What is the K5 Curriculum?
Young children crave collaboration with their peers and mastery of their learning. They are naturally curious and find joy in story and play. Module lessons and Labs immerse primary students in content-based literacy. This integrated approach provides students strong active literacy instruction rooted in compelling topics. Science modules affirm students’ positive mathematical identities with problem-solving contexts that integrate their funds of knowledge, culture, language and pedagogy. These courses also support teachers in implementing culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy. Synergy Magnet K-12 teachers are professional, degree holding individuals who enthusiastically provide students with an inviting learning environment. They are passionate about their students’ learning, and understand what it means to “have the heart of the child”. A child’s heart and mind is the key to their intelligence. We believe that by engaging our students in a variety of learning styles we can enable them to have a strong foundation to build upon for their future success as global citizens and world Leaders.
Language Arts
At this point in their lives, children in our K5 program are gaining a rich understanding of the world around them. They are developing their sensory experiences, exploring the relationships between people and nature, and learning about themselves as members of a diverse world.
To help them succeed, our curriculum teaches key Language Arts skills. This includes letter recognition (identifying upper and lower case letters), letter-sound correspondence (associating each letter with its corresponding sound), beginning and ending sounds in words, and CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant words such as cat, hat, mat). Students also learn to recognize high-frequency words or sight words that appear frequently in reading material. These words often do not follow regular phonics patterns and are challenging for young students to decode.
Students learn to write, read, and speak with the help of our engaging, content-rich curriculum. Our teachers use the principles of backward design to ensure that all students gain a deep understanding of substantive content while simultaneously mastering all of the key literacy standards.
Reading and writing activities focus on fostering a love of literature. Students build vocabulary through the daily use of diverse books, word walls, context clues, and read alouds. The skills of narrating, dictation, and editing are also emphasized through this method of instruction.
Our Language Arts curriculum is a full-year course that consists of two hours of content-based literacy instruction per day (module lessons and the Skills Block). Students experience four modules each year, with an optional Life Science module that accompanies Module 2 for a third hour of instruction lasting eight to nine weeks.
The Skills Block is an additional hour of essential structured phonics instruction designed to ensure that all students have the opportunity to crack the alphabet code. It offers a flexible way for teachers to group students into differentiated small groups, provide introductory information about benchmark assessments and how to use independent student rotation activities, and give students the practice they need to develop strong reading fluency.
Math
The math portion of the K5 curriculum is designed to develop a strong foundation for future learning. Students work with the colorful student worktext to learn number sense, addition and subtraction, measurement, time and money, and geometry. They also use manipulatives to help them understand these concepts.
The language arts portions of the K5 curriculum teach children how to read and write. Kindergarten students begin by learning to print letters in both lower and uppercase and the basic parts of a sentence, such as a subject, predicate, object, and verb. They also learn about basic punctuation such as commas, question marks, and exclamation points.
As students progress through the grade levels, their skills are further refined. By the end of kindergarten, children should be able to use simple conjunctions and determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. They should also be able to write short stories, draw and describe three-dimensional shapes, compare sets, and solve problems using numbers and word problems.
In the K-5 science curriculum, students will discover the wonders of the natural world through engaging modules that build on prior knowledge and content skills. They will engage in close reading of complex text, acquire and use key academic and domain vocabulary, discuss and process their understanding through Scientists Meetings, and write arguments and scientific explanations supported by accurate, reasoned evidence.
The IM certified math curriculum provides a powerful learning experience for all learners, as it is built on the core beliefs of focus, coherence, and rigor. Students are empowered to thrive in math as they solve problems, develop conceptual understanding, and apply their understanding to real-world problems that reflect their lived experiences. The math lessons are intentionally designed to spark discussion, perseverance, and enjoyment.
Science
In K5, children explore the world around them and learn basic scientific principles. They observe, measure, predict, and describe the properties of objects—such as color, shape, size, temperature, odor, and flexibility. They also use tools and equipment to perform experiments. For example, they might track the stages a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly or watch how water changes from liquid to solid and back again.
