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Elementary Curriculum

The curriculum of the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is vertically articulated and horizontally enriched. It is based on and expands upon Pennsylvania State Standards, Chapter 4, and national content standards, and attends to available global standards. A designated curriculum supervisor is assigned to each of the District’s curricular areas to ensure cohesiveness and consistency.
 
Curriculum is developed by District teachers under the guidance and direction of curriculum supervisors. Curriculum development is reviewed by the Board Education Committee and approved by the Board of School Directors. Cross-grade-level teams of teachers design curriculum during inservices to ensure that the curriculum is standards-based, properly spiraled from kindergarten through grade twelve, and incorporates District initiatives beyond basic learning standards. These initiatives include, but are not limited to, critical and creative thinking, self-directed learning, cultural competence, written and oral communication, technology and information literacy, and ethical academic behavior. Some of these initiatives are well-established, while others are in their beginning stages.
 
The District’s instructional program is organized and communicated via the research-based Tredyffrin/Easttown School District Teacher Model. The Teacher Model expands and describes in some depth the areas of planning and preparation, classroom environment, instructional delivery and professionalism. All teachers and administrators in the District have received training on the Teacher Model, and the model is completely accessible to all professional staff members. It forms the basis for teacher reflection on personal performance, and for teacher evaluation.
 
Instructional materials are selected and designed to support the District’s curriculum. The District is committed to providing students with multiple sources of instructional materials, from text materials to primary source materials. Web-based materials are utilized, with both teachers and students being guided to be critical consumers of all sources of information. The District invests substantial resources and support into the design of teacher-made materials. These are most often produced in a collaborative summer workshop setting, with teachers working under the guidance of District supervisors and administrators. Curricular materials are available for review by parents upon request.
 
In summary, the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District allocates considerable financial and human resources to the development and updating of District curriculum, instructional strategies and instructional materials. The design model is fully collaborative, and is based on state and content-specific standards. This base is extended through the explicit teaching of critical thinking skills, self-directed learning and other content development themes that support life-long learning. Materials to deliver the curriculum range from texts to primary sources to teacher-made materials to web-based sources. The District’s instructional model implements research-based best practices, and is systematized so that it is accessible to all who are responsible for instructing students.
 
Language Arts
 
The District's Language Arts Learning Competencies provide the framework for language arts learning in eight key areas. Using these competencies as a foundation for spiraling skills development, teachers enrich the reading program by accommodating the individual learning needs of each student while providing a strong, consistent level of reading instruction across the District. 
 
Language Arts Learning Competencies:
    • Reading comprehension: Learning strategies (Example: main idea, sequence)
    • Reading comprehension: Thinking skills (Example: inference, compare/contrast)
    • Reading: Investigating language patterns (Example: word analysis, decoding, phonics)
    • Speaking and writing (Example: writing process, grammar, spelling)
    • Study skills
    • Research skills
    • Response to various genres (Example: fiction, biography, poetry)
    • Lifelong reading
       
  • Reading: Reading instruction in the T/E School District is an organized, sequential program that includes a structured use of whole group, small group, and direct instruction utilizing a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction texts.
     
  • Writing: Writing begins with the student's initial school experience. The use of the writing and reflecting process (brainstorming, pre-writing, drafting, revising, conferencing, editing and publishing) continues throughout the grades. Writing is not an isolated experience but is integrated throughout the school day in various curricular areas. Teachers introduce and reinforce the components of good writing at each grade level. Students and teachers use the portfolio as a vehicle for the development of skills in composing, revising and reflecting on writing throughout the grades.
     
  • Listening/Speaking: Communication skills are an integral part of the learning experience. Early modes of learning center on kinesthetic and visual activities. Listening and speaking skills develop as the child progresses through school. Learning these skills enables the student to become an active participant in the learning process.
     
  • Spelling: Beginning in kindergarten, students experiment with letters and sounds and learn how those letters build words. Emergent writers may have difficulty spelling words within their oral vocabulary. Rather than interrupt the flow of thought, invented spelling is encouraged. As students progress in their writing abilities, the purpose of the spelling curriculum is to help learners master conventional spelling. The formal spelling program focuses on spelling patterns and words students frequently misspell. Students also learn to use tools such as the dictionary, collaboration with peers, and technological devices.
     
  • Handwriting: In the early elementary grades, students learn the strokes that form the basis of manuscript letters. Handwriting instruction focuses on the development of letter formation skills and the application of these skills throughout the curriculum. Cursive handwriting is introduced in the third grade and refined in fourth. Students work with keyboarding and word processing, progressing in efficiency on an individual basis.
     
