Lower School Curriculum

Recognizing that the arts help us to appreciate and express both the individuality and shared threads of the human experience, the Lower School arts program is centered around cultivating artistic expression as a means of constructing and demonstrating learning. We work with each student to build her capacity for innovation and creativity. While exploring their artistic identity and the creative process, students learn about a diverse array of artists and deepen their experience in the visual and performing arts. The program empowers students to use their voice as artists to engage, reflect and shape the world they live in.  

With a focus on Arts Integration, we examine how the arts can more powerfully interact with other subjects of study. To support this important work, each division has a dedicated Arts Integrator who, in collaboration with grade-level teachers, creates a curriculum that focuses on building artistic literacy in visual art, dance, drama and music, as well as cultivates a synergy between the arts and other subject fields, all to serve the important purpose of "education in the arts and education through the arts."

Our Language Arts program aims to develop thoughtful readers, effective writers, and skilled communicators. At Chapin, students learn through direct, small group, and individualized instruction. The program balances the core literacy skills of reading, writing, phonics, handwriting, and public speaking.

In our reading and phonics program, beginning readers move from learning the alphabetic sounds to sounding out multisyllabic words. Students are supported in further developing their word attack skills at each reading level. Starting in Kindergarten and throughout their time in the Lower School, girls learn the habits of good readers—building their comprehension by stopping to interact with text, asking questions, making connections to prior knowledge, and responding to multiple viewpoints. Developing these essential skills helps our students to make insights out of observations, meaning in their lives, and to think about the ideas of others.

In every classroom in the Lower School, we believe that even the youngest writers have exciting ideas and compelling stories to tell. We focus on developing both skills—spelling and grammar—and the process of writing, where students take ownership of the techniques modeled by their teachers. With strategic and targeted instruction and ongoing support, children develop the necessary skills to write meaningful, authentic and cogent pieces.

Students leave the Lower School as fluent readers and enthusiastic writers ready to tackle the exciting challenges ahead.

In a learning environment that is adaptive and collaborative, the Lower School learning team supports students’ development and potential across the curriculum. They work with students both in and out of their homeroom classrooms and collaborate with classroom teachers to fine-tune their teaching practices to best suit each child's needs. They are an integral part of each grade level team and meet weekly to provide resources that help teachers reinforce or extend concepts with their students. In addition to their work in the classroom, the Learning Resource teachers partner with families in support of students.

The Lower School Library provides an open and inviting space where students are actively encouraged to explore stories, genres, subjects and ideas during weekly library classes. With over 28,000 books and several hundred eBooks, our collection is both expansive and diverse in scope and representation. It is a collection where students can see themselves, learn about others, satisfy the pursuit of current interests, and discover new ones. The foundational skills that are introduced and built upon each year regarding research, the independent navigation of the collection, catalog searching, citation of digital and print resources, and responsible citizenship within the library, all help to prepare students for Middle School and beyond. Whether students are listening to a story being told, learning the importance of giving credit to a resource, participating in a movement activity, engaging in a thoughtful discussion, creating a hands-on project, or immersing themselves in a good book during quiet reading time; the Lower School library program celebrates the creative process, supports inquiry, inspires curiosity, fosters connections and champions the joy of reading, learning and growing.

The Lower School Mathematics Program allows students to construct understanding from their own experiences. As such, students are actively engaged in acquiring and discovering knowledge as opposed to passively receiving it. 

Through a mix of inquiry-based explorations, real-world problems, games, and direct instruction, students develop deep conceptual understanding and problem solving skills that they gradually generalize to procedural computations. During daily discussions, students learn to communicate in the language of math, make connections between concepts and apply their understanding to novel situations. After engaging in open explorations of new concepts, students flex their newfound knowledge in real-life scenarios, and also engage in repetitive calculation practice to build strong fluency. A mix of whole class instruction and small group work allows teachers to provide the support and challenge necessary for each mathematician.

Throughout their time in Lower School, students engage in 4 ”Cs” – Constructing Understanding, Connecting Ideas, Communicating Thinking and Computing with Numbers.

The Lower School physical education program is developed around the belief that students' physical, intellectual, and emotional lives are interconnected. The curriculum is specifically designed to foster the enjoyment of movement, develop physical and cognitive abilities, understand the importance of health and wellness, guide social and emotional growth, and cultivate character through decision-making and teamwork activities. In Kindergarten and Class 1, locomotor, gross-motor, and manipulative skills are emphasized on a regular basis. Students begin to explore sportsmanship through cooperative play. In Classes 2 and 3, these critical foundational skills are a key component for more specialized learning and greater individual skill acquisition. Students are given opportunities to demonstrate leadership, risk-taking and success.

Teachers create an environment where students feel safe and supported. Group activities and game play are included throughout the curriculum to build skills related to communication, cooperation and compromise, all of which are essential elements to developing a sense of community at Chapin. Skill development, fun fitness, inclusive participation, and fair play are key components of our curriculum. The student-teacher ratio is kept small in order to maximize learning through individual attention. By the time students leave Lower School, they have foundational skills, an age-appropriate understanding of rules and strategies, a respect for and an appreciation of others, and a healthy spirit toward all aspects of movement and play.

