The Tobin School - Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Overview - Primary School

Curriculum Overview – Primary School

Our Tobin School curriculum is approved by the Town of Natick School Committee and is based upon the Massachusetts Frameworks developed by the Department of Education. While our curriculum is based on these strong principles, our private status allows us the flexibility to build a curriculum based on the children’s interests and individual needs. Our teachers are also encouraged to use an eclectic approach to teaching, keying into student’s individual learning styles and talents.

Language Arts
Math
Handwriting
Spanish
Mandarin
Social Studies
Science
Physical Education
Music
Art
Character Education & Community Service
Etiquette
Technology
Assessment

Language Arts

A balanced approach to reading is most effective in acquiring all the necessary skills to develop a lifelong love of reading. “Open Court” is our formal reading and phonics program for our Kindergarten through 2^nd grade students. Through the use of fine literature, students are systematically and explicitly taught phonemic awareness, phonics, word knowledge, comprehension skills and strategies, inquiry skills, and the art of the writing process. Students are introduced to a wide variety of genres, where they deepen their understanding of various themes.

In the upper grades we utilize the “Imagine It’ literacy program and begin to widely expand the student’s choices in reading materials. Children use novels, poetry, and plays from a variety of genres to deepen their appreciation and learn about interpretation, comprehension, predictions and analytical skills. There is a sound emphasis on developing strong writers by teaching the important themes and components of the writing process. Students are required to write, edit, and publish book reports, stories, persuasive paragraphs, plays, and poetry.

To build strong public speakers, all students learn presentation skills, beginning in the primary grades and are given ample opportunity to practice in front of peers, the whole class or the Tobin community.

In line with the rest of our curriculum, children learn spelling rules and vocabulary in a systematic and well organized manner. Rules are taught in the classroom, weekly tests and assignments are utilized to assess the understanding and multiple opportunities are put forth to allow for ample practice.

In addition to our own library of books and materials, our students in our Primary school visit the Morse Institute Library in Natick every other week to select from their vast array of titles. This extraordinary library becomes an extension of our own and we assist the children in getting library cards of their own to use at this site.

Math

Math is approached with a wide variety of opportunities and learning tools to create a comprehensive experience for the student. Our core Math programs are “Math Exploration and Application” and “Real Math”, both by SRA. These well balanced and engaging programs teach essential skills and concepts, problem solving strategies and encourage analytical thinking while fostering a positive attitude. Throughout the math curriculum, students learn patterns, measurement, geometry, beginning algebra, money, probability, process and outcome. In addition to these traditional curriculums, students are challenged with “problems of the day” focusing on a recently taught strategy or concept. We firmly believe that all students need to build a sound and solid grasp of math facts, beginning in the early years, to develop into strong and lifelong mathematicians. In all grades, students are taught “real life” math to connect to their day-to-day lives.

Handwriting

“Handwriting without Tears”, our print and cursive curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 3, allows students ample opportunity to learn sound writing habits. “HWT” is a developmentally based and multisensory approach to writing. With various kinesthetic and spatial components to the program, the students will incorporate fine and gross motor skills and both the big and small muscle groups to internalize the correct formation of letters. Fine and correct handwriting is encouraged throughout the whole curriculum.

Spanish

The Tobin School provides students with a culturally rich and linguistically challenging Spanish Curriculum. Twice weekly Spanish classes allow students to retain and recall new and past vocabulary in a variety of manners. The students constantly sing, speak, converse, and play games in Spanish. The daily question chain encourages students to utilize practical conversational Spanish ultimately increasing their comfort level and ability to maintain functional and mainstream conversations. Throughout the year, as the foundation builds, students are ready to write and read in Spanish. Literary works, textbooks, music, and art from United States, Spain, Mexico and South America are implemented to create a well rounded and comprehensive program. Our annual Cinco de Mayo celebration offers a great chance for our students to present all that they have learned to their families and the Tobin community!

Mandarin
New this year, we are very excited to have partnered with BiLingual Boston to provide instruction in Mandarin Chinese, three times per month to all our Tobin School classrooms. The children learn from native speakers through a variety of song, games, creative repetition and activities. Using this variety of activities as a base, the children construct short sentences that use their new vocabulary (pronouns, verbs, numbers, colors, weather and family words, questions, and more). This allows them to practice using the language in a natural way.