  • Study Skills: The development of good organizational and study skills is an essential part of schooling. Such topics as how to manage time, plan for long and short-term assignments, organize workspace and materials, and study for tests are taught and reinforced at the appropriate team levels.

Mathematics
The T/E mathematics curriculum is based on a set of clearly defined learning objectives. Major concepts include: numbers and numerals, measurement, rational numbers, geometry, decimals, graphing, number theory, and probability. These concepts are developed through a balanced use of manipulative materials, various text-based instruction, and technology. Students are grouped for instruction beginning in first or second grade. This approach to teaching and learning accommodates the needs of students and provides them with appropriate challenge. Mathematics is an important subjec,t and T/E's teachers are dedicated to preparing every student to meet the challenges and demands of the future.

Science

Science is best learned when students actively engage in the practices of science. At the elementary level (Grades K–4), our science programming is designed to foster curiosity and critical thinking through hands-on, inquiry-based experiences. Instruction is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Pennsylvania’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards, emphasizing three-dimensional learning—integrating disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. Using curricular materials from Smithsonian Science for the Classroom, students explore real-world phenomena, prompting them to ask questions, investigate, and construct evidence-based explanations. Learning takes place in both classroom and dedicated science lab settings, where students develop persistence, confidence, and a deeper understanding of the natural world. A full-time science aide supports teachers in preparing and implementing engaging, standards-based lessons that bring science to life for every learner.

The major units of study are as follows:

Kindergarten
  • What Do Plants and Animals Need to Live?
  • How Can We Be Ready for Weather?
  • How Can We Change an Object’s Motion?
Grade 1
  • How Do Living Things Stay Safe and Grow?
  • How Can We Predict When the Sky Will Be Dark?
  • How Can We Light Our Way in the Dark?
Grade 2
  • How Can We Find the Best Place for a Plant to Grow?
  • How Can We Map Land and Water on Earth?
  • How Can We Change Solids and Liquids?
Grade 3
  • What Explains Similarities and Differences Between Organisms?
  • How Do Weather and Climate Affect Our Lives?
  • How Can We Use Patterns to Predict Motion?
Grade 4
  • How Can Animals Use Their Senses to Communicate?
  • How Can We Stay Safe on a Changing Earth?
  • How Does Energy Move From One Object to Another?
 

STEM
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are integrated into the Elementary STEM program.  Students have a regularly scheduled STEM class in kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grades.  Kindergarten STEM classes meet for 30 minutes, one time per cycle.  STEM classes in grades one through four meet for 45 minutes, one time per cycle.  The Elementary STEM program in T/E was developed around Pennsylvania’s STEELS Technology and Engineering Standards, ensuring alignment with state-level expectations for STEM learning. It was designed to provide a hands-on, inquiry-based approach that introduces students to essential skills and tools, starting with foundational STEM concepts and progressing into the design process, maker space activities, robotics, fundamentals of building, and coding. The program is grounded in the engineering design process and reflects careful planning to integrate technology, problem-solving, and creativity into the curriculum.  Students develop and utilize critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills considered essential for success.

Social Studies
The T/E elementary social studies curriculum is designed to help students understand cultural diversity and their place in a global community. During their elementary experience, students will explore communities at the local, national, and global levels. Through this study, students will understand what it means to be part of a community, the interconnectedness and contributions of communities worldwide, the challenges and opportunities they face, and how the community of the United States was formed and continues to change over time. 

  • Kindergarten: The Kindergarten social studies curriculum will focus on building community by exploring texts that highlight characteristics that contribute to positive communities. Students will put these stories into practice in their own community by identifying and applying the themes of sharing, kindness, empathy, resilience, and a growth mindset.
     
  • Grade 1: In first grade, students build on their understanding of their local community and explore the global community. Students will explore the cultures, histories, and experiences of our global community through a study of people and places across the seven continents. Through this study, students will identify groups of people who contribute to places, learn the meanings behind cultural traditions and celebrations, and describe how geography affects people and places. 
     
  • Grade 2: In second grade, students will continue their exploration of the global community by examining how it has shaped the development of systems, including communication, transportation, economics, sports and recreation, and shelter and architecture. Through this study, students will recognize that innovation and collaborative problem-solving are global experiences. 
     
  • Grade 3: In third grade, students will explore the essential question, “Why do people live where they live?” Students will learn how innovation, opportunity, and conflict have contributed to the movement of people around the world and in Pennsylvania in particular. Students will journey back in time to discover the first inhabitants of the North American continent, the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania, and the history of Chester County and Tredyffrin/Easttown townships, including the Berwyn School Fight. Students will explore how movement and immigration have impacted people and places from the past to the present and continue to shape Pennsylvania today. 
     
