Our Curriculum Encourages Wisdom Virtue Discipline Love Faith Character Integrity Happiness

Academic & Integrated Faith Standards

Early Childhood Education

Kindergarten

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

Academic & Integrated Faith Standards By Subject

Curriculum Narrative

RELIGION IN PRE-SCHOOL

The Image of God program is a Catholic religion curriculum by Ignatius Press for children ages three and four. This curriculum is centered on an approach found in the writings and teachings of Pope Saint John Paul II.  Lessons stress the dignity of each individual as a person made in the image and likeness of God. The Image of God curriculum has as its emphasis two key truths: God loves us and He created us for happiness. These keys truths form the unifying element of each lesson.

Pre-School students will

  • Develop an awareness of God and His love for them
  • Recognize that God loves each of them uniquely
  • Be introduced to prayer and ways of talking to God
  • Become familiar with the liturgical seasons and how they relate to our seasons
  • Participate in weekly All School Mass with an older student who is assigned as their buddy

LANGUAGE ARTS IN PRE-SCHOOL

Reading is designed to help each child develop an appreciation and enjoyment of stories. Reading activities enhance vocabulary and comprehension skills while expanding the child’s knowledge base.

Pre-School students will

  • Develop a love for books and details of stories
  • Retell stories and events as they have heard them
  • Relay the sequence of events in a story
  • Enjoy interacting with books
  • Recite poems and rhymes

The study of Phonics introduces the child to knowledge and phonemic awareness of the alphabet.

Pre-School students will

  • Pronounce and grow familiar with each letter of the alphabet
  • Recognize the letters in their names
  • Use songs and rhymes to learn the order of the alphabet

FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN PRE-SCHOOL

Activities using fine motor skills aid and improve the child’s small muscle development and hand-eye coordination. Growth in this area leads to mastery of an effective pencil grip.

Pre-School students will develop fine motor skills while

  • Playing with playdough and buttons
  • Stringing beads
  • Doing puzzles
  • Practicing proper scissor use
  • Learning to color

MATHEMATICS IN PRE-SCHOOL

Our Pre-School math program uses hands-on activities to help children gain a greater understanding of mathematical concepts. Practice is held in large group settings through calendar activities and daily routines. Small group math work is done at center time and in rotating stations.

Pre-School students will

  • Count to 10
  • Use one-to-one correspondence
  • Master number recognition to 10
  • Sort objects by 1 or 2 attributes
  • Make a simple pattern
  • Identify colors and shapes

SOCIAL STUDIES IN PRE-SCHOOL

Pre-School Social Studies focuses students on the world around them. Students will learn to care for the greater community and for themselves. They will see their valuable role in their own family and in society.

Pre-School students will

  • Learn about their family and their immediate community
  • Understand how to be a good neighbor
  • Engage with other cultures, families, and periods of history
  • Recognize rules and their purpose in allowing groups to work effectively
  • Actively participate in themed seasonal activities
  • Create Holiday crafts and presents

SCIENCE IN PRE-SCHOOL

Our St. Francis Pre-School Science curriculum offers children hands-on opportunities to observe, measure and explore. Through delight and wonder, our students develop a natural curiosity and love for the world around them.

Pre-School students will

  • Participate in themed activities
  • Study the life cycle of apples and pumpkins
  • Learn all about fire prevention
  • Explore nature as it is found on our beautiful campus
  • Serve the greater good through our community helper program

RELIGION IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

The Image of God program is a Catholic religion curriculum by Ignatius Press for children ages three and four. This curriculum is centered on an approach found in the writings and teachings of Pope Saint John Paul II.  Lessons stress the dignity of each individual as a person made in the image and likeness of God. The Image of God curriculum has as its emphasis two key truths: God loves us and He created us for happiness. These keys truths form the unifying element of each lesson.

