Elementary
1st Grade
Our First grade curriculum includes: math, reading, writer’s workshop, science, religion, and fun afternoon centers that help students express themselves. Students will learn how to read and write and become a pro at their math facts from 1 – 20. They will learn how to read for meaning, write like true authors and be efficient and quick at their math facts. Above all our curriculum, our faith always comes first. We want our students to learn how to love Jesus and be kind overall. One of the 1st grade traditions includes the Christmas pageant, where the students act out and retell the story of Jesus’ birth. First graders will also learn how to be active participants of our school community by creating real-life towns and with our field trip that travels all around Danville. Most importantly, first graders learn how to make good choices and become active members of our faith community.
2nd Grade
Our Second grade instruction at St. Isidore School focuses upon small group instruction following Guided Reading and Math Workshop stations. Using small group instruction supports the needs of all learners and focuses upon specific standards within one small group giving students individual attention. Our second graders learn different writing styles in a whole group setting, by using Lucy Calkin’s Writer’s Workshop model which focuses on the fluidity of the writing cycle.
Second grade is an extra special year as students receive the two sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. We prepare for these sacraments throughout the year during our religion class. Our students are over the moon with excitement during this time and continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus and their faith.
3rd Grade
Our Third grade philosophy at St. Isidore School is to provide an environment that fosters life-long learners; spiritually, socially and academically. Teachers encourage students to build their reading and writing stamina using the Lucy Calkins Workshop Method. Students learn cursive using the Handwriting Without Tears program. The 3rd grade math program engages and teaches math concepts in the real world using a combination of small group and teacher lead instruction. Problem solving and multiplication mastery are 2 areas of concentration. Religion is in everything we do in third grade. Focus is on teaching Gospel Values, Saints, church history, tradition and practices and learn ways to incorporate these into students’ daily lives. Each child is assigned a prayer buddy to read with and reflect about stories in our Catholic Children’s Bible. A special tradition for third graders is to reenact the Living Stations of the Cross. In social studies students learn about communities and local history. The students participate in a simulation unit on the 1880’s classroom, which prepares them for their one room schoolhouse field trip.
4th Grade
Our 4th Grade curriculum at St. Isidore School builds upon the academic foundation of the primary grades. We begin to prepare students for the transition of a teacher dependent learning environment to an independent, self-sufficient classroom experience. In our curriculum, students dive into the rich history of our great state of California, continue to build upon past strategies in our Lucy Calkins’ reading and writing program, and master their arithmetic and geometry skills in math. Our fourth graders will experience our California history in a variety of ways including our Gold Rush field trip and local California Mission visit. Highlights of the year include our California Cook Off filled with delicious treats and our production of the play Geology Rocks!
5th Grade
Our St. Isidore School fifth grade students learn to collaborate respectfully, listen attentively, and grow spiritually. The big focus in fifth grade is on becoming an independent learner who is capable of working both on their own and collaboratively. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves, reaching out to teachers through email, keep themselves organized, and manage their time effectively. As it is the last year of elementary school, it is our goal to transition students from the climate of teacher-dependent learning seen in elementary school to the independent and self-sufficient atmosphere of the middle school.
5th grade curriculum focuses on students strengthening their reading and writing skills by continuing the next level of the Lucy Calkins’ reading and writing programs. Social studies is a very interactive subject where students learn through group projects, role playing, simulations, and song. Some of the social studies topics covered in this year include: the first explorers, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the fifty states and capitals. The Eureka program is used in math, where students focus on big concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of large whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers as well as learning about multiplying powers of ten, word problems, geometry, and more.
Fifth grade students enjoy the many roles they possess at our school. As altar servers, students are able to participate in class and school liturgies. As Reading Buddies, students are able to engage with our TK and Kindergartners in both a social and academic way. Students also participate in a variety of activities including our Presidents play, Service Hours, Colonial Day, and our academic field trip to the Balclutha.