Curriculum Guide
2013 - 2014
Table of Contents:
Grade Level
Page #
MGCS Preschool Program………………………………………………..………..2
Kindergarten Yearly Curriculum………………………………………….…….4
First Grade Yearly Curriculum…………………………………………………..5
Second Grade Yearly Curriculum……………………………………………...6
Third Grade Yearly Curriculum………………………………………………...7
Fourth Grade Yearly Curriculum……………………………………………….9
Fifth Grade Yearly Curriculum………………………………………………..11
Sixth Grade Yearly Curriculum………………………………………………..13
Seventh Grade Yearly Curriculum……………………………………………15
Eighth Grade Yearly Curriculum………………………………………………17
For more information
about MGCS visit:
www.mgcs.org
or call
(910) 392-2067
806 Piner Rd.
Wilmington, NC 28409
MGCS Preschool Program
Our program is designed to help children grow mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually: to
empower them to have an abundant life, “full till it overflows.” Our spiritual emphasis is not
limited to one specific part of the day or to a specific method. We want to help children “love
whatsoever things are true and pure and lovely and are of good report” through the life and
teachings of Jesus in action, word, and song. The curriculum is teacher developed and is taught
through different thematic units. Within each unit lesson children will develop their fine motor
skills, gross motor skills, language skills, social skills and cognitive skills. Music and art will also
be incorporated into each unit. During the preschool morning the children:
1) Have inside and outside free play/center activities
2) Have Circle Time
3) Have Bible Instruction/Praise and Worship
4) Have Snack
5) Have Physical Education Instruction
6) Have Art and Music Instruction
Daily schedules and monthly units of study will change depending upon the teacher.
3-YEAR-OLD PROGRAM
Children should be 3 years of age on or before August 31 and they must be completely potty
trained.
Our priorities for our three year olds are:
*To provide a positive fun first school experience
*To plant seeds of faith within each child
*To develop good social skills in each child
*To develop their fine motor, large motor, and cognitive skills
Our 3-year-old program has 2 options. Both classes follow the same yearly plan.
*Monday, Wednesday, Friday Class
8:30a.m.-12:15p.m.
*Tuesday, Thursday Class
8:30a.m.-12:15p.m.
2
MGCS Preschool Program Cont.
4-YEAR-OLD PROGRAM
Our 4-year-old program also offers two different classes. Both classes follow the same yearly
unit plans. The two class options:
1. 4 year old preschool – Monday, Wednesday, Friday (8:30-12:20)
2. 4 year old transitional Kindergarten – Monday thru Friday (8:30-12:30)
Our priorities for our 4-year-old classes are:
*To provide a positive preschool experience
*To plant seeds of faith within each child
*To develop good social skills within each child
*To prepare children for kindergarten with developmentally appropriate activities
Our 4-year-old preschool program is a program designed to challenge the students and prepare
them for a kindergarten program. The students are challenged in all areas: physically, socially,
emotionally, spiritually, and cognitively.
Our 4-year-old transitional kindergarten program is designed for the older more mature four year
old and younger five year old who is ready to move at a faster pace and work in a more
structured environment. Children entering the 4-year-old transitional kindergarten program
should be turning five between August 31 and March 31.
Both classes prepare children for a kindergarten program. The teachers work closely together in
developing units and lesson plans. The yearly objectives are the same for both classes. It is our
desire to meet the needs of each child. We do not want to frustrate them by placing them into
a program that would not challenge them. Prayerfully consider which program would be most
beneficial for your child before making a final decision.
We have incorporated Sing, Spell, Read, Write curriculum into our 4-year-old program. This
curriculum stresses good language and pre-reading development in our preschool children.
3
Kindergarten Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Open Court Publishers
Sing, Spell, Read, & Write Publishers
Off We Go
Reading: appreciation for learning to read; print awareness; phonemic awareness; letter,
sound, and word list recognition; comprehension skills (oral); response to various literary genres;
take home readers.
Language: word order/ parts of speech; oral expression/sentence construction; communication
skills; basic capitalization and punctuation; word study projects; and creative writing/journals.