Social Studies

Students learn about history, cultures, geography and current events in accordance with the Massachusetts Frameworks. This study offers students a vision and perspective into history and other cultures through reading and writing, discussion, drama, video, field trips and the utilization of the community and its resources. Students read “Scholastic News” each week in class to learn about current events and are part of a round table discussion to explore important themes. Focused reading of non-fiction and biographical works are also used to further student’s understanding. In addition, our strong focus on Community Service lets Tobin students see the impact they can have on not only their own community, but the world around them.

Science

Students learn about natural science in accordance with the Massachusetts Frameworks. Students learn about a variety of themes including weather, solar system, animals and habitats, plants, earth, and natural science. These themes are taught through discovery, experiments, reading, discussion, writing, and projects. Our Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes use a monthly science theme for exploration and discovery—focusing on our bodies, the ocean, weather and much more. Our 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd graders build on the acclaimed Scott Foresman Science curriculum by Pearson. This vibrant, exciting curriculum brings the natural world and its forces right into the hands of our students and makes science come to life. Our annual Science Fair invites our primary students to explore a science question or interest and show off their finding with our whole community.

Students also have daily access to a variety of animals including birds, snakes, lizards and mice in our Science Center. A weekly Animal Science class for our primary students also allows great hands on learning in the ways of the animal kingdom. Our Tobin students have hatched duck, chicken, and dove eggs and compared gestation periods. They have watched tadpoles turn to frogs, larva turn to beetles, and caterpillars become butterflies. They have also focused their attention on the local wildlife. This hands-on study really captivates our Tobin students and makes them more respectful of the animals in our world.

Physical Education

Physical activity and healthy habits are vital in the lives of all children. Our physical education program in the primary years focuses on in-school team sports, development of coordination, activities to develop fine and gross motor control, tumbling, and following rules and directions. In the upper grades, sportsmanship, organized rule-based games, yoga and team sports are main focuses. Alongside physical activity, we explicitly teach children to develop sound nutritional habits which are supported by the faculty throughout the school and in the snack program. Students in our Junior Kindergarten class attend a once weekly Physical Education class onsite. Students in Kindergarten and up attend Physical Education classes twice per week, once onsite here utilizing our new turf field and once by traveling to the Longfellow Sports Club in Natick for use of a full gymnasium. All our Tobin students also participate in twice monthly Yoga classes, learning techniques for controlled body movement, relaxation, and proper breathing. An annual Tobin School Field Day ends the year with a rousing chance for the whole school to come together for a day of non-competitive athletics and fun!

Music

The music program teaches music theory and appreciation, rhythm, tempo, voice training, movement, a study of instruments, and choral practice. Our curriculum focuses on an introduction to all the instruments of the orchestra, culminating in a trip to hear the Boston Symphony Youth Orchestra. Students also learn to use their bodies and percussion instruments to create and follow rhythms. An appreciation for the vast variety of musical genres is also a focus. Our 2^nd graders learn to play the recorder as well as read simple musical ‘language’. Our 3^rd grade students are offered an opportunity for piano lessons at the end of their school day. Performance and respect for performers is also a focus of this curriculum. Bi-annual Tobin School Performance Festivals allow students to show off their individual talents and skills, as well as to participate in class performances.

Art

Surrounded by art in the school, students learn about the different styles and talents of various artists. In the art studio, students focus on free design, painting, sketching, cutting, clay, creations from paper maché, collage and the use of color as a form of expression. All students learn to create both 2D and 3D designs using a variety of materials. Our colorful, bustling art studio is a great spot for children to try out new techniques and create their own masterpieces. Two Tobin School art shows are held each year showcasing the unique creations of our students as they explore the vast world of art. We also use the extraordinary art resources in our area, incorporating field trips to various art museums including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Decordova in Lincoln, and the Danforth Museum in Framingham.

Character Education & Community Service

A significant portion of our curriculum, time, and energy focuses on the growth of the whole child. Each day, the students are both explicitly and indirectly taught the importance of certain character values such as responsibility, respect, truthfulness, and trust. Students learn these values through discussion, literature, dramatic play, and music.

