Lower School Curriculum

Our Lower School students experience student-centered, differentiated literacy instruction daily as we aim to produce proficient, enthusiastic, lifelong readers and writers. 

Reading, writing, and foundational literacy skills instruction have separate units of study for each grade level and are designed to support each other in content, habits, strategies, and skills. Students immerse themselves in “just-right” books and write stories from the heart of their own experiences and noticings.

• A predictable workshop framework includes a mini lesson, independent work, teacher conferences with individual students and small groups, a mid-workshop teaching point, and a closing share. 
• Workshop approach with reading strategies and the writing process and independent reading and writing time
• Attention to accuracy, fluency, comprehension and conventions used by successful readers and writers
• Instruction in strategies to build and maintain an independent reading and writing life
• Attention to metacognitive thinking skills, speaking and listening skills
• Time for students to present their work and reflect on feedback from their classmates who, in turn, learn to listen attentively and ask productive questions
   

Trinity Episcopal School develops mathematicians in Kindergarten through Grade 5 using the curriculum, Math in Focus 2020, which is the U.S. edition of the highly effective Singapore Math approach. Leveraging global best practices and research the curriculum uses powerful visual models, engaging hands-on activities, and a consistent K–8 pedagogical framework. 

Lessons emphasize a concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach which allows students to gain deeper conceptual understanding. Visual models, including bar models, help students develop the ability to visualize mathematical situations, which is key to becoming a successful problem solver. The program also features an online learning platform with assessments, ebooks, videos, and games.

• Daily 60-minute sessions featuring differentiated instruction in a whole class, small group or individual format 
• In-depth coverage of topics with concepts that build upon each other and across grade levels 
• Substantive work in important strands of mathematics – rational numbers, geometry, measurement, data 
• End-of-grade benchmarks for basic number combinations and computation 
• Classroom extension and reinforcement activities, including games, challenging problem-solving, and fluency practice 
• Ongoing practice and assessment to monitor student growth and understanding 
• Problems presented in a real-world context that help children make relevant connections to their own lives 
• Emphasis on mathematical discourse by teaching and utilizing using discussion strategies that set a tone for rich classroom communication 
• Digital tools that supplement the text and support and inform students, teachers, and parents

Trinity’s Lower School science program utilizes the Amplify Science units of study as its core curriculum with a goal to create scientific thinkers who eagerly investigate, research, explore and record information about the world around them.

Our hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning weaves and spirals scientific content in various disciplines and grade levels allowing students to utilize the scientific method to experiment, construct, dissect and create models to prove their hypotheses.

Throughout their nine years at Trinity Episcopal School, students are introduced to earth science, physical science, life science, astronomy, physics, chemistry, microbiology, genetics, physiology and the study of our urban environment.

• Introduction to the scientific method which requires students to form a hypothesis to prove or disprove
• Reinforcement of the scientific method through research, documentation and communication
• Utilization of scientific tools
• Two fully equipped K-8 science labs
• Hands-on learning approach to reinforce scientific principles and inquiry
• Experience with the outdoor classroom (vegetable garden, hummingbird/butterfly garden, marshland, etc.) to discover the uniqueness in these habitats
• Units of study that include chemistry, physics, astronomy, and geology

In Kindergarten through 5th grade, students explore civics, economics, geography, and history through problem-based learning units and inquiry work. Many of these units, especially in the lower grades, are known as Storypaths - units in which students take on roles as characters in a story and become stakeholders in a critical situation, perhaps scientists studying an oil spill in an ocean, knights protecting a medieval castle under siege, or members of the Boston Tea Party struggling for independence during the American Revolution. This approach capitalizes on the principle that, through problem solving and constructing their own knowledge and understanding of the world, as well as having a real "stake" in the problem, students engage in more meaningful and memorable learning.

Social studies work at Trinity is often integrated with students' reading and writing, and always keeps at its core the development of deep and enduring understandings, concepts, and skills as preparation for democratic decision-making.

• Exposure to each of the 10 strands of social studies as defined by the National Council for the Social Studies (culture; time, continuity, and change; people, places and environments; individual development and identity; individuals, groups, and institutions; power, authority, and governance; production, distribution, and consumption; science, technology, and society; global connections; civic ideals and practices)
• Exploration of critical incidents; combining recent learning with background knowledge to resolve scenarios
• Practice in problem-based learning
• Opportunity for student voice and choice in research topics and learning projects

Across the primary grades of K-2, teachers engage in whole-group instruction in foundational skills, including phonemic and phonological awareness. They also administer formative and summative assessments in reading, writing, and phonics to provide additional differentiation. These flow from one grade level to the next using a developmental approach for the scope and sequence.

Word study continues through Grade 5 at Trinity and encompasses the specific and intentional instruction around phonics, morphology, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and writing mechanics. Some of this work happens naturally within the context of reading and writing workshops, but additional stand-alone time is devoted to both whole-class instruction and differentiated small-group or one-on-one work led by both teachers in a classroom.

• Grammar, word study, vocabulary investigations, and spelling instruction and practice
• Small group and individual need-based instruction
• Focus on application to authentic writing