Language Arts

French System (6 hours)

Children in Grade 1 learn to read and write sounds, using the French cursive script, to construct syllables to decipher words and sentences. In parallel to the syllabic method, the programs also focus on reading comprehension of small texts. Building on the graphic skills developed in preschool, writing skills are taught in conjunction with the reading program. Writing, language skills, and oral expression are integrated as the basis of this cycle. The areas of study reinforce one another, and class projects, such as journals, are often assigned to support the acquisition of these skills.

American System (6 hours)

English Language Arts for Grade 1 focuses on Reading and Writing. Through read aloud and shared reading exercises, we engage in word study, including Phonics, Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Dictation. Writing Workshops allow students to practice new knowledge, as well as their print handwriting skills, cover all the lower- and upper-case letters.

Social Studies

American System (2.5 hours)

Grade 1 Social Studies in English introduces students to the idea of “Community”. Through explorations of the world and the people and animals who inhabit it—and the relationships between them—students gain an understanding of how to think about and answer the fundamental, foundational question, “What is all around me?”

Math

French System (3 hours)

In Grade 1, using the CAPS, students will learn the numbers up to 100, the additions in columns with carrying, the linear subtractions. In geometry, they will learn to recognize shapes and use a ruler. They will practice measurement with standards than with cm and compare weights and lengths. They will learn to organize and manage data.

American System (3 hours)

Math in English for Grade 1 focuses on addition and subtraction of small numbers, with an exploration of numbers up to 100, and the basics of measurement and geometry as well as data collection and pattern recognition. Number games and story problems are a key element of coursework, and all concepts are reinforced through hands-on activities.

Science

French System (2.5 hours)

During the weekly bilingual time, children in Grade 1 will explore the notion of time, space, and the environment. They will learn to identify the day, week, month, and year, and comprehend distance (from very close to very far). Students will study the living world, the water, the plants, and the way the human body grows.

World Languages

Spanish (1 hour)

Spanish lessons in first grade include daily greeting and calendar. Students copy vocabulary words and sentences pertaining to the days of the week, polite words, colors, months of the year, numbers 0-20, classroom objects, alphabet, food, animals, parts of the body, community, and family. Practice of pronunciation and short conversations are included.

Art

French System (1 hour)

The exploration of color and design, through the use of basic techniques and acquisition of art terms, is emphasized. The continued development of fine-motor skills and gross-motor skills is incorporated in projects and activities. Vocabulary and definitions, art critiques, and inclusive class discussions are developed to build self-esteem and creativity. Students begin to maintain an art journal as an opportunity to respond to their own artistic process. Interdisciplinary projects with music are created to contribute to one of the school concerts. All students contribute to the annual art show.

Music

French System (1 hour)

Music is taught in French and through five different approaches: instrumental; vocal; cultural; music theory; and a multimedia project. First-grade students learn to keep a steady beat and execute simple rhythmic patterns on a percussion instrument. They focus on developing good pitch and breathing skills while learning both French and American songs. Students study Mozart, the instrument families, and fundamental concepts of music theory.

Physical Education

English System (3 hours)

The emphasis is on developing one’s personal best, as well as individual skill development in movement patterns and ball activities. Fitness through participation in organized team games, cooperative activities, gymnastics, and dance is encouraged. Specific attention is given to proper throwing, catching, and kicking patterns. Sportsmanship and fair play are modeled and reinforced in each class.

Coding and Robotics

French and English System (1 hour)

At LIH, students are exposed to coding at a young age with a view toward developing their problem-solving skills, thus helping students become stronger communicators and thinkers across all disciplines. First graders work with the OSMO coding system, which are tactile blocks that they manipulate to write simple programs. Students write similar programs using Dash robots to solve mathematical problems. Coding and robotics are taught in a bilingual setting.

Language Arts

French System (6 hours)

In Grade 2, the focus is on language, reading, and writing—strengthening the skills that have been acquired in Grade 1.
In Reading, as they have learned to decode the sounds of language, it will be time to focus on the meaning of the text.
In Writing, students are led to create their first writing samples, using the French cursive script. During this year, we begin the study of basic grammar and vocabulary in order to better understand the language.

American System (6 hours)

English Language Arts for Grade 2 focuses on Reading and Writing. Through independent reading and read aloud exercises, we practice skills and strategies to ensure comprehension, enable interpretation, and develop vocabulary. In Writing, we explore basic conventions of English grammar, including punctuation and parts of speech, as well as spelling.

