St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School

First Grade Highlights and Expectations:

• Become more loving Christians by following Jesus' example and knowing first grade prayers.
• Focus on God's love, the life and teachings of Jesus, belonging to the Church, traditional common prayers, and the rosary.
• First graders learn about complete metamorphosis by observing the Painted Lady Caterpillars emerge into Butterflies.  We witness and experience the birth of an animal as we utilize our classroom incubator to learn about the Embryology of a chick. First Grade participates in the activities provided by the Cook County Farm Bureau.  We also adopt a dairy cow through the St. Louis Dairy Council and communicate with our local farmer through email and get monthly updates and pictures of our calf.
• Demonstrate phonological  and phonemic awareness  and  recognize  high frequency words.  
• Use word analysis to comprehend selection  and apply reading strategies  to improve understanding and fluency.
• Identify story elements, use context clues, comprehend the main idea, make predictions, and distinguish between fact and fantasy.
• Read age appropriate materials with fluency and be able to self-appraise  and self-correct while reading.
• Use writing to communicate and apply grammar and mechanics including capitalization, complete sentences, and basic punctuation.
• Focus on number  and order  sense, addition  and subtraction  concepts and strategies with facts to 12, place value and patterns, recognize geometrical shapes in the world around, calculate time to the hour and half-hour, and solve simple word problems.
• Introduced to adding two-digit  numbers with and without regrouping.
• Understand  concepts  of   life science  and  earth  science  through  reading, predicting, organizing, questioning, and explaining.
• Develop an awareness of people around them, recognize important people and special events, understand maps and mapping terms.

Second Grade Highlights and Expectations:

• In all areas of learning, students will demonstrate comprehension, learn decoding strategies, practice reading fluency, and show understanding of vocabulary in context.
• Share positive reading and listening experiences through various genres of literature.
• Write paragraphs that show organization, use proper grammar, and show understanding of the topic at hand.
• Demonstrate knowledge and mastery of various mathematical skills such as place value, addition and subtraction of multi-digit numbers, identifying geometric shapes, learning to tell time on an analog clock, measuring and comparing units of length, learning to identify and understand the value of coins and dollar amounts, as well as charting, comparing and graphing data.
• Demonstrate knowledge of life science, physical science, earth science, and the human body through observing, predicting, questioning, and explaining, while learning through STEAM experiences.
• Demonstrate awareness of self as a part of a greater world by learning about  America’s past and present, our government and its symbols, famous Americans, geography and maps, and America’s communities: urban, suburban, and rural.
• Students are engaged spiritually as they prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion, learn traditional prayers, take an active role in liturgical seasons, and learn about the lives of the Saints.

Third  Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

• Focus on  God, Jesus  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit, the  sacraments, service, liturgical  seasons, lives of the Saints, and the Church as our community. Plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship.
• Read  with expression  and  fluency,  demonstrate  good  oral and written comprehension.
• Use word identification strategies; understand character and setting;  draw conclusions,  make predictions, sequence events of a story.
• Recognize  and  write complete sentences, using  nouns,  verbs,  pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Practice informal and formal writing by using the six traits of writing. Write legibly using cursive.
• Write in multiple  forms (reports, friendly letters, descriptive paragraphs, narrative stories, book reviews).
• Add and subtract multi-digit numbers, identify place values, count and illustrate money amounts, memorize multiplication facts, demonstrate fluency with measuring, and demonstrate time telling skills.
• Explore science in the physical  and natural world. Describe simple life cycles of  plants  and animals;  recognize the relationship  of  living  things  to their environment; describe the features/processes  of the Earth and its resources.
• Read various maps, understand types of communities,  and understand how government works.  

Fourth Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

• Develop an understanding of faith, major Saints, feast days, liturgical seasons, scripture, Ten Commandments, Advent, Lent, the Holy Spirit, and sacraments. Plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship.
• Develop skills necessary to read with fluency, comprehend  and interpret written materials, communicate well, and listen and speak effectively.
• Focus on expository, persuasive and narrative writing with a focus on expository
• Respond to literature and math in written communication.
• Experience authentic literature in the forms of poetry, folktales, nonfiction, fiction, biographies, fantasies and plays. Write multiple sequential paragraphs on a given topic.
• Work collaboratively with others and make presentations to individuals and small groups.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit numbers; estimate and compare numbers; name, draw, and measure lines, segments, rays, and angles; narrie geometric figures; find area, perimeter, and volume; display data; name, use, add, subtract, compare, and convert fractions; demonstrate problem-solving strategies; estimate products; communicate in math.
• Understand the weather, the earth and its changes, rocks and minerals, the solar system, ecosystems, health, the human body, life and earth topics, and physical topics such as matter.
• Know the 50 states/capitals, abbreviations, and be able to locate them on a map.  Demonstrate knowledge of regions of the U.S. and meeting needs through goods and services.

