CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
The program and curriculum for elementary education at GCS strives to provide each student with the opportunity to grow academically, spiritually, and socially, and physically. Curriculum is Christ-centered, integrating faith and values into all subjects.
Academics
- Use of multiple quality curriculum sources
- Review of curriculum for continuous improvement
- Performance and art integration at all grades
- Field trips designed with education and hands-on learning in mind
- Mid-quarter progress reports
- Scheduled parent-teacher conferences
- Weekly communication between teachers, school, and parents
- Opportunities to participate in public speaking, academic events, and special performances
Spiritual
- Weekly Chapel services with each grade level having the opportunity to lead
- Classroom prayer and sharing of prayer requests
- Weekly Scripture memory
- Daily Bible class as a core subject
- Integrated curriculum that incorporates Biblical principles and truths into other academic subjects
- Classroom discipline policies to promote student development of self-control, character, orderliness, and efficiency
Social
- Weekly assigned duties in classrooms to encourage responsibility, leadership, and discipline
- Group or partner work to develop collaboration, accountability, and teamwork
- Supervised lunch where students have time to interact more informally
- Welcome involvement and volunteerism of parents and grandparents
- Family. Faith. Fridays. Where whole families come together to engage in games, recitations, and activities that demonstrate students’ academic and spiritual growth and deepen families’ spiritual connections
English Language Arts
BJU Press’s Elementary English product line connects skills in writing, mechanics, listening, speaking, and viewing to provide students with a solid English language arts foundation. Students study one part of speech at a time, mastering English conventions through spiral review and regular practice of each skill. Proofreading activities give students practice in analyzing sentences, identifying grammatical errors, and correcting errors within the context of writing. Students follow the writing process to write opinion pieces, informational texts, and narratives. Teacher modeling and student collaboration help students develop their craft as they write in various genres for real-world contexts.
BJU Press’s Elementary Reading product line develops student literacy by focusing on literary skills and comprehension strategies. Students build on the phonics foundation laid in the early grades, reading texts of increasing complexity in a variety of genres. Students develop their communication skills through oral and silent reading, responsive writing, and oral presentations. Using the before, during, and after reading process, students learn literary terms, reading strategies, and vocabulary words, and they learn to evaluate all that they read from a biblical worldview.
BJU Press’s Secondary Literature helps students go beyond learning about literature to learning how to interact with literature. Students develop a deeper understanding of their fellow man as they examine texts from different cultures, diverse authors and genres, and a range of time periods. Students use text-focused close reading techniques through a before, during, and after reading approach which emphasizes comprehension and critical thinking. Students evaluate each selection, sharpening their discernment and shaping their worldview.
BJU Press’s Middle and High School Writing and Grammar product line provides students with a real-world focus for exercising language skills as they systematically review and practice grammar and mechanics and directly apply English conventions to writing. Activities give students practice in using the writing process to draft text in various genres. Students synthesize grammar, usage, research, writing, digital, speaking, and listening skills to become effective oral and written communicators.
Mathematics
BJU Press’s Elementary Math product line equips students to master foundational math skills through hands-on manipulatives and sequential teaching that lead students from a concrete to an abstract understanding of mathematics. This process results in deep understanding and long-term retention of mathematical reasoning. Strategic practice and review build computational fluency and prepare students for authentic learning as they connect math concepts to everyday life.
BJU Press’s Middle and High School Math product line equips students to develop advanced mathematical skills and strategies. Ultimately, this scaffolded program enables students to solve real-world problems by extending their understanding through strategic modeling of mathematical procedures, tiered practice problems, and the use and creation of mathematical models in authentic contexts. Targeted keyword searches, graphing calculator instruction, and spreadsheet activities help students use technology to extend their knowledge and skills and apply them to life.