Penmanship: correct letter formation; correct letter size and spacing; handwriting booklets
Math
MacMillan McGraw/Hill Publishers
Mathematics
Counting from 0-31/skip counting; recognizing and writing numerals 0-20; understanding of
ordinal numbers and number patterns; adding to sums of 10 (6+4=10); subtracting with
differences from 9 (9-4=5); identifying coins (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters); telling of clock
time on the hour; recognizing shapes and extending geometric patterns; understanding special
relationships graphing and recording data; estimating, measuring, problem solving; recognizing
and naming fractional parts; classifying and sorting objects
Social Studies& Science Open Court Publishers
Thematic/Seasonal units
Manners and social development
National Geographic Young Explorers – National Geographic
Bible
Purposeful Design Publications
God and Me
Biblical scriptures and characters are presented to serve as role models for the children.
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, Library, and P.E.
DEVELOPMENT SKILLS FOR KINDERGARTEN READINESS
*Separates easily from parents
*Removes and puts on outerwear
*Knows basic colors
*Knows first and last name and states age
*Listens and remains attentive for 15 minutes
*Counts to 20
*Familiar with letters and sounds
*Takes care of all toileting needs
*Plays cooperatively
*Says or sings ABC’s in order
*Respects and obeys authority figures
*Follows 3 consecutive directions (4-5years)
* Asks questions when confused
*Scores above the 60th percentile on the
Dial 3 Development Assessments
4
First Grade Yearly Curriculum
Reading/Language Arts/Science SRA McGraw-Hill
Open Court Publishing
Collections for Young Readers
Developing phonics, fluency, and comprehension skills; vowels (short/long); consonant blends;
clusters (ie, oy, ur, ar, ou); ABC order; compound words; contractions; synonyms/antonyms;
sight words; sentence structures; punctuation; capitalization; spelling phonetically, writing
practice including journaling, narrative, friendly letter, and response writings; first grade
science units integrated with reading.
Math
Houghton Mifflin
Mathematics
Rote counting; computation (+ & -); geometry, time/money; place value; measurement;
fractions; skip counting; graphing; calendar activities
Social Studies
McGraw Hill
My World
Concepts & Content: American flag; symbols; freedoms; great people of America; Pilgrims and
Indians; presidents; national holidays; landforms; early U.S. history, customs and traditions
around the world.
Skills: Map skills, Pledge of Allegiance
Social Studies Weekly
Consumable weekly publication which follows N.C. standard course of studies
Bible
Association of Christian Schools International
ACSI Bible
Character development; establish students in the Word of God so they begin to find answers for
themselves; locating Scriptures in the Bible; memorizing Bible verses. Specific topics include:
Creation, The Flood, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, The Life of Jesus, Moses
Science
National Geographic Magazine
Periodicals, which follow the N.C. standard course of studies, includes earth and environment,
weather, health and hygiene, forces and matter, plants, animals, sun and planets, living things
Enrichment classes in computer, music, library, art and PE
5
Second Grade Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Open Court Publishing
Language Arts Today
Open Court Reading
Vocabulary, phonic sounds, comprehension, study skills, communication skills, language
mechanics and use, creative writing, reference skills, spelling, handwriting, creative and
narrative writing, parts of speech, friendly-letter writing, AR Reading
Math
MacMillan McGraw-Hill
Addition and subtraction with basic facts, regrouping and renaming, place value, fractions,
geometry, graphs, money, time, measurement, problem solving.
Science
Christian Schools International
Science
God as our Creator through life and physical science – animals, states of matter, discovering how
to stay healthy and safe, bones and muscles.
Social Studies and History
McGraw Hill
People Together – Adventures in Time & Place
Steck – Vaughn
Maps, Globes, Graphs
God’s hand throughout time – knowledge of some local, state, and national government, sense of
community, and helpers, laws and rules, map and globe skills, time lines, major historical
events, holidays
Bible
ACSI
God and My Actions
Learning about different Bible characters; studying a different life scenario each week; focus on
character traits demonstrated throughout the Bible; learning of a missions’ family in Central
America
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, PE, Library and Spanish
6
Third Grade Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Shurley English
English Made Easy
Grammar: Types of sentences, subjects, predicates, nouns, verbs (action and be), adjectives,
pronouns, and adverbs
Writing: Topic sentences, detail sentences, quotation marks, using references, proofreading,
etc.
