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BIBLE
Bible is taught daily within the lower school at Christian Academy. The Positive Action for Christ series is used as the basal textbook for all lower school classes. Teachers are also encouraged to integrate Biblical principles within each subject area with the intention of helping students formulate a Biblical worldview, consistent with teachings they are exposed to at home and at church. Scripture memory is a significant part of the Bible program; however, application of Biblical principles within daily life is the primary focus. Scripture is used to study the history of God's dealings with mankind.
KINDERGARTEN -- This study will teach children about God through the lives of the major characters throughout the entire Bible. Activities are designed to help children comprehend and apply God' s truth.
GRADE 1 -- ENJOYING GOD'S GIFTS -- First graders will focus on the many gifts of love provided for us by God. Emphasis will be on aspects of creation, our families, friends, possessions, Jesus Christ and God's care for us.
GRADE 2 -- FINDING GOD's PROMISES -- Students will study the life of Moses through the Book of Exodus. The promises of God will be evident as the Israelites and their leader see both victory and tribulation as they learn to trust God.
GRADE 3 -- GROWING WITH GOD -- Students will study the Bible as our manual for spiritual growth with a focus on the lives of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Daniel.
GRADE 4 -- BUILDING LIFE CASTLES -- These studies include the life of Christ from the Gospels, a study of the Holy Spirit from the Gospels , Acts and the Epistles; an understanding of how Christian character develops using paul's epistles and the life of paul from the book of Acts.
GRADE 5 -- POSSESSING THE LAND -- A survey of the Old Testament is the basis of this study. Beginning in Genesis, students will gain a much clearer perspective of how the stories of the Old Testament fit together into one pattern.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Within the Lower School Language Arts program, students are immersed in appropriate and interesting literature. Phonics-based instruction takes place in the lower grades, with novel studies beginning as early as second grade. Oral and written language are developed through ample opportunities to communicate with the teacher and one another. A variety of methods are used including guided reading, reading response, small and large group discussion, journal writing, conferencing and editing. The ABeka readers are used as one resource in Kindergarten for emergent and early readers. Rigby’s Literacy by Design is used as a primary resource in Grades K-2, alongside the Bob Jones reading series in Grades 1-2. Bob Jones Press Language series is used with grades 3-5 to enhance grammar instruction. The Wordly Wise series is used as a basal resource beginning with grades 4 and 5 to enhance vocabulary development.
KINDERGARTEN -- Students work to recognize all letters and sounds, short and long vowels, blends and digraphs. They are encouraged and allowed to build speed, accuracy and comprehension, with a concentration on oral reading. Writing is incorporated throughout the year and is used as a cornerstone for reading instruction.
GRADE 1 -- Students continue to utilize phonetic principles with the introduction of new sounds throughout the year, applying all phonetic skills in reading longer and longer passages. They read a variety of books and work to recall details, predict outcomes and analyze meanings within their reading. Writing continues to be incorporated throughout the year, with students beginning to work on revisions to their writing.
GRADE 2 -- Students read within the basal text, as well as read and discuss popular chapter books for interest and comprehension. Some of this reading is done in conjunction with the Social Studies curriculum. Students will compare and contrast, define and recognize first, second and third person point of view, identify major elements of plot, recognize the characteristics of various genre, and work to make accurate inferences and predictions about what they are reading. Writing will continue to be an integral part of student progress in Language Arts.
GRADE 3 -- Students will read and comprehend longer works of fiction. They will summarize orally and in writing main ideas from fiction and non-fiction readings. They will ask and pose plausible answers to how, why, and what if questions when interpreting texts. Utilizing the dictionary, index and table of contents are an integral part of reading progress. Students will produce a variety of writings, demonstrate the ability to gather information from a variety of sources, and proceed through the complete writing process.
GRADE 4 -- Students will read and apply comprehension and writing skills to units on Colonial Times, Business, Medicine, Surviving, and Technology, with vocabulary development being an important component of the fourth grade year. Students will read expository writing for understanding and synthesize what they read from different sources. They will better understand the use of descriptive language and learn how to identify examples that support a premise. During second semester, they will write a research paper, implementing the basic skills of research writing. Many punctuation, capitalization and grammar rules are reviewed during this year, enhancing the student's ability to present complete, edited formal and creative writing.
GRADE 5 -- Students are called upon to activate previous knowledge, respond to the text, and interpret what they read by summing up and asking questions. They will continue to clarify unfamiliar words through context clues and use of the dictionary. They will identify and develop elements of time and order, as well as main characters, setting and plot. They will be able to write logical original plot lines, making use of dialogue within their short stories. Students begin to predict future behaviors based on character motives and compare and contrast personalities and settings. Reading, writing and spoken language skills are intertwined while reading about topics such as The Civil War and reading novels such as The Mystery of the Pirates' Treasure and Witch of Blackbird Pond. A more advanced look at parts of speech is included in the study of Language Arts throughout the fifth grade year.
MATH
The Math curriculum utilizes manipulatives and hands-on activities in an effort to help students master various problem solving and computation skills. Students in Kindergarten through fifth grade use the Harcourt Math series as their basal text. The standards set forth by the National Council for the Teachers of Mathematics are a primary influence on decisions made related to the Christian Academy Math curriculum.
