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.

Lower Elementary history studies include the concept of time, the concept of history, the fundamental needs of mankind, the study of history, and the history of life.

Specific Objectives for Lower Elementary History

Concept of Time

1.00 Timelines
     1.10 BC/AD Timeline
          1.10.1 Concept of zero as starting point
          1.10.2 BC
          1.10.3 AD (usually presented w/o religious implications)
     1.20 Personal timeline
     1.30 Clock of Eras: History in clock form from creation of the earth
2.00 Measures of time
     2.10 Reading calendars
     2.20 Days of the week; months of the year
     2.30 Year and its parts
     2.40 Age of the Earth
3.00 History and Grammar: Classification of past, present, future

Concept of History

1.00 Fundamental needs of mankind
     1.10 Spiritual needs
          1.10.1 Culture
          1.10.2 Religion
          1.10.3 Vanity
     1.20 Material needs
          1.20.1 Food: from animals, vegetables, and inorganic material
          1.20.2 Clothing
               1.20.2a Animal products: Leather, silk, feathers, hair, fur, wool
               1.20.2b Vegetable products: Linen, cotton
          1.20.3 Shelter: Iron, stone, wood
          1.20.4 Defense: Iron, wood, gunpowder, stone
          1.20.5 Transportation: Wood, animals, iron, petroleum
     1.30 Individual and collective: Want vs. Need
2.00 Chart of material needs
3.00 Chart of the needs of man
4.00 Vertical presentation of History
5.00 Horizontal presentation of History

Study of History

1.00 History Experiments: Development of earth as a history
2.00 History of Creation
3.00 Big Bang theory lesson

History of Life

1.00 Timeline of life
     1.10 Eras of time for animals
     1.20 Eras of time for plants
     1.30 Eras of time for people
2.00 Timeline of Man
     2.10 Meaning of man’s appearance
     2.20 Society and civilizations