ISB Lower Elementary International School

Building Independent Thinking

Welcome to ISB's Lower International Elementary School, from Kindergarten to Grade 2. Our students are developing their natural curiosity in learning, and our teachers have the rewarding job of guiding them to build their self-confidence and independent thinking. Our international Lower Elementary School is a safe and friendly environment where students can begin their journey to achieving their potential. We aim to nurture students who are passionate and reflective learners and caring global citizens who lead healthy, active, and balanced lives. We strive to make learning enjoyable and challenging.

Elementary School Handbook and Program of Studies

Elementary School Handbook and Program of Studies

Lower Elementary International School Curriculum

ISB’s curriculum framework is rooted in inquiry and exploration. Our approach encourages inquiry-based learning, allowing students to participate actively in the learning process and develop curiosity, independence, and a deeper understanding of key concepts across subjects. We offer a balanced curriculum focusing on core academic areas, including language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and physical education to support every student’s holistic development.

At our lower elementary international school in Bangkok, we create learning experiences that meet individual needs with small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratios. This allows children to benefit from personalized instruction, targeted support, and opportunities to explore their interests. Learning is done through engaging, thoughtfully designed lessons for young learners to develop cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Through these learning experiences, students explore new ideas, build friendships, and develop important life skills they can bring along as they grow up.

Starting with Global Perspectives

One of the advantages of attending an international lower elementary school in Thailand is the opportunity to be immersed in a diverse, multicultural environment. With students and teachers from more than 60 nationalities, ISB offers daily exposure to different cultures, languages, and worldviews, nurturing young global citizens of tomorrow.

Our highly qualified faculty, with subject-matter expertise and experience, are passionate about teaching. Our teachers participate in professional development to stay abreast of best practices in education. Our teaching staff’s commitment to early childhood education significantly enriches the learning journey for our students.

International School Bangkok Lower Elementary Programs

KINDERGARTEN

Language Arts

Balanced Literacy

Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include interactive read-aloud, shared reading/writing, phonics/word study, and small group Instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).

Reading

At ISB’s international lower elementary school in Thailand, our curriculum aims to create independent, lifelong readers by developing students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Kindergarten students will begin by focusing on narrative sense by retelling rich literature by “reading” the illustrations. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies with fiction and nonfiction texts.

Writing

Kindergarten students will begin by focusing on storytelling and personal narratives, moving from oral telling about the story they’ve drawn, to labeling and adding words and sentences. Students will develop their skills in the following types of writing: narrative, informational, and opinion. During our writer’s workshop, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

Listening and Speaking

Speaking and listening are woven into many areas of the curriculum throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication, and clear presentation of ideas.

Mathematics

Mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At ISB, mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Kindergarten content standards and practices are:

Counting and Cardinality

Know number names and the count sequence
Count to tell the number of objects
Compare numbers

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from

Number and Operations in Base Ten

Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value

Measurement and Data

Describe and compare measurable attributes
Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category

Geometry

Identify and describe shapes
Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes

Mathematical Practices

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Science

All science units are taught using hands-on inquiry-based activities designed to further the understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of our lower elementary international school students.

Connections to Our World: This unit explores the use and properties of materials. It inquires about the natural world surrounding them, how materials are used and interact, and their connections within our environment. It focuses on our responsibility to share and conserve natural and man-made resources.
Growing and Changing: In this unit, students observe how living things change over time. They become gardeners, learning how to care for living plants. Kindergarteners collaborate to identify the needs of plants and how best to provide those basic needs. Through this authentic context, learners develop a deeper respect for living things, including their own needs, compare and contrast living and nonliving things, and reflect on how careful observation and recording can show how things change over time.

Social Studies

Our international lower elementary school students are encouraged to reflect upon their own cultural identities and recognize and respect cultural similarities and differences within a global perspective. Kindergarten students will develop their social skills through the All About Me lessons, which are woven throughout the day and year as students look at Why am I Unique, How am I Special, How Are We Alike, and How Are We Different?

Health and Wellbeing

The curriculum provides the basis for developing knowledge, understanding, and skills for children to be healthy, safe, and active. Students have opportunities to learn about their strengths and simple actions they can take to keep themselves and their classmates healthy and safe. This is integrated throughout the year through All About Me and Growing and Changing.

Typical Kindergarten Daily Schedule

7:40 am - 9:00 am Core Learning Block 1

9:00 am - 9:20 am Recess

9:20 am - 10:10 am Core Learning Block 2

10:10 am - 11:30 am Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)

11:35 am - 12:30 pm Lunch and Recess

12:30 pm - 2:20 pm Core Learning Block 3

FIRST GRADE

Language Arts

Balanced Literacy

Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include: read-aloud with accountable talk, shared reading/writing, phonics/word study, and small group instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).

Reading

As an international lower elementary school in Bangkok, our curriculum aims to create independent, lifelong readers by developing students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies for fiction and nonfiction texts.

