Course of Study 2018-2019
Kindergarten/ Form 1
Here at Covenant Christian School, our kindergarteners begin their day by gathering in the chapel room with all grades. The day starts with hymn study, schoolwide prayer, and the pledge, before going to the relaxed, yet purposeful, atmosphere of our welcoming and homey classroom. Surrounded by vibrant maps, a rocking chair, small “old school” wooden desks and an inviting bookcase, the students will find themselves in a comfortable room, that will provide them with many new and fun experiences!
After our morning greeting, the student chosen to be the week’s “assistant” leads the discussion of the calendar, days of the week and weather. On Mondays and Fridays, we enjoy sharing time, when the children are encouraged to either show the class something special of theirs or share some news that is important to them. This is a great way to begin and end our school week and a time that the students enjoy very much!
Following our morning routine, a Bible lesson is shared, and prayers and memory verses are recited and practiced. We spend time working our way through children’s storybook Bibles and equivalent resources. Sometimes we even act out the stories we have read, such as Daniel and the Lion’s Den!
After we complete our Bible lesson, we enjoy a brief morning stretch, comprised of simple, silly moves, to get our brain juices flowing!
Math is next on our schedule. We utilize the Singapore Math curriculum, at Covenant. Our math lessons are varied and the goal is to understand number order, shapes, addition, subtraction, measurements, fractions, counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.
Once we have completed our math lessons, we move to Math centers. It is during this time math games, and manipulatives are utilized to reinforce the formal lessons that have been taught. Wednesdays are often the day we play math bingo to expand on students recognition, reinforcement, and identification of numbers.
Recess is next on our agenda! 30-minute recess is followed by a 15 minute snack time.
History or Science follows our snack time. These lessons are based on the week’s literature selection. Our literature series provides opportunities to study world cultures, mapping skills, and history. Science experiments and exploration come from varied topics. For example, this past year we studied the life of honeybees, biomes, weather and even the phases of the moon, as a result of references made in our literature selections.
Phonics, Grammar, and Handwriting comprise our late morning lessons. Utilizing Wilson Phonics and Fundations, students will not only write their ABC’s but learn each individual sound, blend, vowels, “trick words” and begin to read and write! Grammar in kindergarten is based on oral narration and interactive lessons.
Next on our daily schedule is Literature. Utilizing the Five and a Row curriculum, living books and classics are selected and thoroughly, explored by being read five days in a row. Each day a particular subject is emphasized. Perhaps one day we will delve into the illustrators choice and use of certain colors, or learn about simile. Social studies are examined, and deductive reasoning and narration skills are developed. There is so much to enjoy in these selections and the students thoroughly remain engaged and excited about our stories.
Lunch time follows all academic studies for the day. A second recess follows our daily outdoor lunch (weather permitting).
Rest time is important for our active, full-day kindergarten students. Thirty minutes is spent on mats with blankets and pillows. The students are encouraged to select up to four books to enjoy during this quiet time. Soothing music plays in the background to provide the children with a peaceful setting.
Our final recess of the day follows our rest time.
Artist study, Composer study, Nature study, Tea Time, read aloud, as well as Garden time, Art and Music, comprise our special activities and studies during Delightful Hour afternoons, for our full-day kindergarten students.
For example, one day we may study about Beatrix Potter or Leonardo da Vinci, and the next, we may find ourselves listening to the works of Tchaikovsky, while learning table manners and enjoying “tea” and treats.
The Form 1/Kindergarten class at Covenant Christian School is rich in content and full of fun, age-appropriate opportunities for hands-on, creative learning, providing students with a strong foundation built upon Biblical principles and the Charlotte Mason methodology.