  • Grade 4: Students in fourth grade will build upon their knowledge of community, innovation, and movement, explore what it means to be a country, and, through our course of study, begin to identify the factors that shape the American experience. After building upon existing map skills, students will focus on identifying and having a relational awareness of the states and capitals that make up our country. The next units will draw on third-grade knowledge to discuss the pre-colonial encounter, explorers, and Colonial America. Students will move from Colonial America to analyze the causes of the American Revolution and the writing of our Constitution.  

Health
K-4 health is divided into four basic areas of study, incorporating both factual knowledge and the development of positive attitudes and lifelong healthy behaviors.

  • Safety: Includes personal and group safety concerns involving, but not limited to, buses, bicycles, fire, playgrounds, and other grade-appropriate issues.
  • Drugs and Alcohol: Incorporates Officer Friendly, Guidance, and REACH (Responsible Adolescents Concerned and Helping) to encourage the child to make appropriate decisions based on factual information.
  • Family Life: Focuses on information, self-concept, interpersonal relationships, and positive decision making.
  • Care of the Body: Provides children with activities that help them understand the value of maintaining good health by providing information and encouraging supportive health habits.

Please note: An alternate to the Family Life curriculum is available upon parental request.

Art
Students have a regularly scheduled art class with an art teacher in Kindergarten and in grades 1, 3, and 4 once per cycle. In grade 2, students have two scheduled art classes per cycle. The classes range from 35 minutes in Kindergarten to 45 minutes in grades 1-4. All levels of the program include experiences designed to develop the pupil's ability to create, perceive, appreciate, and criticize art. Provisions are made for each student to engage with a variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional materials and to understand our visual arts heritage. The activities are designed to promote independent thinking and self-evaluation. The art curriculum follows a developmental scope and sequence and is a discipline-based approach to art education. Lessons are designed to provide instances for integration with elements of the core educational program.

Music

  • Classroom Music: The goals of the music program are to provide every child with the opportunity to learn basic singing and music-reading skills, to develop a song repertoire, and to broaden listening skills. Once per cycle, in grades K, 2, 3, and 4, every class meets with the music teacher for 30 to 45 minutes for musical activities that include listening, singing, performing, moving, reading, and creating. In grade 1, students have two scheduled music classes per cycle. Through these activities, students learn concepts related to the major elements of music: rhythm, melody, form, harmony, tone, color, style, and expressive qualities. In third grade, students are introduced to the "recorder" as an adjunct to the music reading program.
     
  • Instrumental Music: When students reach third grade, they have the opportunity to study a string instrument. At the fourth grade level, they may begin instruction on suitable band or orchestra instruments. Group instrumental lessons are scheduled for thirty minutes once per cycle and rotate from cycle to cycle so that the same subject is not missed in the regular classroom. Students are invited to join a string orchestra and/or band that meets before school for forty minutes each week. In this setting, students have the opportunity to further develop performance skills and produce both winter and spring concerts for the school and the surrounding community.
     
  • Performance Groups: Students have a variety of performing opportunities. All elementary schools provide three music performance organizations: string orchestra, beginning band, and choral club. These groups rehearse before school once each week. Parents are responsible for providing transportation to rehearsals.

Physical Education
Physical education contributes to students' well-being by providing activities that meet their physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs. It is a tool for developing individual values of good citizenship and sportsmanship for real-life situations. As students move through the elementary grades, skills become more difficult and there is a greater emphasis on team play. The program is designed to provide equal opportunities for all students to participate in physical activities that promote self-confidence and the ability to work in coeducational groups. Our physical education program includes:

  • Kindergarten and Grade 1
    • Locomotive skills
    • Eye-hand coordination
    • Ball handling skills
    • Stunts
    • Game-type activities
    • Movement and posture education
  • Grades 2, 3, and 4
    • Physical fitness, testing
    • Start of formal exercise
    • Stunts, tumbling, apparatus
    • Rhythmics and dance
    • Game program
    • Sports program
    • Individual/dual activities
    • Citizenship/sportsmanship

Library
The library is a warm, friendly, and inviting place where we encourage children to become lifelong readers. Books may be checked out for a one or two-week period. Fines are not charged for late items, but we send home reminder notices monthly. Children of all grade levels come to the library to enjoy rich literature and receive direct instruction on the library's operations and its many technological resources. Research has shown that students exposed to a print-rich environment engage in voluntary reading, and that those who read at home tend to develop the habit of reading. We encourage families to take advantage of our library's resources and share the joys of reading together. We strongly encourage all parents to read with their child each day.