ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM: G1-G5 (6-11YO)
The curricular focus of United School of Tokyo is to develop the whole child. This goal is approached in a variety of ways to best suit a variety of learners. It is important to remember that children are individuals with their own areas of strength and areas of need. Our perspective is to utilize these strengths and assist with individual needs through the use of a group dynamic and collaboration. We also educate each child to have a global perspective. Through reinforcing the understanding that each student is a member of a global community, children are more aware of the effect that they have on the world and how that world affects them. UST incorporates these ideas in our curriculum design to ensure that students are engaged and challenged in their learning.
Math
UST math standards are based on the Common Core Math standards that promote a deeper understanding of concepts and encourage learning of multiple strategies to solve problems. The main math program used by the school is Math in Focus, the US edition of Singapore Math along with other supplemental materials. With this program students develop skills in number sense, geometry and spatial sense, problem solving strategies, algebraic and formulaic equations, and probability and ratio. Students are encouraged to develop the skills to explain their rationalization of answers and learn to demonstrate their utilization of multiple strategies.
Reading
Our reading program uses the concepts from the Reading Workshop model, which utilizes a variety of reading strategies to improve comprehension. Students work with a variety of texts and learn to apply the appropriate strategy in order to gain meaning and understanding from those texts. By using a multitude of books rather than a textbook, students gain an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of styles and complexity, which allows them to build endurance for reading and improve their understanding of a text. Children are expected to read at home as well at school on a regular basis. UST employs a guided reading program that ensures that students’ reading levels are assessed and closely monitored by the teacher, who works together with each student to help them improve their reading skills.
Writing
Similar to reading, writing should also be a daily activity. Our Writing Workshop program develops the students' abilities to express ideas through the use of various stages: Awareness and Exploration; Emergent; Transitional; Conventional; Proficient. Daily writing is performed in a variety of ways, including journal entries, responses and research. Our reading and writing programs are interwoven in order to give children the chance to effectively develop both skills.
We also value the importance of handwriting and penmanship as a way to help our students improve cognitive development, enhance memory and better organize their thoughts. While teachers use many resources to teach writing, teacher and students utilize the Write Source program as a core resource.
Science
In science, students are taught to be scientific thinkers. The use of observational skills and building inferential abilities is used both in class as well as applied in other areas of the students' learning. Students are taught the scientific process and the importance of following the process with fidelity to ensure proper outcomes. Our school uses FOSS (Full Option Science System), a research-based science curriculum for grades K-8 developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. There are units in each grade level in the areas of life science, earth and space science, and physical science. In this program, students use hands-on experiments to build concrete understanding of the scientific concepts and the world around us.
Japanese
Our Japanese program and standards are developed based on the Japanese National curriculum. Students use textbooks and supplementary materials used in Japanese elementary schools. Japanese classes at UST are taught daily tailored to students' levels (Beginner and Advanced). The program incorporates reading, writing, kanji, culture and social studies.
Social Studies
Students learn about their place in a society and throughout history. The social studies curriculum covers aspects of social interaction, geographic impact, economic impact, language and cultural impacts, and religious impacts and history. The students learn the role that wants and needs play in society as well as in their own lives. UST uses the curriculum Social Studies Alive!, which introduces unique and emotionally engaging activities that go beyond traditional elementary social studies lesson. Here is a brief overview of lower elementary and upper elementary social studeis units.
Visual Arts
Our Visual Arts and Music programs are based on the National Standards for Arts Education. The program is developed to encourage children to experiment enthusiastically with art materials and investigate the ideas presented to them through visual arts instruction. Creation is at the heart of this instruction. Students learn to work with various tools, processes, and media. As part of our Outdoor Education program, students get frequent opportunities to seek their inspiration or create their artwork outside the classroom. They learn to coordinate their hands and minds in explorations of the visual world. Their natural inquisitiveness is promoted, and they learn the value of perseverance. Art at UST is taught as an interdisciplinary subject and is often integrated with Music and Literacy. Students learn vocabularies and concepts associated with various types of work in the visual arts and must exhibit their competence at various levels in visual, oral, and written form.
Music
Students learn the basics of musical theory through active participation in musical activities. Reading and writing music is utilized in the classroom to encourage students to develop better music appreciation by taking part in creating music themselves. Every course in music provides instruction in creating, performing, listening to, and analyzing music, in addition to focusing on its specific subject matter. Student learn to express themselves creatively through singing, playing instruments, and composing in class and in front of the audience at school concerts.
UST also offers an array of musical extracurricular activities to help children further develop their musical talents.
