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Curricula

Browne
Academy
is
committed
to
the
preschool-8th
grade
experience
and
the
academic,
social
and
emotional
foundation
it
provides
our
students.
We
deliberately
focus
our
attention
and
resources
to
the
years
of
childhood
and
early
adolescence,
giving
time
for
students
to
mature
and
tap
into
their
abilities
while
preserving
their
childlike
sense
of
joy,
wonder
and
curiosity.The
continuity
of
teachers,
classmates,
programs
and
expectations
provides
a
safe
and
nurturing
learning
environment,
where
children
and
young
adolescents
feel
safe
taking
risks,
developing
leadership
skills
and
exploring
new
possibilities.

Subject:

World Language

Browne Academy’s Spanish program is designed not only to expose the students to different languages and cultures, but also to increase awareness and respect for cultural diversity. Teachers engage students in age-appropriate, hand-on activities and projects, in which the children make connections across all disciplines. The curriculum emphasizes listening, speaking, reading, and writing, together with the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.

Spanish

The Lower School Spanish program is designed to help students understand the importance of learning another language and increase their awareness and respect of other cultures. While students study Spanish in the Lower School, students build vocabulary through songs, books and other activities which include speaking, reading, listening and writing. Each year, students build on skills from prior years. These skills will challenge the students, but still allow them to enjoy learning another language.

Social Studies

Our inquiry based and literacy rich social studies program engages and inspires students to investigate the stories of their community, state, and country. It helps them build deep social studies knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, and discover how they can contribute to our democracy. The inquiry process engages students’ drive to discover, their need to question, and their ability to create solutions that transform the world around them. The inquiry journey starts with a compelling question, moves through a rigorous investigation, and culminates in action. These questions are complex and meaningful, sparking curiosity and driving student learning. Inquiry isn't about filling in blanks on a worksheet. It requires research, conversations, and critical thinking. Students use their learning to take action and create solutions that affect the world.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

The wellness of our children has never been more important. Our social emotional learning curriculum at Browne allows our students to acquire the skills and strategies they need to be as ready as possible for life. This is not just about knowing letters and numbers. It’s also about knowing how to learn and get along with others. Our Lower School SEL program teaches children about these concepts through both direct instruction, inquiry-based learning, play-based instruction, and organic conversations. SEL instruction throughout the Lower School builds in developmentally appropriate ways across the following four areas:

Science

The Lower School science program seeks to engage students in making discoveries about the world around them and prepare them for future scientific endeavors. By presenting a vertically integrated curriculum that provides students with increasingly refined and comprehensive knowledge of a wide variety of scientific concepts, students develop a passion for inquiry and learn to make the connections and discoveries that empower their growth. Our program emphasizes hands-on, collaborative learning, and covers a vast range of disciplines, including foundational biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and more.

Science

Physical Education

At Browne Academy, we believe that regular physical education is critical to the development of a healthy, balanced individual. In each grade level, students engage in developmentally appropriate activities to improve fitness, skill development, and problem solving skills. We strive to provide a sequential curriculum that is nurturing, child centered and taught in a positive environment. At all grade levels, a strong emphasis is placed on sportsmanship, teamwork and effort. These components create a foundation that will lead to an enjoyment of regular physical activity and help to foster a healthy and positive lifestyle.

Physical Education

In the Middle School physical education program, the main goal is to create a welcoming environment where every child, regardless of athletic ability, can find a way to thrive. Browne Academy follows a curriculum loosely based around team sports, where the focus is learning cooperation, teamwork and sportsmanship. The major sports covered are soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, paddleball, handball, ultimate Frisbee, kickball, wiffle ball, softball, tennis, lacrosse, swimming, and archery. As the students grow older and their sport-specific skills improve, the emphasis in class turns to defensive and offensive strategies and higher level thinking about the game as a team. Throughout the year, students have a chance to individually work on their personal goal setting with the teachers’ daily fitness warm ups. The variety of these exercises challenges students in as many different aspects of physical exertion as possible to help everyone find an aspect of fitness they can enjoy.

Music

The Lower School Music program prepares students to be lifelong musical people. By focusing on many aspects of music education, students become well-rounded in their musical experiences. These include developing a healthy head voice, performing steady beats and rhythms independently and then as part of an ensemble, moving expressively to the form and emotional response to music, moving with others to folk dances, music history, reading notation, composition, improvisation, recorder, percussion instruments, and performing. Students also explore and respond to music from American folk and popular songs as well as songs from many different time periods, genres, cultures, and decades. Students also have many opportunities to connect their classroom instruction to music. Students have created jingles for their own businesses, theme songs for fairytales as well as using poetry to create their own songs. By the end of their lower school years, students can create their own tunes, dances, read many rhythms and melodic patterns and songs, be proficient at recorder and are ready to expand upon their musical creativity and instrumental skills in middle school.

