The Lower Elementary area, corresponding to the first cycle of basic education, aims to develop well-rounded students with an emphasis on bilingual English-Spanish learning. It strengthens values, attitudes, and expected learning outcomes at each level, as well as cognitive and social skills that provide a solid foundation for future learning.
The area comprises four grade levels and 12 classes, with students ranging in age from 6 to 10 years old, totaling 268 students.
To ensure greater consistency and integration within the academic program, we coordinate by grade levels: 1st and 2nd grade, and 3rd and 4th grade. Most teachers teach and lead classes in their respective grade levels, promoting teamwork and efficient communication across different subject areas.
The Challenge program is for advanced students in their spoken and written English. It consists of one hour per week outside of regular class time, during which, led by an American teacher, students participate in engaging activities designed to strengthen and enhance their language skills.
The Tutoring program is for students who are struggling in English and need extra support. An English teacher provides this support, using engaging and meaningful activities to help students acquire and improve their vocabulary, concepts, and skills.
Two to three students per class are selected for these programs, and the participants change each semester to give different children the opportunity to participate.
Each year, we have native English speakers interacting with our students. Chilean secondary school English teachers, specializing in elementary school teaching, work alongside the native English teachers in developing the English program and rigorously monitor the skills our students are developing.
Each year, we host student teachers from American universities who come for one-month internships twice a year. They share their culture with our TJS students, teachers, and families and provide support in our classrooms in various subjects.
Since 2008, we have run the Oral English program, in which a native English teacher leads weekly activities designed to develop oral English speaking skills in students from 1st to 6th grade.
Our students have access to one hour of tutoring in each subject, held outside of regular class hours and led by their respective subject teachers. This benefit is available to students who demonstrate low performance on internal diagnostic and standardized assessments and/or those who show learning difficulties in various subjects. Each teacher will be responsible for selecting and monitoring attendance and performance.
This program consists of stimulating skills in students who excel in different subjects and whose pace of work and learning is above the course average.
From preschool through sixth grade, a mathematics program based on the Singapore Math method is being implemented. Specifically, it involves incorporating the methodology, texts, and concrete materials used in this approach at the aforementioned levels to develop concepts, skills, attitudes, and processes, gradually leading to student metacognition. A fundamental aspect of this process is the analysis and resolution of problems through diagrams, concrete materials, and visualization.
The Language Department dedicates one hour per week in grades 1 through 8 to developing reading comprehension strategies. These strategies are also incorporated into English class to strengthen reading comprehension. Some of the strategies taught include identifying the main idea, inferring, comparing, summarizing, and extracting explicit or implicit information from texts, among others. This is complemented by a home reading plan where students read one book per month, which is then analyzed and evaluated. Additionally, during daily Homeroom, both students and teachers read silently for 10 minutes during class time. Our school prioritizes fostering a love of reading in our students, which is introduced in the early childhood education program.
From the primary level onward, a network of content and a curriculum aligned with related disciplines has been developed. This has led to the creation of various interdisciplinary support blocks, with common strategies and approaches, that promote meaningful learning and the development of competencies. Throughout the academic year, the following departments collaborate on different activities and events:
Students complement their civic learning by gaining experiential knowledge about different institutions. They learn to interact practically with community authorities and public service employees.