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Study the lives of the saints
  • Celebrate Feast Days and Holy Days
  • Learn Bible stories by doing activities
  • Participate in weekly All School Mass with an older student who is assigned as their buddy

LANGUAGE ARTS IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

Children love being introduced to Language Arts concepts through our reading readiness program. Happily, Ever After is a dynamic program that has children’s literature at its heart. The 10-unit study gives the foundation to begin reading with beautifully illustrated classic stories from children’s literature. From there, our Pre-Kindergarten students move on to the Superkids Reading Program, which builds and continues through 2nd grade.  

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Listen to and comprehend stories
  • Build their vocabulary
  • Retell familiar stories
  • Recognize letters (uppercase and lowercase) as well as the individual letter sounds
  • Make predictions based on illustrations
  • Develop early literacy concepts such as identifying story characters and the setting where a story happens
  • Identify and produce rhyming words

FINE MOTOR SKILLS IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

Our students are busy everyday developing dexterity with their fine motor muscles. For many children, St. Francis School provides the first opportunity to learn an effective pencil grip through activities that build a wide range of movement.

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Create push pin artwork
  • Learn written stroke patterns (i.e. pull-down stroke, curve stroke, pull across stroke)
  • Arrange stickers in patterns
  • Write their names
  • Use clothespins
  • Color inside the lines (mostly!)
  • Practice correct scissor use 

MATHEMATICS IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

The Pre-Kindergarten math program at St. Francis School is designed for students to build a strong foundation. Through many hands-on, repetitive activities, our students have the opportunity to master early childhood math skills.

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Identify colors and shapes
  • Practice rote counting by ones and tens
  • Recognize numbers
  • Understand the calendar: days of the week, today, tomorrow, and yesterday
  • Sort objects by shapes, size, color, and other attributes
  • Create shapes and color patterns
  • Gain familiarity with ordinal numbers, measurement skills, and early addition concepts 

SOCIAL STUDIES IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

In Pre-Kindergarten, students will learn about place, geography, economics and elementary civics. They will come to discover more about local geography and how there is a depth of history embedded in every New England town.

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Develop a greater awareness of town and New Hampshire state history
  • Recognize National symbols such as the American Flag and the bald eagle
  • Learn familiar songs that commemorate historical events
  • Understand the importance of being part of a world-wide community

SCIENCE IN PRE-KINDERGARTEN

Our Pre-Kindergarten curriculum is based on real-world experiences and hands on learning. Our 14-acre school campus gives rise to studying changes inherent in the natural world. The gift of living in New England is that we get to experience the seasons and the harvest to the fullest!

Pre-Kindergarten students will

  • Understand the basic life cycle of living things, the homes they live in and the food they eat
  • Observe real-life plant growth
  • Be able to classify the four seasons and describe why each one is important and necessary
  • Make predications based on past experiences
  • Learn about the five senses and how they operate as a whole to give us knowledge
  • Experiment with weight and movement

RELIGION IN KINDERGARTEN

The St. Francis School Kindergarten religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to teach children about the loving goodness of the Blessed Trinity. They meet the members of the Holy Family, and they learn who the saints are and what they have to teach us. They begin to explore why virtue is good and sin is bad, and the importance of developing good habits. Finally, they learn that they can always speak to God in prayer.

Kindergarten students will

  • Be introduced to the loving goodness of the Blessed Trinity
  • Discuss relationships within the Holy Family
  • Learn about saints and how they can become one too
  • Explore virtue and intentional development of good habits
  • Learn why sin is bad
  • Speak to God in prayer
  • Integrate the Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom, hallway and at recess 

READING IN KINDERGARTEN

Superkids Reading Program features an outstanding cast of lively characters called the Superkids, whose adventures delight children of all skill levels. The lessons seamlessly integrate reading, spelling and grammar as well as listening and speaking. The systematic, explicit phonics instruction in this particular program is thoughtfully and thoroughly designed so that each child will learn to decode words with continuous practice until he or she reaches automaticity and fluency.

