Essential Questions	Content by grade level
	Preschool	Kindergarten – First Grade	Second-Third Grade	Fourth-Fifth Grade
Who am I?	My name My favorite color My favorite shape My favorite food My favorite animal	I am an individual	"Amazing" Me   How do I communicate?	Summer Memories Artist's Books Photographic Documentation of Summer Experiences
Who is my family?	Field Trips to home	My family members Definition of a family Families are different		Photographic Documentation of Summer Experiences
Where do I live?	Natural Environment		Home Places Postcard Project: Local States (MA and NY) Regional Sates Coastal States
Who is in my community?	My classmates My teacher My art teacher My music teacher The downstairs teachers The Upstairs teachers The Directing Teacher The office staff	Classroom Community School wide community Sense of community	Community Contract Quilt The nature of community Place-Based Science: Owls Trees	Wolves: What it Means to Be Wild Curriculum
What makes this place special?	My self My peers My teachers My space in the classroom Classroom community	I am comfortable here because of: The presence of family in my space The physical make-up of the space Characteristics of my special place	Home Places Fort Project Post Card Project	Summer Memories Hudson River Landscape Personal connection: ecology of place
How do I or others celebrate culture and place?	Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations Geography Grant: Cultural Food Tasting   Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations	Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations Geography Grant: Cultural Food Tasting   Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations	Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations Geography Grant: Cultural Food Tasting   Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations	Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations King Island Christmas: Eskimo Sense of Place Geography Grant: Cultural Food Tasting   Holiday Traditions: Hanukkah Christmas Valentine's Day Passover Birthday Celebrations Explore the religious backgrounds of Quakers and Zoroastrians
How does my community promote peace and social justice?	Empty Bowls Pinwheels for Peace Celebration of World Peace Day	Empty Bowls Pinwheels for Peace Celebration of World Peace Day	Empty Bowls Pinwheels for Peace Celebration of World Peace Day	Empty Bowls Pinwheels for Peace Celebration of World Peace Day Civics: What are our roles as citizens in a democracy? What does it mean to be an active community member?
How do I fit into my world?	Puppets: Expression of self Expression of perceived self Expression of wants Movement
What is my landscape?	Perimeter of Mountain Road School Big Playground Little Playground Streams Parking Lot Darrow School	Leaf presses Seasonal: Life cycle of a leaf	Storyline: Representational mural of local landscape: collage	Hudson River Landscape Personal connection: ecology of place Storyline: Representational mural of local landscape: collage   Placed-Based Science: Geology: Rock Formations Landforms
How do I or others connect to place?	Observe and Explore Nature: Perimeter of Mountain Road School Big Playground Little Playground Streams Parking Lot Darrow School	I am comfortable here because of: The presence of family in my space The physical make-up of the space	Post Card Project Fort Project Location of "wild" places	King Island Christmas: Eskimo Sense of Place Hudson River School Introduction to Shakers: How they arrived in this place Native and European view of land use: conflict between views how conflict shaped history Glooscap and Native American Tales: How the land came to be Personal connection: Ecology of Place
How does my place change during the year?	Seasonal Observations: Color Changes Landscape Changes Weather Changes Classroom Changes: Schedule changes Physical space changes	Seasonal Observations: Color Changes Landscape Changes Weather Changes Effects of Winter	Local winter animals Track local weather conditions	Personal connection: Ecology of Place   Geology: Erosion
How has my place changed over time and throughout history?			The Shakers to Us: in relation to Darrow School	Introduction to Shakers: How they arrived in this place Explorers Hudson River Landscape Native and European view of land use: conflict between views how conflict shaped history   Wolves: What it Means to Be Wild Curriculum   Timelines: 1787-1860 World./ United States/ New York
How do stories reflect place?	Puppets Create stories about Nature Read Stories about Nature	Reading Stories Illustrating Pictures   Bookmaking Creating personal stories that reflect place	Post Card project	King Island Christmas: Eskimo Sense of Place Glooscap and Native American Tales: How the land came to be Tall Tales: "Taming" of the Continent   Poetry Newspaper
How do people get from place to place?	Explore transportation	Transportation: Simple Machines How things move Different materials used to move on (gravel, concrete)	Tall Tales Mapping Post Card Project Fort Project King Island Christmas: Eskimo Sense of Place	Native and European view of land use: conflict between views how conflict shaped history Mapping: Home to School Route   Movement Westward: 18th Century
What makes a place wild?	Animal studies Explore the streams on Abode property		Connection to Wild Places: Location	Personal connection: ecology of place Tall Tales: "Taming" of the Continent   Wolves: What it Means to Be Wild Curriculum
What is my connection to nature?	Sitting and Playing in nature	What are the gifts of nature?	Local winter animals Placed-Based Science: Owls Trees Fort Project	Student connection: ecologically involved
How are we shaped by place?			Track local weather conditions	King Island Christmas: Eskimo Sense of Place Tall Tales: "Taming" of the Continent Native and European view of land use: conflict between views how conflict shaped history Student connection: ecologically involved
How do I honor my place?	Sitting and Playing in Nature	Celebration of books made	Fort Project	Personal connection: ecology of place Summer Memories