Natural History:

2 Year Rotation of Topics

Year 1: Classification of Animals (vertebrates vs. invertebrates; 5 categories of vertebrates); Habitats, Food Chain; intro to tree and plant identification. Students complete observations in nature in proximity to the school. Students will observe plant species and insect species and discuss in the classroom.

History 

Topics covered include Mesopotamia, Greek myths and an introduction to ancient Greek culture, Ancient Egypt, and an introduction to World Geography. Students will explore the transition from early nomads to farmers, as well as the first civilizations such as Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Africa, India, Rome, and Greece. They will also be introduced to various legends and myths from these civilizations.

Students will have the opportunity to use their creativity through hands-on art and craft projects throughout each semester. 

The primary text used will be The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer.

In addition, students will acquire a basic understanding of map skills, including map keys, symbols, directions, and the compass rose. They will learn about landforms, bodies of water, continents, and oceans. Students will also study maps of the civilizations they are learning about in history.

Language Arts:

First Grade English consists of the following courses: Reading/Phonics, Writing, Poetry, and Spelling/Grammar/Vocabulary. 

Handwriting Book 1 published by Zaner-Bloser

Little Angel Reader B

Easy Grammar 1

The teacher will also read several books aloud to the students, such as Helen Keller, Flat Stanley, and Pippi Longstocking.

For Spelling students will learn spelling rules, practice phonics, and study new vocabulary words. Building Spelling Skills by Evan Moor will be used.

For Writing, students will learn how to sequence words within a sentence and write sentences within a story sequence.

For Poetry, students will read, memorize, and recite a new poem every two weeks. Poems and nursery rhymes will be taken from texts such as Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization: A Mastery Learning Approach and The Core Knowledge Series: What Your First Grader Needs to Know.

Math

Saxon 2

Great Moral Stories 

Reading stories aloud and encouraging students to live the school motto as they seek what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives. 

September: Respect & Responsibility

October: Diligence

November: Gratitude

December: Generosity 

January: Courage

February: Loyalty

March: Compassion

April: Forgiveness

May: Hope

Religion:

Faith & Life Series Book 1

At Pacific Oaks Academy, students enjoy a rich variety of activities that nurture the whole child. 

- Music

- Art

- Spanish (coming soon)

- Poetry

- Physical Education

- Regular Hiking 

Natural History

Tree and plant identification; animal life observation, butterfly and insect study. Students complete observations in nature in proximity to the school. Students will observe plant species and insect species and discuss in the classroom.

History

Students will continue with the second half of The Story of the World, Volume 1 by Susan Wise Bauer.

They will continue building map skills, including understanding map keys, symbols, directions, and the compass rose. Students will study landforms, bodies of water, continents, and oceans. Geography will be tied to the civilizations studied in history.

Language Arts:

Second Grade English consists of the following courses: Reading/Phonics, Writing/Penmanship, Poetry, and Spelling/Grammar/Vocabulary.

Handwriting Book 2M and 2C published by Zaner-Bloser 

Zaner-Bloser Spelling Connections Grade 2

Little Angel Reader C & D

Easy Grammar 2

For Spelling/Grammar/Vocabulary, students will learn spelling rules, practice phonics, and study new vocabulary words.

For Writing, students will work on creating larger story structures while continuing to perfect sentence structure. Texts used include The Four Square Method of Writing, Logic Countdown, and Analogies for Beginners.

For Poetry, students will read, memorize, and recite a new poem every two weeks. Poems and nursery rhymes will be taken from Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization: A Mastery Learning Approach and The Core Knowledge Series: What Your Second Grader Needs to Know.

Texts include: Aesop’s Fables, The Door in the Wall, Margarite d’Angeli, Rikki – Tikki – Tavi, Rudyard Kipling

Math:

Saxon 3

Great Moral Stories 

Reading stories aloud and encouraging students to live the school motto as they seek what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives. 

September: Respect & Responsibility

October: Diligence

November: Gratitude

December: Generosity 

January: Courage

February: Loyalty

March: Compassion

April: Forgiveness

May: Hope

Religion:

Faith & Life Series Book 2

At Pacific Oaks Academy, students enjoy a rich variety of activities that nurture the whole child. 