Math
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
Math Connects
Place value; addition with trading; subtraction with trading
Multiplication tables through 12 and by double and triple digits (104 x 3 )
Division through 9’s, remainders, introduce long division
Fractions – visual, comparing like denominators, ordering small to large
Solving story problems with add, subtract, multiply, divide
Charts & Graphs; Money
Geometry (plane and space figures, area, perimeter, volume)
Measurements (metric) and time
Spelling
SRA
Words with long & short vowel sounds and blends
Words ending with final double consonant, -ed, and –ing
Double consonants, contractions, easily misspelled words, plurals, homophones, days of the
week, time words, holidays, compound words, months
Reading
McGraw Hill SRA
Imagine It!
Units: Friendship, Animals and their Habitats, Money, Earth, Moon and Sun, Communitities,
Storytelling.
Reading skills include the following: recalling facts and details, context clues, drawing
inferences, writing stories, learning genres of stories, vocabulary words for each story
7
Third Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Language Arts
Shurley English
English Made Easy
Grammar: Types of sentences, subjects, predicates, nouns, verbs (action and be), adjectives,
pronouns, and adverbs
Writing: Topic sentences, detail sentences, quotation marks, using references, proofreading,
etc.
Math
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
Math Connects
Place value; addition with trading; subtraction with trading
Multiplication tables through 12 and by double and triple digits (104 x 3 )
Division through 9’s, remainders, introduce long division
Fractions – visual, comparing like denominators, ordering small to large
Solving story problems with add, subtract, multiply, divide
Charts & Graphs; Money
Geometry (plane and space figures, area, perimeter, volume)
Measurements (metric) and time
Spelling
SRA
Words with long & short vowel sounds and blends
Words ending with final double consonant, -ed, and –ing
Double consonants, contractions, easily misspelled words, plurals, homophones, days of the
week, time words, holidays, compound words, months
Reading
McGraw Hill SRA
Imagine It!
Units: Friendship, Animals and their Habitats, Money, Earth, Moon and Sun, Communitities,
Storytelling.
Reading skills include the following: recalling facts and details, context clues, drawing
inferences, writing stories, learning genres of stories, vocabulary words for each story
8
Fourth Grade Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Shurley English
English Made Easy
Grammar: Types of sentences, subjects, predicates, nouns, verbs (action and be), adjectives,
pronouns, and adverbs
Writing: Topic sentences, detail sentences, quotation marks, using references, proofreading,
etc.
Math
MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
Math Connects
Place value; addition with trading; subtraction with trading
Multiplication tables through 12 and by double and triple digits (104 x 3 )
Division through 9’s, remainders, introduce long division
Fractions – visual, comparing like denominators, ordering small to large
Solving story problems with add, subtract, multiply, divide
Charts & Graphs; Money
Geometry (plane and space figures, area, perimeter, volume)
Measurements (metric) and time
Spelling
SRA
Words with long & short vowel sounds and blends
Words ending with final double consonant, -ed, and –ing
Double consonants, contractions, easily misspelled words, plurals, homophones, days of the
week, time words, holidays, compound words, months
Reading
McGraw Hill SRA
Imagine It!
Units: Friendship, Animals and their Habitats, Money, Earth, Moon and Sun, Communitities,
Storytelling.
Reading skills include the following: recalling facts and details, context clues, drawing
inferences, writing stories, learning genres of stories, vocabulary words for each story
9
Fourth Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Science
Purposeful Design
Science
The Scientific Method, light, eyes, sound, ears, sign language, body systems, living things,
minerals, rocks, and earth structure, motion and force, matter, space. Science Fair Bi-Annually
Social Studies
History & Geography
Pearson Publishing Group
Geography-Map skills
World Mountains, Europe in the Middle Ages, Spread of Islam, African Kingdoms, Dynasties of
China.
The American Revolution, U.S. Constitution, Early Presidents, American Reformers
Bible
Purpose Design
Bible Fourth Grade
Fruit of the Spirit
Bible Doctrines including God & His Word
Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Salvation, Heaven and Hell, and Angels
Enrichment classes in computer, music, library, art, P.E., and Rosetta Stone
10
Fifth Grade Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Shurley English
English
Grammar/Usage/Conventions: Kinds of sentences, parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization
Reference Skills: Using dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, encyclopedia, websites, other resources
Writing: 6 + 1 Traits of Good Writing
Poetry, paragraphs, stories, essays, book reports, letters, personal writing journals, writing to
persuade, inform, express an opinion, compare and contrast
Math
MacMillian McGraw Hill
Math Connects
Place value to billions; compare, order and round whole numbers and decimals; addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers and decimals; problem solving; graphs;
fractions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division); geometry (basic shapes, measuring
angles), variables and expressions
Reading
SRA/McGraw-Hill
Imagine It!