During daily class meetings and monthly all school meetings, students will learn about one specific value. Students are then positively reinforced when spotted performing an act that demonstrates one of the character values.

Another equally important aspect of our approach is the focus on community service. We encourage students to become active members of their community, whether locally, nationally or globally. These endeavors will occur inside the doors of our school and out in the field. Students are encouraged to think about people locally who can benefit from our hands on work, perhaps by serving dinner at a soup kitchen, collecting canned goods for a food pantry or raising money for a charity. Others may look more globally, where we can send school materials to a disaster relief center to facilitate the clean up and forward movement. We believe all people benefit when able to assist others. A monthly community service project or goal provides the children with lots of opportunities to see their impact on their world. Examples of previous events include successful food drives, our annual Read-A-Thon, car washes, and much more.

Our annual Tobin School Volunteer Fair, which is held in November each year, provides a wonderful opportunity for families to work together with their young children on a variety of community service projects in a safe, friendly environment. Last year’s Volunteer Fair invited families in to participate in the following community service projects:

- Baking dog biscuits for Buddy Dog Humane Society

- Creating centerpieces for Natick’s Senior Center

- Knitting baby caps for newborns at the Metrowest Medical Center

- Decorating and filling snack bags for the food pantry at A Place to Turn

- Painting beautiful Thanksgiving tablecloths for the Natick Service Council

- Decorating cookies for residents at The Pine Street Inn

- Joining in an author’s reading and donating used books to support Reach Out and Read

All of our Tobin Family of Schools (Tobin Children’s School, Westwood Children’s School, and Tobin Afterschools in Natick, Needham, and Westwood) hold Volunteer Events in tandem with this one to spread our commitment to community service and its value throughout all of our various communities.

Etiquette

Today’s busy families fight an increasingly difficult battle against a more and more casual—and sometimes rude—society. Manners and etiquette, and most importantly, an atmosphere that fosters and rewards respect is built into our Tobin School environment. We explicity work on teaching our students respectful manners, greetings, table manners, phone and manners for ‘out and about’ during our school year.

Technology

As our society becomes increasingly more and more technology based, there is no doubt that our children will be affected by technology in every component of their future lives. We introduce a technology component to our classroom instruction for our 2^nd and 3^rd graders which utilizes the internet and software programs to extend their classroom learning. A specially trained instructor works closely with the classroom teacher to build a technology curriculum that challenges the students and builds their technological experience as they work to increase their academic knowledge.

Assessment

A strong curriculum is nothing without a companion system of assessment to allow families, faculty, and students to watch their progress. In addition to using a variety of curriculum specific assessment tools, we are proud to also use the Children’s Progress Assessment System. This internet based, child-friendly, adaptive tool is used three times per year with our Junior Kindergarten through 3^rd grade students. This assessment (playfully interactive for students) is a powerful assessment tool for language arts and mathematics. Each child’s assessment is unique to their own abilities. While starting at one question, the child will be guided to the next question based on their correct or incorrect answer to the last. A separate ‘hint’ question will also be offered after an incorrect response to further gauge the exact area of their challenge. These assessment tools provide immediate results and offer parents and teachers outstanding tools to understand the student’s learning potential and areas of challenge. We are very excited to offer this innovative and powerful tool to our Tobin students, families, and faculty.

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Curriculum Overview – Early Childhood Programs

We are equally proud of the fine early childhood program and curricula that we use for our youngest learners in our Morning Preschool/Pre-K and Junior Kindergarten classrooms. We align our early learning programs with the National Association for the Education of Young Children as well as the Massachusetts Department of Education Frameworks for Preschool Programs. Our programs are thoughtfully designed and planned to provide developmentally appropriate educational opportunities as well as fun, multi-sensory learning explorations for our youngest students.

Monthly Themes

Our Morning Preschool/Pre-K and Junior Kindergarten classrooms utilize a monthly theme as the basis of their curriculum. Whether exploring All About Me, Our Universe, Community Helpers, or The Animal Kingdom; we use these themes as the basis for providing activities from all areas of the ‘curriculum wheel’. In example, during the Our Universe theme our students have:

- Used a variety of art materials to explore our theme, created Model Magic moons with craters and American flags, milky way galaxies with paint and spray bottles, built rocket ships and solar system models, and made swirling planet earths with colored water and droppers.

