Elementary | Grades 3-5

In 3rd-5th grade, students have math class four or five times a week. PFS math classes are lively and supportive communities in which students work independently and collaboratively to further everyone’s confidence and the development of critical computational, cognitive, and communication skills. Mathematics instruction is differentiated. Teachers deliver whole-group instruction on basic concepts and skills and provide opportunities for extension and enrichment. Learning support is provided when needed. The 3rd-5th grade math curriculum is guided by the Bridges in Mathematics program, an inquiry-based curriculum that develops mathematical reasoning. Additional resources are used to supplement the Bridges curriculum as necessary. 

3rd
The 3rd-grade science curriculum immerses students in the roles of field and lab scientists while fostering productive academic habits. In a hands-on lab environment, students develop fundamental skills and a strong understanding of biology, Earth science, environmental science, and physical science concepts. This year is crucial for students to begin problem-solving and critical thinking through project-based learning and creative invention.

The natural environment, including woods and waterbodies, serves as an outdoor laboratory, creating interdisciplinary links and integrating the school’s annual theme. Throughout the year, students develop academic skills and build scientific knowledge, aiding future studies. They practice scientific report writing, data collection and calculation, fieldwork, using lab equipment and tools, and graphing. Students also learn to make observations, predictions, and inferences, and to maintain organized scientific notebooks.

Students engage in individual and group work, conducting labs and fieldwork, completing projects, using basic technology, expressing learning through art, acting as engineers, and writing scientific reports. They also analyze charts, graphs, and maps. Science classes collaborate with other academic departments on project-based learning opportunities. The supportive, active, and explorative learning environment encourages students to consider their impact on the Earth.
 

4th/5th
The 4th and 5th grade science curriculum covers Earth science, ecology, biology, environmental science, astronomy, chemistry, and physics. Our science topics often overlap, integrating material from different disciplines and focusing on real-life applications and our day-to-day surroundings. The natural environment, particularly the waterbodies and woods adjacent to our school, serves as a laboratory for many course studies. This connection to the outdoors and the selection of class units build interdisciplinary links, fostering students to be thinkers, investigators, engineers, naturalists, and problem solvers.

Students participate in individual and group work as they conduct labs and fieldwork, complete projects, and build technological knowledge. They act as engineers, use art to express their understanding, and apply simple math to evaluate data. Activities include writing scientific reports; making and analyzing charts, graphs, and maps; and taking part in formal and informal assessments. Science classes also collaborate with other academic departments for project-based learning opportunities. The learning environment is supportive, active, and explorative, encouraging students to consider their personal impacts on the Earth.

Throughout the year, students develop important academic and scientific skills that will aid their future studies. They work on scientific report writing, data collection and calculation, statistics, fieldwork, introduction to lab equipment, and graphing. Students also grow increasingly comfortable making observations, predictions, and inferences, and maintaining an organized scientific notebook. Their participation in labs, projects, activities, and discussions enhances the class, encourages deeper learning, and challenges students to excel in their work.

In our 4th and 5th grade Social Studies class, students explore two engaging yearly themes: Early Civilizations and the History & Geography of North America. During the Early Civilizations unit, students learn about the daily lives, cultures, and achievements of ancient societies such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley. In the History & Geography of North America unit, they study the diverse landscapes, cultures, and historical events that have shaped the continent from pre-Columbian times to the present day. Throughout both themes, students develop foundational social studies skills, including map reading, chronological thinking, and comparing and contrasting different cultures and historical periods. These skills help them build a solid understanding of the world and its history, preparing them for more advanced studies in the future.

From Beginning School through 5th grade, a positive connection with books and reading is nourished by once a week Library classes, during which students read books and learn to navigate the library, both to explore personal interests and to locate resources needed for academic pursuits. As students progress through the grades, they learn library skills and digital citizenship. For 3rd grade, classes begin with a read-aloud followed by a discussion and browsing time, with short lessons woven in when appropriate. For 4th and 5th grades, Library classes move more intentionally through a series of lessons and activities geared to prepare them for middle school, when research skills are taught through English and Social Studies classes. 

Music classes in the upper elementary grades draw from Orff Schulwerk and the Kodály approach. In each class, students warm up their voices through pitch explorations and by singing songs from the music binder. Students explore Western music literacy by using simple songs to discover rhythm concepts and label them with syllables. They then learn how to read, write, and compose with these rhythms using Western music notation. Similarly, students begin learning melodic concepts by examining common intervals and patterns in these songs and labeling them with solfège syllables (do, re, mi, etc.). Students learn the Curwen system of hand signs that accompany these syllables and practice sight-singing from hand signs as well as creating their own patterns. Once students become comfortable working with certain notes and intervals, they learn how to place them onto a staff using Western notation. Students practice their rhythmic and melodic skills and grow their ensemble skills by using body percussion and performing on classroom instruments, including rhythm sticks, drums, xylophones, and handchimes. Greater attention is placed on choreographed dancing in the upper elementary grades as students learn more complicated moves in different American and international folk dances and continue to develop their spatial awareness. As time allows, students experiment with choreographing their own dances using known moves or ones they have created.

Students in the upper-elementary grades also have unique grade-level activities to look forward to. In conjunction with our school-wide Storytelling Season, 3rd graders spend the winter illustrating one of the story songs from the music binder on a long paper scroll. When students get to 4th and 5th grade, they perform as a class at the Winter Arts Festival and weave the maypole at our May Day celebration on May 1st. Finally, all 3rd-5th grade students attend a concert by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra each spring.
 

Deep engagement with the visual arts is a critically important aspect of the Princeton Friends School experience. Including studio art for all grades, graphic design for 7th and 8th grade students, and a variety of arts elective classes offered for 3rd-8th grades, the PFS art program engages students’ natural curiosity and imagination, offering time, space, and resources for individual exploration.

READ MORE

GRADES 3 - In 3rd grade, students will be encouraged to hone their skills of play (cognitive, social, communication, fine gross motor, and emotional). Students will do a light workout, practice skills like throwing, and play classic games: Tag and dodgeball.  Also, we mix in imaginative adventures designed for our students. 

GRADES 4-5 - In 4th and 5th grade, students will be asked “What kind of Physical Education do I want?” They will be joining 6th-8th graders in getting to pick from 5 different types of Physical Education: Yoga/Dance, Physical Training, Hiking, Recess Games, and Team Sports with a wide range of options for each student's P.E. journey. 

As critical as Princeton Friends School’s academic program is in preparing our students for academic success, just as important is our school’s commitment to instilling in children a strong and positive sense of who they are as individuals and social beings. The Taking Care program encompasses four intertwining threads: Knowing Oneself, Knowing One Another, Care of Oneself, and Care of Others. Taking Care is a weekly class in which we learn about taking care of ourselves, our friends, our community, and the larger world around us. Students participate in a variety of interactive, thought-provoking team-building activities designed to bring greater awareness to how we are interconnected.