Vocabulary, word solving strategies, comprehension skills, fluency
Literature: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Spelling
SRA
Spelling
Spelling/Vocabulary: spelling rules, plurals, prefixes, suffixes, roots, topical words, vocabulary
related to the entire fifth grade curriculum.
Science
Purposeful Design Publications (ACSI)
Changes
Natural cycles, cells and heredity, body systems, diseases, matter, geology, natural resources,
weather/climate, sun/earth/moon, the scientific method, measurement (metric and customary,
perimeter, area, volume)
11
Fifth Grade Yearly Curriculum
Bible
ACSI
Grade 5 Christ and My Choices
Old Testament character study with the goal of enabling students to make life changing decision
for themselves.
Social Studies
Pearson Learning Group
History and Geography (Core Knowledge)
United States Geography, Map Skills, Renaissance, Reformation, Golden Age to Glorious Revolution
in England, Age of Exploration, Civil War, Westward Expansion, Native Americans.
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, PE, Library, and Rosetta Stone
12
Sixth Grade Yearly Curriculum
Language Arts
Glencoe
Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition
Students will be introduced to the eight parts of speech. They will review skills in grammar and
punctuation as well as creative writing, book reports, short stories, letter writing, comparative
papers, and short stories.
Spelling
Christian Schools International
Spelling
Students will review commonly misspelled words and build vocabulary.
Math
Prentice Hall
Mathematics Course 1
Students study addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, decimals,
fractions and integers. Students solve basic one-step equations using whole numbers, decimals,
and fractions. Ratios, proportions, percents, geometry, statistics, equations, and inequalities are
also covered. In all concept areas, this is an emphasis on problem solving.
Reading
Open Court Publishing Company
Open Court Reading
Students will also read selected stories from their text Reading for Christian Schools as well as
Open Court and. read the novel, The Door in the Wall. Study will be directed toward expansion
of vocabulary, character analysis, and the plot elements of a story.
Science
Prentice Hall
Science Explorer
Students will investigate Ecology, Astronomy, Magnetism, and Electricity through lecture,
experiments, hand-on activities, and real field experiences in and outside the classroom setting.
13
Sixth Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
History
Scott Foresman
The World
In this course students will examine and evaluate the cultures of the Ancient World. This study
will begin with early civilizations and conclude just before the Renaissance. The students will
learn the geography of early Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as the customs of the
people who lived there. During this amazing period of history, man made many advances that
have had great impact on our world today, however, most of the ancient civilizations are no
longer powerful. As the students study the rise and fall of these great people and nations, they
will be reminded that the only kingdom of God lasts forever. As the scripture says in
Deuteronomy 4:35, “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God;
besides him there is no other.” The students will be challenged, encouraged and evaluated in
the skills of maps, drawing, critical thinking, cause and effect assessment and Biblical
Integration or application. Students will learn personal responsibility through the completion of
short-term project assignments to include research, interpretation of materials, and clear
presentation of ideas in written, illustrated and oral forms. Students will develop social skills
through group assignments and class discussion opportunities and practice organization skills by
taking notes, making charts and completing outlines.
Bible
Positive Action for Christ
Wise Up
Students will investigate their personal relationship to the Lord, making application to their life.
Students will study the power of God in their lives through His word, the person of His Son, and
the power of the Holy Spirit. They will study relating Scriptures throughout the Old and New
Testament.
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, P.E., and Spanish
14
Seventh Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Language Arts
Glencoe
Writer’s Choice
Students review punctuation, grammar, and the eight parts of speech with a concentration on
conjunctions, adverbs, and prepositions. They study various sentence structures and practice
these in writing narratives, short stories, creative writing, biographical sketches, and essays.
Vocabulary
Sadlier
Vocabulary Workshop
Students learn new vocabulary in context, in analogies, with synonyms and homonyms and in
writing using the new vocabulary.
Math
Prentice Hall
Pre-Algebra
The students learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of positive and negative
integers. They learn to translate word phrases into algebraic expressions and solve for an
unknown variable using positive and negative whole numbers and decimals. Students also learn
about number properties and number theory including such concepts as prime and composite
numbers, prime factorization, factors, multiples, exponent, and square roots. Additionally,
students learn ratio, proportion, percents, and graphing involving slope and y-intercept as well as
some geometry, working with area and volume formulas.
