Pre-K | Kindergarten | First Grade | Second Grade | Third Grade | Fourth Grade | Fifth Grade



The central theme of the First Grade curriculum is Essentials for Living: Families Now and Long Ago. The primary focus is the interaction of children in different environments such as their home, school, and community. This is achieved through map skills, poetry, field trips, literature, art, and history.

The focus for Language Arts curriculum includes all the components which make communication possible: listening, speaking, reading, spelling, writing, language use, study skills and organizing information. In the area of Listening, students are given the opportunity to follow directions, respond to poetry, identify the main idea of a story, sequence events, identify cause and effect, recall story details, and anticipate story endings. The focus for Speaking includes: pronunciation, reciting songs, rhymes and finger plays, retelling stories in own words, and participating in classroom discussions. Reading focuses on classifying pictures, identifying rhyming words, decoding words using phonics, distinguishing beginning, ending and medial sounds in words, identifying short and long vowels, identifying consonant blends, identifying punctuation marks, identifying main characters, the main idea, and the implied details in a selection. Spelling emphasis for First Grade includes initial and final consonants, consonant blends, short and long vowels and beginning proofreading skills. Writing includes forming the foundation for the writing process for creative stories, and also punctuating and writing simple complete sentences. Handwriting is taught using Handwriting Without Tears. Students identify nouns, verbs, antonyms, adjectives, contractions and telling and asking sentences. Students in the First Grade alphabetize to the second letter, use a dictionary and state the differences in fiction and nonfiction reading material.

The math curriculum for First Grade is taught using modeling and manipulatives moving toward a use of abstract symbols for numbers and problem solving. Areas of focus include reading and writing numbers to 1000, identifying ordinal positions first through twentieth, naming numbers that come before, after, or between given whole numbers, comparing quantities using greater than, less than, and equal to, and identifying place value to the 1000's place. Students learn to identify even and odd numbers, use and write additon and subtraction fact families, solve addition and subtraction problems with and without regrouping. Other content includes adding and subtracting money to $1.00, making change, telling time to the 1/4 hour, using standard and metric units of measurement, identifying and sorting geometric solid shapes as a foundation for geometry and spatial sense, identifying fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/8) graphing, and identifying and creating patterns to establish algebraic thinking. Students begin data analysis with graphing and reading graphs.

The units of study in science include the following: pebbles, sand and silt, and balance and motion. These are taught using literature, art, technology, music, field trips and hands-on experiences.


Students in the First Grade name types of lines and identify basic geometric shapes, practicing those with two and three-dimensional forms. Students identify and use primary colors and flat tones to develop light and dark. Students practice repeated patterns in a design and experience rubbings of various textures. Through a variety of mediums, art ideas are integrated with the classroom curriculum as often as possible.

All students at The Cathedral School are given the opportunity to define, practice, and apply creativity during enrichment classes. The classes focus on the development and evaluation of ideas. The children think about the steps in the creative process during their lessons. They learn to make judgments, evaluate using their own criteria, and reflect upon decisions. The children are introduced to thinking styles and personality types, learning to use individual strengths.

The Spanish program is designed to: instill an interest in the study of a foreign language, foster an awareness of cultural and linguistic differences among peoples, create a sense of tolerance, understanding and appreciation of these differences, and to offer students opportunities and experiences which allow them to communicate in a range of content areas both in the target language and in the target culture.

Instruction in First Grade introduces students to pronunciation and intonation patterns. Students are introduced to the Spanish language through a variety of activities: games, songs, stories, computer activities, films, etc. Topics are introduced for recognition and familiarization initially, and subsequently reintroduced and expanded for limited skills acquisition. This level of skill getting is designed to encourage students to continue to use their limited language base without strict adherence to accuracy in pronunciation or sentence structure. Topics reflect core classroom instruction.

Students learn to articulate and comprehend: colors, shapes, feelings, salutations, classroom objects, command phrases, pets, family, weather, alphabet, months, days of the week, holidays/traditions, numbers, polite terms of expression, body parts, and simply math (adding).

Student learn how to treat books, name the parts of books and how to find them in a library, and recognize author, title, illustrators, characters and sequence in stories. Literature supports the work in the classroom and listening to literature is emphasized as well as reading.

Music is an integral part of the curriculum at The Cathedral School. Music studies are promoted and encouraged through participation, performance, listening and worship. Students are exposed to music in all areas of the campus daily life.

	Melody: Students demonstrate basic musical patterns.
	Rhythm: Students learn to maintain a steady beat and identify quarter and eighth notes.
	Harmony: Students experience the difference between melody and harmony and melody and sing an ostinato.
	Form and Style: Students learn about basic AB form and phrase length.
	Expressive Qualities: Students identify speaking and singing voices, groups, solos, and simple dynamics.

Performances and student participation are encouraged with presentations of The Cathedral School Christmas Pageant, Grand Friends' Day musical reviews, and special singing opportunities. Students sing in chapel and take their music to outreach opportunities in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes.

The students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade participate in physical education activities and skill acquisition as an intentional component for educating mind, body and spirit. Students learn and demonstrate the following during physical education class at the appropriate level:

	Health related fitness
	Personal and social behavior
	Movement / motor skill
	Active lifestyle
	Academic integration
	Safety

The purpose of the religion curriculum at The Cathedral School is to nurture the spiritual growth of the child by providing:

	Time in the daily schedule for praying together as a class community
	Space in the physical building where materials are kept and classes taught
	Teachings from a trained and experienced Catechist of the Good Shepherd Christian Formation
	A Chaplain to teach and lead the liturgies of the gathered community and to respond to the students and families in need of special nurturing at times of illness, death, tragedy, divorce, etc.

Students are offered an experiential method of encountering God; a community experience in worshipping, studying and supporting one another; and the opportunity to participate in a liturgy which can express the living, spiritual "breathing" of children aged 5 to 12, and the adults who love and support them.

First graders use computers both in the lab and in the classrooms. They are taught general technological awareness skills and introduced to keying special keys, letters and numbers. Students are given opportunities to master the use of paint, draw and graphic programs, and begin basic word processing. They are introduced to the use of information systems/ CD Roms.