Thematic Approach
Based upon the premise that children enhance their thinking and learning when they make connections between one curricular experience and the next, The Advent School’s thematic curriculum integrates children’s learning under the umbrella of one or more thematic content areas. Themes build upon each other and collectively offer students a comprehensive look at world cultures, civilizations, and social justice issues.
The curriculum begins with one small kernel of information or learning experience. Each successive activity relates to and builds upon the next, forming an interrelated program of study. The theme serves as a vehicle that synthesizes and consolidates children’s learning experiences into a new whole.
Themes 2007-2008
Early Childhood Center
Respecting and caring for living things: Building compassionate connections
Areas of study emerge from children’s interests, investigations, and conversations. Valuing all students’ ideas, we encourage them to ask questions and research information. Teachers stimulate children’s thinking, providing materials through which they express their understanding.
Kindergarten
Creating a world where we all belong: Our common humanity, indigenous cultures, and building a humane world for all
Growing up in families and growing our class community
Case study: Indigenous peoples of North America and Africa
Our changing world: Prehistoric times and our city today
Water studies: Exploring the properties of water and the critical need for clean, drinkable water for all people.
First Grade
Interdependence: Relationships among living things on earth
Plant study
Pond study
Geography: Continents, oceans, islands
Case study: The Galapagos Islands
Second Grade
Global Perspectives: Foundations for Living on our Planet
The fragile nature of our environment: Wildlife and Oceans
Flight: Birds, Bats, and Butterflies
Oceanography and Ocean Animals
Learning from Lives Well-lived: Biography Study
Case study: China—Culture, modernization, global impact
Third Grade
Concepts of Independence and Freedom in History: Learning to Lead in a Changing World
Early American and local history
The American Revolution
Leaders in the Underground Railroad
Case Study: Ghana—Independence and Exemplary Leadership
Fourth Grade
Honoring and Preserving the Achievements of Past Civilizations
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Indigenous Peoples of Central and South America
Fifth Grade
Promoting Human Dignity, Economic Justice, and Peaceful Solutions
Immigration to the United States: Family Histories, Reasons for Emigrating
The Industrial Revolution: Mill Life; Children’s Working Lives
Child Labor in Today’s World: Bettering working conditions for people in today’s world
Case study: India—A Changing Society in a Global World
Sixth Grade
Envisioning Empowerment: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Sustainability in a Global World
Life in the Middle Ages
The Promise of Environmental Sustainability
Civil Rights Movements in the United States and South Africa
