Montessori Lower Elementary Curriculum

Hilltop's Lower Elementary (first through third grade) curriculum focuses on Language Arts, Math, Science, History, and Geography. Extra-curricular studies including P.E., Spanish, art, computer technology, and music are also incorporated for all students.

Geography studies in the Lower Elementary include the topics of physical geography, political geography, globes, flags, landforms, and functional geography.

Specific Objectives for Lower Elementary Geography

Physical Geography

1.00 Region
     1.10 Biomes: Polar, Temperate Forest, Tropical Forest, Desert
     1.20 Classifications:
            Grasslands, Wetlands, Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, Rainforests
2.00 Climate
     2.10 Relationship between climate and region
     2.20 Affect on life of man
3.00 Food & Shelter
     3.10 How region affects food consumption
          3.10.1 Staples of region
          3.10.2 How and why food choices are made
          3.10.3 Foods as necessities, excess, and luxuries
          3.10.4 Imports and exports: what and why per region
     3.20 Traditional shelters per region
          3.20.1 Relationship between shelter type and region
          3.20.2 How shelter is affected by weather, available materials, etc.
     3.30 Flora: Plant life per region
     3.40 Fauna: Animal and insect life per region

Political Geography

1.00 Population development
     1.10 Growth: Search for space and spiritual territory
     1.20 How invasions and wars affect movement
     1.30 How language develops and adapts in a region
2.00 Boundaries, territories, borders, and cities
     2.10 Divisions of political regions, countries, states, provinces, etc.
     2.20 How historic events can change boundaries
     2.30 Cities
          2.30.1 Position and importance of cities
          2.30.2 Origins of particular cities
          2.30.3 Names and their meanings
          2.30.4 Capitals and when chosen or changed
     2.40 Roads or passages
          2.40.1 Oldest roads and their importance
          2.40.2 Construction and historical development with available tools
3.00 Culture
     3.10 Characteristics of peoples in the region
     3.20 Customs and rituals per region
     3.30 Costumes, clothing, crafts for dress and celebrations
     3.40 Traditional food for region or culture

Globe Skills

1.00 Conceptual
     1.10 What a map is? A bird’s eye view
     1.20 Spherical globe to a flat map
     1.30 Land vs water
2.00 Locators or markers
     2.10 Identification of continents, oceans, mountain ranges
     2.20 Latitude and longitude
     2.30 Equator
     2.40 Time Zones

Flags

1.00 Parts of a flag
2.00 Shapes of flags
3.00 Flags in relationship to geographical location
4.00 Flags and music: National anthems of countries
5.00 Origins of flags

Landforms

1.00 Beginning landforms: Lake, island, peninsula, gulf, isthmus, strait
2.00 Advanced landforms: Mesa, valley, plateau, etc.
3.00 Parts of the earth
4.00 Parts of a mountain
5.00 Parts of a volcano
6.00 Parts of a river

Functional Geography Experiments/Charts*

1.00 Force of attraction
2.00 Centrifugal and centripetal forces
3.00 Forces of inertia and gravity
4.00 Hot air rises
5.00 Warm air goes up
6.00 Volcanism
7.00 Erosion
8.00 Air occupies space
9.00 Specific weight
10.00 Stratification of rocks
11.00 Formation of mountains
12.00 Fracture of the Earth’s crust
13.00 Solar energy
14.00 Illumination of the Earth and Poles
15.00 Perpendicular and oblique rays
16.00 Bad and good heat conductors
17.00 Night and Day
18.00 Obliquity of the Polar Axis
19.00 Marking off imaginary parallels
20.00 Seasons
21.00 Air-pressure
22.00 Rapidity of cooling
23.00 Origins of marine currents
24.00 Destruction of rocks
25.00 Expansion

* These experiments are frequently combined with science activities. The interrelationship between any science concept and its practical relationship to geography is regularly stressed. For example, solar energy may be introduced as an energy concept in science, but the application of its uses in different regions of the world is readily reinforced.

Impressionistic charts depicting many of these concepts are utilized in teacher discussions.