Faculty and Curriculum

What Children Learn – First Grade

Religion – Students are introduced to God’s love and plan for His children through Old and New Testament stories. Through the course of the year students receive nine activity booklets. Memory work is an important part of our study of the Bible. Serving and sharing God’s love are also provided through different service opportunities.

Reading/Phonics – A basal reading series is used to introduce the reading skills. A phonetic approach is used to teach reading. Students learn to use consonant sounds, long and short vowel sounds, blends, contractions, and compound words. Students also are taught to use context clues. Comprehension, fluency and sight words are strengthened through the use of leveled readers. Students also focus on various authors throughout the year. Recreational reading is encouraged through self-selected reading in class and at home.

English – Students write in journals on a regular a basis. Nouns, verbs, and adjectives are covered through the course of the year. Sentence structure is also a part of our study. Students learn about the writing process as they author different pieces of writing. Students use the computer to publish various pieces throughout the year.

Spelling – Each week we focus on different spelling patterns and skills to assist students in learning to spell words. Students are provided different ways of practicing their words to meet their learning style.

Mathematics – Math skills are introduced using a hands-on approach. Students use various manipulatives to learn addition, subtraction, time, money, place value, measurement, fractions, and geometry. Memorization of the basic facts is stressed through flashcards, games and learning centers.

Handwriting – Students learn the basic letter formation for the lower case and upper case letters using the D’Nealian method. Spacing, slant and neatness are also stressed. Students also practice the numerals.

Art – Students are introduced to the various elements of art. After learning about each element, they complete an art project using what they learned. Various artist and their styles are also studied throughout the year. Through out the year various seasonal projects and crafts are also created.

Science & Social Studies – Students use various hands-on experiments and demonstrations to learn about God’s world. Many times the topics are integrated into other subject areas. Students work on classifying and collecting data. Students explore simple maps, wants and needs and an awareness of diverse cultures. Good citizenship at home, school and community is also discussed. Videos are used to supplement instruction.

Music – Each class of students in grades K-8 meets once each week for a general music class. In these classes, students learn to read musical notation, play a variety of classroom percussion instruments, develop their singing voices, improvise, compose, and express themselves through music. They also listen to and analyze music from a variety of genres, styles, cultures, and historical periods.

Our school also offers opportunities for students to sing in choirs. Kindergarten and first grade combine in the Cherub Choir, and grades 2-4 sing in the Praise Him choir. Fifth through eighth graders have the option of participating in the Contemporary Choir. The choirs sing in church services, the annual Christmas concert, and a variety of other venues. Kindergarten through fourth grade participates in a musical every spring.

Computer and Technology – Each grade has an orientation to learning.com our network, rules and our special site sptigers.info. All grades do unit of keyboarding (typing) skill development each year.

Computer ethics and safety are included each year. We use resources from Learning.com or easy tech. Cybersmart, netsmartz, iSafe, and Renaissance Learning.

In first grade, devices, drawing, and keyboarding are emphasized.

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St. Paul's Lutheran School - 1780 Career Center Road - Bourbonnais, IL 60914