Prentice Hall
Mathematics Course 2
Students work with decimals, integers, and especially fractions. They are introduced to simple
equations and inequalities. Students calculate with percents, work with geometric figures, and
begin graphing.
Reading
Mosdos Literature Jade
Of People
Explorations in Literature
Students will study a variety of poems, short stories, essays, and plays from the above three
reading texts. They will also read the two novels The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Hiding Place.
Concentration is on vocabulary, comprehension, note taking, and literary terms and devices.
15
Seventh Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Science
Prentice Hall
Science Explorer
Students will study the atmosphere, weather factors, patterns, and climate
They will explore the theories of plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes
Students will discover sources of water on our planet, how they relate to each other, and how
water is conserved and cleaned for our use.
Social Studies
Glencoe
World History Journey Across Time
Students will develop an understanding of the history, culture, and geographic settings of the
peoples of Western Europe from the Middle Ages through World War II. Students will study
current events that parallel their historic settings throughout the year.
Bible
Purposeful Design
Daring Deliverers and The Life of Christ
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, P.E., and Rosetta Stone
16
Eighth Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Language Arts
Glencoe
Writer’s Choice
Students review the eight parts of speech, learn correct grammar, and improve punctuation skills.
They have a concentration on verbal and complex sentences in their writing. Papers include
comparative and creative writing, persuasive papers, narratives, and literary criticism essays.
Vocabulary
Sadler-Oxford
Vocabulary Workshop
Students review the most common misspelled words along with a generated list of vocabulary
words from reading.
Reading
Excursions in Literature
Of Places Literature
Mosdos Literature Gold
Students will read various stories, plays and poems from the three reading textbooks listed above.
They will also read the following novels: The Witch of Blackbird Pond, A Christmas Carol, Johnny
Tremain, Across Five Aprils and North to Freedom. The reading portion of 8th grade language arts
is used to help students improve reading comprehension, note-taking skills, and understand plot,
characterization, themes and literary devices.
Pre-Algebra
Prentice Hall
Students learn addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of positive and negative integers.
They learn to translate word phrases into algebraic expressions and solve for an unknown variable
using positive and negative whole numbers and decimals
Students also learn about number properties and number theory, including such concepts as prime
and composite numbers, prime factorization, factors, multiples, exponent, and square roots.
Additionally, students learn ratio, proportion, percents, and graphing involving slope and
y-intercept, as well as some geometry, working with area and volume formulas and monomials and
polynomials.
Algebra I
Prentice Hall Mathematics
Students will perform operations with real numbers, simplify algebraic expressions, solve
equations and inequalities in one variable, factor polynomials, simplify rational expressions, graph
linear equations and inequalities, graph systems of equations and inequalities, simplify radicals,
and solve and graph quadratic equations and functions.
17
Eighth Grade Yearly Curriculum Cont.
Bible
Purposeful Design Publication
Explore the Bible – The life of Christ
Students study an overview of the New Testament, taking a glimpse into Jesus’ earthly ministry
with a focus on Jesus miracles. The study points the student to Jesus’ power, authority, life,
death and relationship with God the Father.
Science
Prentice-Hall
Cells and Heredity
Human Biology and Health
The first part of the year is devoted to learning foundational concepts in life science. Key
concepts include musculoskeletal system, circulatory system, reproductive system, digestive
system, nervous system, cells and their organelles, cell division (mitosis and meiosis),
chromosomes, DNA, RNA, traits, Mendel, Punnett Squares, and probability.
Prentice-Hall
Motion, Forces, and Energy
Chemical Building Blocks
The second half of the year focuses on human biology and chemistry. Key concepts include the
motion, force, friction, Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion, Simple Machines, calculating speed,
acceleration, work, power and efficiency, the periodic table of elements, atoms, SI unit
conversions, balancing chemical equations, phases of matter and phase changes, gas laws, and
temperature conversions.
Social Studies
Prentice Hall
The American Nation
Students will develop a working knowledge of the U.S. from its conception through
Reconstruction. N.C. History will be taught in a parallel manner connecting corresponding historic
events. Current Events Studies will focus on state and national developments.
Enrichment classes in Computer, Music, Art, PE, and Rosetta Stone
18