Grades 1 - 8 at Upper Valley Waldorf
Grade 1
First graders develop strong foundational skills in literacy and numeracy. Fairy tales from around the world and nature stories feed their imaginations and give meaning to emerging academic skills. Children draw upon imaginative pictures to understand sound-symbol relationships with letters. They learn to carefully write letters, then words and sentences. Reading practice is carefully structured with practice blending and segmenting sounds in words.
Arithmetic skills also are firmly established in first grade. With pictorial images, movement, and counting manipulatives, children are introduced to all four arithmetic operations – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Circle activities and movement games such as hand-clapping exercises and jumping rope support active, full-body learning and take place every day. Academic skill building is enriched with imaginative learning through drama, rhymes and poems, drawing, painting, singing, and beeswax modeling. First graders develop finger dexterity, breath control, and musical ear training as they begin to learn to play the pentatonic recorder.
Moving into first grade is a big transition. To help ease the students into this new stage of their education, each first grader receives a “buddy” from the eighth grade. The older students form warm connections with the first graders and share many experiences together throughout the year.
Grade 2
The grade two curriculum builds upon the strong foundation of reading, writing, and arithmetic laid in first grade. Students are introduced to more complex aspects of phonics, and work toward increased accuracy in reading and word recognition. They also begin to learn more complex math facts and develop an understanding of place value and number patterns in order to solve more challenging problems.
Stories in the second grade support the social and emotional development of the children. They are drawn from fables and legends of saints because these illustrate the contrasts between feelings and behaviors that second graders experience within themselves. Nature stories along with experiences and observations out of doors help provide a foundation for science in the upper grades.
Recitation of poems and singing, drama, movement and circle activities, drawing, painting, and modeling all grow in complexity and challenge in second grade. Students now are able to play complicated songs on their pentatonic recorders.
Grade 3
Children move through a significant developmental shift at this age. They experience a new sense of themselves as separate individuals which can create inner uncertainty. The story content in third grade curriculum supports this new developmental phase. The ancient Hebrew stories from the Bible offer students the experience of order and purpose that is greater than themselves during this time of inner change. Stories of how people lived around the world, using their skills to build shelters and harvest food, give students security in their own practical capacities.
Practical, hands-on activities such as gardening, helping at a local farm, building shelters, and measurement are part of the curriculum. A three-day trip to a farm where they help care for animals, learn about planting, and prepare the food for their meals is an exciting class experience towards the end of the year.
Academics demand more from the students in third grade. Language arts skills include more complex spelling patterns and writing sentences and paragraphs, parts of speech, and punctuation. Reading instruction is aimed ever more strongly on accuracy and fluency. Students learn cursive writing. Read More: → The Benefits of Cursive Go Beyond Writing
In math students focus on mastering all twelve multiplication families. Math problem-solving becomes more complex with carrying and borrowing in vertical addition and subtraction, as well as long multiplication. Calculations using all types of measurements are another important part of math.
Vigorous movement and circle activities and continued artistic work help balance out the rich third grade curriculum. Students develop nimble fingers as they shift from the pentatonic recorder to the more complex diatonic recorder, and they begin to sing and play songs in rounds.
Grade 4
Fourth grade students show increased independence and curiosity for the world around them. The Norse mythology with its gods, heroes, monstrous creatures, and adventure captivate fourth graders and this becomes the thematic material for developing their writing and grammar skills. Reading instruction works towards building independence, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.
Math is hands-on with the introduction of fractions. Long division requires organization of thinking into step-by-step processes. Movement activities are especially conducive to supporting memorization of math facts.
Fourth grade also includes the exploration of the animal world with zoology. Local state history and geography give fourth graders a sense of where they stand in the world. A field trip to the Vermont State House and Historical Museum in Montpelier round out the year.
Grade 5
Fifth graders have grown to a place of harmony and balance in childhood. The curriculum reflects this developmental stage with a focus on ancient cultures. Stories include the myths, gods, and heroes of India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece.
A highlight of the year that enriches the study of ancient Greek history is the fifth grade Pentathlon. Students learn the five original Olympic games and participate in their own Greek Olympics with fifth graders from other Waldorf schools.
Alongside the rich history curriculum, students study North American Geography, and explore the plant world with Botany.
Reading for joy and pleasure is emphasized, as well as reading for information and learning. Students begin to learn basic tools of research and expository writing. Grammar, spelling, and written composition also become more complex.
Math skills include problems with fractions and mixed numbers. Decimals are introduced, and students have their first exposure to geometric principles with freeform geometry drawing.
Grade 6
Sixth graders begin to question the world around them as they start to figure out how they fit in. Social interactions with each other take on a new level of importance. This curriculum offers a rich variety of subjects to challenge the newly emerging critical thinking of students.
Studies in history reach back to ancient Rome and continue through the Middle Ages. The focus on geography is now South America and Central America. Studies in science become more rigorous, focusing on Geology, Astronomy, and the first lab science, Physics. Math covers percent, business math, and geometry in addition to rigorous practice towards proficiency of previously learned skills. Language arts classes include continued work in spelling, grammar, written composition, and reading.
A highlight of the sixth grade year grows out of the study of the Middle Ages. Students learn the virtues of knighthood, complete community service, and participate in the culminating Knighthood Ceremony and Medieval Games. This exciting event has become a rite of passage for students to enter our Middle School.
Sixth grade students will also start year one of our Cyber Civics Curriculum.
Grade 7
Seventh grade students experience a wonderful spectrum of emotions and emerging abilities as they explore their own limits. The curriculum for seventh grade is carefully crafted to challenge and engage them on many levels.
The focus in history is on the European Renaissance and Age of Exploration, a time when old ways of thinking fell away as new ways of understanding emerged. Geography studies include the continent of Africa and the world-wide sea passages. Students receive special instruction in perspective drawing.
Mathematics solidifies foundational skills and includes new skills in Geometry and introductory principles of Algebra. Science includes Physiology, Chemistry, and Physics. English study introduces creative writing and poetry. Reading, composition, grammar, spelling, and mechanics of writing all are practiced and refined.
Community service projects and field trips enhance the classroom learning in seventh grade. One of the highlights of the year is the French trip to Quebec City.
Seventh grade students will also take year two of our Cyber Civics Curriculum.
Grade 8
Through the curriculum of the eighth grade, our students increasingly become citizens of the world. They gain a greater sense of themselves as American citizens through studies of American History, the founding of this nation, and its structures of government. Through the studies of world geography and meteorology, they see the connection between the land, weather systems, and the cultures of the peoples that have evolved.
Their studies in science -- Anatomy, Meteorology, Organic Chemistry, and Physics, help them understand the universal aspects that humans share, from the building blocks of life, to their connections to one another, and to the earth as a whole.
English studies focus on refining skills and developing capacities for better understanding through research and writing. Their confidence and poise is evident in the staging and performance of the class play. Math studies include Algebra and three-dimensional Geometry.
Opportunities for social and emotional growth occur on the class trip, which is one of the culminating events for the class. Students have been working as a class to raise money for this trip since sixth grade, and their united efforts deepen the sense of reward this trip offers.
Eighth graders now also have the chance to take responsibility for guiding a younger child as they become the “buddies” to a first grader. These relationships are nurtured throughout the year and valued by both the first graders and the eighth graders.
Eighth grade is ultimately a time of challenge and completion as students prepare for the transition to high school and new adventures.
Eight grade students will also take year three of our Cyber Civics Curriculum.