LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM: KINDERGARTEN – GRADE 4
North Shore Christian School establishes the foundation for a child’s life-long literacy journey. Our classrooms are literate communities that develop reading and writing skills. Speaking and listening are inseparable parts of language development and are all based on the child’s widening experiences. Teachers create a range of language development opportunities for students to explore language and to reinforce and extend their skills.
In Kindergarten through grade 3 the Fundations Curriculum teaches our students the structure of the English language as they learn phonics and spelling using a multisensory approach. ‘As a recognized leader in multisensory language programs, Wilson brings more than a decade of systematic and explicit instruction to the K-3 classroom. Wilson Fundations provides research-based materials and strategies essential to a comprehensive reading and writing program.’ The reading program, combined with writing workshops and individual writing, instills in our students a love for reading and writing that continues with them throughout their life.
The Language Arts curriculum in grades 4-5 builds upon this foundation by engaging in shared and independent reading with a focus on phonics and word study. Writing instruction includes the writing process, writer’s craft, conventions of language, including spelling and grammar, and independent writing.
SCIENCE CURRICULUM – KNOWATOM: GRADE 1 – GRADE 4
As early as Grade 1, North Shore places an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in order to prepare our students for careers of the future. KnowAtom engages students in STEM. Eighty percent of jobs in the next decade will use STEM skills. As students grow their knowledge and apply science, technology, engineering, and math, they remain on the path for possible careers in STEM-related fields. Hands-on labs involve students in the scientific process of asking questions, creating a hypothesis, testing and analyzing. Our young scientists think critically and apply what they are learning, to develop life skills necessary to excel anywhere.
MATH CURRICULUM: KINDERGARTEN – GRADE 4
The math program is geared to encourage student’s interest in math while building their confidence and strengthening their skills. It emphasizes math as a way of thinking, a way to solve problems that are real, practical problems faced throughout life. The program emphasizes the use of manipulative math materials such as Cuisenaire rods, chips, geoboards and Unifix cubes. Each year students build upon prior instruction while learning new skills such as sorting, classifying, patterning estimation, counting, number concepts, problem solving, money, time, measurement, geometry, computation, and organizing and interpreting data in graphs and charts. Such instruction and experiences vitally contribute to the understanding of mathematics, visual and verbal discrimination, pattern recognition, and problem solving skills.
SOCIAL STUDIES: KINDERGARTEN – GRADE 4
Through structured lessons, projects, and field trips, students make discoveries about the world around them. History and the language arts are woven together to provide opportunities for students to understand the United States as well as other countries and cultures in the world.
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