Physical Education
Students learn how to move their bodies to maintain a healthy lifestyle, move within their environment, move during cooperative play, and safely manipulate a variety of objects. P.E. also teaches students the importance of positive team interaction, collaboration in goal setting, and good sportsmanship.
Our PE program, while having the in-door sports and swimming components, mainly focuses on being outdoors, making use of various sporting facilities available to our students: athletic fields, soccer fields, basketball courts.
Health
Heath is taught in a variety of forms. Students learn the essentials of maintaining proper physical, mental and emotional health. Mental health incorporates a positive self-view, understanding of one's limitations, and understanding the impact of stress on our mind and body. Physical health teaches the student about the human anatomy, proper diet and exercise, the effects of rest on the body, the need for proper hygiene, and other aspects of physical health. Emotional health consists of decision-making, goal setting, and interaction with others. As part of our Health curriculum we also have cooking classes taught by our organic food chef, to teach children about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
Guidance
Guidance class is one period a week in which students don't have to worry about tests or homework or "getting it right" in any way. This time is set aside to allow students to focus on developing their social and emotional skills. While there is always a lesson plan supporting the monthly themes, this class time can be turned over to addressing needs of the students. These needs could be as local as a classroom dispute or as global as discussing world events and how they affect our students. The topics connect to things such as school values, peaceful problem solving, non-violent communication, the environment, and world issues. Guidance units are taught as one topic across all grade levels so that there can be common themes and activities connecting the students, while of course being adapted for each group to be age appropriate.
Technology and information science
Digital literacy, the effective and creative use of ICT, is key to developing the skills for learning, life and work needed by young people in the modern world. Our IT program is designed to teach children how technology is utilized in the world around them and how to effectively and ethically use the tools in front of them. Our goal is to teach students that though technology is a great tool, it has its place and can be used in positive and negative manners. The students also learn how to use online sources for research to complement the usage of the traditional sources: books, journals, newspapers, and magazines.
English as a Second Language (ESL) and Learning Support (LS)
Starting from our K2 class (4YO), UST offers ESL and LS support to children who need help developing their English skills or to support specific learning needs Support is given based on individual levels, in a one-on-one or a small group setting to enhance the learning experience. Students receiving support are generally pulled out of their Japanese classes for a certain number of times per week in order to focus on developing core skills in a smaller setting.
Tutoring
Students who require further support with English or need help in other subjects, could be recommended for tutoring. Tutoring is offered after school, 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm and could be received for several weeks only or the entire term, depending on the individual needs of student receiving the support.
Go to Early Childhood curriculum overview
Math
UST math standards are based on the Common Core Math standards that promote a deeper understanding of concepts and encourage learning of multiple strategies to solve problems. The main math program used by the school is Math in Focus, the US edition of Singapore Math along with other supplemental materials. With this program students develop skills in number sense, geometry and spatial sense, problem solving strategies, algebraic and formulaic equations, and probability and ratio. Students are encouraged to develop the skills to explain their rationalization of answers and learn to demonstrate their utilization of multiple strategies.
Reading
Our reading program uses the concepts from the Reading Workshop model, which utilizes a variety of reading strategies to improve comprehension. Students work with a variety of texts and learn to apply the appropriate strategy in order to gain meaning and understanding from those texts. By using a multitude of books rather than a textbook, students gain an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of styles and complexity, which allows them to build endurance for reading and improve their understanding of a text. Children are expected to read at home as well at school on a regular basis. UST employs a guided reading program that ensures that students’ reading levels are assessed and closely monitored by the teacher, who works together with each student to help them improve their reading skills.
Writing
Similar to reading, writing should also be a daily activity. Our Writing Workshop program develops the students' abilities to express ideas through the use of various stages: Awareness and Exploration; Emergent; Transitional; Conventional; Proficient. Daily writing is performed in a variety of ways, including journal entries, responses and research. Our reading and writing programs are interwoven in order to give children the chance to effectively develop both skills.
We also value the importance of handwriting and penmanship as a way to help our students improve cognitive development, enhance memory and better organize their thoughts. While teachers use many resources to teach writing, teacher and students utilize the Write Source program as a core resource.
Science
In science, students are taught to be scientific thinkers. The use of observational skills and building inferential abilities is used both in class as well as applied in other areas of the students' learning. Students are taught the scientific process and the importance of following the process with fidelity to ensure proper outcomes. Our school uses FOSS (Full Option Science System), a research-based science curriculum for grades K-8 developed at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley. There are units in each grade level in the areas of life science, earth and space science, and physical science. In this program, students use hands-on experiments to build concrete understanding of the scientific concepts and the world around us.