Fifth  Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

• Learn through stories, activities,  Scripture, prayer, discussion  and reflection about their  Catholic  faith. Focus on God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the sacramento, liturgical seasons and morality; plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship
• Development of skills that allow students to read with fluency, comprenend and interpret written materials, communicate well and listen and speak effectively. Understand cause and effect; analyze details; use context clues; analyze theme, plot, and setting.
• Develop traits  of  good writing:  organization, voice, fluency, word choice, conventions, ideas, and presentation. Write multiple sequential paragraphs on a given topic. Make presentations to individuals  and small and large groups. Express ideas clearly when speaking and read fluently with expression.
• Master whole numbers, money and decimals, fractions, ratios, proportions and  percentages, and length and measurement; identify place values; solve multiple step word problems; calculate area, perimeter and volume; interpret data.
• Categorize organisms by interactions in their ecosystems; analyze weather and climatic conditions; describe features and effects of various forces on the earth and its resources; identify the effects of science on society.
• Focus on  Native  Americans,  explorers,  American  Colonies, the  American Revolution, the Westward Movement and the Civil War; master geography/map skills

Sixth Grade Highlights and Expectations:   

• Develop  an  appreciation  of  God's saving  love as  it is  revealed in Sacred Scripture, particularly  the Old Testament. Plan and assist in liturgy and other forms of worship.              .                           
• Comprehend and demonstrate  mastery of grade appropriate literature; demonstrate  skills in  summary and critique over a variety of literature. Develop higher level comprehension and inferential thinking skills. Apply word analysis and vocabulary skills.
• Have a focused understanding  of writing and mechanics; be able to divert from standard responses and develop their own writing styles in essays;demonstrate use of the writing  process including prewriting, writing, revising, peer editing and final draft. Present materials orally to individuals and small and large groups.
• Explore patterns and variables, number theory and integers, fractions, decimals, and percents, ratios and proportions, use data to find statistical measures and create statistical displays, solve algebraic equations and inequalities, use tools of geometry, area, volume, and surface area,  and discover probability. Demonstrate problem-solving abilities in word problems and real life applications. 
• Demonstrate understanding of cells, human biology, animals, plants, bacteria, heredity, health, and environmental  science; identify  and explain effects of changes in  states of  matter; evaluate and apply ecological concepts to environmental problems.  Identify problems, formulate and test hypotheses and evaluate experimental results.
• Master map skills with knowledge of oceans, continents, and location of world countries; develop an understanding  of  Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Greece, Rome, Arabia, America, Medieval Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Seventh Grade Highlights and  Expectations:

• Catholic values are discussed  and integrated  not only in religion but in all learning. Focus on Jesus Christ: His life, His teachings, and His presence in the Church; Church history; morality/development  of self-worth; universality of the Church, the major Church documents, and the seven themes of Catholic Social Teachings.
• Analyze literature and develop skills necessary to comprehend literature at and above grade level; become familiar with literary terms, identifying and using them in their own works; application of word analysis and vocabulary skills; analyzing style and purpose; understand elements of plot; understanding the author's purpose in various literary forms.
• Demonstrate an understanding of sentence and paragraph patterns and their uses and effects; a variety of narrative and expository structures; the criteria for evaluation of  their  written  work. Develop skills in writing content and mechanics that will demonstrate a growth in their understanding of language; respond confidently  in essays to a variety of prompts.
• Complete a research paper. Give one speech per quarter and take part in debates and panel discussions.
• Master ratios and proportional reasoning , and work with percents, understand geometric concepts with 3 dimensional shapes and measurements, analysis of data, probability, and measurement; explore number theory; use formulas, expressions, and solve multi-step equations and inequalities.  Use various strategies to solve word problems and real life applications mathematical concepts.
• Use inquiry skills; learn the characteristics of living things; understand heredity and classification; understand the diversity of cells; understand and explain human body systems.  Research, prepare, and present a project for the science fair.
• Prepare and build an invention that will benefit society.
• Focus on U.S. History from the first civilization of the Americas through the Civil War and Reconstruction.  Understand political, economic, and social systems and events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the U. S. and other nations.

Eighth Grade Highlights and Expectations:

• Intensely prepare for Confirmation and a lifelong relationship with God; integration of Catholic values in all learning.  Become involved in parish community.  Demonstrate leadership in faith, home, and service.
• Demonstrate a firm grasp of literacy skills.  Evaluate and analyze literature; express high level analysis and synthesis in written form.  Develop an understanding of language and the writing process as well as types of writing to prepare for high school.  Understand the research and writing processes.  
• Demonstrate   an  understanding  of a variety  of  sentence  and  paragraph patterns and their uses and effects.  Utilize a variety of narrative and expository structures and evaluate written work. Apply and use graphic organizers to evaluate, interpret, and understand content and the writing process.
• Master algebraic expressions, equations and inequalities in two variables,  understand and use slope intercept form of a linear equation and graph using slope-intercept form, explore and solve problems using the Pythagorean Theorem,  graph and perform transformations in the coordinate system,  mastery of congruence and similarity of figures,  explore exponents, powers and compute with scientific notation;  application  of  percentages; organize, display and interpret data and use measures of central tendency for data analysis; apply arithmetic operations to rational numbers, calculate volume and surface area of cylinders, cones, and composite shapes. 

• Understand chemical building blocks, chemical interactions, motion, forces and energy, electricity and magnetism, sound and light; distinguish between elements, compounds and mixes. Prepare and build an invention that will benefit society; and research, prepare, and present a project for the science fair. Explore physical science using the scientific method and models, tools and measurement.
• Have an in-depth understanding of American history from Reconstruction to the present and current events; understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the U.S., and other nations.