Lower Level (1st and 2nd Grades)
The Lower Level at Caedmon is a combined first and second grade program. Children spend two years in the same classroom with the same teacher. They develop their academic and social skills in an environment that is free from competition, rich in intellectual stimulation and academic challenges, and full of emotional support. The children work in small, flexible groups, which allow the teachers to adapt the program to the needs of each child and adjust the grouping as they progress. The children also work as a whole group, benefiting from one another’s strengths and learning styles.
In language arts, the growth of decoding and phonetic skills opens the door to reading comprehension. Listening to stories, discussing their content, and relating them to personal experience all serve to enhance the purpose and quality of reading. Weekly spelling tests are introduced, but invented spelling is still allowed in early drafts of written work in order to encourage creativity and expressiveness. In math, standard operations are introduced conceptually using manipulatives, words, and everyday problem-solving situations. Children learn why a certain mathematical operation is used as well as how to perform it.
The social studies curriculum, rotating in a two-year cycle, expands the theme of social awareness to incorporate their immediate neighborhood (Yorkville) and the history of New York City. Topics such as personal history, family traditions, and celebrations around the world continue to be an integral part of the curriculum throughout both cycles.
