Skip To Main Content

Elementary

TIS's Elementary Program

Tirana International School’s elementary program is designed to meet the unique needs of students age 5 to 10.  We offer a full range of academic classes as well as a thorough specials program consisting of art, music, technology, library, and physical education.  We also offer multiple levels of French, Spanish, German language for students 5 year-olds and older.

Our Reading, Writing, and Mathematics programs are based on the “Common Core” in the United States.  Each class has 10 units that must be mastered before moving to the next class.  Course work is both age- and developmentally appropriate, and requires students of all ages to apply what they learn as they learn it.

Our Science and Cultural Studies courses are inquiry-based and students are often engaged in interdisciplinary projects, incorporating environmental stewardship and physical fitness into their units of study.  Each class has five units that must be mastered each year.

We believe that a strong academic program must also have a strong “specials” program.  Students participate in musical performances, study art movements and artists, learn to be digital citizens, choose “good fit books”, and learn how to integrate healthful fitness habits into their lives.  

Throughout our program, students are engaged in projects and field trips which give them hands-on experiences, especially as they learn about our host country and the environment.  Our students are excited to come to school each day, and they find that they are constantly learning and mastering new material.

A popular and enriching part of the TIS experience for elementary school students, beginning at age 5, is the after-school program. Many of these activities are simply for fun and social interaction; however, some are curricular-related—activities.

5-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasa5-year-old

6-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasa6-year-old

7-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasa7-year-old

8-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasan8-year-old

9-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasa9-year-old

10-Year-Olds

First page of the PDF file: Learningasa10-year-old

TIS is committed to teaching children habits and skills that help them to build character, manage emotional and social situations, and keep themselves safe. Currently, we have a full range of lessons on Child Protection that we teach children of all ages. We also incorporate lessons to support the Success Orientations and Social Emotional Development of the students.

TIS Elementary Program - At a Glance

In elementary, our student-teacher ratio allows even more support to take place in the classroom so that all students are provided continued opportunities to be successful. Both the homeroom teacher and the assistant teacher are directly involved in instruction, corrective teaching, and they encourage students to work to the best of their potential. Our TIS students experience a warm, inviting, and friendly classroom environment; one which focuses on positive interactions and incorporates important success orientations such as kindness and politeness, group interaction, and others. The elementary classes are an exciting place to be at TIS!

Yaisa Banek
Elementary Coordinator

Elementary Classroom Peak

5YO: Getting Creative with the 5s!

How awesome it is to have the time and supplies to get creative every day! In the 5-year-old Orange class, we love to use toys, learning materials, and recyclables to create, imagine, play, explore, communicate, and have fun. This week, the students made smart phones, built homes, designed ramps, and added realistic details to animal drawings. These projects are student-led and we've seen the students grow in their ability to go from vision to product much more easily and independently as the year has gone by. But don't take our word for it!  The students' proud smiles of accomplishment as they hold up their creations say it all! 

Read More about 5YO: Getting Creative with the 5s!
7YO: It's Not Magic, It's Science!

Mr. Stant's 7YO class has spent the past month learning all about matter in science class.  The kiddos have been engaging in hands-on activities, including burning paper, making homemade popsicles, and creating the non-Newtonian substance affectionately referred to as Oobleck.  Through these experiences and others, they've learned that heat causes matter to change between the phases solid, liquid, and gas.  Some of these changes are reversible, but others are irreversible.  Our theme in science this year is, "It's not magic, it's science!" Needless to say, the little scientists are having a ton of fun!

Read More about 7YO: It's Not Magic, It's Science!
7YO: Jumping into Learning

The 7 Year Old Black class has jumped right back into learning after coming back from our break. In math, we are learning about measuring and estimating using the metric system. We made our own meter tapes and we are measuring everything from our garden and trees, to our classroom and even ourselves! We have been enjoying our visits from Mrs. Mudd, where we have been putting our creative energy and imaginations to work in bringing our superhero alter egos to life. Science class sees us learning about matter; what it is, how it is classified, and what kinds of words scientists can use to describe it. In Literacy, we are writing persuasive essays and learning about fables and folk tales and trying our hand at writing our own! 

Read More about 7YO: Jumping into Learning
9YO: 3D Digestive System

Literacy has been very exciting as students finished their cross-curricular Literacy unit of Informative reading and writing with the Science unit on Animal Structure and Function (focus on the human ). The students did a lot of research on topics connected to Science to create a procedural slide about the Digestive System. This research was a huge benefit for the construction of their collaborative 3D working model that will be tested this week, the creation of their digestive system t-shirts, and the group research poster of animal research. It was wonderful to hear their connection, questions, opinions, and ideas throughout these units. 

Read More about 9YO: 3D Digestive System