KINDERGARTEN -- Students in Kindergarten learn and review recognition and writing of all numbers 0-100. They learn about shapes, money, patterns and positional words. They identify greater than and less than, learn their addition families to 10 and begin simple subtraction problems. They read a calendar and tell time to the half hour, with introduction to the quarter hour. Students also count by 10's, 5' and 2's during the Kindergarten year. Use of manipulatives in Kindergarten is paramount to student success and to their understanding of basic mathematical concepts, the building blocks for future years.
GRADE 1 -- Students in first grade start the year classifying objects, completing patterns, counting and writing numbers through 100, using number lines, tallying marks, reading and making graphs, recording and collecting data, as well as adding and subtracting to 10. They continue the year counting money , estimating weights, exploring symmetry, telling time to the half hour and solving missing addends. Students master addition and subtraction to 18 and then using multiples of 10. They use calculators at times and solve word problems throughout the year. Students explore place value and simple double digit addition and subtraction. Use of manipulatives while problem solving and while mastering the basic facts is an integral part of first grade math.
GRADE 2 -- Students continue an emphasis on basic addition and subtraction facts. They master the ability to count and regroup, to read a calendar and ordinal numbers, to supply missing addends, to solve word problems. They read several types of graphs, estimate and measure length and measure perimeter. Students compute two, three and four digit addition and subtraction with renaming. They demonstrate the ability to tell time, to read thermometers, to work with fractions, and to recognize geometric shapes and characteristics. They demonstrate pre-multiplication concepts through repeated addends and counting money.
GRADE 3 -- Students demonstrate mastery of multi-digit addition and subtraction and place value associated with those. They demonstrate geometry concepts such as calculating perimeter and area, knowledge of common polygons, an understanding of radius and diameter, lines of symmetry, points, lines and angles. They review common methods of telling time to the nearest minute and demonstrate mastery of the concept of elapsed time. Students master simple multiplication facts and will demonstrate an understanding of inverse operations. They compute division problems with a remainder and solve equations with variables. They design and graph information, utilizing a variety of types of graphs. They utilize decimals within measurement, mixed numbers, and equivalent fractions.
GRADE 4 -- Students review multi-digit addition and subtraction, easy multiplication and division problems, continue algebra readiness and geometry activities, solve multi-digit multiplication problems, continue work with fractions and begin multiplying fractions by whole numbers. Students will identify place value to the 10 millions. They master approximation techniques and solve multi-step word problems. They demonstrate the understanding of the inverse relationship between multiplication and division, find the least common multiple of two numbers, and use parenthesis in order of operations. Students solve problems with perimeter and area, review lines of symmetry and relationships with points, line and angles. Students multiply decimals by whole numbers and add and subtract whole numbers with simple mixed fractions.
GRADE 5 -- Students continue to master basic skills and introduce more complex skills with whole numbers, algebra readiness, fractions, decimals, and geometry. Students divide by one and two digit divisors. They compute multi-digit addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. Students review customary and metric units of measurement. Students perform division with decimal quotients and graph ordered pairs of numbers, while determining coordinates. They expand their graphing to include negative numbers. They find fractions of whole numbers, determine decimal equivalents and solve word problems involving decimals and division. Students spend time calculating averages, identifying mean, median and mode and computing ratio and rate. Students learn to compute volume and visualize three dimensional figures from two dimensional pictures. They also compare, add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators. Students measure angles as fractions of the whole and demonstrate sums and congruencies for triangle and quadrilaterals. They make and read scale drawings, identify and contrast concave and convex shapes and continue to compute area. Also, during the fifth grade year, students write and evaluate expressions with exponents and calculate and solve problems using percents, demonstrating the relationship between fractions and percents.
SCIENCE
The Science curriculum in the lower school is primarily built around the Core Knowledge Sequence. Students are given opportunities to explore, investigate, record, analyze and draw conclusions. The curriculum is content rich and intended to give students a strong knowledge base from which to assimilate what they learn and become better stewards of God's world and resources. Resources and readers that correlate with the Core Knowledge sequence are primarily used to meet outlined science objectives.