- Learned songs to remember the names and attributes of planets, acted out a space exploration dramatically, and practiced walking and jumping in space.

- Tried their hand at writing space words with glittery markers and colored chalk on black paper, wrote or transcribed space stories about mystery planets or where they would go in space, played space letter matching games, and matched planet names and space words to a letter grid.

- Played with space toys and rockets in our block area, creating their own launching pads and space stations.

- Acted out their own space travel stories in dramatic play, using costumes and helmets, a space ship they helped create with a fun cockpit of buttons, knobs, and levers.

- Read and listened to numerous books (both fiction and non-fiction) on space travels and our universe.

- Played games like Solar System Bingo, Solar System Spin, and Bop ‘n Alien to practice turn taking and group social skills.

- Counted and sorted glittery planet discs, weighed ‘moon rocks’, made zero-gravity moon jumps and measured their distance, placed rockets in size order, and sorted foam space shapes by attribute.

- Used models and our bodies to act out the alignment of the planets and the rotation of the earth and moon and created a to-scale model of the solar system in our outdoor play areas with models and LOTS of string.

- Launched our very own Pop Rockets with Alka Seltzer and film canisters

- AND MUCH MORE!

As you can see, our students are very busy in our early childhood classrooms. Here is some additional information to help you understand our approach to curriculum for these young learners.

Language Arts

Far from a curriculum segment, Language Arts is in everything we do. We surround the children with language and books throughout our day. Quality books—fiction, non-fiction, picture books, early readers, rebus books, science guides, and more—are offered throughout the day and featured at our Reading Time as the basis for group activities and discussion. Proper and respectful book handling and awareness of all the print around us are also focuses. Through the value of language and clear focus on language, print, and books; the children learn to identify alphabet letters both upper and lowercase. Each and every day we focus our curriculum on expanding the following skills:

- Verbal Language Skills: Children tell and recite stories, share experiences with teachers and friends, and speak or read in front of the group. Teachers stimulate language with questions and prompts, riddles and rhymes, and modeling of both formal and informal language.

- Phonemics and Reading: Our focus is on building familiarity with letters, patterns in words, and phonemics—the understanding that letters have sounds. We break down words and explore beginning and ending sounds and syllables, use rhymes and alliteration as predictors in stories and poems, and more. Our Early Reader Take Home kits also provide simple, patterned text that make children feel successful as they begin to read.

- Writing: Daily writing activities encourage exploration of letters and writing in a comfortable, fun and creative way. A wide variety of writing materials and papers, slates, white boards, easels, clipboards, themed materials, and magnetic slates are offered. We encourage children to write at their own level—building from single letters, writing their own names and the names of their friends, inventive spelling, and forming words and phrases. We use a wide variety of work and picture cards, word walls, name cards, and letter maniplulation tools. We make class books using children’s artwork and writings.

Handwriting

The Tobin School uses the national renowned handwriting program, Handwriting Without Tears or HWT. This manipulative based program is a perfect tool for the children as they build basic handwriting control, proper pencil grip, and beginning shape, letter, and number formation.

In HWT, all capital letters (the focus of our Preschool and Pre-K curriculum) are formed from four basic shapes: big line, little line, big curve, little curve. By using polished wooden pieces, laminated letter cards, magnetic slates, letter pieces, small chalkboards, fun ‘flip crayons’, and roll-a-dough letter boards (using playdough to form letters), the students have ample opportunity and variety to learn sound habits early. To further practice and reinforce these good habits, students in Pre-K and Junior Kindergarten also work in their HWT “Get Set for School” workbook each week to fine tune handwriting skills and muscles.

