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Elementary

Kindergarten - 4th Grade              

The elementary years are foundational to a student’s education.  Beginning in Kindergarten, qualified teachers provide environments where curiosity, wonder and educational ‘risks’ are fostered. Teachers explicitly teach intentionally and purposefully, creating environments of inquiry and meaning.  

As students’ progress to the upper elementary, they strengthen in the progression and in the expansion of their skills throughout the elementary years.  Students take ownership of their learning as they develop independence, language, reading, writing, critical thinking, citizenship, civil discourse, and social and problem-solving skills.  Students learn to become independent learners, applying the skills and repertoire of tools to demonstrate acquired knowledge in and out of the classroom.

Our elementary curriculum includes the following:

Elementary Language Arts

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.

Grades K - 3

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.
 

 

Grade 4

The Language Arts curriculum in grade 4 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.
 

Elementary Science

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, an inquiry-based STEM experience, aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards.  Hands-on labs involve students in the scientific process of asking questions, creating a hypothesis, testing and analyzing data. Our young scientists think critically and apply what they are learning, to develop life skills necessary to excel anywhere.

Elementary Math

The math program is a standards-based approach and 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.

Elementary Social Studies

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.  

Elementary Physical Education

The Physical Education program focuses on the importance of physical fitness for all students. In classes that meet once a week for 50 minutes, students learn and explore a variety of developmentally appropriate physical activities and games to help them gain coordination and confidence in their growing bodies.  

With an overall emphasis on health and fitness, students are instructed in movement, sports, games, dance, and exercise, and the development of being a team player. Students are expected to participate, show effort, and have fun while developing sportsmanship and teamwork.

Elementary Art

Students learn the importance of expressive intent in their work and practice the technical skills and techniques that they need to achieve their expressive goals.  In the course of the school year, students use a wide range of materials to express themselves in drawing, painting, papier-mâché, clay sculpture, origami and collage.