Kindergarten students will

  • Meet the awesome Superkids and other characters
  • Write capital and lowercase letters
  • Blend sounds together
  • Develop comprehension and recall
  • Build vocabulary
  • Practice fluency
  • Develop grammar usage and mechanical skills

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATHEMATICS IN KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Count by 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s
  • Read and write numbers to 31
  • Compare and order numbers to 20
  • Identify and count money

Geometry and Measurement

  • Sort common geometric shapes
  • Make and copy designs on a geoboard

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Identify a sorting rule
  • Create and read a pictograph

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Solve spatial problems
  • Act out, draw pictures, and write number sentences to solve story problems 

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

SOCIAL STUDIES IN KINDERGARTEN

In Kindergarten, the learning of history and social studies is built on children’s experiences in their families, school, community, state and country.  Using trade books and the knowledge from guest speakers, and through activities on our smartboard, children are introduced to the following concepts:

  • The celebration of national holidays and the reasons why we celebrate them
  • National symbols and documents that played a part in the founding of the New World
  • Elected officials including the President of the United States, and the various military branches
  • That we have a moral obligation to become Community Helpers
  • The geography of our country, state, town and street
  • Locations using a map or globe
  • Community and Global Awareness

SCIENCE IN KINDERGARTEN

In our science groups, a strong emphasis is placed on developing the scientific skills of observing, inferring, predicting, classifying, making models and communicating. 

Kindergarten students will

  • Study in-depth the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
  • Learn how all things grow
  • Learn about the human body and how we are made in God’s image
  • Utilize their five senses to make factual statements
  • Describe and define outer space along with a rudimentary understanding of the solar system
  • Gather information about plants and animals in the rainforest
  • Predict and measure objects

RELIGION IN FIRST GRADE

The St. Francis School First Grade Religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to develop an awareness of God as our Father in Heaven, the creator of Heaven and Earth, who is all good, who created them in His image and likeness, and who loves them unconditionally. Basic parts of the Mass are introduced. Students continue to learn from the lives of saints as they explore the basics of prayer as a conversation with God.

First Grade students will

  • Develop an awareness of God our Father, creator of Heaven and Earth
  • Understand the basic parts of the Mass
  • Learn more about sin in connection with the Sacrament of Confession
  • Explore the lives of the saints
  • Develop a relationship with Mary as the Mother of God
  • Learn and practice basics of prayer as a conversation with God
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom 

LANGUAGE ARTS IN FIRST GRADE

Building on what they have learned in Kindergarten, first graders learn more complex letter-sound relationships. Students apply these new skills to longer decodable stories, informational texts, and in their own writing. Reading comprehension and fluency are emphasized. All skills are carefully integrated and taught in multiple modes—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—to reinforce language learning. Daily word work helps children develop the foundational skills they need to become successful readers and writers. New phonics, spelling, structural analysis, and vocabulary skills are taught and practiced using the Superkids Reading Program and the Word Work Books. Every unit provides a balance of engaging fiction and informational texts for daily reading instruction and practice. The texts children read are all phonetically controlled to match the sequence of phonics and structural skills taught in the Word Work Books. Daily writing lessons teach critical writing skills and the writing process. The writing genres focused on include: narrative, informative/explanatory, opinion, descriptive, poetry, and correspondence. These genres are revisited multiple times throughout the school year.

First grade students will learn

  • Consonant digraphs, long and short vowels, r-controlled vowels, and vowel digraphs
  • Endings, suffixes, prefixes, contractions and compound words
  • Phonetic and structural patterns to help with decoding and encoding
  • Mastery of all 220 high-frequency Dolch (sight) words
  • Parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
  • Comprehension and fluency skills for reading literary and informational texts
  • Writing mechanics, writing process, and types of writing (narrative, opinion, informative/explanatory)

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN FIRST GRADE

First Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Count by 2’s, 25’s and 100’s
  • Read and write numbers to 1000
  • Identify how many more or less
  • Master basic addition and subtraction facts

Geometry and Measurement

  • Construct and name line segments
  • Identify angles

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Create and read a bar graph
  • Write observations from a graph

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Identify the missing number in a sequence
  • Solve problems using an organized list

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

SOCIAL STUDIES IN FIRST GRADE

First grade uses literature to study national and religious holidays. First grade focuses on citizenship and helping within a community. First grade students are introduced to town history, focusing on their town, school, and church.

