Grade Level Curriculum

One of the questions we are asked most often is, "what will my child learn in this grade level or the next one?"  We've created these pages to serve as a resource for parents and families as well as prospective parents and families to help them to better understand what children will be learning in each grade level.  In general, our curricula is developed from both the Common Core State Standards and the Illinois Learning Standards.  Our Mathematics and English Language Arts programs are aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards, our Science program incorporates the NextGen Science Standards, our Fine Arts programs incorporate the National Core Arts Standards and our Social Studies programs are aligned to the Illinois Social Science standards which are based on the C3 Framework, our PE and Wellness programs are build around the Illinois and National Shape America Standards. 

One thing you are not likely to find on any of these pages is a "book list" or a standard set of books that every child will read in each grade.  While common sets of reading materials were common in the past, it's no longer the standard.  Teachers are looking for what works for each student as an individual after considering the interests of the student, their individual reading level, and the level of challenge they are ready for next.  We are able to have sets of classroom libraries that exist in our classrooms and grade levels where students can browse books that might interest them.

Finally, you should also know that curriculum comes alive when it is lived and taught by people who enjoy doing this work.  Our teachers are trained specialists and, while some of this might seem a little dry on the surface, each of our teachers has their own unique way of making the content and curriculum come alive every day for every student.