Upper Elementary: Grades 4–6

The Upper Elementary math and geometry curriculum focuses on developing strong operational skills while progressing from concrete to abstract understanding. Students use hands-on materials to master core operations, solve multi-digit problems, and build fluency in math facts. As they advance, they explore fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, and concepts like area, perimeter, and angles. Sixth-year students engage in investigation-based learning, deepening their understanding of factors, ratios, and real-world applications. For advanced learners, the curriculum includes pre-algebra concepts, such as linear relationships and three-dimensional geometry, preparing them for further studies in Middle School.

In Upper Elementary, our English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum continues the spiraling approach to support students in their journey from learning to read to reading to learn, focusing on comprehension, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. Fourth and fifth-year students participate in guided reading groups and explore creative writing while building spelling and grammar skills. By sixth year, ELA becomes interdisciplinary, with students applying reading, research, and writing skills to projects like lab reports, and literature analysis. This approach fosters a mastery orientation and independence in literacy and prepares students for advanced academic work in middle school.

In the Upper Elementary years, students develop a rich appreciation for culture as they begin to see themselves as part of a global community. Our studies in science, history, and geography are designed to help students expand their critical thinking skills through hands-on laboratory assignments, historic simulations, and research projects. Lessons in language, mathematics, and geometry are designed to help students see the real-world application of their studies through their cultural works and emphasis on developing abstract thought. 

Cosmic education, a core element of Montessori philosophy, emphasizes understanding the interconnectedness of all things. It encourages holistic learning by integrating subjects like science, history, and art, fostering critical thinking and creativity. Children explore global issues and environmental stewardship, developing empathy and social responsibility. This nurturing environment inspires a lifelong love of learning and curiosity about the universe and humanity’s place within it.

STEM education—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—is vital in Montessori classrooms as it fosters hands-on learning and critical thinking. By engaging directly with materials, children make abstract concepts concrete, enhancing their understanding. STEM is integrated across subjects, demonstrating the connections between disciplines, and encouraging holistic learning. This approach nurtures curiosity and inquiry, allowing students to explore and discover. Collaborative projects help develop problem-solving skills and resilience, preparing them for real-world challenges. By incorporating STEM to everyday life, Montessori classrooms inspire a lifelong love of learning and equip children with essential skills for their future.

The Upper Elementary Art Program invites students to engage deeply with materials, ideas, and creative processes. Guided by Montessori principles and the Studio Habits of Mind, students explore increasingly complex concepts in the elements of art and design, including line, pattern, rhythm, space, and composition, through a wide range of media. Projects span drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, collage, paper engineering, and fiber arts, supporting both technical skill and conceptual thinking. Artist studies introduce students to diverse artistic voices and historical contexts, encouraging close looking, thoughtful interpretation, and informed experimentation.

Many projects are interdisciplinary and developed in collaboration with classroom teachers and other specialists, allowing students to make meaningful connections between art, literature, history, science, and cultural studies. These integrated experiences position visual art as a tool for inquiry, research, and communication across disciplines.

Sustained studio investigations encourage planning, revision, collaboration, and reflection as students take increasing ownership of their work. The art studio becomes a space for sustained inquiry and personal voice, where students grow as confident, capable artists who use visual language to explore ideas, culture, and perspective.

The Upper Elementary Music & Drama curriculum includes units in composition, instrument building, Calypso and steel pan drumming, Hawai’ian ‘ukulele and hula dance, African kalimba and storytelling, and medieval European folk theatre. All grades participate in a play each spring. Many students also study musical instruments or voice at Oak Meadow after school, and participate in optional ensembles such as Concert Choir, Beginner and Advanced Bands, the Afterschool Musical Theatre production, and Oakapellas, our student-led a cappella vocal ensemble.

Upper Elementary nature-based learning engages students in sustained, meaningful outdoor work that fosters stewardship, collaboration, and ecological understanding. Long-term projects connect science, math, and sustainability through direct experience. Students practice stewardship by maintaining shared spaces both in the garden and throughout the school property. They work to improve these spaces by researching native and invasive plants and planning thoughtful designs for habitat restoration. Field studies at nearby conservation land expand learning beyond campus as students study forestry, biodiversity, and ecosystems, identifying trees, estimating their age using math, keeping detailed nature journals, and exploring aquatic habitats. Engineering challenges such as shelter-building develop perseverance and teamwork. Botany studies and microscope investigations support close scientific observation. Hands-on projects, including ephemeral nature art and examining sustainable consumerism, prompt students to reflect on their role within the environment. By taking responsibility for real places and engaging in ongoing outdoor exploration, students develop as critical thinkers, confident learners, and committed caretakers of the natural world.

Upper Elementary Spanish invites students to deepen their language skills through meaningful communication, storytelling, and cultural exploration. Using a Comprehensible Input and storytelling-based approach, students engage with Spanish in ways that connect language to their own lives and the wider world. Daily routines, conversations, and interactive activities support growing confidence in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Story-based units introduce rich cultural and geographic themes, from Latin American traditions and holidays to environmental studies, art, and history. As students progress, they work with increasingly complex language structures, including descriptive language, reflexive verbs, and expressions of time, place, and preference. Games, collaborative storytelling, and discussion encourage active participation and thoughtful reflection. Through these experiences, students develop strong communication skills, cultural curiosity, and an appreciation for Spanish as a meaningful tool for expression, connection, and global understanding.