Social Studies

French System (2.5 hours)

Social Studies (Histoire Géographie) in French in Grade 2 is part of a wider subject: “Questioning the World”. There are two general objectives: enable students to acquire the necessary knowledge to describe and understand the world around them and develop their reasoning skills; contribute to their development as citizens.

Math

French System (3 hours)

Grade 2 is about searching, modeling, representing, reasoning, calculating, and communicating. The objectives are the mastery of the main elements of numeration and calculation, problem solving and acquisition of mechanisms. Children will be able to count to 1,000. They will start to master decimal numeration and addition and begin to learn both multiplication and subtraction. They will recognize and build simple geometric figures, learn measurements of length, weight, time, and money, and will acquire data management knowledge such as tables, graphs, and problem-solving.

American System (3 hours)

Math in English for Grade 2 focuses on more complex addition and subtraction relationships and strategies, including place value explorations of tens and ones, grouping by 2, 5, and 10, odd and even numbers, and patterns to 100, and deepens student’s investigation into data collection and graphing as well as measurement and geometry. Key concepts are reinforced and connected to the real world by working with money.

Science

American System (2.5 hours)

Science in English for 2nd Grade is focused on the physical environment, here on Earth and in space. Students will participate in group projects that they will present to other students and parents during the yearly science fair.

World Language

Spanish (1 hour)

Second graders are able to work more independently. Their lessons include basic expressions, numbers 0-39, colors, the days of the week, classroom objects, clothing, food, community and family, parts of the body, vocabulary about the house, the alphabet, the use of tú, usted, adjectives, commands, and verbs in the present tense. Practicing pronunciation and short conversations are included.

Art

French System (1 hour)

Class projects challenge and further develop motor skills. Students learn new vocabulary and use new media. They continue to acquire knowledge of new techniques and applications. Major artists are introduced, and their contributions to the art world and history are shared with the students. Students use computer technology to add information to their work. They maintain an art journal throughout the year and participate in the art show in the spring.

Music

French System (1 hour)

Music is taught in both French and English and through five different approaches: instrumental; vocal; cultural; music theory; and a multimedia project. Students learn basic notation and fingerings for the recorder and a percussion instrument. They focus on good pitch and breathing while learning French and American songs, are introduced to jazz, and continue their study of the instrument families and concepts of music theory.

Physical Education

English System (3 hours)

Activities that build skills, strength, speed, coordination, self-confidence, and self-image form the basis of the game’s students play each week. Social and emotional development is addressed through the teaching of concepts such as cooperation, problem-solving, team building, fair play, and respect for human differences.

Coding and Robotics

French and English System (1 hour)

Starting in second grade, students are taught logical thinking, problem-solving, and computational thinking through coding using Code.org’s Computer Science Fundamentals course, which is specially designed for elementary school students and fully aligned with CSTA and ISTE standards.  Students are taught to perceive themselves as creators of technology and not just users. Using block-based programming, they start by learning the basics of writing algorithms and sequences in a fun, age-appropriate, play-like manner.

Language Arts

French System (6 hours)

French Language Arts in Grade 3 focuses on:

Reading: elaborate written answers to written questions, decipher an unknown word, read without hesitation and with expression, recognize different types of writings.

Grammar: know the classification and nature of words, the types of sentences, the subject and verb accordance.

Written expression: reinvest the knowledge acquired during the writing phases.

Vocabulary: be able to search in the dictionary, acquire the different meanings of a word, the words families.

Conjugation: identify and use the present, the future, the passé composé and the imparfait for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd group verbs.

Oral Language: recite texts from memory (poetry, fable, …), foster group work in a bilingual context, individual and collective presentations.

Spelling: be able to correctly spell words, using different types of exercises.

American System (6 hours)

English Language Arts for Grade 3 focuses on Reading and Writing. In Reading, we build on skills addressed in the 1st and 2nd grades, while introducing new skills, to ensure students fully understand key literary elements, such as characters, plot, and theme, develop reading comprehension that enables them to determine the main idea, a sequence of events, and cause and effect. Students explore making text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections. A focus on phonics skills to decode words supports vocabulary and spelling development. In Writing, we teach and reinforce the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, including parts of speech, verb tense, punctuation, and capitalization. Students will practice these by writing narrative pieces, opinion pieces, informative or explanatory texts, as well in their personal Writer’s Notebooks.