Japanese
Our Japanese program and standards are developed based on the Japanese National curriculum. Students use textbooks and supplementary materials used in Japanese elementary schools. Japanese classes at UST are taught daily tailored to students' levels (Beginner and Advanced). The program incorporates reading, writing, kanji, culture and social studies.
Social Studies
Students learn about their place in a society and throughout history. The social studies curriculum covers aspects of social interaction, geographic impact, economic impact, language and cultural impacts, and religious impacts and history. The students learn the role that wants and needs play in society as well as in their own lives. UST uses the curriculum Social Studies Alive!, which introduces unique and emotionally engaging activities that go beyond traditional elementary social studies lesson. Here is a brief overview of lower elementary and upper elementary social studeis units.
Visual Arts
Our Visual Arts and Music programs are based on the National Standards for Arts Education. The program is developed to encourage children to experiment enthusiastically with art materials and investigate the ideas presented to them through visual arts instruction. Creation is at the heart of this instruction. Students learn to work with various tools, processes, and media. As part of our Outdoor Education program, students get frequent opportunities to seek their inspiration or create their artwork outside the classroom. They learn to coordinate their hands and minds in explorations of the visual world. Their natural inquisitiveness is promoted, and they learn the value of perseverance. Art at UST is taught as an interdisciplinary subject and is often integrated with Music and Literacy. Students learn vocabularies and concepts associated with various types of work in the visual arts and must exhibit their competence at various levels in visual, oral, and written form.
Music
Students learn the basics of musical theory through active participation in musical activities. Reading and writing music is utilized in the classroom to encourage students to develop better music appreciation by taking part in creating music themselves. Every course in music provides instruction in creating, performing, listening to, and analyzing music, in addition to focusing on its specific subject matter. Student learn to express themselves creatively through singing, playing instruments, and composing in class and in front of the audience at school concerts.
UST also offers an array of musical extracurricular activities to help children further develop their musical talents.
Physical Education
Students learn how to move their bodies to maintain a healthy lifestyle, move within their environment, move during cooperative play, and safely manipulate a variety of objects. P.E. also teaches students the importance of positive team interaction, collaboration in goal setting, and good sportsmanship.
Our PE program, while having the in-door sports and swimming components, mainly focuses on being outdoors, making use of various sporting facilities available to our students: athletic fields, soccer fields, basketball courts.
Health
Heath is taught in a variety of forms. Students learn the essentials of maintaining proper physical, mental and emotional health. Mental health incorporates a positive self-view, understanding of one's limitations, and understanding the impact of stress on our mind and body. Physical health teaches the student about the human anatomy, proper diet and exercise, the effects of rest on the body, the need for proper hygiene, and other aspects of physical health. Emotional health consists of decision-making, goal setting, and interaction with others. As part of our Health curriculum we also have cooking classes taught by our organic food chef, to teach children about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
Guidance
Guidance class is one period a week in which students don't have to worry about tests or homework or "getting it right" in any way. This time is set aside to allow students to focus on developing their social and emotional skills. While there is always a lesson plan supporting the monthly themes, this class time can be turned over to addressing needs of the students. These needs could be as local as a classroom dispute or as global as discussing world events and how they affect our students. The topics connect to things such as school values, peaceful problem solving, non-violent communication, the environment, and world issues. Guidance units are taught as one topic across all grade levels so that there can be common themes and activities connecting the students, while of course being adapted for each group to be age appropriate.
Technology and information science
Digital literacy, the effective and creative use of ICT, is key to developing the skills for learning, life and work needed by young people in the modern world. Our IT program is designed to teach children how technology is utilized in the world around them and how to effectively and ethically use the tools in front of them. Our goal is to teach students that though technology is a great tool, it has its place and can be used in positive and negative manners. The students also learn how to use online sources for research to complement the usage of the traditional sources: books, journals, newspapers, and magazines.
English as a Second Language (ESL) and Learning Support (LS)
Starting from our K2 class (4YO), UST offers ESL and LS support to children who need help developing their English skills or to support specific learning needs Support is given based on individual levels, in a one-on-one or a small group setting to enhance the learning experience. Students receiving support are generally pulled out of their Japanese classes for a certain number of times per week in order to focus on developing core skills in a smaller setting.
Tutoring
Students who require further support with English or need help in other subjects, could be recommended for tutoring. Tutoring is offered after school, 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm and could be received for several weeks only or the entire term, depending on the individual needs of student receiving the support.
Go to Early Childhood curriculum overview
