indigenous People of America” and “Long Ago, Far Away: From England to New England.”
“Indigenous People of North America”
We focus on the lifestyles of the different nations located in the Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Far North, Northwest and Southwest regions of North America. Through exploration, we look at the traditional cultures and ways of life long ago, keeping in mind that many Native people live like we do today. We compare and contrast food, environment/climate, clothing, beliefs, shelters, family roles, and tools/crafts from the differing regions. We also learn how the natural resources from each region easily sustained a lifestyle. Students learn about animals and habitats that pertain to Native Americans, and gain an appreciation of Native American culture, lifestyle, and reverence for nature.
"Long Ago, Far Away: From England to New England"
In this theme, students study and compare castle life, New England colonial life, and modern life. We begin the year studying European castle architecture, learning about people living in and around a castle, their jobs,the food they ate, and gears and levers. In January, we fast forward in time and travel across the Atlantic. Students learn about the daily life in Colonial times, creating and building a village using their knowledge about castles and “how they worked.” We wrap up the year learning about Benjamin Franklin as an inventor, and then focus on our overarching question: How Do Things Work? We explore, compare, contrast, and research objects of the past with modern technology, and learn about inventions (such as sundials, the printing press, and the iPad), as well as energy and power sources (electricity, wind, and water).
Search
Affiliations
Charles River School is a PreKindergarten through Grade 8 independent school that honors the pursuit of academic excellence and the joy of childhood. We nurture each child by igniting curiosity, encouraging creativity, and cultivating intellectual engagement. Our graduates know themselves, understand others, and shape the future of our diverse world with confidence and compassion.