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Elementary Course Descriptions
Biblical Foundations
Goals for K-4 through Fifth Grade:
- Recognize God’s existence and character.
- Understand the Bible as God’s inspired word and absolute truth.
- Use the Bible consistently to locate and memorize selected verses.
- Pray daily.
- Acknowledge need for salvation and respond to Jesus as God’s provision.
- Know and practice Biblical principles in relationships and service to others.
K-4 – The focus for our preschoolers in Bible is to build a solid foundation of God as our Creator, and that He has specifically and uniquely created us for relationships. We teach children that God made them special and with purpose. Children learn of God's design for family, friends and ultimately a relationship with Him. These truths are taught as we work through the creation story in Genesis to God's plan of salvation in the New Testament. K4 also reads narratively through the book of Mark. The Bible is an exciting and interactive part of our program.
Kindergarten –Students will learn that God has a plan for each of us. As we read the Old Testament, students will hear God’s plan as we learn about creation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, and Daniel. From the New Testament children will follow the life of Jesus and learn about the power of God’s miracles and His plan for our salvation. Through the study of the life of Paul, the missionary, students will learn that God has a plan for us to share the love of Christ as we become His disciples. They will have opportunities to love, honor, and obey God as they serve others. Students will have the opportunity to pray and sing each day in class. They will memorize and recite scripture, including Psalm 100 and John 3:16.
First Grade –Understanding the nature and character of God as revealed in scripture is the focus of the first grade Biblical Foundations curriculum. Students will recognize the continuity of God's Word as Jesus is revealed throughout the Old and New Testament. Through our study of the Old Testament students learn how God interacts with and speaks to His people. Through our study of the New Testament students learn that Jesus is fully God and fully man. As we learn about Jesus' parables and miracles, the students develop a better understanding of who God is and how much He loves us. Students will listen and respond through class discussions and journaling to demonstrate how scripture applies to their own lives. Spiritual growth is encouraged through scripture memorization and engaging in the aspects of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication).
Second Grade – Our focus in 2nd grade is “The Promised Savior” begins with creation and continues through the ministry of Jesus. Students will follow God’s plan throughout the prophecies of the Old Testament that point to man’s need for a Savior to the fulfillment of our promised Savior, Jesus, recorded in the New Testament. The class timeline will allow students to sequence these events and the extensive study of the gospel of Luke will allow students to study the details of the life of Jesus. 2nd grade students participate in several service projects throughout the year to share Jesus’ love in practical ways. Students also memorize scripture throughout the year; passages include Psalm 8, Psalm 23, John 14: 1-7.
Third Grade - Using God’s Word, the students will understand how God works in the lives of people. By using a time line, the students will begin to recognize the chronological order of His story. 3rd graders study the lives of many Biblical and historical people, including: Paul, Stephen, Abraham, Moses, and David. An extensive reading of the Gospel of John allows for a focused study of Jesus’ life and ministry. Through scripture memory, reflective writing, illustrating, and prayer, the students will have the opportunity to apply God’s work in their own lives.
Fourth Grade –In 4th grade our Biblical Foundations theme is “Our Story Inside God’s Story.” We begin the year with a study of “PeaceMakers” and how to biblically solve conflicts, which we reinforce throughout the year. We use Bible study tools which include timelines, maps, and concordances to better understand and read the Bible. Other areas of study in 4th grade include: Attributes of God, an in-depth look at the life of Jesus and study of the gospel of Mark, The Holy Spirit, Man (sin and salvation), Eternity, the Church, and Prayer. Memory passages include Luke 2: 1-20, Philippians 2:5-11, and Psalm 1:1 - 6.
Fifth Grade - 5th grade Biblical Foundations focuses on “Our Responsibility to the World.” To explore this theme the 5th graders read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, as well as the life of Jesus through an in-depth reading of the gospel of Luke, and study of many of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Time is spent teaching about and practicing how to have personal quiet times of prayer, worship and study. Students memorize scripture passages each week that correlate with what they are learning as put this into practice by volunteering at the food bank. Serving students at a local public school throughout the year is the keystone experience for 5th graders understanding that they do have a God-given purpose – to know, love and serve God by participating in His work in the world.
