Lower School Curriculum Printable

The program follows the kindergarten structure of homeroom and specialist offerings complete with its own set of unique themes that are integrated throughout the curriculum. Laguna Blanca School limits the class size to allow for meaningful interaction between the teachers and the students.

In addition to homeroom instruction by a full-time lead teacher and full-time instructional assistant, the following classes are added to the core of the program: art, library, music, physical education, science, Spanish, and STEAM.

The kindergarten program provides a stimulating academic curriculum which recognizes the needs of five- and six-year old children to move about easily, to socialize fully, and to learn through play and exploration. The curriculum is designed to provide a well-balanced, integrated program that emphasizes the daily teaching of reading, oral and written language, mathematics, and social studies. Thematic teaching incorporates specialist teachers and allows for in-depth studies across the curriculum. Equally important is the development of personal integrity, confidence, and consideration for others.

Language skills and reading form the foundation of the kindergarten curriculum. Understanding that children need to be engaged for learning to occur, the faculty has developed a balanced reading program. Students participate in read-alouds, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading, with individualized and small group instruction to meet the needs of all learners. Spelling in the early childhood years follows a natural progression from inventive spelling, which is phonetic, to conventional spelling. These skills are connected as the students write in their journals every morning. Drama productions, musicals, and assemblies allow these youngest learners to gain confidence and develop oral speaking skills.

The development of thinking skills forms the basis of the math curriculum in kindergarten. The program is integrated into a variety of activities throughout the day, providing many opportunities for children to create and solve math problems that have relevance to their everyday lives. A wide range of manipulative activities and frequent interactions with other students and teachers provide a solid foundation of mathematical concepts, vocabulary, and experiences.

In social studies, students are introduced to the basic aspects of their immediate world, which includes the family, school, and the community. Using their natural curiosity, students are introduced to history and geography through connections between the world today and the world long ago. The story of history is shared through literature, as kindergarteners broaden their horizons from familiar environments to a larger world. Students begin to understand their place as member of a community through discussions of good decision-making and the need for people to cooperate and work together. They learn that being a good citizen involves following rules, such as sharing, taking turns, and being responsible for themselves and others. Character development is emphasized during Tecolote Tuesday assemblies.

Learning becomes an enjoyable, hands-on experience in first grade with many opportunities to understand the academic disciplines through classroom activities, practice assignments, and learning games. Students engage in thematically-based learning activities both inside and outside the classroom. The integration of new ideas and learning with other subject area specialists allows students to practice new concepts through song, drama, science experiments, computer activities, physical movements, and art projects.

Building on the strong foundation of the kindergarten language arts program, the goal for each first grader is to become an independent reader, one who reads joyfully for both pleasure and information. The students progress from learning to read to reading to learn. Language development continues as the children grow in the areas of oral and written expression, listening, and thinking. Small groups of readers meet regularly to build skills in decoding, vocabulary, phonics, oral expression, and comprehension. Through cross-curricular work, students learn that reading and writing are tools for learning. Books and materials are carefully selected to enhance the students’ natural curiosity and to promote the factor of wonder that creates life-long learners.

The first grade math program promotes learning math by doing math. The students have opportunities to use math in class routines and activities designed to advance their conceptual understanding. Computational math is practiced daily with the math text and many in class activities. Students strengthen their math abilities by using cooperative strategies for problem-solving and by focusing on applying the concepts they have learned.

The social studies program is based on a study of self and others to develop a better understanding of how individuals are a part of and contribute to their communities. The students begin by understanding history as a story about the past and exploring the important events and people of America. They make direct connections to the past via a study of their own family’s history. From studying the historical meaning of holidays around the world, children gain an awareness of how our country’s traditions and customs have been enriched by other cultures. Map and globe lessons in geography help children to recognize landforms and political boundaries, along with giving students basic map-reading skills.

Focusing on the intrinsic value of learning, the second graders develop a love for learning and the motivation to succeed in and out of school. Students learn to be more self-sufficient and take more responsibility for their work and social interactions through role-play activities and good decision making techniques. Our Core Values are incorporated throughout the classroom community each day, creating an atmosphere in which important qualities of character are understood, modeled, valued, and practiced. The second graders read a variety of literature for enjoyment and information. Reading selections include classic children’s literature, early chapter books and series, poetry, and nonfiction materials. Increasing fluency, expression, and comprehension in reading are important goals. Students strengthen their reading and writing skills by learning more about decoding words, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and dictionary skills. These skills are integrated with other areas of study. Students develop both oral and written communication skills through letter writing, research reports, journals, and book reports. Creative writing is emphasized throughout the year in the form of stories and poems.