Inspire Science supports teachers in the development of student-centered learning with a consistent teaching model that uses phenomenon-driven, hands-on activities to deliver three-dimensional learning.
Every lesson provides students with a wealth of information to support their curiosity about God’s creation and how it works. Easily understandable text, charts, diagrams and colorful photographs and illustrations help students grasp the fundamental concepts of life, physical and earth sciences.
Integrated science experiments bring to life the scientific content read each week in the Sonlight science textbooks. Experiments are designed to encourage children’s natural curiosity and foster critical thinking as they work through each step of an experiment, from planning to analyzing results.
Students will develop a deep understanding of scientific topics by working hands-on and engaging in classroom discussions. They will participate in regular Scientists’ Meetings to discuss, process and apply their understanding. In addition, students will build reading and writing skills by practicing close-reading of a variety of text types and vocabulary development. They will create interactive science notebooks that they will use each day, modeling the way real scientists use their notebooks. They will write arguments and scientific explanations based on their research findings.
Social Studies
In Social Studies, children learn about themselves and their world. They are introduced to the diversity of cultures throughout the globe. In addition, they learn about their communities by investigating neighborhoods and maps. They are also exposed to different types of families and the importance of caring for themselves.
The Social Studies curriculum teaches young children to identify real world problems and participate in classrooms that are inclusive and democratic. Children learn how to identify and analyze nonverbal social cues that reflect subtle forms of bias and discrimination. They use these experiences to develop critical disciplinary literacies and a deep understanding of the relationships they have with others.
Students gain a better understanding of their place in the United States and its regions through interactive learning activities, including maps, globes and photographs. They are also able to see how climate and geography have shaped the history of the country and impacted the ways of life in each region. They learn about the various groups and people that make up the nation, as well as how each region is unique. They are also able to read and discuss the Preamble to and select sections of the Constitution and begin to explore the role of government in society.
In addition to Social Studies, Homeschool+ includes daily learning opportunities for math, reading readiness and science. In addition, a morning meeting, learning centers and "specials" (art, music, library, Spanish, computer and physical education) round out the day's activities.
Bible Truths
Young children find security in rhythm, ritual and repetition. They want to belong to a community that is safe, beautiful and good. They understand the world first through their bodies and later by using stories to construct meaning.
The BJU Press Bible Truths K5 curriculum provides a solid foundation for students with engaging and interesting lessons that focus on the character traits that reflect God's perfect standards: obedience (David), courage (Esther), responsibility (Joseph), generosity (the Wise Men), humility (Elisha), trustworthiness (Noah), wisdom (Noah), patience, faith, forgiveness and more. Stories focusing on biblical characters help children understand their need for Christ as Savior and teach them how to follow Him in daily living.
This homeschool kit includes the Teacher's Edition and the Student Packet. The Student Packet contains a variety of colorful activity pages designed to reinforce the Bible lessons and review memory verses. The activity pages also include a variety of fun cutouts for use in activities such as completing dot-to-dot pictures and making picture books.
English–As students move from printing to cursive writing, they develop their skills in phonics and word structure generalizations. They also learn about parts of a book and practice reading comprehension, critical-thinking and grammar skills. Reading–Excerpts from classic literature and biblical character stories highlight the importance of following Christ in everyday life. They build on phonics instruction and learn to use resources such as concordances and Bible dictionaries.
Science–An engaging study of animals, the solar system and sound encourages young learners to explore nature's wonders. In addition, the curriculum covers life cycles and a unit on seasons.
Art Projects K5 features coloring and directed-art pages that help develop hand-eye coordination, visual perception and listening skills. Each month a new art project is introduced that correlates with the academic lessons, Scripture teaching, holidays and seasons.
Young children crave collaboration with their peers and mastery of their learning. They are naturally curious and find joy in story and play. Module lessons and Labs immerse primary students in content-based literacy. This integrated approach provides students strong active literacy instruction rooted in compelling topics. Science modules affirm students’ positive mathematical identities with problem-solving contexts…