Lower Elementary

Our Lower Elementary program seeks to balance the child’s developing imagination with concrete skills learned through hands-on exploration. Montessori materials are exceptionally logical and beautifully constructed, enticing the children to want more, to learn more, and to achieve “flow” as they reach deeper levels of concentration. Our teachers carefully observe and track each child’s progress, and add levels of difficulty to the work with each new success they’ve witnessed. The Lower Elementary program yields students who are willing to take intellectual risks and who have the resiliency needed for the challenges of Upper Elementary.

Individualized Learning

Students find their own pace of learning and challenge themselves in individual and small-group lessons shaped to align with their needs. They can access curriculum beyond their grade level, and our experienced teachers are adept at guiding each student through the curriculum with a specialized learning plan.

Hands-On Materials

In the Lower Elementary program, Montessori materials help students understand topics concretely before moving to more abstract work. They support independence, creativity, and multiple learning styles. Students can choose when and how they engage with particular materials across the curriculum.

International Festival

The International Festival is a Riverbend tradition where students research a country and present their learning to the community. The project blends literacy, research, and cultural studies with support from Art, dLab, and Music, while older students contribute feedback and leadership across grades.

Lower Elementary

A Day in the Life

Daily work blocks in math, science, history, geography, literacy, and the arts
Three-year cycle with opportunities for collaboration and mentoring
Social emotional skills and project-based learning

Sample Schedule

Dr. Montessori’s “Great Lessons” are the cornerstone lessons of our Lower Elementary classrooms. They include: The Story of the Universe, The Coming of Life, The Coming of Humans, The Story of Language, and The Story of Numbers. Stories, charts, experiments, and the arts form a narrative of human civilization through time—shaping a global vision and developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and research skills.

Literacy

Literacy work that follows the Common Core Standards inspires students to become lifelong readers and writers who think deeply about texts and the world.

Mathematics

Math lessons feature concrete, hands-on materials that allow students to develop a deep understanding before moving to the abstractions of written algorithms.

Cultural Studies

Cultural studies are interdisciplinary in nature, and they integrate studies of zoology, botany, geography, geology, physical and life sciences, and anthropology.

Social Emotional Learning

Independence and self-regulation are essential parts of the LE experience. Through collaborative work, students develop empathy and organization.

Lower Elementary Curriculum Highlights

By the end of the three-year cycle in Lower Elementary, students are able to read grade-level text fluently and with expression, use phonetic skills to decode unfamiliar words, identify genres such as fiction and nonfiction, summarize short passages, and comprehend and respond both orally and in writing to grade-level texts. Students have the opportunity for many kinds of writing including creative writing, research-based writing, and text-based analytical writing. They learn to revise and edit their writing through a writing process approach. Through this process, students learn about proper mechanics such as capitalization and punctuation, as well as how to edit their work for spelling errors. By the end of the three year cycle, students are drafting, revising, editing, and publishing multi-paragraph essays and stories.

The hands-on approach of Montessori Math allows students to develop a concrete understanding of mathematical concepts that stretches beyond what is typically taught in the early elementary years. The ideas of number concepts, place value, numerals, and related quantities are reinforced and expanded upon within the Elementary program. Over the course of the three year cycle in Lower Elementary, students become experts in understanding place value through 1,000. They master addition and subtraction facts as well as multiplication and division facts. By the end of the third year, students are able to apply the four mathematical operations to independently solve multi-step problems. In addition to basic number concepts, students engage in an in-depth study of fractions and geometry.

Students explore the interconnectedness of all living things. In-depth studies of history, physical and political world geography, civics, economics, peace and justice, the arts, world language, and physical education are introduced. The Great Lessons are the cornerstone of this area, as students are introduced to increasing levels of detail and complexity within these broad areas. Over the course of their three years in Lower Elementary, students will learn The Great Lessons, which are presented in a group format and then supported with follow up lessons and work that can be engaged individually or in small groups.

Students begin to build an identity for themselves as learners in the Lower Elementary program. They reflect on their preferred and less preferred areas of the classroom, and with the guidance of their teachers, they learn to balance their work plan. Students also reflect on their work at the end of the week, considering the quality of their work, what they did well, and how they can improve. Over the course of their three years in Lower Elementary, students develop an ability to concentrate on a chosen task, to sustain and complete a work cycle, to complete assignments independently and to transition from finished to new work smoothly. They also see themselves part of a group, and through their collaborative work, they develop empathy as well as an ability to resolve interpersonal conflicts peacefully.

During this engaging course, Lower Elementary students take an exciting journey through the universe, explore the potential of traveling to Mars, and learn about the engineering involved in robotic arms. Through hands-on projects, students develop a strong understanding of STEM concepts, improve their problem-solving skills, and cultivate a lifelong passion for learning.

Lower Elementary students have the choice to study either Mandarin Chinese or Spanish. One of the most important goals of our language programs is to develop a love of learning languages and to begin to appreciate the world from another perspective.

Students spend time in the Art studio each week. All of our work is based on the Elements and Principles of Design. Students are introduced to art concepts and techniques and are allowed to explore those skills creatively. Students work independently or collaboratively, just as they do in other classroom subjects, choosing the creative subject matter that inspire them, and using the individual time and space we give them to think and create. Riverbend students explore drawing, painting, design, drafting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, and more.

In Music class, students are exposed to a wide range of musical experiences, all intended to build a lifelong love of music. Lower Elementary students build skills through rhythm syllables, solfege, the use of traditional folk material, movement and singing games, and listening analysis. They use various percussion and pitched percussion instruments to heighten their musical learning. Students participate in several performances throughout the year.

Lower Elementary students enjoy PE class weekly. Throughout the year, students are exposed to numerous sports and activities that spark excitement and a passion for physical education. The program includes traditional sports as well as cooperative group challenges, yard games, and badminton.

Lower Elementary students gather for Nature class on a weekly rotation for the entire school year. They also enjoy regular visits to the Magullion Center, our satellite campus nature property.

Download Full Lower Elementary Curriculum Here

The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core.
— Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential

Find out more about Montessori education at Riverbend School!

Our admissions staff would love to work with you as you decide if Riverbend is the right fit for your child! Our hands-on learning environment inspires curiosity, independence, and a lifelong love of learning. Please reach out to our admissions staff by email at admissions@rvbs.org. We’d love to hear from you!

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