The Lower School science lab is a buzzing hub of excitement and wonder. Designed and built in the model of a maker space, the lab embodies the ethos of our science pedagogy and curriculum—that students learn by doing. Through hands-on, active exploration and activities, our young scientists build an understanding of the world around them while designing models, planting seeds, programming robots and building bridges. There is also a strong natural sciences element to the lab, which hosts a variety of creatures throughout the year from chicks in the spring to a guinea pig, geckos and a variety of arthropods year round. 

The Lower School science curriculum comprises a range of units in earth science, life science, physical science, design thinking and STEAM skills. No matter the study, students practice the scientific method by making observations, developing hypotheses and analyzing data from experimentation. Our goal is to nurture questions and challenge them to develop even better ones. To grow girls’ confidence in engineering and STEAM, we integrate an engineering component into every unit. This enables students to make a real-world connection to what they are learning in a developmentally appropriate way. This natural connection is at the heart of our curriculum which aims to teach students how to solve problems through designing, creating and most of all, improving their solutions. Through the process of design and engineering, students learn to plan, enhance fine motor skills, master various tools, and develop resilience as they work to bring their creations to life. 

Lower School science inspires curiosity, emphasizes the process of learning, and fosters the joy of discovery all while growing our students' confidence.

The foundation for the Lower School Social Studies curriculum is built on the concept of community, which informs our understanding of the past and our ideas for the future. Within this study of community, children become caring learners who feel valued for their unique experiences and cultural background. In addition, the Lower School teachers help our students appreciate the value of living in a diverse and sustainable environment and understand their responsibility as citizens of our school, our neighborhood, our city, our country and the global community.

Using an inquiry-based approach and integrating with other disciplines, students develop a series of questions to help guide their research and problem solve. Our youngest learners explore and share their family histories before learning about the people and cultures of the Chapin community. Exercising creativity and imagination, students in Class 1 engage in a yearlong investigation into the importance of building communities that are sustainable, innovative and equitable. Embracing the role of urban planners, students collaborate, build and design various essential structures to make their ideal community come to life.

Stories and storytelling serve as the cornerstone of the Class 2 study of New York City. Throughout the year, students develop an understanding of how storytelling acts as a valuable and necessary agent in learning the city's authentic history, its people, and the cultures that have contributed to its growth. They explore the stories of their lives and skillfully investigate those of the homeland of the indigenous Lenape, their living history, and the lasting impact of settler colonialism. Through various activities designed to foster critical thinking, self-advocacy, and creativity, they gain greater perspective and knowledge of the contributions to this spectacular city of the generations of New Yorkers who came before them. 

In the final year of the Lower School, the Class 3 social studies curriculum provides an experience for students to enrich their understanding of the past, present and future as they ask the question: How do time and place affect where and how someone lives? Learning about the impact of well-known global changemakers such as Clara Lemlich, Wangari Maathai, and Malala Yousafzai, students consider how their social responsibility extends as young citizens of the world. For their culminating project, students focus on the people, topics, and causes important to them and choose specific changemakers to study. As they conduct independent research using text and other media, students immerse themselves in the life of their changemaker. In collaboration with the arts and through a written and performance piece, students creatively convey their knowledge to their families and the Lower School community.

The Lower School Spanish program is student-centered and provides a culturally rich language experience that develops communication skills and a keen ear for the sound of Spanish. Students acquire the language by engaging in storytelling, singing, playing games, using Total Physical Response, a teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; and exploring Spanish artists and culture. Supporting an integrated curriculum, we collaborate with homeroom teams and other disciplines to create units that infuse and reinforce content studied in the Social Studies, Arts, and Science programs. An important part of the program is understanding how our identity, and the identities of the members of our community, connects us across cultures. Aligned with the School's mission, the Spanish program considers equity, inclusion, and collaboration as essential components. Embracing a growth mindset, we reinforce three key ideas: all questions are welcome, mistakes are part of learning something new, and trying again and again builds knowledge muscles. 

Beginning in Kindergarten, we introduce Spanish through whole group instruction three times a cycle, in addition to leading morning meetings and incorporating the language in playful ways during Learning Centers. In Classes 1, 2, and 3 the contact time increases to include both whole group and small group instruction. All classes are taught entirely in Spanish, and students demonstrate progress using technology like SeeSaw, a media application that allows differentiation, partnership, creativity, and responsibility.

In the Lower School, educational technology is used to enhance curriculum and elevate student learning across disciplines and grade levels. Both low and high tech tools are used intentionally to scaffold classroom experiences and promote a greater understanding of how tech can improve the daily lives of students and their teachers. 

Lower School students use an array of technology tools and benefit from our 1:1 iPad program. In addition to learning how to use iPads and keyboards, students are introduced to robot design and programming, fundamental computer science skills, and the Design Thinking Process through various project-based explorations that are closely aligned with their everyday learning.

Throughout the year, all Lower School students will explore critical elements of coding and programming, focusing on its authentic and responsible use in everyday situations. Students explore various opportunities for hands-on learning with both “unplugged” programming activities as well as the use of robots and robotics tools such as Bee-Bots, Unruly Splats, Ozobots, and MBots.

Weekly Technology and Design classes from Kindergarten through Class 3 encourage students to ask questions, make mistakes and explore firsthand how everyday objects work. Students learn to use empathy and innovation when approaching new problems, ideate creative possibilities as members of a learning community, invent prototypes and potential solutions, and finally test out and reflect upon their experiences.

Through the integration of tech learning and project-based curriculum, students are empowered to think critically, communicate effectively, solve problems creatively, and actively engage in their learning as members of a uniquely tech-savvy generation.