Located in a beautifully renovated historic building just three blocks from the center of Colonial Williamsburg, the Upper Elementary program is situated in the center of the lively community in which children and adults live and work together to foster self-confidence, love of learning, compassion, and commitment in an environment that makes the most of the culminating years of childhood. Like all of our programs, the Upper Elementary begins with a deep understanding of the child and is intentionally designed to meet the unique developmental needs of the pre-adolescent.
Nine to twelve-year-olds weigh options, examine contradictory evidence, tolerate differences of opinion, and make connections between areas of learning, and between learning and personal experience. They are avid consumers of knowledge and deliberate critics of logic. They love to work in groups but also need to work privately. They are vocal about their opinions, but uncertain about the meaning or consequence of those opinions. The WMS Upper Elementary Curriculum builds on these developmental changes by balancing rigorous skill development with constant opportunity for self-expression, exploration, and subtle support from carefully trained adults.
Cultural Studies
Language
Mathematics
Practical Life
Physical and Life Sciences
Art, Music, Physical Education, and Other Enrichment
Cultural Studies
By the Upper Elementary years, most children have acquired a basic historical understanding and are able to appreciate the effects of the natural world on the people who inhabit it. Through rigorous research, students refine their critical thinking capacities. Upper Elementary students trace the story of the evolution of humans, searching for their fossil relatives. They compare and contrast world civilizations, and they begin thematic studies of American history. The interdisciplinary, research-based thrust of the curriculum culminates in the sixth year as students undertake a year-long research project.
Language
As pre-adolescents, Upper Elementary children are fraught with contradictory feelings– about themselves, their parents, and their world. They often contain their uncertainty in strongly voiced opinions, private journal entries, an immersion in reading, or a focused study of an area of particular interest. Communicating becomes a pressing need as the peer culture increases in importance. Making themselves understood and getting to know others are high priorities. Sentence analysis, novel study, spelling and grammar exercises, daily reading and writing workshops, experience with different writing genres, and public speaking requirements are all part of the curriculum. In addition, sixth year students publish a weekly newsletter, which serves as a linguistic and expressive vehicle for the entire Upper Elementary community.
Mathematics
Upper Elementary children, increasingly capable of abstract thought, become gradually less dependent on materials as they broaden and deepen their working knowledge of hierarchies, numerical operations, and geometry. They extend and apply acquired skills, exploring preliminary concepts of algebra. As their universe expands, they eagerly observe mathematical properties and functions in the world around them and apply new concepts to studies in other areas, such as Science and Culture.
Practical Life
As the children’s interest in others and in their world both broadens and deepens, our program captures this developing interest in ongoing practical work. All students take responsibility for cultivating a peaceful, cooperative community. From preparing snacks together to planting and maintaining an organic garden, to organizing the library, all students have a role to play. Upper Elementary students have special privileges as well as responsibilities. Each year they research, select, and raise funds for a variety of service projects and they plan and execute an overnight trip. Practical life activities at this level are intimately interwoven with basic skill work: in planning the class trip, for instance, children must accurately research the locale, modes of transportation, lodging possibilities, budgets, and safety concerns.
Physical and Life Sciences
Our science program brings students into direct contact with the central work of scientists: our students identify, question, explore, and conclude. By the Upper Elementary years, most children have acquired a basic understanding of the scientific method, an understanding of scientific classification, an ability to appreciate the effects of the natural world on the people who inhabit it, and a confidence in themselves as critical thinkers. Students in the Upper Elementary Program study the Sciences as part of a broadly focused exploration. Comprehensive, thematic studies of “Water,” “Fire,” and “Earth/Air” comprise the three-year, rotating core of students’ studies in life science, physical science, and earth/space science. The thematic approach encourages students to make connections across the sciences–it generates profound curiosity, and it allows them to design investigative projects that express their interests and their styles of learning.
Art, Music, Physical Education, and Other Enrichment
Because of our location in the center of the cultural and business district of Williamsburg, our students have ongoing access to a wide array of musical, artistic, and other cultural attractions. Lunchtime often includes a trip to the Palace Green for a game of football or freeze tag or a “power walk” down Duke of Gloucester Street. Students are regular visitors to special events at Colonial Williamsburg and keep library cards as well as Good Neighbor Passes on hand at school. Art-making and art history are fully integrated into the curriculum and we maintain partnerships with local fitness professionals who offer support for our physical education and health activities.
FAST FACTS
- Directress: Lisa Blackford
- Assistant: Alana Speth
- Full day (8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.)
- Before-care (7:30-8:30) and After-care (3 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.) available at Longhill Rd. campus
- Lunch: Students bring their own nutritious lunch
- Snacks: Morning and afternoon snacks are available