Lower School Curriculum
The USJ Lower School offers a strong, developmental curriculum. USJ’s unique program is educationally stimulating and exemplifies practices that are developmentally appropriate and responsive to the individual needs and talents of our students. Through team teaching, self-contained classes, and flexible grouping, students are taught language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Students learn in a loving environment that encourages self-discipline, respect, participation, communication, and trial and error.
Enrichment programs include art, music, library, computer, foreign language, and physical education. Spanish begins with the Cubs program. French is introduced in Third Grade and Fourth Grade when students have one semester of French and one semester of Spanish. The Fifth Grade Passport Program (see fifth grade curriculum focus) includes foreign language classes in Japanese, French, German, and Spanish. Opportunities for age- appropriate participation in the PAL League (sports), and after-school art and music programs further enhance the curriculum
Character Education
USJ is committed to character education throughout the school. In the Lower School, our commitment to this endeavor has resulted in a multi-faceted program. The term "education" implies that character can be taught. Our task is to determine how to best provide instruction that will encourage children to understand and apply character traits to their lives. Character education is taught daily in the classroom through values, examples, and academics, as well as through the strong partnerships we share with our families to help prepare our students academically, socially, and emotionally.
Our guidance counselor teaches formal character education classes to all Lower School students. These lessons are representative of many good character traits, such as respect for yourself (honesty, integrity, responsibility, effort, and pride); respect for others (generosity, compassion, understanding, and loyalty); and characteristics that convey a positive outlook on life (fairness, open-mindedness, initiative, optimism, and sense of humor). It is our desire that these will help our students become not only scholars, but also productive citizens.
Bruin Cubs
Our three-year-old program is called Bruin Cubs. Students entering this program must be three-years old by September 30 of that school year. Bruin Cub classes are taught in a way that helps children acquire social competence and the skills they need to succeed as learners. Classrooms are center-based to promote interactive learning and encourage the child’s construction of knowledge. We believe that early childhood education should encourage children’s active exploration and creativity while integrating developmentally appropriate subject matter to include phonological awareness and number concepts. Monthly themes that promote social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth are presented with the child’s interest in mind.
We acknowledge and accept the varied and different rates of development present in each child. Our classes strive for the optimum growth potential of the child, while providing a positive learning environment. Children learn to function as a classroom community, learning independence in a safe and nurturing setting. We believe child-directed and teacher-supported active learning is the key to a quality program for children this age
Junior Kindergarten
Junior Kindergarten students are four and five years old. This program helps develop self-confidence, self-discipline, and social skills. These qualities encourage a sense of security and independence. Junior Kindergarten classes use a variety of instructional tools for individual, small group, and whole group experiences. Individual instruction helps the students to practice and improve their skills as well as accomodate individual learning differences.
Pre-reading skills are taught through phonics, phonemic awareness, and print awareness. Junior Kindergarten students also learn pre-writing skills by using pictures and inventive spelling in a personal journal. They learn how to ask and answer questions as they learn about familiar and unfamiliar topics through science and social study units. Growing with Mathematics is desgined to help our students develop number sense and computational fluency as they explore a range of strategies for problem solving through hands-on experiences. The classroom environment is tailored to meet each student's needs and stimulates a love of learning in all developmental areas.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten classes continue both group and individual instruction through active learning. Our reading combines the Building Blocks Literacy Program with the Wright Group levelized reading series. A balanced literacy curriculum provides for daily experiences in phonemic awareness, reading, and writing. This systematic and multi-level instruction smoothly integrates all aspects of print so that the children can make appropriate connections with language.
Our math program, Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, offers meaningful and in-depth mathematical thinking, which allows children to talk and work through problems with one another and their teachers. Lessons involve hands-on use of manipulatives and higher order thinking. The science program continues the same child-centered, high-interest concepts. Formal handwriting instruction is introduced at this level using the Zaner-Bloser program. Thematic learning units are used as a foundation to integrate all the disciplines. This type of learning allows fluidity of the child’s day.
First Grade
Building sequentially on the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs, First Grade applies the four language process components – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – to form the first grade language arts program. The basal reading text is by Open Court. This combined with the Wright Group reading and phonics program provides a variety of meaningful learning experiences that enhances skill development and an appreciation for literature. This assortment of literature incorporates shared reading, guided reading, and self-selected reading through the use of whole group, small group, and individual instruction. A spelling component, included in the basal reading series, emphasizes word families and basic sight words. Accelerated Reader is used as enrichment. Zaner-Bloser block manuscript handwriting is taught formally, but is also reinforced through creative writing.
Using Math Adventures text and manipulatives, the mathematics curriculum features the development of an understanding of math concepts, logical problem-solving skills, and mathematics operations.
