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

All the School’s a Stage: Performing Arts at ISB

NEWS UPDATE February 14, 2018

ISB’s performing arts curriculum emphasizes creativity and exploration from its beginning in Nursery music through its finale in 8th Grade. What does this mean in the classroom? How does the curriculum build from our Preschool music program through our Middle School Performing Arts program? How does performance arts at ISB integrate into our curriculum, and how does the program reflect ISB’s core values? ISB Teachers Melanie Cozzi and Mariko Watt sat down to answer these questions and to highlight the many ways performing arts enrich the student experience at ISB.

ISB Students Participate in Hour of Code

NEWS UPDATE February 2, 2018

Each year during Computer Science Education Week, ISB students participate in Hour of Code, a global movement designed to celebrate computer science and introduce students to the world of coding. During the recent Hour of Code at ISB, students in 3rd-5th Grade logged onto code.org and started working through a progression of coding puzzles. These activities help students develop their understanding of algorithms, nested loops, while loops, conditionals, and events. This course is crafted to build a strong foundation in basic coding concepts.

Inside ISB’s Math Program

NEWS UPDATE November 21, 2017

On Wednesday, November 15, over 40 parents gathered in our Cafeteria for a morning presentation about the math program at ISB. Matthew Stokes (ISB Math Coordinator and 8th Grade Math Teacher) was joined by Lauren Cantor (5th Grade Head Teacher and English Language Coordinator), Cristina Dominguez-Delgado (1st Grade Head Teacher) and Molida Khuon (3rd Grade French Head Teacher) to explain ISB's approach to mathematics instruction from Lower School through Middle School. A video recap is available here.

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