Upper Elementary Curriculum
Around the age of 6, children move into a new stage of development. They become interested in the larger world. Therefore a new focus of education is required to satisfy the changing needs and characteristics of these students. Dr. Montessori developed an integrated curriculum that she called Cosmic Education.
Cosmic Education is an umbrella term for a way of learning and teaching that leads to interdisciplinary knowledge, the development of ecological behavior, social responsibility, and harmonious interaction between people. The universe becomes the basis of the curriculum, hence the use of the term Cosmic. The backbone of the curriculum is a set of five stories called The Great Lessons. These stories provide the child with a vision of the world and her place within it. They span the universe from its origin to the arrival of humans. The stories are told with a sense of awe and accompanied by charts, experiments, or timelines. The stories are meant to spark the children’s imaginations and sense of wonder. They also suggest a level of gratitude and sentiment for the wondrous way that nature works.
After these introductory stories, students are given lessons that will expose them to the fundamentals. Students are also strongly encouraged to follow their own interests further. All students leave the program with a strong base in language arts, mathematics, geometry, science, history, botany, geography, and the fine arts.
In addition to the reading and writing skills honed through independent research, the Elementary Curriculum includes a sequence of lessons and skills in math, geometry, writing, reading, and grammar. Many of the lessons at the elementary level can be given to a small group since elementary students often prefer to work with a friend or group of buddies. Students typically have some spelling and free reading to do at home - this is the beginning of learning the skills of being responsible for “homework”. The responsibilities for work completed outside the classroom are greater in Upper Elementary.