Social studies and science units are integrated into the curriculum throughout the year.
Second Grade
In Second Grade, the language arts program integrates the basic elements of reading, phonics, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and creative writing. The program uses the Open Court Reading and World of Language by Silver Burdett as its basal texts. Spelling words are taught based on phonetic patterns through the use of Spelling Connections by Zaner Bloser. Manuscript handwriting is practiced, and cursive is introduced mid-year using the text by Zaner Bloser. The Reading Renaissance Program, featuring Accelerated Reader, helps to enhance and individualize the reading curriculum.
The mathematics curriculum, using Harcourt Brace’s Math Advantage as the basal text, features the development of an understanding of math concepts and logical problem-solving skills. Manipulatives and a hands-on approach provide concrete experiences.
The Second Grade science curriculum includes investigation of animal adaptations and classifications, trees, dinosaurs and fossils, and earth and sky. Social studies units include studies of Native Americans, the early exploration and settlement of America, a foreign culture, and map skills.
Third Grade
The Third Grade language arts program uses literature, novel studies, and the Accelerated Reader Program to integrate reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. The basal text is by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill for reading and spelling. The vocabulary is based on Wordly Wise from Educators Publishing Service. Grammar studies from The World of Language by Silver Burdett and Ginn feature sentence structure, sentence purpose, parts of speech, capitalization, and punctuation. Children’s creative and expository writing experiences include self-editing and proofreading of their work. The Zaner-Bloser method of handwriting is reinforced.
The Math Advantage by Harcourt Brace is our basal text for mathematics. Science units, including life science, physical science, and earth science, are based on chapters from the Scott Foresman Discover the Wonder series. Skills are reinforced through laboratory experiences. Areas of study include Habitats, Finding Shelter, Protecting the Earth, and Gardening. The Third Grade social studies book, Share Our World by Houghton Mifflin, includes a study of communities and our society, geography and map reading skills, and current events.
Fourth Grade
The language arts curriculum is made up of many components, including the Accelerated Reader Program, novel studies, oral reading, creative writing, basic grammar, and writing mechanics. The basal texts are Macmillan/McGraw-Hill for reading and spelling, and World of Language by Silver Burdett for English. Vocabulary building skills are enriched through the use of the Wordly Wise series.
The Math Advantage by Harcourt Brace focuses on a knowledge of basic mathematical skills with individual needs met through the use of flexible grouping and manipulatives. Students change classes for math. This is the beginning of the transition from self-contained classrooms to a departmental structure.
Science is taught on a unit basis using the Scott Foresman text, Discover the Wonder, and is enhanced with hands-on science experiences in the science lab. The scientific method also is taught as a unit, culminating in student-produced science fair projects.
The social studies curriculum encompasses an in-depth study of the geography, culture, and economy of regions of the United States. Exploring Our Land by Houghton Mifflin is the text used
Fifth Grade
The fifth grade learning environment is responsive to students' needs. We strive to instill the principles of higher-level thinking skills, preparing each child for the transition into Middle School.
Mathematics: Our mathematics curriculum includes whole numbers, decimals, place value, integers, equations, fractions, geometry, and percent. This sequential mathematics program is designed to represent problem solving, communication, reasoning, connection, and the activities that relate math to the world around the students. The textbook used is Houghton Mifflin Mathematics.
Language Arts: The language arts curriculum includes spelling, writing, reading, vocabulary, English, and Daily Oral Language. The grammar is developed not only through the selected text, but also through Daily Oral Language. The skills taught include subject, predicates, the eight parts of speech, diagramming sentences, capitalization and punctuation, and poetry. The English textbook used is Houghton Mifflin English.
Reading: The primary goal of the reading program is to foster an interest in and an enthusiasm for reading. We work toward this goal by presenting students a variety of skills needed for reading comprehension. These skills include problem solving, inferences, drawing conclusions, vocabulary skills, author’s point of view, main idea, words in context. The textbook used is Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Reading.
Science: Our science curriculum places an emphasis on the human body and its main systems, plants, light, sound, graphs, statistics and probability, and the metric system. The textbooks used are McGraw Hill Science and Houghton Mifflin Math.
A weekly science lab with hands-on experiences enhances our classroom instruction. Each student is taught the scientific method and utilizes that knowledge to complete a science project. These projects are judged, and winners represent our school at the West Tennessee Science Fair at Union University.
History: Fifth grade students participate in the Passport Curriculum in social studies. This innovative curriculum involves a study of four countries: Japan, France, Germany, and Mexico. Students are exposed to topics such as geography, culture, history, daily life, holidays, schools, and sports. A foreign language study enriches each unit. Students read and discuss a novel relating to each of the countries. Besides learning about each country, students gain a broadened perspective of their world and the differences and similarities between places.