Social Studies

American System ( 2.5 hours)

3rd Grade Social Studies in English deepens understanding of the part of the world in which we live. Students explore the varied territories and landscapes of North America—from mountains to seascapes, rural towns to big cities—as well as the structure and function of the U.S. government.

Math

French System (3 hours)

Math in French for Grade 3 will focus on calculations related to everyday life and will reinforce concepts that are necessary for the acquisition of new skills. Children will be able to calculate with numbers from 0 to 9999: addition, subtraction, multiplication, comparison. They will be solving more and more complex problems with multiple operations. They will practice mental calculation, written calculation, and learn to use a calculator. They will learn multiplication tables and written multiplication with one digit. In Geometry, they will acquire positioning in a 2D and 3D space, measurement of sides and perimeters, construction of geometric shapes, parallel and perpendicular lines, to the beginning of area calculation. Quantities and measures will be taught in detail: length, mass, volume, area, angle, time, duration, and currency.

American System (3 hours)

Math in English for Grade 3 focuses on ensuring students can fluently add and subtract within 1,000 and understand the attributes of two-dimensional shapes, while introducing multiplication and division of whole numbers and the concept of fractions as numbers, including fraction equivalence and comparison. Students apply these tools to solve problems of time, capacity, mass, area, and perimeter.

Science

French System (2.5 hours)

Science in French in Grade 3 is part of a wider subject: “Questioning the World”. In Grade 3, children will identify the states of the matter, observe the changes of states, study the cycle of water, get to know the characteristics of the living world (e.g., stages of life, animal families, and the food chain), and recognize healthy behaviors (e.g., sleep, nutrition education, and physical activity)

World Languages

Spanish (1 hour)

The continuation of concepts taught in previous years is always reviewed in class. New concepts include basic expressions, numbers 0 – 59, days of the week, colors, classroom objects, alphabet, months, clothing, food, community and family, parts of the body, facial expressions, animals,  gender, singular and  plural, definite and indefinite articles, and adjectives. Students learn the usage of tú, usted, and verbs in the present tense. Practicing pronunciation and short conversations are included.

Art

French System (1 hour)

Class projects begin to include a broader vocabulary of the basic elements of art, encouraging students to develop their own style and introducing cultural aspects of art that can be applied to project work. Students become increasingly independent in the art studio and participate in interdisciplinary projects that enhance their academic program. All students continue to maintain their art journals and participate in the annual art show.

Music

French System (1 hour)

Music is taught in French and through five different approaches: instrumental; vocal; cultural; music theory; and a multimedia project. Students learn the notes of the staff and elements of solfege, music terminology in both languages, and good pitch and breathing techniques. They are introduced to Bach and Beethoven and continue their study of jazz. Each student creates a percussion instrument of their own and prepares a presentation on a music hero.

Physical Education

English System (3 hours)

In third grade, the emphasis continues to be on the joy of movement and playing games, as well as the continued development of spatial awareness and coordination. Team sports are introduced with a skills-based approach and a small-games focus. Character education is reinforced throughout the year, especially during the cooperative games unit. Students are encouraged to demonstrate sportsmanship and inclusion during all activities.

Coding and Robotics

French and English System (1 hour)

The Computer Science Fundamentals curriculum, which was introduced in second grade, continues in third grade. Programming concepts already learned are reinforced, while more advanced concepts, such as loops and events, are introduced. For the culmination of the semester-long course, students program a game, which they present to their parents. Coding and robotics are taught in a bilingual setting.

Language Arts

French System (6 hours)

In Grade 4 students will reinforce and update knowledge seen in Grade 3 but also discover new notions. They will continue to build a database of tools to better understand and master the French language.
Grammar: we will work throughout the year on the nominal group, the verbal group, and the sentence. Children will recognize the nature and function of words and spend a lot of time on the grammatical analysis of sentences to create automatisms.

Conjugation: we will ensure the search and recognition of conjugated verb in an automatic way and identify the family of verbs: 1st, 2nd, or 3rd group. We will review all the past, present, future in their regularities but also learn the most frequent irregular verbs.

Spelling/Vocabulary: students will take the habit to ask themselves the correct questions when writing.

Poetry/Writing Workshop: poetries will be learned. This exercise will allow us to enrich the French cultural heritage of students and to use the techniques of oral memory. The Writing Workshop will allow the students to stimulate their imagination and promote their skills to write in a natural way.

