The Voyages curriculum by Concordia Publishing House emphasizes our relationship with God and others. Students are given a survey of the Old and New Testaments as they are presented in a chronological fashion. God's love for all people and His free gift of Salvation is taught consistently. Students have prayer and devotion time with their classmates as well as Chapel time. Parents are strongly encouraged to set the example of worship at home. Memory work consists of weekly verses, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed. Music, role-play and art activities support and supplement the lessons and worship. Various church workers, including Pastors, visit the students to discuss their calls and roles in the church. Students are encouraged to join in outreach activities to celebrate and share their faith with others.
The D'Nealian handwriting program is used. It is designed with a continuous stroke to allow an easy transition from manuscript to cursive handwriting. Students are encouraged to self-evaluate as they learn to write legibly and consistently.
Oral and written language are incorporated into the curriculum. Emphasis is placed on writing in a legible, coherent and grammatically correct fashion. Students learn to work through the writing process. They are given daily journal writing practice as well as contributing to class books. Students are also given the opportunity to make oral presentations to their peers, thus enabling the rest of the class to practice good listening and questioning skills.
The goal of the First Grade program is to create, support and encourage independent readers with a lifelong love of reading. Children are exposed to a variety of literature and taught techniques to help with understanding and enjoyment. Vocabulary and decoding skills are taught through systematic phonetic lessons. Word recognition, comprehension and daily practice at home and school are emphasized and encouraged.
The program is based on the Mac-millan/McGraw Hill series, "People and Places." Students learn about themselves and their world beginning with families and moving to our state and nation. They learn about similarities and differences in homes and communities. They learn early American history and state and national leaders.
Children are encouraged to respond to literature by discovering and implementing different techniques and materials used by the different illustrators. The focus is the process rather than a perfectly finished process. Students are also introduced to some of the great artists and their art.
The Music Curriculum is supported through a new series entitle "God Made Music" published by Praise Him. Students explore various musical elements as they strengthen their knowledge of our loving God and Savior. Students learn to appreciate music and its role in their lives.
Spelling lists are generated from the word families that are taught in the Reading lessons and reinforced in the Phonics lessons. The words progress from short vowels through long vowel spelling patterns. They also include consonant blends and digraphs. Students are expected to use the words correctly in their writing.
The Houghton Mifflin Series entitled "Discovery Works" is the text for first grade Science lesson. The topics include Kinds of Living Things, Weather and Seasons, Magnets, and Earth's Land and Water. Lessons incorporate a combination of hands-on activities with the use of textbooks and written responses. Health is also taught.
The elementary Spanish program focus is on oral communication. Students repeat words, follow simple commands, ask and answer questions, and write in the target language. Students also sing songs and play review games to reinforce vocabulary. In the lower grades students practice their numbers, colors, greetings, and actions. Whenever possible, the Spanish lessons incorporate content knowledge and vocabulary from what is currently being studied in the classroom.
Students are exposed to various educational games in order to build basic computer skills as well as providing support for class-room instruction. Students are introduced to Microsoft Office and begin to develop touch typing skills.
Students are given a variety of experiences to help them gain understanding by moving from the concrete to the abstract. They learn different strategies for problem solving and computation to increase their understanding. By the end of the year, they learned to add and subtract 2-digit numbers; recognize and extend patterns; explain place value to the hundredth place; identify, compare and describe plane and solid geometric shapes; interpret and use graphs and tables; and use measurement to compare objects.
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