At Graham and Parks, students in grades 1 and 2 are part of multi-age
classrooms that include students from both grade-levels. All students
participate in a two-year curriculum cycle of Learning Expeditions and
participate in math and literacy activities that are differentiated to
meet the needs of kids in different stages of skill development.
Learning Expeditions
In
Grades 1 and 2, learning expeditions are integrated into daily
instruction. Over the two-year cycle, students explore a wide range of
topics. Expedition topics vary by year and by classroom, but examples
include:
- Animal and Plant Life Cycles
- Arthropods
- Early Americans/Native Americans
- Folk Tales from America.
- Immigration
- Islands
- Seeds and Soil
- Trees and Seasonal changes
- US and World Geography
During these learning expeditions, children develop the skills to
work cooperatively and independently. Our goal is for students to become
thoughtful thinkers, critical observers and dedicated researchers. Many
of our expeditions focus on the natural sciences. For example, in our
study of invertebrates, we ask “How can we as scientists learn about and
organize the data we have collected about the natural world?” We
observe invertebrates, develop the scientific skills of classification,
learn how to compare characteristics, and demonstrate content knowledge
in a wide variety of genres including report writing, poetry, and
narrative writing from the point of view of an invertebrate.
Other
learning expeditions focus on the social sciences. In our immigration
unit, “E Pluribus Unum: From Many, One” we consider the causes and
contributions of immigration to the United States. We interview new
Americans and dig into our own families’ unique American histories. We
learn how to use maps and how to interpret data meaningfully. Finally,
we apply what we’ve learned to the creation of our own books that tell
our personal immigration stories and demonstrate our expository writing
skills.