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The heart of a Waldorf school curriculum is the view of child development articulated and promoted by Rudolf Steiner that is embodied in all Waldorf schools. For example, the arithmetic curriculum focuses on whole numbers in Grades 1-3 because we see a sense of wholeness as supportive of the young child’s need to understand the world as a cohesive, secure environment. As the child moves into the Fourth Grade, this understanding changes; now the child becomes aware of many aspects of her own personality and is thus affirmed by the study of fractions—the multiple parts of any whole.
Even as the details included in a course may vary according to school location or culture, every aspect of the curriculum is intentionally placed to support and affirm students as they move from one developmental phase to another. The elementary curriculum is designed to provide students with a nourishing and intriguing overview of human culture, from its very beginnings and into the Twenty-First Century. The students are expected to present their best efforts in every assignment; and so the teachers are very careful to create assignments worthy of those efforts.
In addition to content, the presentation of the curriculum develops capacities that will be explored and fulfilled later in life: capacities for intellectual and artistic pursuits, for working with other people, for inner development. We strive to create in our students a dynamic interest in the world and the ability to translate that interest into meaningful action.
We can place ourselves correctly in life only when every moment, every day, every week, every year becomes a source of learning for our further development. Regardless of how far we go in our schooling, we will have accomplished the most if, through this schooling, we have learned how to learn from life.
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The Waldorf Elementary Curriculum
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First Grade |
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| Language Arts: | World Fairytales [literature] Alphabet Phonetics & speech exercises Poetry, word play, and class play |
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| Science: | Nature studies | |
| Arithmetic: | Whole numbers Addition, multiplication, subtraction & division with whole numbers up to 24 Counting to 144 Roman numerals |
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| Second Grade | ||
| Language Arts: | Fables, stories of saints & heroes [literature] Lower case letters Simple sentences Rhyming words Speech exercises, poetry, class play |
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| Science: | Nature studies | |
| Arithmetic: | Operations with whole numbers Times tables Number patterns |
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| Third Grade | ||
| Language Arts: | Stories of the Hebrew Bible, Native American tales [literature] Structure of sentence Parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb Simple descriptive composition Speech work, class play Cursive writing Spelling [continues through Eighth Grade] |
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| Science: | House building Farming [soils, grains] |
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| Arithmetic: | Operations with whole numbers Times tables Measurement, weight Time Money Place value |
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| Fourth Grade: | ||
| Language Arts: | Stories of Local History [literature] Norse sagas [literature] Alliteration, poetry, class play Verb tenses, plurals Parts of speech: add prepositions & pronouns Abbreviations Composition, letter writing Book reports [oral & written] Written reports related to science projects |
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| Science: | Local & state geography Zoology [Human and Animal] |
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| Arithmetic: | Review all operations with whole numbers Long division Word problems Averages Common fractions |
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| Fifth Grade: | ||
| Language Arts & History: | Stories from Ancient History: India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt Greek myths, Greek history through Alexander the Great Active & passive verbs Subject, predicate Synonyms, antonyms, homonyms Composition Book reports, letter writing Spelling, dictionary work Oral and written reports related to science projects |
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| Science: | Geography of the United States Botany |
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| Arithmetic: | Number theory Review of common fractions and mixed numbers Decimal fractions Reciprocals Metrics Freehand geometry |
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| Sixth Grade: | ||
| Language Arts & History: | Ancient Rome The life of Christ, ancient Judaic society The life of Mohammed, ancient Islamic society The Crusades Medieval society: Cloister, Castle, City Age of chivalry, medieval literature & history Subjunctive mood Diagramming sentences Composition: emphasis on exposition Outlining Business letters Spelling, dictionary work |
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| Science: | Physics: sound, heat, light Mineralogy Geology astronomy Geography of Europe Basic world geography |
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| Arithmetic: | Review of decimal fractions Percentage, interest, profit, loss Ratio, proportion, exchange Estimation Equations Geometric constructions with straight edge & compass |
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| Seventh Grade: | ||
| Language Arts & History: | 1400 – 1700: The Age of Exploration Renaissance Reformation Arthurian legend, historical novels, biography, tales of adventure & humor Review all grammar Development of plasticity of language Summaries, essays, research papers Poetry forms |
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| Science: |
Chemistry: combustion, the lime cycle; acids, bases, & salts [inorganic chemistry] |
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| Arithmetic: | Graphing Introduction to Algebra Perimeters, areas Roots, powers Geometry with straight edge & compass Geometric theorems & proofs |
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| Eighth Grade: | ||
| Language Arts & History: | 1700 – present English Civil War, Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, American Revolution American Civil War Immigration and social reform Shakespeare Review all grammar Newspaper reporting Class play Spelling & dictionary work |
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| Science: | Geography of Asia, Australia, and Antarctica Physics: sound, heat, light, electro-magnetism, hydraulics, aerodynamics Meteorology Chemistry: the chemistry of food, the nitrogen cycle [organic chemistry] Physiology & Anatomy |
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| Arithmetic: | Percentage Algebra, signed numbers, equations Geometry of Platonic Solid |
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