Bible: Ergermeier’s Bible Story Book
Bible verse memory/ recitation
Math: Singapore Math: Essential Math K
Language Arts:
Phonics Wilson Fundations K
Handwriting Italic A
Literature Five In A Row: literature-based unit studies
Grammar First Grammar Lessons, by Jesse Wise
Writing Transcribed narrations: Home Narration Journal
Golden Lines copybook
History: Intro to the World: Cultures/ Sonlight
Science: Nature Study: Christian Liberty Nature Reader
Natural History: The Burgess Bird Book for Children
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, By Bernard J. Nebel
Music: Music and Movement
Composer study: Classical Magic, Themes Vol. 1
Lessons and Carols program
Fine Arts Festival end-of-year program
Art:
Picture study
Artist study
Formal Art
Habit Training: Laying Down the Rails for Children, Lanaya Gore
Form 2 Course of Study: Grades 1 and 2
Bible: The Child’s Story Bible, New Testament stories By Catherine Vos
Bible verse memory/ recitation
Math: Singapore Math: Primary Math 1 or 2
Language Arts: 1st-grade 2nd grade
Phonics: Wilson Fundations 1 Wilson Level 2
Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears
Literature: Classic selections from Honey for a Child’s Heart By Gladys Hunt
Grammar: First Language Lessons, by Jessie Wise
Writing: Transcribed narrations: home narration journals
History: Adventures in U.S. History
My Father’s World
Science: Nature Study
Natural History: The Burgess Animal Book for Children, by Thornton Burgess
My Father’s World Science 2
Music: Music and movement
Composer Study
Vocal Music
Lessons and Carols program
Fine Arts Festival end-of-year program
Art: Picture study
Artist study
Formal Art
Habit Training: Laying Down the Rails for Children, Lanaya Gore
Form 3 – Grades 3 and 4
Bible: The David C. Cook Journey Through the Bible By Gilbert Beers
Bible verse memory/ recitation
Celebrating Biblical Feasts, Martha Zimmerman
Math: Singapore Math: Primary Math 3 or 4
Language Arts:
Handwriting: Italic D or E
Literature: Classic selections from Honey for A Child’s Heart, By Gladys Hunt
Grammar: Grammar Island, by Michael Clay Thompson
Writing: Sentence Island, by Michael Clay Thompson
Studied dictation: excerpts from literature
Golden Lines copybooks
Poetics: The Music of the Hemispheres, by Michael C.Thompson
Vocabulary: Caesar’s English 1, Part 1 MCT
History: Creation to the Greeks
My Father’s World
Streams of Civilization, Volume 1
Ancient World, Usborne
Science: Science in the Beginning, By Jay Wile
Music: Vocal Music
Composer Study: Intro to Vivaldi, Bach and Handel
Lessons and Carols program
Fine Arts Festival end-of-year program
Art: God and the History of Art 1
Picture Study
Artist Study
Formal Art
Habit Training: Laying Down the Rails for Children, Lanaya Gore
Form 1V – Grades 5 and 6
Bible: How the Bible Came to Us, by Meryl Doney
Bible verse memory/ recitation
Trial and Triumph: Stories From Church History, By Richard Hannula
Math: Singapore Math: Primary 5 or 6
Language Arts:
Handwriting: Italic F
Literature: Dangerous Journey, The Door in the Wall,
The Bronze Bow, Twice Freed
Grammar: Grammar Town by Michael C. Thompson
Writing: Paragraph Town by Michael C. Thompson
Studied dictation: excerpts from literature
Golden Lines Copybook
Poetics: Building Poems by Michael C. Thompson
Vocabulary: Caesar’s English I, Part 2 by Michael C. Thompson
History: Rome to the Reformation
My Father’s World
The Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer
Augustus Caesar’s World, by Genevieve Foster
Science: 1st Semester: The Human Body
2nd Semester: Exploring Creation With Astronomy
Apologia
Music: Vocal Music
Composer study: Into to Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven
Lessons and Carols program
Fine Arts Festival end-of-year program
Art: Picture Study: art of the Middle Ages and the
Reformation; Gothic and Romanesque art
Artist Study: artists of the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance: Donatello, Giotto, Ghiberti, Raphael,
Van Eyck. Titian, Durer
Formal Art
Habit Training: Laying Down the Rails for Children, Lanaya
Subject Overview:
| ALGEBRA 1: This course introduces students to fundamental algebraic concepts in preparation for Intermediate Algebra. Topics include operations with real numbers, variables, polynomials, factoring, linear equations and inequalities, and graphing. |
| ALGEBRA 2: Topics for instruction include rules for exponents, polynomials, rational expressions, rational equations, quadratic equations and functions, comics, and radicals. Methods for solving real-world applications are integrated throughout the course content. |
| PRE-ALGEBRA: This is a one-year course offered to those students who have demonstrated a proficiency in mathematics in sixth/seventh grade and have exhibited an ability to use abstract thinking in solving algebraic problems. The material covered in the accelerated course is presented at a faster pace with the expectation that the students have retained and can perform the above material with greater proficiency and on their own. The accelerated course will include such topics as solving equations and inequalities, using the order of operations principles, applying rational numbers and integers to word problems, relating rates, proportions, and percents when problem-solving, developing spatial thinking skills and applying them to geometric figures, and applying algebra to right triangles. |