- Music

- Art

- Spanish (coming soon)

- Poetry

- Physical Education

- Regular Hiking 

Natural History:

Natural History B

The study of the physical world allows students too take their observational skills into the great outdoors. As field investigators 3rd Graders will observe and document an array of local insects, trees, flowers and birds. 

Texts: Golden Guide: Trees, Golden Guide: Insects, Golden Guide: Flowers, Golden

Guide: Birds

History:

The First Americans: A History of US, Book 1 by Joy Hakim

Topics:

Early native settlers to the explorers and early colonization

Literature: 

Farmer Boy — Laura Ingalls Wilder

Beezus and Ramona — Beverly Cleary

The Hundred Dresses — Eleanor Estes

Little House on the Prairie — Laura Ingalls Wilder

Charlotte’s Web — E. B. White

Shiloh — Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Matilda — Roald Dahl

The Great Quillow — James Thurber

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe — C. S. Lewis

A Door in the Wall — Marguerite de Angeli

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Roald Dahl

The Indian in the Cupboard — Lynne Reid Banks

All Alone — Claire Huchet Bishop

A Lion to Guard Us — Clyde Robert Bulla

Riding the Pony Express — Clyde Robert Bulla

The Secret Valley — Clyde Robert Bulla

Fantastic Mr. Fox — Roald Dahl

The White Stallion of Lipizza — Marguerite Henry

St. George and the Dragon — Margaret Hodges

Minn of the Mississippi — Holling C. Holling

Paddle-to-the-Sea — Holling C. Holling

Tree in the Trail — Holling C. Holling

Smoky the Cow Horse — Will James

How the Forest Grew — William Jasperjohn

Alexander the Great — Andrew Langley

The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle — Hugh Lofting

The House at Pooh Corner — A. A. Milne

Owls in the Family — Farley Mowat

The Borrowers — Mary Norton

Beaver of Weeping Water — Marian Rumsey

A Triumph for Flavius — Caroline Dale Snedeker

Stuart Little — E. B. White

Poetry

Students will memorize and recite a new poem each week (or every two weeks for longer poems). This strengthens memory, builds poise and public speaking skills, and reinforces phonetic and syllabic skills.

The Cats of Kilkenny, The Daffodils by William Wordsworth, A Knight by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Tiger by William Blake, The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning, St. George and the Dragon by G.K. Chesterton

Language Arts:

Easy Grammar 3

New Practice Readers, Book D published by McGraw Hill; 

Handwriting Book 3 published by Zaner-Bloser

Spelling Connections published by Zaner-Bloser

Vocabulary from Classical Roots Book 4 published by Educators Publishing Service

Math:

Math 54 by Saxon

Addition, subtraction, fractions, decimals, multiplication and division (including memorization of times tables)

Religion:

Our Life with Jesus, Book 3; Sacred Scripture selections

Great Moral Stories:

Great Moral Stories program builds on Pacific Oaks focus of reading stories aloud and encouraging students to live the school motto as they seek what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives. 

September: Respect & Responsibility

October: Diligence

November: Gratitude

December: Generosity 

January: Courage

February: Loyalty

March: Compassion

April: Forgiveness

May: Hope

At Pacific Oaks Academy, students enjoy a rich variety of activities that nurture the whole child. 

- Music

- Art

- Spanish (coming soon)

- Poetry

- Physical Education

- Regular Hiking 

Natural History

This fourth grade curriculum teaches students important science concepts about what they can see, observe, and understand in the world around them. This curriculum focuses upon basic science concepts, and presents God as the creator, sustainer, and upholder. Students will explore primary units on insects, plants, birds, matter, energy, geology, oceanography, astronomy as they learn how to make an insect zoo, how to recognize the plants they see every day, how to attract birds to their own back yards, how to use field guides, how to interpret cloud formations, and how to identify rocks. They’ll also learn to appreciate the miracle of plant germination, the causes of weather, the God-given provisions for life on earth, the design of the starry heavens, the ecology of the ocean depths, and more.

History:

Fourth Grade History covers Early Modern Times, focusing on global events from the years 1600 to 1850. Students will also study geography alongside historical topics. The primary text used is The Story of the World, Volume 3 by Susan Wise Bauer.

