Education is more than filling a child with facts. It starts with posing questions.
—D.T. Max
The main goals of the social studies curriculum is that students
- develop an awareness of cultural empathy and acceptance
- understand how the present has come about and to develop an appreciation for the heritage of this country
- develop an understanding of and an appreciation for their physical and cultural environments
- recognize the contributions of different cultures
- understand the responsibilities inherent in being a contributing member of society
- explore and describe similarities and differences in the way groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns
- study people, places, and human-environment interactions
- begin to acquire geographic perspectives of the world beyond their personal locations.
Social Studies
Early Program
The Early Program social studies curriculum focuses on basic human needs (e.g., food, shelter, clothing, transportation, etc.) shared by all cultures. Using their own experiences as a point of reference, children explore such topics such as self, family, neighborhood, community, and culture. In true Montessori fashion, topics or themes for classroom study often are taken from the particular interests of the students themselves, and thus vary from classroom to classroom. The curriculum emphasizes the similarities among people around the world and seeks to foster an appreciation of various cultures. Parents are always encouraged to share their family traditions and celebrations with the class.
There is a social studies, or cultural arts, area in each Early Program classroom that highlights current units of discussion with appropriate picture books, photos, objects, puzzles, worksheets, etc. Children are given the opportunity to explore the many different tangible artifacts independently, and they often participate in more teacher-directed activities that relate to a topic that is being discussed.
In addition, geography is an important part of the Early Program classrooms. Every class has a geography area that is filled with beautiful Montessori puzzle maps, globes, flags of the world, and land form materials. Children begin to learn map skills, the names and locations of the continents, and the animals that can be found there. To supplement the geography area of each class, many stories are read and songs are sung that pertain to particular regions.
Elementary
Caedmon Elementary curriculum paves the way to life-long learning by teaching children to absorb knowledge, perspective, and understanding through the medium of language. It builds self-esteem by enabling them to communicate their thoughts, observations, and feelings with confidence. It creates self-motivated learners by helping them to find pleasure and fulfillment in the regular habits of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Starting in Kindergarten, the classroom is designed as a “language rich” environment. Words are everywhere! The teaching of reading and writing is part of every activity the children pursue. As the years progress, emphasis changes from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Working with a wide variety of age-appropriate, thought provoking literature, the children learn to relate the content of their reading to their own experience. Regular discussion of their feelings and opinions eventually leads to in-depth literary analysis.
Part of each day is dedicated to instruction in small groups. The children are regularly assessed and placed into one of three reading groups based on their current level of competence. The teachers are able to individualize the work assigned by complementing lessons with extension activities.
Other related programs augment the language arts instruction. In these the children are grouped differently, so that they may benefit from one another’s learning styles and creative gifts. Writing Workshop is a weekly creative writing program, which uses poetry, mythology, folktale, journal writing, short fiction and drama to unleash the children’s literary imaginations. Reading Workshop gives the teacher a chance to guide each child through the process of reading, comprehending, and critiquing a book of their own choosing. Spelling is a continual exercise that begins with “invented spelling” and gently progresses toward conventional usage, in order to protect the child’s freedom of expression from the constraints of “correctness. ”D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) is a time set aside so that everyone, including the teachers, simply shares the joy of reading for their own pleasure.