KINDERGARTEN ---Topics of study include:
Living and Non-living Things
Animals
Plants
Matter
Sound, Heat and Light
Movement
Earth and Sky
Weather
Caring for the Earth
Human Senses
Parts of the Body
Being Healthy
GRADE 1 --- Topics include:
Matter
Astronomy
Oceanography
Human Body
Animals and Their Habitats
Earth Science
Insects
Plants
Electricity
GRADE 2 --- Topics of study include:
Seasonal Cycles
Life Cycles
Water Cycle
Simple Machines
Magnetism
The Human Body - The Digestive System
Insects
GRADE 3 --- Topics of study include:
Classifying Animals
Human Body
The Muscular System
The Skeletal System
The Human Eye
The Human Ear
Earth Science
Land Forms
The Sun, The Moon and The Earth
GRADE 4 -- Topics of study include:
Digestive and Excretory Systems
Plants
Plant parts and functions
Plant reproduction
Electricity and Magnetism
Static and Current Electricity
Magnetism
Rocks and Minerals
Solar System
Earth Movements
The Moon
Earth's Neighbors
Animals and Creation - Focus on Mammals and Birds
GRADE 5 --- Topics of study include:
Forms of Matter - Atom Compounds and Mixtures
Cells and Plants
Cell Structure and Function
Cell Process
Cell Energy
Plants: Structure, Classification and Growth
Biomes and Ecosystems
How Living Things Get Energy
Food Webs
The Environment
Biome Features
Land Biomes
Water Biomes
Air and Water
The Air
Ocean Water
Ocean Features
Sound and Light
Sound Energy
Light Energy
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Transport Systems
Circulation
Respiration
Staying Healthy
SOCIAL STUDIES
The Social Studies curriculum in the Lower School is also built primarily around the Core Knowledge Sequence. It is content rich, with students exploring not only the important historical, geographical, cultural and political aspects of our nation, but also of countries around our world. Students in grades K-5 utilize the basal texts which correspond with the Core Knowledge sequence published by Pearson Learning Group. They incorporate a variety of written and audio-visual materials in their learning activities.
KINDERGARTEN ---Topics of study include:
Continents and Maps
Native Americans
Exploring and Settling America
Mount Rushmore Presidents
The American Flag
The Statue of Liberty
The White House
July 4 - Democracy
GRADE 1 --- Topics of study include:
Geography
American History
Early Civilizations of the Americas
Early Explorers and Settlers
From Colonies to Independence
Exploring the West
Ancient Egypt
Mesopotamia
Three World Religions
GRADE 2 --- Topics of study include:
Ancient China
Ancient India
Japan Today
Ancient Greece
Making the Constitution
The War of 1812
Americans Move West
The Civil War
Immigration and Citizenship
Civil Rights Leaders
Geography of the Americas
GRADE 3 --- Topics of study include:
Canada
World Rivers
Ancient Rome
The Vikings
The Earliest Americans
Exploration of North America
Life in the Thirteen Colonies
South Carolina History
GRADE 4 -- Topics of study include:
Using Maps
World Mountains
Europe in the Middle Ages
The Spread of Islam
African Kingdoms
Dynasties of China
The American Revolution
The United States Constitution
Early Presidents: Washington through Jackson
American Reformers
GRADE 5 --- Topics of study include:
World Lakes
The Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations
The Renaissance
The Reformation
England: Golden Age to Glorious Revolution
The Age of Exploration
Early Russia
Feudal Japan
Westward Expansion Before the Civil War
The Civil War
Westward Expansion After the Civil War
Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts
Geography of the United States
SPANISH
Students in grades K-5 are formally exposed to Spanish several times each week. Students in grades K-4 use Viva el Espanol, published by Pearson Learning Group as a basal text. The goal is for these students to develop communicative competency in listening, reading, and writing. Grade 5 students use Viva el Espanol: HOLA!, also published by Pearson Learning Group as their basal text for instruction. The goal is for these students to develop and advance their proficiency in listening, reading, and writing. All lower school students will have experiences that enhance their understanding of the Hispanic culture and all experiences are planned to foster spontaneous, non-threatening and meaningful communication among students.
ART and MUSIC
Students in grades K-5 are encouraged to expand their horizons through exposure to the arts.
Throughout the years in Grades K-8, students will have opportunities to work with various mediums, discuss renowned artists, examine various styles of architecture, demonstrate an understanding of the use of color, create 3-D projects, repeat line and design while identifying patterns and designs within our world, draw outlines of still life objects, recognize the use of light and shadow, apply print making techniques. Hands-on personal instruction is a key component of the Art instruction offered within the Lower and Middle School, with the goal of helping students add a new dimension to how they see the world, giving it color, shading, line, texture, content and enhanced meaning.
Lower school and Middle School Music classes are developed utilizing the Knauss Curriculum and in consideration of the Standards from the National Association of Music Education. They contain both a performance and theory dimension. Students are exposed to great composers, experiencing different types of music, corresponding to various periods of history. Students become acquainted with the main instruments in each orchestra family, listen to and reproduce various rhythms and perform various styles of music. Many classes create and arrange music within specified guidelines. Middle School students notate with traditional music notation. During most school years, this culminates in musical productions in which all students participate.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
The computer technology program integrates the power of technology to facilitate and enhance student skills and performance. The learning experience includes students working together, thinking critically, solving complex problems and communicating clearly and creatively. Students in grades K-8 follow a detailed curriculum called K to the 8th Power. It has over 600 lessons, which are organized into integrated and cross-curricular lessons. The integrated lessons teach a computer skill and apply it to grade level academic content. Cross-curricular lessons teach a technology or business skill. Both types of lessons have a quiz that covers the main points of the lesson's technology or academic objective.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Christian Academy strives to teach young people that we are to care for our bodies “ as a temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 6:19) in order to be prepared to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices”(Romans 12:1). Thus, the school offers Physical Education classes two to three times each week in grades K-8. The goals of the P.E. program include helping students acquire physical skills, develop physical fitness and good health habits, and develop an attitude of self-control, cooperation and fair play.
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