First Grade students will

  • Identify National and New Hampshire monuments and symbols
  • Demonstrate an understanding of human migration and cultural expansion
  • Identify the characteristics and purposes of globes and maps
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of being a good citizen

SCIENCE IN FIRST GRADE

First Grade science focuses on hands on experiences. Students will develop the scientific skills of observing, predicting, and inferring.

First Grade students will

  • Build and manipulate simple machines using our LEGO program
  • Continue with studying the life cycle of different animals and plants
  • Discuss and observe matter
  • Track the weather especially in New Hampshire
  • Discover different habitats and how animals survive in the wild

RELIGION IN SECOND GRADE

The St. Francis School Second Grade Religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to help students focus on how much children are loved by Jesus, and how his Death and Resurrection has opened the way to Heaven. Lessons include prayer, readings, sacred art, discussion questions, and assignments in their work books. There will be a special focus this year on the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist.

Second Grade students will

  • Learn about how much Jesus Christ loves us
  • Discover how the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the way to Heaven
  • Delve deeper into the parts of the Mass
  • Learn about the lives and lessons of the saints
  • Explore more ways to pray
  • Focus on the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom

LANGUAGE ARTS IN SECOND GRADE

Superkids Reading Program greatly expands the world of reading and writing for second graders by presenting highly motivating materials in authentic real-world formats. The Decodable Readers, along with Word Work Books, review and consolidate essential phonics, spelling, and grammar skills. Nonfiction is delivered in a lively magazine called “SUPER,” which is full of fascinating articles about science, social studies, art, and world cultures. The “Book Club” puts into children’s hands real chapter books from a range of fiction genres. Second grade students continue to gain mastery in the writing process by expressing their ideas in a variety of written forms including the keeping of a journal.

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN SECOND GRADE

Second Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Count by 3’s and 4’s
  • Round to the nearest 10
  • Locate rational numbers on a number line
  • Master basic multiplication facts through 5

Geometry and Measurement

  • Make and draw similar shapes and designs
  • Graph ordered pairs on a coordinate place

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Conduct a survey
  • Conduct an experiment and record the results

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Make a table to solve a problem
  • Solve spatial problems 

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

SOCIAL STUDIES IN SECOND GRADE

In second grade, students apply their emerging understanding of civics, economics, geography, and history to their communities and others around the world by reading a variety of nonfiction and historical fiction books.

Second Grade students will

  • Learn about how their community works as well as the variety of ways that communities organize themselves
  • Study early and recent immigration, exploring why people choose to leave their homes and immigrate to a new country and the hardships and challenges they encounter along the way
  • Learn about individuals who changed the world by either thinking of new ideas and inventing things, or, overcoming obstacles and standing up for what they believed, or, by fighting to make the world a better place

SCIENCE IN SECOND GRADE

Second Grade uses Discovery Works by Houghton Mifflin. Students will formally study plants and animals, environments and energy, archeology and astronomy.

Second Grade students will

  • Begin to understand energy and motion
  • Learn how dinosaurs lived and died
  • Begin to understand solids, liquids, and gases
  • Know how germs can make them sick

RELIGION IN THIRD GRADE

The St. Francis School Third Grade Religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to provide students with a deeper understanding of what it means to be Catholic and how the Holy Spirit guides the Church. Students learn about the Holy Trinity and how the seven sacraments deepen the Christian life and relationship with Christ. Our students dive deeper into a relationship with Christ through prayer, and learn through stories and parables from the Bible.

