THEME

A theme is a subject, such as Whales, Japan, or Ancient Egypt, or a concept, such as Conflict or The City. The thematic approach to teaching is a means of organizing the information to be taught in a way that more closely approximates the human experience of how things happen than does the dispensing of information in isolated disciplines. For example, the study of Ancient Greece involves literature, history, science, mathematics, art, drama, music, and physical education (Olympics).

A theme provides the focus for learning, giving purpose and meaning to an educational experience. Students know what they are learning and why while they are learning it. The theme creates a need to inquire, to do purposeful research, to communicate, and to solve problems. Academic skills are used in a meaningful, integrated way. The likelihood that connections will be made among skills, knowledge, and concepts within the larger context increases the chances that what is learned will be remembered.

A thematic approach can be used to exercise and develop all sorts of creativity to convey what has been learned and the experience of learning it. Prose, poetry, art, dance, drama, or music are all possibilities.

All-School Theme

Each school year opens with a topic of study that draws us together as a community of learners. Mixed-age groupings enable students and faculty from different classrooms to get to know each other early in the year.

This year's all-school theme is Earth Day Every Day.

Multiple Perspectives

Multiculturalism is intrinsic to our thematic curriculum. Examining multiple perspectives helps students to understand and value the diversity of our country's communities, cultures, traditions, and achievements. A study of 1492, for example, would not be complete without examining the points of view of Native Americans, the European explorers, the Spanish crown, and the Catholic Church. Our study of world cultures includes both Western and non-Western topics and perspectives.

PAST ALL-SCHOOL THEMES

Australia
Benjamin Franklin
Building Philadelphia
Centuries of Childhood
City Hall
Clash of Cultures: 1492
Empathy
The Forest
The Great Experiment: 1787
Homer's Odyssey
Inventions
Mathematics Fair
Tolerance
The Underground
Walking in Each Other's Shoes
Walls: Physical & Metaphoric
The Wind in the Willows
The Year 1972