Articles

Subjects
To the classical mind, all knowledge is interrelated. Therefore the teaching of science, math, reading, history, and other subjects is optimally conducted in an integrated manner emphasizing such interrelatedness.
Research supports that making connections across the curriculum establishes a framework of associative networks that can be recalled for future problem solving. This approach allows students to see commonalities among diverse topics and reinforces understanding and meaning for future applications. In a classical curriculum, history provides the framework for curriculum connections based on a four year cycle.
At The Chicago Grammar School this means that students in the Grammar Stage will have their reading, writing, science, history, art and music organized over those four years within the context of the following broad historical periods: Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern. Upon entering the Logic Stage and over the next four years they will cycle again through Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern, as they learn to apply analytical skills to the facts and rules learned.
Aiding in the process, the knowledge gained by the students in the Grammar Stage provides them with the means to more effectively process new knowledge in the Logic Stage. For example, the familiarity with the Ancient world gained by the CGS students in first grade enables them in fifth grade to make connections between their past learning and the new learning. The more connections made, the more likely the students will find sense and meaning in the new information thereby greatly increasing the retention of their new learning.