UPPER ELEMENTARY
4th to 5th Grade
WHY PAPILLON MONTESSORI FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY?
Our individually paced curriculum challenges children academically while safeguarding their well-being and sense of self. Engaging as contributing members of a respectful community, they learn to question, think critically, and take responsibility for their learning—skills that will support them later in education and life.
Like all Montessori levels, the Upper Elementary program is based on the belief that children learn best through movement and work with their hands. It provides cognitive, social, and emotional support to help them reach their full potential.
THE SPECIFIC GOALS OF THE UPPER ELEMENTARY PROGRAM
-
Grow to be confident, self-respecting individuals who love to learn.
-
Learn to initiate and complete work independently of constant teacher direction.
-
Understand and apply abstract concepts to their daily life.
-
Are global citizens.
-
Seek fundamental understanding and study to learn, not simply to get good grades.
-
Tend to be leaders, helpers, creative thinkers, and problem solvers.
-
Please take responsibility for yourself and each other.
“The child who has never learned to work by himself, to set goals for his acts, or to be the master of his force of will is recognizable in the adult who lets others guide his will and feels a constant need for the approval of others.”
DR. MARIA MONTESSORI
UPPER ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
The Upper Elementary curriculum is a dynamic continuation of the work and studies from the previous levels. This next level of education guides the students as they move away from more concrete, fact-based learning into an age of abstraction and reason. Fueled by powerful imaginations and a desire to understand how things work, the Upper Elementary Students are well prepared for a curriculum that challenges them with advanced literature, history, science, mathematics, and language ideas.
As the students continue through what Dr. Montessori called the Intellectual Period, they develop intellectually, socially, and morally as active participants in their classroom communities and learning. Hands-on learning, coupled with more abstract work, discussions, and experiential education, creates a balance of learning experiences for the active minds and bodies of the Upper Elementary student. Throughout the curriculum, group work is highlighted to create a productive and positive outlet for this very social developmental period. Ongoing independent work is also vital and allows students to challenge themselves, hone organizational skills, and build a solid foundation of academic strengths.s.
DEFINING THE 6-9-YEAR-OLD CHILD
Children are excited and ready to learn from first through third grade. Having reached a stage of physical stability, they enter into the age of reasoning and logic. Their imaginations are strong, and they are able to learn and think about things that they cannot see or touch. Lower Elementary children are interested in exploring not only their immediate surroundings but in knowing and understanding the bigger world.
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
Where the younger child is gaining physical independence, the elementary child is working on intellectual independence. The Lower Elementary child is also becoming very social by being with friends and working out issues of friendship. The appropriate behavior for groups becomes very important.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT: The Intellectual Period
Dr. Montessori referred to this stage as the Intellectual Period. She saw this stage as a critical time for expansive education, giving the children lessons and questions to guide their explorations of culture, science, mathematics, language, and social rules and morals. To this end, the Papillon Montessori Lower Elementary classrooms are exciting and busy places. The passion for learning is palpable, as the children delve into the many lessons available to them. They work both in groups and individually, learning to manage group dynamics, while they also master academic skills.
PAPILLON MONTESSORI'S DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
At Papillon Montessori, all of our programs are developmentally responsive to the needs of individual children. In preschool and kindergarten, our classrooms are beautiful environments uniquely prepared to welcome and engage young children. Children work independently, in small groups with teachers, and with younger and older peers. Our experienced teachers fill the Montessori environment with opportunities for learning, exploration, and socialization.