In addition, students will study early American history using Making Thirteen Colonies: A History of US, Book 2 by Joy Hakim.

Literature:

The Horse and His Boy — C. S. Lewis

Call It Courage — Armstrong Sperry

The Jungle Book — Rudyard Kipling

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — C. S. Lewis

The Magician’s Nephew — C. S. Lewis

Prince Caspian — C. S. Lewis

Misty of Chincoteague — Marguerite Henry

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll

Through the Looking-Glass — Lewis Carroll

Viking Adventure — Clyde Robert Bulla

The Enormous Egg — Oliver Butterworth

The Singing Hill — Meindert DeJong

Ginger Pye — Eleanor Estes

The Moffats — Eleanor Estes

The Whipping Boy — Sid Fleischman

My Side of the Mountain — Jean Craighead George

Justin Morgan Had a Horse — Marguerite Henry

The Box of Delights — John Masefield

The Centerburg Tales — Robert McCloskey

Gentle Ben — Walt Morey

Water Buffalo Days — Huynh Quang Nhuong

Men of Iron — Howard Pyle

The Cricket in Times Square — George Selden

Escape from Warsaw — Ian Serraillier

The Silver Sword — Ian Serraillier

The Minstrel in the Tower — Gloria Skurzynski

Buffalo Knife — William O. Steele

Poetry 

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Barbara Fritchie by James Whittier

Language Arts

Hake Grammar & Writing

New Practice Readers, Book F published by McGraw Hill; 

Spelling Connections, Book 4 published by Zaner-Bloser; 

Handwriting Book 4 published by Zaner-Bloser; 

Vocabulary from Classical Roots Book 5 published by Educators Publishing Service

Math:

Math 65 by Saxon

Religion:

Our Life with Jesus, Book 4; Sacred Scripture selections

Great Moral Stories:

Great Moral Stories program builds on Pacific Oaks focus of reading stories aloud and encouraging students to live the school motto as they seek what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives. 

September: Respect & Responsibility

October: Diligence

November: Gratitude

December: Generosity 

January: Courage

February: Loyalty

March: Compassion

April: Forgiveness

May: Hope

At Pacific Oaks Academy, students enjoy a rich variety of activities that nurture the whole child. 

- Music

- Art

- Spanish (coming soon)

- Poetry

- Physical Education

- Regular Hiking 

Natural History

Introduction to Physical Science

Students will study the planets, climate and weather, anatomy and physiology, and the building blocks of chemistry. 

History

From Colonies to Country: A History of US, Book 3 by Joy Hakim, Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Roberts

Topics:

The American Revolution and early development of the Republic 

Literature:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Caddie Woodlawn, The Magician’s Elephant, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Danny the Champion of the World, The Phantom Tollbooth, Young Fredle, Number the Stars, and Tom Sawyer.

Poetry:

For Poetry, students will memorize and recite a new poem each week (or every two weeks for longer poems). This strengthens memory, builds poise, and supports phonetic and syllabic awareness. Poetry includes The Bells and El Dorado by Edgar Allen Poe, Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Pied Beauty and The Windhover by Gerard M. Hopkins, The Listeners by Walter de la Mare, The Donkey by G.K. Chesterton, Casey at the Bat by Ernest L. Thayer

The primary text used is Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization.

Language Arts

Hake Grammar & Writing 5

Spelling Connections, Book 5 published by Zaner-Bloser; 

Handwriting Book 5 published by Zaner-Bloser;

Vocabulary from Classical Roots Book 6 published by Educators Publishing Service

Math

Math 76 by Saxon

Religion:

Credo: I Believe, Book 5; Sacred Scripture selections

Great Moral Stories 

Reading stories aloud and encouraging students to live the school motto as they seek what is true, good, and beautiful in their lives. 

September: Respect & Responsibility

October: Diligence

November: Gratitude

December: Generosity 

January: Courage

February: Loyalty

March: Compassion

April: Forgiveness

May: Hope

At Pacific Oaks Academy, students enjoy a rich variety of activities that nurture the whole child. 

- Music 

- Art

- Spanish (coming soon)

- Poetry

- Physical Education

- Regular Hiking 

- Regular Field Trips