Third Grade students will

  • Learn about the Catholic Church
  • Get to know the Holy Spirit and how He guides the Church
  • Learn how Jesus continues His mission through the life of the Church
  • Learn the basics of the Trinity and all seven sacraments
  • Deepen their relationship with God through prayer
  • Focus on Jesus’ Parables of the Kingdom and Mary as Mother of the Church
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom

LANGUAGE ARTS IN THIRD GRADE

In Voyages in English, third grade students encounter grammar sentences, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, subjects and predicates. By diagramming sentences, they practice thinking clearly and putting grammar to work for the service of their own writing. Emphasis is also placed on punctuation and capitalization. Using Daily 6-Trait Writing, students focus on ideas, organization, word choice, voice, and sentence fluency. Spelling instruction consists of memorizing a weekly spelling list from Spelling Connections. Backed by extensive research, the carefully-curated spelling lists teach patterns, build vocabulary, and develop the skills students need to become proficient spellers. Adept spelling leads to improved skills in other areas, including more fluent writing.

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN THIRD GRADE

Third Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Count by ½’s and ¼’s
  • Read and write numbers to 100,000
  • Identify perfect squares and square roots
  • Master basic division facts

Geometry and Measurement

  • Name and draw polygons
  • Read and represent time as minutes before the hour

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Locate information on a chart and map
  • Identify compass direction

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Solve story problems
  • Work backwards to solve problems

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

SOCIAL STUDIES IN THIRD GRADE

In third grade, students will come to understand the purpose, structure and functions of government; the political process; the rule of law; and world affairs. Students will draw connections and recognize complex regional patters while appreciating the influence of place on human development. 

Third Grade students will

  • Explore biographies of key figures who helped shape our community, state and country
  • Describe the interconnectedness of the world using specific examples
  • Recognize the components and distribution of the world’s ecosystems
  • Describe the rights of citizens as outlined by the Constitutions of NH and the United States

ELEVATE SCIENCE FOR GRADES 3-6

Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade all use Elevate Science, which is the latest and greatest science program from Pearson. Active exploration is the heart of this new curriculum. Designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards, Elevate Science helps students investigate real-life phenomena through project-based learning. The curriculum develops strong reasoning skills and critical thinking strategies, as students engage in explorations, formulate claims, and use data for evidence-based arguments.

Elevate Science builds our students critical thinking, questioning, and collaboration skills. The curriculum fuels interest in STEM and creative problem solving while supporting scientific literacy development.

Video of Methodology: https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0daBJuIlhs?rel=0

Brochure: https://assets.pearsonglobalschools.com/asset_mgr/current/201838/Elevate_Overview_K-5.pdf

In conjunction with Elevate Science, students will

  • Learn the Scientific Method by participating in a yearly science fair
  • Do an overnight at the Roger Williams Zoo
  • Visit the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and Museum of Science

SCIENCE IN THIRD GRADE

Third Grade students will

  • Study physical science through experiments in motion and forces, electricity and magnetism
  • Study earth science especially weather and climate
  • Delve into life science learning about life cycles and traits, adaptions and the desire to survive

RELIGION IN FOURTH GRADE

The St. Francis School Fourth Grade Religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to infuse students with a deeper understanding of the moral life and how to intentionally develop a moral conscience. They explore God’s creation and how to respond to the grace of God. Students also learn about the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, the Greatest Commandment, and dive deeper into Biblical texts.

Fourth Grade students will

  • Understand the moral life and conscience formation
  • Explore what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God
  • Learn how to respond to God’s grace in order to spend eternity with Him
  • Master the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the Golden Rule, and Jesus’ Great Commandment to love God with all our heart and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves
  • Learn the reality of sin and necessity of grace
  • Respond to God’s Covenant of Love
  • Understand the Communion of Saints
  • Develop a deeper understanding and love of the rosary including the mastery of all prayers and Mysteries of the rosary
  • Celebrate the season of Advent by praying around the Advent Wreath daily and creating a Jesse Tree for the school displayed in the hallway
  • Understand the Lenten Season through prayer and penitence
  • Participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation quarterly
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom
  • Celebrate Our Blessed Mother at a Mother’s Day Tea in May

LANGUAGE ARTS IN FOURTH GRADE

Our fourth graders continue with Voyages in English, which presents the fundamentals of writing and grammar in a logical and consistent manner. Through study of the seven parts of speech, development of writing skills, and practice with public speaking, students gain a mastery of language and become effective writers and communicators of their own ideas. By reading selections of literature, reading skills and comprehension strategies are implemented, such as recalling, comparing, classifying information, identifying cause and effect, restating the main idea and supporting with details from the text. Works of fiction read include The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements and Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater. Students continue to grow in their mastery of spelling and vocabulary using Spelling Connections.