Math

For our youngest mathematicians, the foundations of mathematical understanding are formed out of concrete experiences. At Tobin, such experiences are not limited to a specific math time but are embedded in almost all our daily classroom activities. At Choice Time we build with unit blocks, count and sort objects, measure using traditional and non-traditional objects, and work with shapes with geoboads and pattern blocks. At Circle and Group Times we play counting and sequencing games, practice with patterns, build number sense through counting calendar days, ‘vote’ for choices, make graphs, and use positional language and ordinal numbers. In Art Activities we build understanding of shape, size, position, and directionality. In Science Activities we use comparative language and estimation followed by verification. In Dramatic Play we use play money and cash registers, sort animals into types for a zoo, and match plates to cups for one-to-one correspondence. In Music Activities we build a sense of rhythmic patterns. Throughout the day our students learn to recite numbers in order, identify sets and groupings, compare quantities, match objects in one-to-one correspondence, and use writing to represent number concepts. Math is all around us in our Preschool, Pre-K, and Junior Kindergarten day!

Spanish

Exposure to foreign language is not only a wonderful skill for students to learn, it also supports flexibility in thinking and brain development. A different series of vocabulary words are used each month in these classrooms, beginning with colors names, counting to twenty (and higher), simple polite phrases and greetings, and more. As the year goes on, we incorporate more Spanish language into our typical day, utilizing our daily, weekly, and monthly calendar and our monthly themes as inspiration.

At Tobin these students learn about history and social studies as it relates to their families, school, community, state and country. Social Studies also incorporates all the ways that we work to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed in community life, as the students learn to cooperate, share, and respect the rules of their classroom. They also learn about the basis for democratic society as they participate in simple decision making and voting. We also work to build the children’s civic identity as we teach them about national symbols, explore maps and globes, flags, and holidays. Each month we have a specific Social Studies focus, including:

· Families (their role, differences and similarities)

· Maps (our room, our school, our neighborhood)

· Setting Up a Store (simple economics)

· Our Country (learning about the United States, our flag, our government, etc.)

· Community Helpers (looking at the work that people do, fire safety, and law enforcement)

· Learning our Addresses and Phone Numbers

· Star of the Day! (sharing special things about ourselves and looking at all the ways that we are the same and different)

Science

Science with young students is about hands-on exploration and discovery. At Tobin, we explore science each day with our youngest learners, building an early understanding of inquiry skills and the scientific method. As we ask questions, make predictions, use simple tools and experimentation and observation, and record our results, students make sense of the world around them. In class we use the seasons, our monthly themes, and everyday materials to build understanding. For example:

· Body Science (our bodies and how they work, our senses, our physical and emotional health, safety and proper nutrition)

· The Seasons (changes in seasons, exploring materials, our observable world; i.e. trees and leaves, snow and ice, plants, seeds, insects and animals)

· Transportation Science (ramps, bridges, tunnels, balls and wheels to explore physical sciences like speed, friction, motion and force, and exploring balance, flotation, and simple machines)

· Zoology and Paleontology (the world of animals, how they can be sorted into categories, animal homes and animals as parents, how animals cope with seasonal changes, extinct forms of life—how they lived and how we know)

· Earth & Space Science (our plant, our atmosphere, its features, and its place in space, our solar system, space travel, the cycle of day and night, the Sun’s energy, the waxing and waning moon, and the stars in the sky)

Students also have daily access to a variety of animals including birds, snakes, lizards and mice in our Science Center. A monthly Animal Science class also allows great hands on learning in the ways of the animal kingdom. Our Tobin students have hatched duck, chicken, and dove eggs and compared gestation periods. They have watched tadpoles turn to frogs, larva turn to beetles, and caterpillars become butterflies. They have also focused their attention on the local wildlife. This hands-on study really captivates our Tobin students and makes them more respectful of the animals in our world.

Health

Physical activity and healthy habits are vital in the lives of all children. At Tobin we are committed to offering a healthy atmosphere and encouraging a lifetime of healthy habits. We plan to go outside to use our outdoor play spaces and learning centers daily—when the weather is good, we go twice per day. In addition, we incorporate lots of opportunities for large motor play and activities, drama, and moving to music throughout out daily routine. Twice monthly Yoga classes encourage the children to learn ways to move their bodies, improve flexibility, and encourage proper breathing and the use of relaxation techniques. We provide a healthy snack each day, including fresh fruits and vegetables, a healthy starch choice, yogurt or cheeses. Low fat milk if provided at no charge for lunch each day. A full kitchen also allows us to explore cooking activities with our students—another way to encourage the children to try new tastes and healthy food choices.