| GEOMETRY: This is a one-year course offered to those students who have demonstrated a proficiency in mathematics in sixth/seventh grade and have exhibited an ability to use abstract thinking in solving algebraic problems. The material covered in the accelerated course is presented at a faster pace with the expectation that the students have retained and can perform the above material with greater proficiency and on their own. The accelerated course will include such topics as solving equations and inequalities, using the order of operations principles, applying rational numbers and integers to word problems, relating rates, proportions, and percents when problem-solving, developing spatial thinking skills and applying them to geometric figures, and applying algebra to right triangles. |
| PHYSICAL SCIENCE (7th/8th): This course will give students a deeper understanding of concepts in physical science. Topics include motion and forces, gravity and Newton’s Laws, energy transformation, machines, electricity, magnetism, radioactivity, energy sources, waves, sound, and light. Students will discover how science affects every aspect of their lives. Throughout the year, a series of labs will be conducted to give students hands-on experience investigating laws of Physics. |
| BIOLOGY (9th/10th): This science course focuses combining field work, text work, and lab work to take a closer look at the familiar plants around you and some that are not so familiar. We will begin early to use the microscope and do dissections as you study the Creator’s provision for living things. We will also study anatomy (structure) and physiology (function) of the human body. Finally, we will look deeper into the micros-cosmos as we learn some of the man’s latest discoveries about the most complicated structure in all of creation: the living cell. |
Middle and High School Spanish Classes
This year we will be utilizing storytelling to immerse in the Spanish language and culture. We will be reading Spanish novelas (novels) that are written in simple form using repetitive words throughout the entire book. These novelas will allow us to also learn about Spanish speaking countries and their culture. Students will also participate in The Pulsera Project to learn about the life and history in Central America while raising funds that support education in destitute areas and cultivate student leadership and awareness of global social issues. The proficiency level goal is novice to mid.
Intro to Spanish
This year we will be utilizing the Spanish for You curriculum. We will learn high frequency vocabulary that will help develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language. The class will learn how to conjugate verbs for the appropriate subject pronoun. Students will learn to write sentences, write and answer questions, and use all of the vocabulary interactively.
Form V Curriculum: Grades 7 and 8
History: The History of US: Books 1-5
Math: Pre- Algebra to Algebra 2
Language Arts: IEW: 7th grade
Lost Tools of Writing I: 8th grade
A World of Poetry
Literature: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Sign of the Beaver
My Brother Sam is Dead
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Runaway to Freedom
Foreign Language: Spanish 1
Habit training / Bible: Why Pray?
Evidence of Jesus
The Bible Jesus Read
Forms 6- High School Grades 9-10
Bible: (Incorporated into Omnibus II)
The Gospel of John
Ephesians
Math: Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding, Jacobs OR Intermediate Algebra, Margaret Lial (Algebra 2)
Language Arts:
Literature: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Rings,
The Nine Tailors, The Dragon and the Raven,
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood,
The Two Towers, Henry V, King Richard III,
The Return of the King
Grammar: Easy Grammar by Wanda Phillips
Composition: Lost Tools of Writing, Level 1 Circe Institute
Poetry: The poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson
History: Omnibus II: Veritas Press
“All-encompassing Bible, Literature and HIstory”
Medieval Age. from the times of the early church
fathers to the Protestant Reformation
History reading includes:
The Church History Eusebius,
Confessions of St. Augustine,
On the Incarnation, The Creeds (Apostles, Nicene,
& Chalcedonian), The Ecclesiastical History of the
English People, The Rule of St. Benedict, Beowulf,
The Song of Roland, The HIstory of the Kings of
Britain, Macbeth, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
Divine Comedy: The Inferno, The Canterbury Tales,
The Bondage of the Will
Science: Glencoe Chemistry: Matter and Change,
McGraw Hill Higher Education
OR
Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable
Future, by Richard T. Wright
Music: Vocal Music
Composer Study
Lessons and Carols Program
Fine Arts Festival end-of-year program
Foreign Language: Spanish 2 or 3
Habit Formation: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against
Low Expectations, Alex and Brett Harris
The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges
*NOTE: Upper grades (11th and 12th) will participate in dual-enrollment courses at Thomas Nelson Community College for instruction in electives beyond those offered at Covenant.
Form 7-High School Grades 11-12
Bible: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against
Habit Training: Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris
The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges
Math: Intermediate Algebra, Margaret Lial
OR
Higher level math, dual enrollment TNCC
Humanities: Literature, Composition, Christian Worldview and Apologetics
Composition: Lost Tools of Writing, Level 2 Circe Institute
Literature:
A C.S. Lewis Symposium, to include:
Mere Christianity
Screwtape Letters
Out of the Silent Planet
Worldview: How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig, By Susan Schaeffer McCauley
The Deadliest Monster, Jeff Baldwin
Electives Available: Art
Choral music or private voice lessons
Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future by Richard T. Wright
Composer study, Drama, Nature Study and
Gardening, Handcrafts and Life Skills