Literature/Reading: children will study several complete books during the year. They are organized around different literary genres (humor, novel, drama, fiction…)

American System (6 hours)

English Language Arts for Grade 4 covers three areas of competency: Reading, Writing, and Grammar. In Reading, students work with a range of genres from realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography, fables, expository text, fiction, and poetry, developing sufficient accuracy and fluency to support overall comprehension, as well as to determine a theme, describe in depth a character, setting or event, and compare and contrast narrative points of view. Throughout our reading work, students develop and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. In Writing, students learn to produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. We start off the year with a personal narrative, followed by a cross-curricular research piece related to social studies, and poetry, persuasive essays, and biographies round out the year. Students strengthen their writing skills, as needed, through focused efforts in planning, revising, and editing. Grammar is focused on ensuring students can (1) use their knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening, (2) demonstrate an understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings, and (3) determine meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases.

Social Studies

French System (2.5 hours)

Grade 4 Social Studies in French is composed of “Histoire” and “Géographie”. In Histoire, the program covers the periods from prehistory to the first Empire. We will work with themes that trace through all these historical periods. In Géographie, we will study the different places of life, housing, work, leisure, and consumption in France.

Math

French System (3.5 hours)

In Math in French, Grade 4 students will review and reinforce the learnings of Grade 3 as well as integrating many new concepts and skills.
Counting: students will acquire a formal knowledge of whole numbers and their designation up to a million, they will be able to compare, classify, and practice approximations. This is a necessary learning to gradually approach new numbers like fraction and decimals.
Geometry: we will study perpendicular and parallel lines, polygons including triangles, parallelograms, circles, solids, and axial symmetry.
Measures: children will continue to deeper discover measurements of length, masses, capacities, durations.

American System (3 hours)

Math in English for Grade 4 focuses on developing problem-solving and reasoning abilities, going above and beyond computational abilities. Three critical areas are covered: (1) multi-digit multiplication and dividing to find quotients with multi-digit dividends, (2) fraction equivalence, addition, and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers, and (3) analysis and classification of geometric figures based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures and symmetry.

Science

American System (2 hours)

Science in English for 4th Grade employs a hands-on discovery approach to science that promotes the implementation of the scientific method and encourages students to think critically and reason scientifically. Topics covered include (1) Plants and animals in their environment, (2) Properties of Magnetism and Electricity, (3) Properties of Water, and (4) The effect of Natural Events on Earth.

World Languages

Spanish (2 hours)

Spanish lessons in fourth grade include reviews -ar -er verbs in the present tense, and the irregular verbs ir, dar, and estar, in the present tense. Conversation, written exercises, and story reading are continued. Students also learn about lifestyles in  Spain and Latin America.

Art

French System (1 hour)

In fourth grade, the emphasis is on encouraging students to develop their own style while applying new media and techniques. New vocabulary, renowned artists and their work, and definitions of art are discussed in class critiques. Interdisciplinary projects in connection with social studies and science are part of the curriculum. Creating art on an iPad is introduced. All students continue to expand their personal art journal and contribute to the annual art show.

Music

French System (1 hour)

Music is taught in French and through five different approaches: instrumental; vocal; cultural; music theory; and a multimedia project. Fourth graders learn the notes of the staff (expanding the recorder range from low D to high F) and elements of solfege, good pitch, and proper breathing. They are introduced to opera, the Beatles, and contemporary pop music. Each student presents an oral and written report on a famous classical musician or composer.

Physical Education

English System (3 hours)

The focus on team sports continues with the introduction of the racquet sport of Pickleball. In the team-sports units, the focus is on teamwork, strategy, and skill development. The Fitness-gram assessment program is introduced; at two different points in the school year, students perform a series of tests, with the goal of measuring their level of fitness against established standards.

Language Arts

French System (6 hours)

French Language Arts for Grade 5 covers five areas of competency, all interacting with each other: Oral Language, Reading, Writing, Study of the language and Bilingual times.

Oral language: develop fluency in oral language in order to present information clearly in different contexts, students will be introduced to the world of theater and verbal play situations.

Reading and reading comprehension: acquire a fluent oral and silent reading and to be able to understand and interpret, we will study several complete books during the year. The understanding will be verified by activities requiring a fine reading and understanding of the text.

Writing: practiced daily, it is primarily a training in cursive writing and the use of word processing, but it is also convened in writing projects. Copy and layout activities help to develop the skills of the graphomotor gesture. Writing is also used in all activities to assume, question, analyze and show understanding.