The students develop their math skills by acting as problem solvers. The second grade math program promotes mathematical thinking by encouraging students to apply a variety of strategies to develop and describe their own rules for solving problems. By exploring data with tables, charts, and graphs and by inventing algorithms that are mathematically sound, students develop a solid understanding of numbers and the place value system. Students also create their own mathematical problems, giving them a solid conceptual understanding. Reinforcement of number facts is accomplished through active, engaging math games and activities, using manipulatives and calculators.

In social studies the students study the importance of community and friendship. They explore their family’s heritage and culture, learn about the roles and responsibilities of people living in a community, and create maps of their classroom, school, neighborhood, and local community. Students also “travel around the world,” discovering the geography, culture, customs, and languages of every continent. Guest speakers, field trips, and service projects enhance the students’ understanding of the needs in their community.

In the third grade classroom, students continue to build upon their earlier academic and social lessons as they move from the primary to the intermediate grades. The students begin to establish and develop a sense of community on multiple levels, create and maintain a comfortable social environment where community members feel safe and valued, and expect outstanding citizenship of themselves and others in order to make the school community an outstanding place. With continued emphasis on the our Core Values, the students are encouraged to exude respect, responsibility, kindness, honesty, and service.

At third grade the emphasis in reading shifts to reading to learn. In taking a metacognitive approach, readers are required to be aware of their thinking while they read. Each learner will cultivate a love of reading and develop a greater command of the English language as a speaker, a listener, a reader, and a writer. Students will be exposed to various aspects/genres of oral and written language and literature. This metacognitive approach is also applied to writing as a craft. Each learner will consider their task, their audience, and their purpose when they create written composition. Third graders will create coherent paragraphs featuring a topic sentence and supporting facts/details. Each student will follow the steps of the writing process in order to publish quality written work.

In the third grade study of mathematics, students continue to build upon the skills and concepts previously learned. As is the case with reading and writing, a metacognitive approach to learning concepts and skills is emphasized. As a result, the children learn and understand various ways to solve math problems as well as learning and celebrating diverse mathematic ideas and strategies. Learners will master addition facts, inverse subtraction facts, multiplication facts, and inverse division facts. They will solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, and will use appropriate symbols and operations to represent, describe, simplify, and solve number relationships involving algebraic thinking.

The third grade social and cultural studies curriculum focuses on the concept of community, ranging in scope from immediate community to global community. In the study of various cultures and lifestyles, students learn to accept and celebrate differences among social groups. Many of the lessons and activities are inherently integrated with other academic subjects, including language and literature, music, library, computer, art, and Spanish. 

Fourth grade is an exciting year of learning as students look toward moving to the middle school. Because a strong foundation for learning has been established in the previous grades, fourth grade students are prepared to expand their reading and writing skills, explore more complex math concepts, and dig deep into our state’s history. Students use technology to strengthen math skills, practice the writing process, research information, organize thinking, connect with the world, communicate ideas, and demonstrate learning. Our fourth grade students experience a robust program that emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, and communication.

Fourth graders each participate on the student council to solve problems, express opinions and ideas, and to form positive relationships with peers and teachers.

The primary goal of the fourth grade reading program is to cultivate a love of reading that inspires students to become independent readers. Listening, speaking, and silent reading skills are explicitly taught and practiced. Activities and lessons that focus on creative writing, expository writing, vocabulary development, grammar, spelling, handwriting, and public speaking provide opportunities for students to refine their language arts skills. Students are immersed in a print rich environment and appreciate the power of language, both spoken and written, in their daily lives.

Fourth graders explore the world of numbers, algorithms, patterns, shapes, data, and spatial relationships. The enriched math curriculum includes an emphasis on using and appreciating math in our everyday lives. All fourth grade students are expected to master the multiplication and division facts, as well as the steps to solve multi-digit multiplication and multi-step word problems. Students continue to expand their understanding of fractions, decimals, long division, measurement, symmetry, and graph interpretation. Through daily exercises and the use of manipulatives, students learn to use the principles of mathematics to communicate, reason, and problem-solve, using real-world problems.

The history of California is the focus of the fourth grade social studies program. The topics of study include geography, agriculture, Spanish explorers, missions, rancho days, westward movement, gold rush, and the transcontinental railroad. Students learn how the landscape of California has provided varying resources to different people throughout history. Students develop an appreciation for the various cultural influences, which have shaped California’s history. The Santa Barbara community allows for many opportunities to enrich the social studies curriculum. Throughout the year, students visit and tour missions, historical sites in the county, museums, and the Channel Islands to bring our state’s vivid history to life.