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

 Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN FOURTH GRADE

Fourth Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Identify and approximate square roots, cube roots and perfect cubes
  • Identify quotients, dividends, and divisors
  • Checks division answers using multiplication
  • Find the percent of a number

Geometry and Measurement

  • Construct scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles
  • Compare, estimate, and measure circumference

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Draw and read a pie graph
  • Make a stem-and-leaf plot

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Solve story problems
  • Connect math to science and social studies

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

SOCIAL STUDIES IN FOURTH GRADE

Students will utilize Our United States of America by Oliver Corrigan. This colorful, student-friendly program introduces students to social studies, while drawing them into the realization that they too are part of history.   

Children learn of faithful Christians who dramatically impacted and are impacting the development of our country: from government leaders; to doctors who served the poor; to Native Americans; to a religious order who saved a western town from outlaws. As students learn, they are guided to think of ways that Our Lord might be calling them to change society, and history, for the better.

Fourth Grade students will 

  • Discover the history of each and every State and memorize all capitals
  • Undergo a nine-week, in-depth, hands-on state study of New Hampshire
  • Attend field trips at the New Hampshire State House, Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, and the Mill History museum in Manchester
  • Perform a research project on one states of the U.S.

ELEVATE SCIENCE FOR GRADES 3-6

Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade all use Elevate Science, which is the latest and greatest science program from Pearson. Active exploration is the heart of this new curriculum. Designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards, Elevate Science helps students investigate real-life phenomena through project-based learning. The curriculum develops strong reasoning skills and critical thinking strategies, as students engage in explorations, formulate claims, and use data for evidence-based arguments.

Elevate Science builds our students critical thinking, questioning, and collaboration skills. The curriculum fuels interest in STEM and creative problem solving while supporting scientific literacy development.

Video of Methodology: https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0daBJuIlhs?rel=0

Brochure: https://assets.pearsonglobalschools.com/asset_mgr/current/201838/Elevate_Overview_K-5.pdf

In conjunction with Elevate Science, students will

  • Learn the Scientific Method by participating in a yearly science fair
  • Do an overnight at the Roger Williams Zoo
  • Visit the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and Museum of Science

SCIENCE IN FOURTH GRADE

Fourth Grade students will

  • Understand how energy and motion relate
  • Create different electric circuits
  • Explore the human uses of energy
  • Explore the Earth’s features
  • Understand erosion and weathering and their effects upon the land
  • Understand how different surfaces cause different air temperatures
  • Identify Earth’s natural hazards
  • Understand the working of two major body systems: digestive and circulatory

RELIGION IN FIFTH GRADE

The St. Francis School Fifth Grade Religion program uses Spirit of Truth by Sophia Press to explore the sacraments and broaden students’ understanding of the transmission of grace from God. Through the year, students will learn what a sacrament is, why Jesus instituted them and how sacraments are used as a portal of grace in the Catholic Church. Students will also continue to increase their knowledge of the parts of the Mass and the lives of the Saints.

Fifth Grade students will

  • Explore God’s grace in the Sacraments in depth
  • Learn what a Sacrament is, why Jesus instituted them, and the form, matter, history, celebration, and effects of each Sacrament
  • Understand that God is the source of all life
  • Learn more about Holy Mass and Holy Days of Obligation
  • Read and discuss longer biographies of the Saints, including youth saints
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom

LANGUAGE ARTS IN FIFTH GRADE

With the help of Voyages in English, our fifth graders continue honing their grammar and writing skills through practice, application and assessment. Incorporating practical and straightforward writing tasks, smart technology, and public speaking practice, students are given the tools for excellent communication. In our reading program, students use a mix of whole group novel studies, literature circles, and short passages to identify plot, setting, and theme of a text. Students will also study character development and learn to make inferences. With informational texts, they will work to summarize key points and identify the main idea, supporting details and overall structure. Using Spelling Connections students become even more proficient in higher level vocabulary.