Study of the language (grammar, spelling, lexicon): Grade 5 is an opportunity to fully engage in an explicit and reflective language study. In writing texts students learn the regularities of the language’s system. They are led to master the relationships between oral and written and acquire the structure, meaning and spelling of words, the form of words related to the context (e.g., gender, number, and complement of the verb), the functioning of the verb.

Bilingual world: the practice of the second language is done in close collaboration with the first. This is why the English and French programs will often meet to study the same idea, read the same book, use the same tools and be bilingual. Everything will be done to switch seamlessly from one language to another, avoiding translation work.

American System (6 hours)

English Language Arts for Grade 5 covers five areas of competency: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Grammar, and Vocabulary.
In Reading, students develop the ability to read in fine detail through discussions, illustrations, character studies, invented text revisions, and reading comprehension exercises. Students become adept at seeking evidence in the text to support their ideas and personal responses to the books and passages, as well as making inferences. In Writing, students practice the arts of fact and fiction writing. They learn both how to write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information, and to express themselves creatively, crafting narratives of real or imagined experiences and events. As a vital part of developing their language skills, in Speaking and Listening, students will engage in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Grammar study is integrated into our reading and writing work or else in contextualized grammar exercises. In all cases, the goal is to sensitize students to the presence of grammar and mechanics in all aspects of expression, particularly as we find them in everyday texts of various kinds. The expansion of Vocabulary is addressed through weekly spelling activities as well as in our reading work, as students continue to develop their word decryption strategies, such as seeking clues in the context to understand the meaning of a word and looking for roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

Social Studies

French System (2.5 hours)

For Grade 5, the Social Studies program in French is composed of “Histoire and “Géographie”. In Histoire, the program covers the Republic, the industrial age in France, France from world wars to the European Union. The Géographie program is also adapted to the local context. France is studied in parallel with the State of New York and the United States. The main themes are moving and communicating from one end of the world to the other.

Math

French System (3.5 hours)

In the continuity of Grade 4, Grade 5 remains focused on the six major skills of mathematics: search, model, represent, calculate, reason, and communicate. The three different areas covered are numbers and calculations (e.g., large numbers, decimals, simple fractions, solve problems), quantities and measures (e.g., compare, estimate, measure geometrical quantities with measuring instruments), space and geometry (e.g., locating and moving in space, reproducing, and describing common figures and solids, recognizing, and using geometric relationships).

American System (3 hours)

Math in English for Grade 5 in large part covers fractions. Students learn to convert improper fractions, work with mixed numbers in performing the four operations, hone the techniques of rounding and estimation, and become familiar with the concepts of probability and ratio. Working with word problems is a key element of coursework, focused on helping students learn to identify the information needed to complete a given problem.

Science

American System (2 hours)

Science in English for 5th Grade builds from the content categories required in the French program, fostering an overall perception of science as a means to understand the world and man’s effect on Earth’s resources. Students learn to implement the scientific method, working independently, in pairs, or in groups, to draw meaning from informative texts or hands-on activities. Presentations to their peers then provide an opportunity to fix knowledge in students minds through the act of explaining to others.

World Languages

Spanish (2 hour)

The 5th Grade Spanish curriculum builds upon the language students learned in the previous years. Students continue to consolidate the skills learned in the past, and expand their knowledge about daily life, places, and future plans etc. Building upon mimicking the language, students will be able to apply what they have previously learned to describe themselves and tell stories.

Art

French System (1 hour)

Class projects encourage creativity and individuality. They encourage students to use techniques in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Using additional equipment and new techniques enhances the challenge of each project. Students explore creating art with iPads and beginner photography. Throughout the year, each student maintains an art journal with written and graphic responses to each project conducted in class. All students contribute to the annual art show, which showcases their artistic development and the creativity of their accomplishments.

Music

French System (1 hour)

Music is taught in both French and English and through five different approaches: instrumental; vocal; cultural; music theory; and a multimedia project. Fifth graders learn the notes of the staff (expanding the recorder range from low C to high C) and elements of solfege, good pitch, and proper breathing. They are introduced to several different musical forms, including the symphony, as well as periods of music—from Renaissance to Modern. They also create the choreography for a musical piece.

Physical Education

English System (3 hours)

In fifth grade, students are challenged to increase their knowledge of the rules specific to each sport in order to enhance their basic strategies during play. Cooperative games and dance complement the team-sports units. Fifth graders participate in the FitnessGram assessment twice during the year. In addition, they are encouraged to take part in the intramural sports program during recess and the annual Hoops for Hearts event.