Music

Browne Academy recognizes the significance of the fine and performing arts and has a robust music program that engages, educates, and empowers. Browne’s music curriculum, both during the school day and through extracurricular opportunities, is designed to deepen knowledge and appreciation of music through interactive exercises in music history and dramatic arts, vocal and instrumental performance, and dance, with music theory supported by the developmental approaches of both the Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly methods. Each year builds upon teachings from the previous year.

Art

Browne Academy students work in a developmentally appropriate, visual environment with many available resources. Learning will include Principles of Art, Elements of Design, and Art History. Students create art that will connect to and reinforce grade level studies. Through inquiry based learning, students will be introduced to a wide variety of materials and media as they solve problems that use individual expression and creativity, and that incorporate our core values.

Math

Our math program highlights problem solving as the focus of mathematical learning. Students learn concepts using a concrete-pictorial-abstract progression to anchor learning in real-world and hands-on experiences. Each topic is approached with the expectation that students will understand both "how" it works, and also "why." With an emphasis on the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, students gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. This understanding empowers students to develop the critical-thinking skills, positive attitudes, and confidence needed to set the stage for mathematical achievement in lower school.

Math

Language Arts

Throughout the lower grades, students are building literacy skills which will grant them access to the world around them. A combination of multi sensory teaching, games, targeted instruction, and independent practice ensures the mastery of skills while simultaneously helping students fall in love with reading and writing. Students receive instruction from the teacher as a class, and are then able to independently practice new skills in materials that are differentiated based on their appropriate level. Teachers work closely in small groups or one-on-one settings to support each child. Students often work in pairs to edit and collaborate, deepening comprehension and understanding. Our students become autonomous readers and writers, as they are able to use their own interest and background knowledge to apply what they are learning at school.

Our literacy instruction is solidly rooted in phonics and helps students make sense of the many ways the English language works. Targeted phonological awareness instruction helps students become strong decoders and great spellers, boosting their confidence as they tackle new reading and writing challenges. From making predictions and rhyming, to rewriting fairy tales and sharing scientific observations, our students become empowered and effective readers and writers in the Lower School.

Innovation

The intention of the Innovation Center at Browne Academy is to teach and foster creative learning and collaborative skills that will benefit all students, not only while they are students here but long after they graduate. Our VEX coding program provides students with a familiar and scaffolded program that allows the children to start with basic block coding and move their way up to C++ and Python in middle school . Cross-curricular projects with classroom teachers, as well as other specialists, enhance learning objectives and give students the unique opportunity to create real life solutions based on their newfound knowledge. The design thinking process is integral in the innovation curriculum at Browne Academy. Students achieve success in engineering, designing, prototyping, coding, sewing, and 2-D and 3-D fabrication, all while learning that there is a purpose and reason behind everything they create.

Information Literacy

The library curriculum is designed to introduce young children to the world of books, reading, and libraries in an engaging and developmentally appropriate way. Our curriculum aims to foster a love of books, promote early literacy skills, and encourage a sense of curiosity and exploration. Information literacy for kids is a critical skill set that helps children develop the ability to find, evaluate, and use information effectively and responsibly. It empowers them to navigate the digital age with confidence, enabling them to make informed decisions, complete school assignments, and become responsible digital citizens.

History

English

Electives

Art

Students in lower school arts classes are introduced to the basic elements and principles of art. Their exploration begins with elements like color, line and form and progresses to a more complex study and execution of principles like unity, balance and emphasis. Students are introduced to classical and contemporary artists. Current events, and popular culture are also an important part of the arts program. Art history, integration of grade level studies, and creative experiences in the classroom are important along with developing an aesthetic sense, taking risks with creative expression, and understanding the visual world.

8th Grade Capstone

The 8th grade Capstone project provides students with the skills necessary to negotiate the challenges of twenty-first century learners in a global, interconnected community. Students increase personal knowledge of current events locally, nationally and globally. Using the Design Thinking Model, students select a topic on which to conduct in depth research. The process includes a research paper which defines a “problem” identified with their topic, a solution to the problem, and ideas for a prototype that could potentially solve the problem. A first person interview is conducted by each student with an expert in the field of their chosen topic. Throughout the project, eighth graders learn how to be experienced writers, critical thinkers, public speakers, and skilled researchers.



The culmination of the Capstone project are individual presentations given to families and members of the Browne community, which includes a slide presentation and a question and answer session.

5th Grade

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Preschool/Junior Kindergarten

  • Identify primary and secondary colors which will develop their descriptive language and object recognition
  • Recognize different animals which will allow students to appreciate the world around them and respect the other

    creatures that live in our world

  • Counting Numbers 1-10 which will increase their number sense and awareness of math around them
  • Differentiate shapes which will build a foundation for spatial awareness and other classes such as math
  • Differentiate object using opposites which will help students form correct language when making comparisons
  • Identify different Parts of the Body which will help students develop body awareness