Kindergarten
Families and Homes
In Kindergarten, children begin to think about cultural diversity and to develop a global perspective that will be further enhanced throughout the elementary curriculum. An exploration of families and homes will allow students to make personal connections while learning about the world around them.
First Grade
Communities
In first grade, students will expand their understanding of families, homes, and the world to include the communities in which they live and other communities around the world. First graders will learn what a community is and consider the similarities and differences that communities exhibit. They will investigate the roles people play in communities and their own roles as responsible citizens within a larger community and learn about leadership.
Second Grade
Geography
In second grade, students will learn that people understand their place in the world by analyzing maps. Students will examine the major ways in which the world is currently organized (continents, oceans, latitudinal lines, hemispheres, poles…) as well as the major landforms that our world is made up of (mountains, rivers, oceans, deserts…). Students will use different kinds of maps efficiently to understand the world and their place in it.and they will begin to learn about different immigration stories.
Third Grade
Massachusetts History and the American Revolution
These units are an overview of two important time periods in the history of Massachusetts: the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620 and their establishment of the Plimoth Colony, and the events leading up to the American Revolution.
Students will have the opportunity to explore the rich culture and history of the Wampanoag people. They will understand that the Wampanoag are one of many nations of native people all over North America who were here long before any Europeans arrived, and have survived until today.
Students will also learn about the events, locations, and individuals that led up to the American Revolution. Research clubs will examine events such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, the First Continental Congress, Lexington and Concord, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Students will also research the roles of Native Peoples, African Americans and women during the Revolution. Finally, students will understand how the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution evolved.
Fourth Grade
The Expansion of the United States Over Time and U.S Regions Today
By grade 4 students see themselves as part of a larger community, their nation, and it is critical that they develop a strong knowledge base and are able to think critically about the country in which they live. In these units students will see the impact of historical events, geography and diversity on our nation and be introduced to basic concepts of the economy. For comparative purposes, the study of the United States will focus on 5 distinct regions – the Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, the Southwest, and the West.
Students will explore how climate and geography have shaped history and impacted the ways of life of the people of North America. They will learn how the migration of many people has contributed to the growth and development of each region and how each U.S Region is unique.
Fifth Grade
The Constitution & the Role of Government; and The Legacy of Slavery in the U.S & the Struggle for Civil Rights for All
In grade 5 students begin to explore the origins and structures of the United States government. They will have the opportunity to read the Preamble to and select sections of the Constitution and begin to learn about concepts such as individual rights and responsibilities, equality, the rule of law, general welfare, limited government, and representative democracy.
Students will be introduced to the three branches of the U.S government and learn about the function of each branch and the system of checks and balances.
In addition students will begin learning about the history and legacy of slavery in the United States by reading, thinking, talking and writing about a variety of stories. They will work with literature that has been selected to support the beginning examination of the guiding question “How has the enslavement of people shaped the history of the United States, and how does that history impact life today?”
Students will learn about the civil rights movement in the past in addition to current day civil rights movements in the United States.