AERIE
CURRICULUM UNITS FOR EACH GRADE (T-5)
TRANSITION (Kindergarten has realigned its curriculum to match)
A. Ocean Life (September-November)
 Food chains
 Fish, mammals
 Oceanography
 Field trips to BIOMES & Mystic
 Saltwater tank set up and maintained by BIOMES
B. Rocks & Minerals
 Identification
 Classification
 Fossils, Tectonics, Volcanoes and Earthquakes
C. China
 Geography
 Culture & customs
 Guest Visits, Restaurant Field Trip
D. Butterflies
 In relation to science
 In relation to social studies
 Class hatches and releases butterflies
FIRST GRADE
A. Nutrition
 On our campus
 Food Pyramid, Food Groups
B. Our Wheeler Community
 Touring Buildings and Visiting People
 Wheeler Lore
C. Native Americans
 Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Northwest, Innuits
 Geography, Climate, Food Sources
 Dream Catchers, Long Houses
 Native American Workshop
 Indian Wars
D. Outer Space
 Solar System
 Space Travel
 Model of Earth’s Layers
E. India
 Culture, History, Geography, Fauna
 Music & Dance Guest Performances
 Henna
 Indian Food
 India Day at Wheeler Farm
SECOND GRADE
A. Colonial America
 Place-based emphasis
 Spanish Arrival, Mayflower, Jamestown, Roger Williams
 Plymouth Plantation
 Rhode Island history
 Tools, children’s games, map work
B. World Geography (focus on Africa)
 Continents, World Maps, Oceans
 Climate, Wildlife
C. Kenya
 Rotations: Cooking, National Parks, Games, Folk Tales
 Storytellers, Dancers
 Safari Day: Wildlife Tour, Forensics Scene (Who Poached The Lion?)
 Kenyan Games, Art
THIRD GRADE
A. Whaling
 Artifacts, Voyage of the Essex
 Navigation, Night Sky, Latitude & Longitude
 Field trip to Mystic, CT
 World Geography, Ports of Call
 Mapping
 Figureheads
 Moby Dick
B. US Geography
 Physical Regions
 National Parks-Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Hawaii Volcanoes, Everglades
 Four Zones-Wildlife, Geology, Climate, Flora & Fauna
C. Medieval Times
 History and Geography
 Medieval Culture- Feudal Europe, Africa, Middle East, Far East
 Tunics, Kente Cloth Design, Herbal Remedies, Castles, Black Death

Culmination: Medieval Feast- Role Playing, Music, Performances, Knighting and “Keys to
the Castle”
FOURTH GRADE
A. Westward Expansion
 Geography
 American History – 19th Century: Gold Rush, Railroad, Indian Wars, Sod Houses, Lewis
and Clark
 “Tin Cup Adventures,” Pioneer Living, Frontier Day
 Constructing Timelines, Pony Express, Trail of Tears Reenactment, Bandanas, Oregon
Trail, Donner Party
B. American Immigration (Mid 19th Century to the Present)
 Chinese to Angel Island, Eastern Europeans, Africans
 Ellis Island Simulation
 Lowell Mills and Contemporary Southeast Asian Immigration
C. Human Body
 Bodily Systems, coordinated with Science Curriculum
 Hygiene
 Heart, Digestion, Ear, Brain
 CPR, Emergency medical
 Presentations by parents who are physicians
FIFTH GRADE
A. Ancient Egypt
 Geography, Mapmaking
 Gods & Goddesses
 Sphinxes
 Senet Gameboards
 Museum Artifact Presentations to Visiting Classes
B. Invention Convention
 Edison, Process of Invention
 Wild & Wacky Inventions
 Rube Goldberg Drawings
 Women Inventors
 Creating and Displaying Student Inventions
C. World Geography
 World religions
 Continents-Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East
 Vocabulary, Current Events, Working with Atlases
D. Public Speaking, Graduation Preparation