In the beginning

In our first block of main lessons, students are introduced to the magic of the two very foundational shapes – straight line and curved line.

On the first day, students watched as teacher carefully drew these two simple lines on the chalkboard. One by one, they each copied the lines, revealing their inner world in the forms as they went. On the second day, they were invited to see the same lines in a new light – as a calm and tranquil horizon and a golden setting sun. They were latter led to see straight and curved lines in their physical surroundings – in the classroom, on the walls, on their body, etc.

By the end of this 1.5-week block, students are creating more complex forms with these two shapes.

Such activities constitute the first block of main lessons at grade 1 – where students are invited to thoroughly experience and investigate straightness and roundness, the two basic forms from which all shapes in the world are derived. This block also prepares students for the subsequent lessons in alphabets and mathematics, when they will learn how to connect the abstract (shapes, numerals, alphabets) with real world meanings.