Kindergarten to 5th Grade | International School of Brooklyn

ISB’s holistic approach to education in a language immersion setting prepares students for the intellectual challenges of the next phases of their education and personal growth. It focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer - both in the classroom and in the world outside.

ISB’s Kindergarten-5th Grade program incorporates local and global perspectives and issues into the curriculum, asking students to look at six related, transdisciplinary themes that provide the breadth of exploration across disciplines. Throughout the curriculum, students engage in six-week long transdisciplinary Units of Inquiry, focusing on such themes as “who we are”, “where we are in place and time”, and “how the world works”.

By developing their inquiry skills at this early stage, students become active learners and have the opportunity to take charge of their own learning. All units also incorporate field trips to give real-life context to what is being learned in the classroom.

Kindergarten to 5th Grade Overview

Kindergarten: 90% instruction in the target language (French or Spanish), 10% in English
1st–3rd Grades: 75% instruction in the target language (French or Spanish), 25% in English
4th–5th Grades: 50% instruction in the target language, 50% in English
Culturally and linguistically authentic classrooms: Books and resources are primary language only (not translated), and teachers bring in their own cultural backgrounds to reinforce lessons
Head teachers are native speakers in their language of instruction
Core subjects (Math, Science, Reading, Writing, Social Studies) are taught in an interdisciplinary manner everyday, with additional weekly classes in Art and Science and twice weekly classes in Physical Education and Music (twice weekly in 2nd Grade-5th Grade, weekly in Nursery-1st Grade)
Twice daily recess
School Day Hours: 8:30am–3:30pm (extended care available from 3:30pm–6pm)
Project-based learning is incorporated into each unit, allowing students to build their skills and synthesize learned content

Le cycle d’investigation: Les objets témoins du passé

NEWS UPDATE November 20, 2018

Pour “entrer dans le sujet” de cette nouvelle unité, les élèves de CM1 (4th grade) ont joué les archéologues et déterrer des objets. Ils les ont nettoyés à l’aide de pinceaux, observer à la loupe, dessiner, puis ils ont fait des fiches décrivant ces objets. Ils sont arrivés à la conclusion que sur un site archéologique les objets les plus anciens sont enterrés le plus profondément et les objets récents se trouvent plus en surface.

Service Learning at ISB

NEWS UPDATE November 15, 2018

Throughout our students’ time at ISB, they are asked to take action in various ways, both as part of the curriculum and through stand alone initiatives. In the curriculum, the community service program builds as students advance through the Primary Years Programme (PYP - PK 3's through 5th Grade) and Middle Years Programme (MYP - 6th Grade-8th Grade), culminating in the MYP Community Service Project each student completes in 8th Grade. In addition to the classroom and individual service projects, ISB also organizes two school-wide service days, Local Day of Service and Global Service Day, to align with our goal of ensuring that our students become locally- and globally-minded.

Picture Me! A Portrait Collaboration between 2nd and 7th Grade Students

NEWS UPDATE April 27, 2018

This year, the art department was motivated to find opportunities for cross-divisional collaboration in the art studio. After brainstorming what sort of project could become a tradition in art class and inspire students to look forward to collaborating together artistically, we came up with the idea of having the 2nd and 7th Graders create portraits of each other. This seemed like the perfect way to promote collaboration, as well as to spark new friendship among the students. A portrait involves the representation of someone, and in order to represent your subject well, you need to get to know a person to show their personality in the portrait. We paired each 2nd Grade artist with a 7th Grade artist and began the exploration.

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