Academics > Lower School > Curriculum > Grades 1 to 4
First Grade
READINGBasal Reading stories; comprehension and vocabulary; Scholastic Guided Reading; independent reading; oral reading; speaking; poetry; sight words; writing; reading and technology - Open Book Reading Program
SPELLINGWeekly activities and test
PHONICSInitial, medial and final consonants; short and long vowels; compounds; le words; hard and soft c, g; blends: y and a vowel; diagraphs; r-controlled vowels; contractions, endings, suffixes; diagraphs; vowel pairs; vowel diagraphs and dipthongs; prefixes, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms
WRITINGPunctuation, spelling, complete sentences; capitalization; typing
HANDWRITINGZaner-Bloser; making words
GRAMMARNaming words, action words, describing words; creative writing
MATHAddition - basic facts, counting up; subtraction - basic facts; fact families, solid shapes, plane shapes; money; patterns; location and movement; calendar; measuring; building numbers - counting on; time; fractions - halves and wholes, equal parts
SOCIAL STUDIES All About Me; Thanksgiving; Christmas symbols; US symbols; fairy tales
SCIENCEEarth Science - pebbles, sand, silt, our earth, dinosaurs; Physical Science - solids and liquids; Life Science - bats, sharks, cold land animals, organisms, insects
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMSArt, Foreign Language, Guidance/Counseling, Library, Music, Physical Education, Science Lab, and Technology
Second Grade
READINGOral and silent reading; story structure; fantasy and realistic fiction; poetry; predictions, drawing conclusions, inferences, summarizing, main idea, details, compare and contrast, cause and effect, fact and opinion
NOVELSSarah, Plain and Tall, Pippi Longstocking, I Have a Dream - The Story of Martin Luther King
LANGUAGE/PHONICS/SPELLINGSynonyms, antonyms, homonyms; compound words; consonant blends; digraphs, vowel sounds; contractions; affixes; syllables; word attack skills, dictionary skills
GRAMMAR/COMPOSITIONParts of speech; punctuation and mechanics; beginning research; usages; vocabulary; spelling; the writing process; journals; creative writing; friendly letters; book reports; research reports
HANDWRITINGZaner-Bloser
MATHProblem solving skills: add and subtract with and without regrouping two and three digit numbers; time; money; measurement - length, weight, temperature using American standard and metric units; plane and solid figures; graphing; symmetry and spatial perception; fractions; number sequence patterns; beginning multiplication and division; estimation; problem solving and reasoning skills
SCIENCEAir and weather; balance and motion; magnets; sound and beat; plants
SOCIAL STUDIESProjects: build a box city, pioneer wagon or diorama, dress-up as a President and give an oral presentation
STUDY SKILLSDictionary skills; library skills; beginning research; alphabetizing; vocabulary definitions; following oral and written direction
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMSArt, Foreign Language, Guidance/Counseling, Library, Music, Physical Education, Science Lab, and Technology
Third Grade
LITERATUREOral and silent reading; reading for meaning; high interest reading; fantasy and realistic fiction; poetry; oral book presentations; listening skills
NOVELSRamona Quimby, Age 8; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Journey to America; Charlotte’s Web
GRAMMAR/COMPOSITIONSentence structure; parts of speech; punctuation and mechanics; beginning research; usages; vocabulary, spelling and definitions; phonics, decoding; study skills; the writing process; journals; creative writing
HANDWRITINGZaner-Bloser
MATHNumeration and order, addition and subtraction facts; adding and subtracting with and without regrouping; place value; time; money; multiplication facts and related problems; beginning division with and without remainders; measurement using American standard and metric units; graphing and geometry; fractions and decimals; problem solving; rounding
SCIENCEEarth - rocks & minerals, weathering and soil; erosion; weather and climate; Physical - the water cycle; the scientific method; matter; properties, states, changes, measurements; forces & work; machines; space; Life - animals and animal behavior; adaptations; ecosystems; health and safety; nutrition; the body systems
SOCIAL STUDIESMap and globe skills; graphs and charts; consumer economics unit; immigration; study of community, state and nation; Third Grade Flea Market
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMSArt, Foreign Language, Guidance/Counseling, Library, Music, Physical Education, Science Lab, and Technology
Fourth Grade
LITERATUREBasal Reader; Accelerated Reader; American tall tales; oral reading
NOVELSThe Buffalo Knife; Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh; Bud, Not Buddy
GRAMMAR/COMPOSITIONParts of speech, punctuation and mechanics; vocabulary (Wordly Wise); spelling; research; the writing process; summaries; creative writing
MATHPlace value and money, adding and subtracting whole numbers and money, multiplication and division concepts and facts, time, date and graphs, multiplying one- and two-digit numbers, division, geometry and measurement, fraction concepts and operations, customary measurement, understanding decimals, metric measurement, graphing, and probability
SCIENCECells, classification of living things; plants; oceans; earth’s surface; weather; forms of energy;
SOCIAL STUDIESUS Geography: five themes of geography; map skills; Tennessee; regions of the United States
ENRICHMENTScomputer research; collaborative projects; art projects; oral presentations
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMSArt, Foreign Language, Guidance/Counseling, Library, Music, Physical Education, Science Lab, and Technology