Grade-Level Themes & Investigations | 2025-2026

Preschoolers are filled with curiosity and imagination! During a session in the Atelier, they were introduced to the material of paper. Led by their curiosity, they manipulated the paper by folding, twisting, crumpling, and tearing it. From these experiences, more questions emerged: What can hands do? What sounds can paper make? As the paper transformed, so did the children’s ideas. They imagined miniature worlds, folding to create staircases, bridges, families, and homes. Dialogue, action, characters, and stories were born in these imaginary paper worlds. Through an exploration of a simple, everyday material, curiosity led to experimentation and eventually imaginative stories emerged. Through these authentic experiences, the children engaged in scientific thinking (cause and effect, testing ideas) and oral storytelling, a foundational element of literacy.

In Prekindergarten, children explored what it means to belong. Using the school’s weekly Campfire gathering as a springboard, the children used clay to express the concepts of connection, community, and collective experience. Through the material of clay children investigated how people relate to places, materials, and one another. The Campfire functions as both an object and a metaphor to signify a gathering place, a shared story, and a symbol of warmth and togetherness.

Later in the year, the children deepen this understanding of community care when they looked after chicken eggs during their incubation period. When the baby chicks emerged, the children nurtured them with patience, curiosity, and a sense of responsibility.

Change

Kindergarten is a year of profound growth, and for that reason, students and teachers view their project work through the lens of change. In the fall, Ms. Brooker’s students observed how ideas transform as they travel from one person to another. They also observed changing friendships and seasons. In the Spring, the changing garden invited observation of insect life, and students constructed insect homes based on what they observed.

Mr. Mazza’s class embarked on a year-long study of how food brings people together. Through extensive work in the garden – planting, harvesting, and cooking -- the children experienced the process change. In May, after witnessing a polyphemus moth emerge from its cocoon, Kindergarteners reflected on the growth of their own identities over the course of the school year.

Community

Each year, Grade 1 student spend ample time designing and caring for their classroom community. Through a study of identity, diversity, and the many gifts we each share, students gained a deep appreciation for the unique individuals that make up community. By recognizing and celebrating both their differences and commonalities, Grade 1 students affirmed that each person’s story mattered and contributed the group’s identity. Considering the larger community, students researched opportunities to make the school more welcoming. Later in the year, these young community members expanded their horizons beyond the school walls to examine landforms, erosion, and the effects of climate change on our beloved Earth.

Interdependence

Through the lens of interdependence, Grade 2 students examined various complex ecosystems. The concept of interdependence led the young researchers in many directions: a study our system of government and the way the three branches relate to and rely on one another; consideration of the emergence of the spotted lanternfly in our regional geography and its effect on our environment; and research of pollinators and their important roles in our natural ecosystem. In the spring, students studied interdependence in the tropical rainforest, considering two essential questions: How do plants and animals depend on their habitats for survival? What does each organism do in a system? Then Grade 2 environmentalists visited the Amazonia exhibit at the National Zoo to see and feel for themselves how the gifts of the rainforest affect us all.

Culture

In Grade 3, students develop anthropological insight as they examine human cultures or ways of life in the United States, with a particular focus on Indigenous American cultures. Through artifacts and maps, students learned about the geography, climate, and food sources in each of the Native American cultural regions. Next, they researched how Indigenous peoples constructed homes using local natural resources. In the spring, students’ focus shifted to an in-depth investigation of the cultures and traditions of U.S. states. Students shared their research at a “State Fair” celebration. An annual field trip to Historic St. Mary’s City allows students to further explore Native and Colonial Americans’ ways of life.

Perspective

Grade 4 students learn about expressing their perspectives and considering those of others. Understanding perspective means considering one’s “line of sight.” What is between the “object” (or issue) and our eyes? What is between the same “object” and others’ eyes? During their study of the American Revolution, students examined the growing tension between colonists and British troops that eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Instead of simply studying those events as historical facts, students considering two essential questions: What informs people’s perspectives? How do people express their perspectives? Grade 4 students’ curious minds also approached literature, art, and other academic topics through the lens of perspective, gaining deeper understanding along the way.

Voice

Grade 5 students considered the power of picture books and the various ways the theme of voice is present in literature. Students’ interest in picture books paved the way for the development of their own picture book, Let’s Bounce!?, which they wrote and illustrated in a collaborative fashion, using elements of art and principles of design to bring their story to life. The book inspired an original Spring Musical with the same title. In a separate project, students, who acknowledged they knew very little about events in Southern Asia, read The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. Students were moved to create a newscast to share their understanding of life in Afghanistan—especially for women and children—under Taliban rule. They were inspired to use their own voices to inform others, recognizing that problems can only be addressed through knowledge, awareness, and collective action.