The Arts

The goal of Arts Education for our youngest students is to develop and sustain the natural curiosity, expressiveness, and creativity that young children often display. Children use the arts to explore sensation and their understanding of real and imagined events. They try to find out all they can about the expressive qualities inherent in different forms of communication and use these methods (dramatics, song, art, movement) to let others know what they are feeling about their lives.

We believe strongly in using children’s inherent multiple intelligences to build understanding. While some children can best draw by listening to a story about a butterfly’s lifecycle, others are best served by acting out the lifecycle themselves, learning a song and fingerplay detailing the steps, making a representation of the different stages through art, using manipulatives and puppets to explore, or examining the true lifecycle by observing in our classroom science center. We use the arts as another means of delivering our curriculum theme that meets the needs of all our students and the whole child!

· Movement and Dance (exploring the way our bodies move, building a vocabulary of movements, improving strength, balance, and flexibility, using different types of music to explore movements, speed, beat and rhythm, using different props to explore space, using movement to explore different topics)

· Music (listening to and exploring many different genres of music and how they can be an expression of ourselves, making music and sound with a wide variety of instruments, using our voices for singing, humming, and chanting)

· Theatre Arts (watching others as they use dramatics to portray a story, using storytelling in the classroom, using puppets to create and act out stories, using dramatics to interpret favorite stories and themes, creating characters through movement, facial expression, and sound)

· Visual Arts (exploring art materials and mediums in our themes and feelings, including paints, ink, crayon, pastels, sculpture, collage, and mixed media. Allowing free exploration of these materials with beginning exposure to concepts of color, texture, line, pattern, and symmetry)

· Twice annual Tobin School Performance Festivals where students get to show off their skills as individuals and as groups and practice performing in front of a supportive audience.

CHEER (Character Education for Early Results), Etiquette and Community Services

A significant portion of our curriculum, time, and energy focuses on the growth of the whole child. CHEER is our comprehensive character education and social skills curriculum designed just for our youngest students. A weekly curriculum focus is the subject of classroom discussions, activities, reading and writing activities. Our CHEER program is made up of three components:

· Building a Cooperative Classroom (getting to know one another, the value of names, what is a friend?, developing classroom rules, being a good listener, following directions, feelings, what we have in common and recognizing differences, combating teasing, cooperating, and more)

· Solving People Problems (the four steps of problem solving—talking about the problem, listening to understand, thinking of ways to solve it, and choosing the best plan—breaking each step down to build understanding and practicing these important skills)

· Values in Action (focusing on character traits that our society values and making them understandable to young children, including honesty, courtesy, patience, responsibility, diligence, compassions, and generosity)

Today’s busy families fight an increasingly difficult battle against a more and more casual—and sometimes rude—society. Manners and etiquette, and most importantly, and atmosphere that fosters and rewards respect is built into out Tobin School environment. We explicitly work on teaching our student respectful manners, greetings, table manners, etc. as part of our school year.

Raising good citizens is also a goal of our curriculum here at Tobin. We encourage our youngest students to understand ways that they can affect their community and the world by involving them in interactive community service projects. A monthly community service focus is organized for the whole Tobin community and we work to incorporate even our youngest students into our efforts. See our link on Community Service at Tobin for more details.

Special Events

We also host a number of specialists and performers throughout the academic year to expand our learning opportunities. Previous visits have included a real paleontologist, children's singers and puppeteers, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Plantmobile, and many otheres. We also take the children on several field trips per year (included in our annual tuition). Past classes have visited the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in South Natick, The Acton Science Discovery Museum, Southwick's Zoo, as well as apple picking at Honey Pot Hill Farms. We also join the entire Tobin School population in participating in several annual all-school events, including Field Day, All-School Meetings, Nature Day, and much more. We are very much a part of the greater Tobin School community.

Assessment

A detailed Developmental Review and Narrative Report are completed twice per year for these students. This Report has been designed to incorporate all areas of development, from fine to gross motor skills, social and emotional development, to those important cognitive and kindergarten-readiness skills. Parents are offered structured Parent/Teacher conferences at least three times per year. In addition, we welcome the opportunity for more impromptu meetings and conversations so that we are all working together for the benefit of your child.