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN FIFTH GRADE

Fifth Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Write reciprocals of numbers
  • Find the least common multiple
  • Find the greatest common factor
  • Divide fractions and mixed numbers

Geometry and Measurement

  • Describe planes
  • Find the measure of a circle

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Represent and interpret data using histograms, line plots and circle graphs
  • Draw and compare different representations

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Make generalizations
  • Justify conclusions

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY IN 5TH GRADE: THE STORY OF AMERICA

From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America tells the story of North America—the Indian nations, European colonization, and the founding and history of the United States up to the Twentieth Century. Told as a series of historically accurate stories, the textbook includes biographies, lives of the saints, maps, illustrations, and other supplemental material. The lavish use of color photos, drawings and maps, combined with the excellent writing of highly qualified teachers, authors and editors, make this history series the best available. It is important to note that this history series intertwines our faith with the history of human events. To leave God’s action out of history is a disservice to the truth.

  • Text: From Sea to Shining Sea: The Story of America in digital and hardcover
  • Student Workbook

ELEVATE SCIENCE FOR GRADES 3-6

Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade all use Elevate Science, which is the latest and greatest science program from Pearson. Active exploration is the heart of this new curriculum. Designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards, Elevate Science helps students investigate real-life phenomena through project-based learning. The curriculum develops strong reasoning skills and critical thinking strategies, as students engage in explorations, formulate claims, and use data for evidence-based arguments.

Elevate Science builds our students critical thinking, questioning, and collaboration skills. The curriculum fuels interest in STEM and creative problem solving while supporting scientific literacy development.

Video of Methodology: https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0daBJuIlhs?rel=0

Brochure: https://assets.pearsonglobalschools.com/asset_mgr/current/201838/Elevate_Overview_K-5.pdf

In conjunction with Elevate Science, students will

  • Learn the Scientific Method by participating in a yearly science fair
  • Do an overnight at the Roger Williams Zoo
  • Visit the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and Museum of Science

SCIENCE IN FIFTH GRADE

Fifth Grade students will

  • Describe properties of matter and find evidence that it changes
  • Learn about the human impact on earth’s systems and waters
  • Explore the solar system and find patterns in space
  • Model the interaction of living things in an ecosystem

RELIGION IN SIXTH GRADE

Children spend this year immersed in God’s Word in the Sacred Scriptures, and explore how the Bible, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, records God’s plan of salvation. The course includes basics on how to use the Bible, Magisterial authority, how and why we should pray with Scripture, how the Bible is different from other books, and the four senses of Scripture before beginning a comprehensive exploration of the Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Sixth Grade students will

  • Learn that Sacred Scripture is the written revelation of God
  • Understand divine inspiration
  • Explore the four senses of Sacred Scripture
  • Be familiar with the Covenants of the Old Testament
  • Understand God’s covenantal love for His People as shown through salvation history
  • Emphasize how Jesus Christ fulfills the Old Testament covenants and prophecies
  • Learn about the New Covenant of Jesus Christ
  • Integrate Disciples of Christ virtue program in the classroom

LANGUAGE ARTS IN SIXTH GRADE

Using Voyages in English, our sixth-graders become masters of English grammar! Applying their writing skills and speaking tools in a variety of styles, students become successful and articulate communicators. In our reading program, students encounter classic works of literature such as Indian in the Cupboard, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Amos Fortune, and Number the Stars. With the aid of Progeny Press study guides, students further understand the meaning and lessons of these works through the lens of a Christian worldview. Comprehension is deepened by examining connections to Scripture. In their final year of Spelling Connections, St. Francis sixth graders become expert spellers, which is a life-long skill of tremendous value.

Mathematics Curriculum

Saxon Math produces confident students who are not only able to correctly compute, but also apply learned concepts to new situations. Saxon Math students practice mathematical ideas over a considerable period of time through the pedagogical process known as incremental development and continual review.