Writing

Students will develop their skills in narrative, informational, and opinion writing. During writing workshops, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

Listening and Speaking

Speaking and listening are woven into many curriculum areas throughout the year, especially in their partnership work in literacy, math, and science, as they strive to develop skills related to attentive listening, collaborative communication, and clear presentation of ideas.

Mathematics

Mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At International School Bangkok’s lower elementary school, mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Grade 1 content standards and practices are:

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction
Understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and subtraction
Add and subtract within 20
Work with addition and subtraction equations

Number and Operations in Base Ten

Extend the counting sequence
Understand place value
Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract

Measurement and Data

Measure lengths indirectly and by iterating length units
Tell and write the time
Represent and interpret data

Geometry

Reason with shapes and their attributes

Mathematical Practices

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Science

Science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry-based activities that are designed to build an understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of lower elementary international school students.

Pebbles, Sand, and Silt

The Pebbles, Sand, and Silt unit consists of four sequential investigations, each designed to introduce concepts in earth science. The investigations provide experiences that heighten students’ awareness of rocks as earth materials and natural resources.

Insects

This unit provides experiences that heighten students’ awareness of the diversity of animal forms. Students learn firsthand the life sequences of insects. They observe life cycles of insects and compare the stages of metamorphosis exhibited by each species.

Social Studies

The purpose of the Social Studies program is to develop students’ ability to think critically about the human condition in order to make informed decisions that guide social action. Students are encouraged to reflect upon their own cultural identities and recognize and respect cultural similarities and differences within a global perspective. International lower elementary school Grade 1 students will build their understanding of rules, responsibilities, relationships, and respect and explore their own history and that of Thailand.

Health and Wellbeing

The curriculum for Grade 1 supports students to make decisions that enhance their health and safety. The content enables students to explore their own sense of self and the factors that contribute to and influence their identities. Students learn about emotions, how to enhance their interactions with others, and the physical and social changes they go through as they grow older. They explore goal setting and ways to achieve personal health goals.

Typical Grade 1 Daily Schedule

7:40 am - 9:15 am Core Learning Block 1

9:15 am - 9:35 am Recess

9:35 am - 10:25 am Core Learning Block 2

10:25 am - 11:45 am Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)

11:45 am - 12:30 pm Recess and Lunch

12:30 pm - 2:20 pm Core Learning Block 3

SECOND GRADE

Language Arts

Balanced Literacy

Recent classroom research shows that literacy develops best when a balanced program is in place. At the center of our program is the reading and writing workshop, which includes a mini-lesson (explicit modeling and guided practice), independent reading or writing, and partner time. In addition to the workshop, the other components of a balanced literacy framework include read-aloud with accountable talk, shared reading/writing, phonics/word study, and small group instruction (guided reading, strategy lessons, and interventions).

Reading

As an international lower elementary school in Thailand, our curriculum aims to create independent, lifelong readers by developing students’ comprehension, fluency, and stamina. Throughout the year, students will focus on developing their reading skills and related strategies for fiction and nonfiction texts.

Writing

Students will develop their skills within the following types of writing: narrative, informational, and opinion. During writing workshops, students will engage in the writing process of generating ideas, rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

Listening and Speaking

Mathematics

We believe mathematics is an essential universal language, necessary as a reasoning tool to solve problems and make sense of our world. At our Bangkok international elementary school, mathematical thinkers use reasoning and apply skills to solve problems and make informed decisions about their world. The Grade 2 content standards and practices are:

Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction
Add and subtract within 20
Work with equal groups of objects to gain foundations for multiplication

Number and Operations in Base Ten

Understand place value
Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract

Measurement and Data

Measure and estimate lengths in standard units
Relate addition and subtraction to length
Work with time and money
Represent and interpret data

Geometry

Reason with shapes and their attributes

Mathematical Practices

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Science

Science units are taught using hands-on, inquiry-based activities designed to build an understanding of the content and foster the natural curiosity of elementary children.

Air & Weather

This unit introduces earth science concepts to young students as they explore the natural world using simple tools to observe and monitor change.

Solids & Liquids

This unit provides experiences that heighten students’ awareness of the physical world. This unit gives students introductory experiences with two fundamental states of matter, solid and liquid.

Social Studies

The Social Studies program aims to develop students’ ability to think critically about the human condition to make informed decisions that guide social action. Grade 2 students will study the following social studies areas: Peaceful Community, Global Community, and Sharing our Planet.

Health and Wellbeing

Our international lower elementary school Grade 2 curriculum supports students in making decisions to enhance their health and safety. The content enables students to explore their own sense of self and the factors that contribute to and influence their identities, and ways to stay safe.

Typical Grade 2 Daily Schedule

7:40 am - 9:40 am Core Learning Block 1

9:40 am - 10.00 am Recess

10:00 am - 11:00 am Core Learning Block 2

11:00 am - 11:45 am Lunch and Recess

11:45 am - 1:00 pm Core Learning Block 3

1:00 pm - 2:20 pm Specialists (Art, PE, World Language, Music)