Upper Elementary
Years 3-5
With the strong skills acquired in Wichita Montessori School Lower Elementary solidly locked into place, students in the school’s Upper Elementary program work individually and as groups to build on that foundation. Students expand and build on the following four areas of study:
Language
Reading and writing open the world’s every door.
Using both the spoken and written word, students work to develop effective communication skills. Children continue to read and analyze novels, and also work individually and as a group on creative writing, report writing, and letter writing. Using Montessori materials, work moves quickly to abstract, and covers eight parts of speech, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. Vocabulary building is a daily exercise.
A novel approach – children are encouraged to choose reading material that matches their individual interests. The act of reading is expanded to include analyzing and synthesizing information. Students are introduced to a wide variety of literary styles and genres, as well as to grammar, word functions, and vocabulary building.
How do you learn to write? You write! At Wichita Montessori Upper Elementary, writing is a daily occurrence, and includes correspondence with other schools, nationally and internationally, research, creative writing, and expository writing.
Math
Maria Montessori said it best: “In its natural state the human mind is already mathematical; it tends toward exactness, measure and comparison.”
Building on students’ solid foundation, Math becomes more abstract than it was at the Lower Elementary level – but it’s expanded to introduce children to its never-ending, real life applications. Our method involves presentation with Montessori materials, along with daily assignments.
Our math curriculum covers the decimal system, through more complex addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Investigation of all components of fractions, problem solving, a full-focus on geometry, algebra, and graphing are also included. But in truth, at Wichita Montessori School, the study of math never ends. Once it’s been introduced and the children have a full understanding of its principles, math becomes part of every component of the school’s curriculum.
Here, the study of math goes far beyond memorization and becomes a useful, comfortable tool for each student’s daily life.
Cultural Subjects
At Wichita Montessori School, our lab is the world.
Our goal is to introduce students to the subjects of geography, biology, chemistry, zoology, ancient studies, government, Native American studies, the explorers, and early U.S. history in a way that helps them to understand their classroom, home, city, nation, and planet. We help them to develop not only knowledge, but also the desire to put that knowledge into stewardship and action.
Children learn how to find, use, retain, and communicate information. Although the basic knowledge is required of all students, individual interests drive a student’s supporting projects, research papers, oral reports, and power point presentations. Children accomplish this with a confidence that comes from identifying real interests, understanding processes, and feeling the acceptance of a supportive and caring environment.
Practical Living
The world is a huge place – made up of countless little places. The theories of Practical Living encourage students to learn about and improve their piece of the world. Practical Living theories become realities as students work on environmental projects in and around the school. But just as importantly, it asks students to become respectful of and gracious to each other, and encourages them to do whatever they can to make their part of Earth a better place in which to live.
With the sound basis of a Wichita Montessori School education behind them, students who have completed both the Lower and Upper Elementary programs enter public or private middle schools with the tools and the passions to continue a lifetime of learning and the success that comes with it.
In addition to our Montessori curriculum, students are instructed in French, Spanish, art, music, physical education, and science.