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Grades 1- 8

Grade 1

First Grade Highlights and Expectations:

  • Become more loving Christians by following Jesus' example and knowing first grade prayers.
  • Focus on God's love, the life and teachings of Jesus, belonging to the Church, traditional common prayers, and the rosary.
  • First graders learn about complete metamorphosis by observing the Painted Lady Caterpillars emerge into Butterflies.  We witness and experience the birth of an animal as we utilize our classroom incubator to learn about the Embryology of a chick. First Grade participates in the activities provided by the Cook County Farm Bureau.  We also adopt a dairy cow through the St. Louis Dairy Council and communicate with our local farmer through email and get monthly updates and pictures of our calf.
  • Demonstrate phonological  and phonemic awareness  and  recognize  high frequency words.  
  • Use word analysis to comprehend selection  and apply reading strategies  to improve understanding and fluency.
  • Identify story elements, use context clues, comprehend the main idea, make predictions, and distinguish between fact and fantasy.
  • Read age appropriate materials with fluency and be able to self-appraise  and self-correct while reading.
  • Use writing to communicate and apply grammar and mechanics including capitalization, complete sentences, and basic punctuation.
  • Focus on number  and order  sense, addition  and subtraction  concepts and strategies with facts to 12, place value and patterns, recognize geometrical shapes in the world around, calculate time to the hour and half-hour, and solve simple word problems.
  • Introduced to adding two-digit  numbers with and without regrouping.
  • Understand  concepts  of   life science  and  earth  science  through  reading, predicting, organizing, questioning, and explaining.
  • Develop an awareness of people around them, recognize important people and special events, understand maps and mapping terms.

Grade 2

Second Grade Highlights and Expectations:

  • In all areas of learning, students will demonstrate comprehension, learn decoding strategies, practice reading fluency, and show understanding of vocabulary in context.
  • Share positive reading and listening experiences through various genres of literature.
  • Write paragraphs that show organization, use proper grammar, and show understanding of the topic at hand.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and mastery of various mathematical skills such as place value, addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers, identifying geometric shapes, learning to tell time on an analog clock, measuring and comparing units of length, learning to identify and understand the value of coins and dollar amounts, as well as charting, comparing and graphing data.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of life science, physical science, earth science, and the human body through observing, predicting, questioning, and explaining, while learning through STEAM experiences.
  • Demonstrate awareness of self as a part of a greater world by learning about  America’s past and present, our government and its symbols, famous Americans, geography and maps, and America’s communities: urban, suburban, and rural.
  • Students are engaged spiritually as they prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, learn traditional prayers, take an active role in liturgical seasons, and learn about the lives of the Saints.

Grade 3

Third  Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

  • Focus on  God, Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit, the  sacraments, service, liturgical  seasons, lives of the Saints, and the Church as our community. Plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship.
  • Read  with expression  and  fluency,  demonstrate  good  oral and written comprehension.
  • Use word identification strategies; understand character and setting;  draw conclusions,  make predictions, sequence events of a story.
  • Recognize  and  write complete sentences, using  nouns,  verbs,  pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
  • Practice informal and formal writing by using the six traits of writing. Write legibly using cursive.
  • Write in multiple  forms (reports, friendly letters, descriptive paragraphs, narrative stories, book reviews).
  • Add and subtract multi-digit numbers, identify place values, count and illustrate money amounts, memorize multiplication facts, demonstrate fluency with measuring, and demonstrate time telling skills.
  • Explore science in the physical  and natural world. Describe simple life cycles of  plants  and animals;  recognize the relationship  of  living  things  to their environment; describe the features/processes  of the Earth and its resources.
  • Read various maps, understand types of communities,  and understand how government works.  

Grade 4

Fourth Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

  • Develop an understanding of faith, major Saints, feast days, liturgical seasons, scripture, Ten Commandments, Advent, Lent, the Holy Spirit, and sacraments. Plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship.
  • Develop skills necessary to read with fluency, comprehend  and interpret written materials, communicate well, and listen and speak effectively.
  • Focus on expository, persuasive and narrative writing with a focus on expository
  • Respond to literature and math in written communication.
  • Experience authentic literature in the forms of poetry, folktales, nonfiction, fiction, biographies, fantasies and plays. Write multiple sequential paragraphs on a given topic.
  • Work collaboratively with others and make presentations to individuals and small groups.
  • Add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit numbers; estimate and compare numbers; name, draw, and measure lines, segments, rays, and angles; narrie geometric figures; find area, perimeter, and volume; display data; name, use, add, subtract, compare, and convert fractions; demonstrate problem-solving strategies; estimate products; communicate in math.
  • Understand the weather, the earth and its changes, rocks and minerals, the solar system, ecosystems, health, the human body, life and earth topics, and physical topics such as matter.
  • Know the 50 states/capitals, abbreviations, and be able to locate them on a map.  Demonstrate knowledge of regions of the U.S. and meeting needs through goods and services.

Grade 5

Fifth  Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

  • Learn through stories, activities,  Scripture, prayer, discussion  and reflection about their  Catholic  faith. Focus on God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the sacramento, liturgical seasons and morality; plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship
  • Development of skills that allow students to read with fluency, comprenend and interpret written materials, communicate well and listen and speak effectively. Understand cause and effect; analyze details; use context clues; analyze theme, plot, and setting.
  • Develop traits  of  good writing:  organization, voice, fluency, word choice, conventions, ideas, and presentation. Write multiple sequential paragraphs on a given topic. Make presentations to individuals  and small and large groups. Express ideas clearly when speaking and read fluently with expression.
  • Master whole numbers, money and decimals, fractions, ratios, proportions and  percentages, and length and measurement; identify place values; solve multiple step word problems; calculate area, perimeter and volume; interpret data.
  • Categorize organisms