Material is introduced in easily understandable pieces, or, increments, allowing students to grasp one facet of a concept before the next one is introduced. Both facets are then practiced together until another one is introduced. This feature is combined with continual review in every lesson throughout the year. Topics are never dropped but are increased in complexity and practiced every day, providing the time required for concepts to become totally familiar.

Students will participate in a wide variety of mathematics activities using the Saxon Math program. Students will learn through hands-on experiences, discussions, explorations, and oral practice. While each day’s activities will be different, each lesson will have a familiar four-part format.

  • The Meeting: a time when students practice everyday skills. Students will learn about the calendar, the daily number pattern, weather, attendance graph, time, and money. They will also use mental computation to solve practical problems.
  • Fact Practice: this helps students master number facts by practicing fact strategies using fact cards, games and activities, Learning Wrap-Ups, and fact sheets. Students also practice their number facts at home using a variety of methods.
  • New Concepts: these are presented in each lesson though discussion and hands-on experiences that allow students to be actively involved in learning. This also aids in their ability to recall.
  • Written Practice: this reinforces new concepts from the lesson as well as from previous lessons. Students are guided in class as they complete and correct Side A of the practice sheet. Students complete Side B as homework.

Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence

MATH IN SIXTH GRADE

Sixth Grade students will master the following concepts: *

Numbers and Operations

  • Find square roots
  • Estimate and solve application problems involving percent
  • Use, describe, and extend arithmetic sequences
  • Solve two-step equations with whole numbers

Geometry and Measurement

  • Represent three-dimensional figures in two-dimensional world using nets
  • Identify reflections, translations, rotations, and symmetry

Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability

  • Find mean, median, mode, and range
  • Calculate the probability of compound events

Problem Solving and Communication

  • Use algebraic reasoning
  • Use logical reasoning

*For a comprehensive list of skills and benchmarks, please see the Complete Saxon Math Scope and Sequence above.

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY 6TH GRADE: ORIGINS OF WORLD CULTURE

All Ye Lands: World Culture and Geography begins with history and culture from prehistory through the Greeks, the rise of Christianity, up through the Middle Ages, as well as developments in China, Japan, Russia, Europe, Africa and the Americas up to the mid 1800′s. The lavish use of color photos, drawings and maps, combined with the excellent writing of highly qualified teachers, authors and editors, make this history series the best available. It is important to note that this history series intertwines our faith with the history of human events. To leave God’s action out of history is a disservice to the truth.

  • Text: All Ye Lands: World Cultures and Geography in digital and hardcover
  • Student Workbook

ELEVATE SCIENCE FOR GRADES 3-6

Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade all use Elevate Science, which is the latest and greatest science program from Pearson. Active exploration is the heart of this new curriculum. Designed to address the Next Generation Science Standards, Elevate Science helps students investigate real-life phenomena through project-based learning. The curriculum develops strong reasoning skills and critical thinking strategies, as students engage in explorations, formulate claims, and use data for evidence-based arguments.

Elevate Science builds our students critical thinking, questioning, and collaboration skills. The curriculum fuels interest in STEM and creative problem solving while supporting scientific literacy development.

Video of Methodology: https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0daBJuIlhs?rel=0

Brochure: https://assets.pearsonglobalschools.com/asset_mgr/current/201838/Elevate_Overview_K-5.pdf

In conjunction with Elevate Science, students will

  • Learn the Scientific Method by participating in a yearly science fair
  • Do an overnight at the Roger Williams Zoo
  • Visit the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and Museum of Science

SCIENCE IN SIXTH GRADE

Sixth Grade students will

  • Learn how to observe, measure and use matter
  • Discover how energy and thermal energy work
  • Understand how matter and energy cycle through Earth’s systems
  • Explore what determines the weather on Earth and how to predict weather changes

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Saint Francis of Assisi School

9 Saint Francis Way
Litchfield, New Hampshire 03052

(603) 424-3312