Lower-School Curriculum
Foundational academic skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic are solidified through the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE), which provide our teachers with a baseline expectation for students to master grade-level standards by end of year.
We also believe children in this stage learn about themselves and others through the world of recreation, so students are allowed unstructured play outside each day. Teachers have the autonomy to gauge whether to go deeper into a learning opportunity or provide “brain breaks” that allow students time to release built-up energy through movement or time outside. This strategy ensures a healthy, holistic balance to our students’ learning experience.
Textbooks and Resources
- McGraw Hill Wonders for ELA (K,1)
- Engage NY for ELA (2,3,4)
- Illustrative Mathematic for Math
- Project Lead the Way for Science
- Georgia Standards of Excellence for Non-Fiction Studies
- Orton Gillingham for Phonics
Kindergarten Curriculum Overview
English Language Arts
- Phonemic awareness:recognition of sounds and rhymes
- Orton-Gillingham phonics instruction
- Reading fluency; including sight words
- Reading comprehension: recognize sequence, make predictions, identify main ideas and characters.
- Listening and Speaking: following directions; share experiences
- Writing: letters, numbers, recognize punctuation and capitals
Math
- Counting objects in a set
- Comparing sets or ordinal numbers
- Using numbers to represent quantities and solve problems
- Modeling simple joining and separating situations with sets of objects
Science
- Forces and motion; matter
- Energy and the sun; weather
- Rocks and Soil
- Animals and their habitats
- Plants
- Impacts on earth’s systems
Non-Fiction Studies
- People in our neighborhood
- Celebrating differences
- Being a good American
- Basic geographic
- Patriotic holidays, national symbols, basic economics
Spanish (2 classes per week)
- Basic Spanish vocabulary
Enrichments
- Music
- PE
- Performing Arts
- Martial Arts
- Spanish Arts
First Grade Curriculum Overview
English Language Arts
- Phonemic awareness: Consonant and vowel sounds, digraphs, blends, and rhyme patterns
- Reading fluency, including 250 sight words
- Orton-Gillingham phonics instruction and spelling of phonetic and non-phonetic words
- Reading comprehension: Identify main idea, cause and effect, sequence; make predictions
- Vocabulary: Homophones, synonyms, antonyms; learn new vocabulary in context
- Listening and Speaking: Listen to a variety of genres; present information orally
- Spelling: Phonetic and non-phonetic words
- Writing and grammar: Rules for capitalization and punctuation; basic parts of speech; journals, poetry, and short narrative and expository writings
Math
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems
- Adding and Subtracting within 20
- Numbers to 99
- Adding within 100
- Length Measurements within 120 units
- Geometry and Time
Science
- Characteristics of a scientist
- Plants and Animals
- Animal adaptations
- Day and Night, Seasons Moon phases, Stars and sun
- Using energy
Non-Fiction Studies
- United States national heritage
- American historical figures
- Inventors in the United States
- Community Helpers
- Geography Skills
Spanish (Daily)
- Basic Spanish vocabulary
- Composing Sentences
- Simple conversations
Enrichments
- Music
- PE
- Performing Arts
- Martial Arts
- Spanish Arts
Second Grade Curriculum Overview
English Language Arts
- Describe the structure of a story, including beginning, middle and end
- Reading stories, including fable and folktales
- Reading non-fiction text
- Answering who, what, where, when, why and how questions about stories
- Learning the rules of spoken and written language
- Participating in class discussions
- Summarizing texts in their own words
- Writing about a short series of events
- Writing about opinions on books using important details
Math
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Adding and Subtracting within 100
- Measuring Length
- Addition and Subtraction on the Number Line
- Numbers to 1,000
- Geometry, Time, and Money
- Adding and Subtracting within 1,000
- Equal Groups
Science
- Living things in habitats
- Plants and their needs
- The Earth’s Surface
- Properties of Matter
- Protecting our earth
Non-Fiction Studies
- United State national heritage
- American historical figures
- Inventors in the United States
- Community Helpers
- Geography Skills
Spanish (Daily)
- Basic Spanish vocabulary
- Composing Sentences
- Simple conversations
Enrichments
- Music
- PE
- Performing Arts
- Martial Arts
- Spanish Arts
Third Grade Curriculum Overview
English Language Arts
- Reading a wide range of stories and describing how a story teaches a lesson
- Describing characters in a story and how their actions contributed to events
- Reading texts about history, social studies, or science and answering questions about what they learned
- Referring to information from illustrations such as maps or pictures as well as the words in a text to support their answers
- Learning the rules of spoken and written English
- Learning and using new words, including words related to specific subjects (such as science words)
- Participating in class discussions by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, and building on the ideas of others
- Giving a class presentation on a topic or telling a story using relevant facts and details and speaking clearly
- Writing stories with dialogue and descriptions of character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings
- Gathering information from books, articles, and online sources to build understanding of a topic Writing research or opinion papers over extended periods of time
Math
- Introducing Multiplication
- Area and Multiplication
- Wrapping Up Addition and Subtraction within 1,000
- Relating Multiplication to Division
- Fractions as Numbers
- Measuring Length, Time, Liquid Volume, and Weight
- Two-dimensional Shapes and Perimeter
Science
- Scientific observations, inquiry process and engineering design
- Life cycles
- Ecosystems and environmental changes
- Earth and space (weather and climate)
- Forces and Interactions
- Science of Flight
Non-Fiction Studies
- United States Geography
- American Indians
- European exploration in North America
- British Colonial America
- American Government Basics
- Economics
Spanish (Daily)
- Basic Spanish vocabulary
- Composing Sentences
- Simple conversations
- Basic reading and writing
Enrichments
- Music
- PE
- Performing Arts
- Martial Arts
- Spanish Arts
Fourth Grade Curriculum Overview
English Language Arts
- Identifying the theme or main idea of a story, play, or poem
- Comparing stories from different cultures
- Explaining how an author uses facts, details, and evidence to support their points
- Reading and understanding information presented in charts, graphs, timelines, and other illustrations
- Learning the rules of spoken and written English
- Learning and using new words, including words related to specific subjects (such as science words)
- Participating in class discussions by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, and building on the ideas of others
- Giving a class presentation on a topic or telling a story using relevant, organized facts and details and speaking clearly
- Writing stories with dialogue and descriptions of character’s actions, thoughts, and feelings
- Taking notes and organizing information from books, articles, and online sources to learn more about a topic
- Writing research or opinion papers over extended periods of time
Math
- Factors and Multiples
- Fraction Equivalence and Comparison
- Extending Operations to Fractions
- From Hundredths to Hundred-thousands
- Multiplicative Comparison and Measurement
- Multiplying and Dividing Multi-digit Numbers
- Angles and Angle Measurement
- Properties of Two-dimensional Shapes
Science
- Scientific observations, inquiry process and engineering design
- Earth’s place in the universe
- Rocks and fossils
- Earth and space science
- Energy, waves and their applications in technology
- Energy transfer
Non-Fiction Studies
- Beliefs and Ideals
- Technological innovations
- Westward movement and migration
- Civil War and Reconstruction
- Economics
Spanish (Daily)
- Basic Spanish vocabulary
- Composing Sentences
- Simple conversations
Enrichments
- Music
- PE
- Performing Arts
- Martial Arts
- Spanish Arts