Maybe you’ve been hearing about MMUN and the Upper Elementary, and you’re wondering, what exactly is that? The Upper Elementary is the 9-12 year olds in a 6-12 class. Or, in traditional terms, it’s 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Maria Montessori developed curriculum for children in the second plane, or the elementary years, and there is a continuum that allows children to move through the various subject areas at a pace that supports mastering the subject material. When students are in the Upper Elementary, they are transitioning to more abstract thinking, with higher levels of research. They are building on the foundation they formed in Lower Elementary. The Lower Elementary works extensively with the materials, developing breadth and depth of knowledge through their work. The Upper Elementary must also be prepared for the next stage of development, Middle School. Thus, there is work with textbooks, expository essays, book reports, narratives, oratories, poetry, literature, and more.
So, what are our Upper Elementary students working on? They are preparing for the Montessori Model United Nations, an experience that allows them to be model delegates from the Republic of Panama in New York, which will be in March of this year. They are writing position papers about current world events. We will create links to those papers soon, so that everyone may have access to them. Not only are they getting ready for MMUN, but they are also working on a variety of research projects. They are creating a travel brochure from a place they would like to visit. They are exploring the Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans, studying their fundamental needs. The students are studying types of government around the world, and also learning about how our government works. They are learning about eras in music history and famous composers and their compositions. Individually, they are practicing higher levels of math, geometry and language, including clause analysis and self-editing skills. The Upper Elementary students work very hard in the classroom, and they know they have many responsibilities to fulfill during these important 3 years.
Come and see the Elementary class and observe these amazing students for yourself!