Charleston Day School

Charleston Day School

Our Historic Campus

The City is Our Campus

Some of the city’s most noteworthy and historic attractions can be found within blocks of Charleston Day School. Take a walk, and within minutes you will find opportunities to tell the stories about pirates, the Revolutionary War, earthquakes, civil rights leaders, poetry and theater.

On a daily basis students venture off our campus, and we also set aside special times throughout the year to highlight our historic campus.

First Grade

First graders take a walking tour to visit the four locations of Charleston Day School since it opened 1937. They also visit the nearby bank and grocery store as part of their Community Helpers unit.

students on field trip pose for class picture

Second Grade

Second graders visit the Old Exchange Building and Provost Dungeon to reinforce what they’ve learned in the classroom about 17th and 18th century Colonial history. For a bit of fun, they dress as pirates for the field trip.

two girls in costume signing a document

Third Grade

Third graders walk to the Powder Magazine prior to their study of the Revolutionary War and practice making their own bullets. In Science class, students build their own models of a walled city and test their strength.

students learn during history field trip

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders read Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Annabel Lee” and then walk across the street to the Unitarian Church Graveyard to try to identify her grave.

students inspect headstone in cemetary

Fifth Grade

Fifth graders walk to the homes of the Rutledge brothers, who were signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

teacher instructs students during charleston history field trip

Sixth Grade

Sixth graders study the original blueprints of the Moore Learning House, a Charleston single house on our campus. Then, they select flooring and calculate how much was needed and its cost, based on prices from that time period.

students work around table in moore house

Seventh Grade

Seventh graders watch the documentary “Circle Unbroken” about African culture and its impact on the Lowcountry. At the McLeod Plantation, they learn more about the lives and Gullah-Geechee heritage of the people who lived there.

students walking cold day on field trip

Eighth Grade

Novelist Harlan Greene uses landmarks to show eighth graders how Charleston rose from destruction and poverty after the Civil War to develop into a city rich with theater, literature and art.

class takes historic tour of charleston
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