History-Social Studies
Students look at people, places, and events from a Biblical worldview, using timelines to develop chronological thinking. Four components are included: History, Geography, Civics, and Economics. Students gain knowledge and understanding of people’s lives, and discover causes and consequences of their actions. Students learn about the places people live, the rules and responsibilities they live by, and the ways in which they work to meet their needs.
K-4 – History: connect past and present events in own lives and environment, examine cause and effect relationships, time intervals. Geography: home and school, local landscape, location words. Civics: family and classroom structures (rules, jobs, responsibilities). Economics: basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, services of school and community workers.
Kindergarten – History: Fire Safety Unit, Farm Unit, Thanksgiving Unit, Symbols of America, Presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, Transportation, Families and Grandparents, Memorial Day. Geography: land and water on map and globe, draw simple maps, locate U.S. on world map and Arkansas on a U.S. map. Civics: classroom rules and responsibilities, sharing and serving at home and school, daily Pledge of Allegiance, name school, city, state, and country. Economics: wants and needs, money as exchange for goods, community jobs and services, significance of work.
First Grade – History: Labor Day, Leif Erikson and Vikings, Columbus, Pocahontas and John Smith, Pilgrims, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, national holidays and symbols, Flat Stanley Project. Geography: use globe and map to locate poles, directions, continents, mountains, equator, United States, oceans, Arkansas. Civics: rights and responsibilities of citizenship: honesty, reliability, and fairness, rules at home and school, recite Pledge of Allegiance, five basic freedoms of U.S. citizens. Economics: consumers and producers, wants and needs, scarcity, resources, define and apply stewardship principle.
Second Grade – History: Native Americans of North America, Separatists, Colonial Days, Pioneers, National Symbols and Holidays. Geography: Locate continents, oceans, hemispheres, poles, equator, cardinal and intermediate directions, physical features on a map, countries bordering U.S., types of maps and map components. Construct and label maps. Civics: Purposes of rules and laws, democracy, rights and responsibilities in a community. Economics: Trading and currency, consumers and producers, productive resources, goods and services, working together in a community.
Third Grade – History: Columbus, John Smith and Pocahontas, Miles Standish, William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone, Civil War period (includes Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Clara Barton, David Livingstone), George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, Noah Webster. Geography: Four hemispheres, Prime Meridian, Regions, Names and locations of the fifty states, Physical Maps (make, label features, and interpret), Transportation and communication links, Conservation and use of environment. Civics: Levels of government (local, state, federal), Fundamental ideals of democracy, Election process (Bugident Unit). Economics: Productive resources, scarcity, supply and demand, profit, functions of money, saving and giving.
Fourth Grade – History: United States History into the Civil War (1865), including Arkansas History for this period. Geography: Regions of the United States, the natural regions of Arkansas, latitude and longitude, major mountain ranges and rivers in the U.S., physical, historical, and political maps, and the effects of geography on settlement. Civics/Government: Levels of government (purpose, function, and responsibilities), branches of government, fundamental principles of democracy, founding documents (Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, U.S. Constitution), American Flag etiquette, citizenship and the election process (in Arkansas and the United States). Economics: Opportunity cost, supply and demand, scarcity, goods and services, productive resources, specialization and interdependence, entrepreneurship, characteristics of money, services provided by taxes, inflation, imports and exports.
Fifth Grade – History: United States History from Civil War to present, along with Arkansas History for this time period. Geography: Regions of the United States, major countries of North America, major bodies of water bordering the U.S., major river systems in North America, geographic terms (region, place, location), types of maps (physical, political, historical), major landforms, concepts of interstate, intrastate, infrastructure, globalization. Civics/Government: Branches of state and national government, roles and responsibilities, checks and balances, terms and qualifications, succession of leadership, two-party system, American documents. Economics: Wants and needs, economic choices, resources and scarcity, types of economies, Free Enterprise System, factors of production, global trade and currency.
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