Heritage Studies
BJU Press’s Elementary Heritage Studies product line guides students in analyzing and evaluating historical events, world cultures, and primary sources from a biblical worldview. Engaging lessons and activities develop and strengthen 21st century skills through a variety of features, including graphic organizers, reinforcement pages, biographies, map skills, and study guides. Students relate social studies to other academic disciplines through cross-curricular links, background information, and interactive visuals in ways that help them learn how to make wise decisions about their world.
BJU Press’s Middle and High School Heritage Studies product line helps students to engage their culture by providing opportunities for students to read and analyze texts and sources, participate in group discussions, and conduct historical research. Photos and artwork bring chapters to life while feature boxes, maps, charts, and diagrams help students develop context and connect ideas. Probing questions about ethical citizenship and real-world problems are designed to produce biblically informed citizens and leaders.
Science
BJU Press’s Elementary Science product line equips students to apply science to life by building foundational knowledge and skills with pre-assessments, scaffolded instruction, spiral review, and hands-on activities. Explorations in scientific inquiry give students opportunities to observe, classify, measure data, analyze data, make inferences, and communicate their findings. When they interact with and use models, students are better able to explain and describe their observations as well as make predictions about scientific principles they’ve learned. Collaborative STEM activities give students opportunities to design, test, and refine engineered solutions to real-world problems.
BJU Press’s Middle and High School Science product line equips students to ethically engage in the work of science through this lab-based program. Students extend knowledge and skills through strategic modeling and practice, case studies, the evaluation of scientific models, and ethics activities. Webquests, spreadsheet activities, and probeware technology build 21st century skills and relate them to the work of science. Students have opportunities to collect and analyze data and to create and evaluate their own models through guided discovery labs, inquiry labs, and collaborative STEM experiences.
Bible Studies
Answers Bible Curriculum brings the Bible to life! This exciting curriculum contains lessons that cover the entire Bible chronologically in four years, providing a powerful overview of God’s Word.
With Answers Bible Curriculum, teachers and students of all ages enjoy diving into rich content, memorizing Scripture, and learning how to apply the Bible to their daily lives.
Answers Bible Curriculum goes through the entire Bible in the order the events actually happened, helping it make sense.
Answers Bible Curriculum is filled with Scripture and encourages believers in their faith, equipping them with answers for a skeptical world.
Visual Arts
Behold the Beauty lessons teach the elements of art: line, shape, texture, color, value, and form, and include lessons in combining these elements .
The ultimate objective of every lesson is exactly as the title implies: to behold the beauty of creation and to praise God in doing that. As students learn to more closely observe creation while rendering what they see in pencil, paint, or other artistic media, they will be trained to meet that objective. In serving that goal, the lessons teach how to use the elements of art, such as line, shape, and color, while introducing the principles of design, such as unity, variety, and focal point. Not only do students learn to behold the evidence of God’s glory all around them by these means, they also learn to make objects of beauty in order to communicate that glory to others. The curriculum is based on the infallible Scriptures, and the twelve lessons of each grade level comprise a thorough, biblical, and systematic art education.
Physical Education
The role of Christian physical education is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, fitness, and attitudes necessary to lead a healthy life in order to serve God and others. To pursue a lifetime of healthful physical activity, a physically literate individual has learned the skills necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities, knows the implications and the benefits of involvement in various types of physical activity, is physically fit, and values physical activity and its contributions to a helthful and God-honoring lifestyle.
Public Performance
Throughout the school year, students will engage in a wide array of activities in which they will glorify God through their display of His word. Students will perform memory verses, participate in seasonal plays, and demonstrate their growing knowledge of God’s gift of music. In all aspects of puclic performance, students will gain confidence in sharing God’s word, in speaking in front of others, and in working with others to create harmony in voice and cooperation.
Technology
Teacher created lessons and techology integration mean that GCS students at all levels develop skills to use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate. Students are trained in basic operations, social and ethical issues regarding computer use, critical thinking skills to solve problems, and level-appropriate technology research and communication tools.
We believe students need to learn about technology in a way that is safe and also prepares them for the future, but we also believe that children thrive best in face-to-face interactions with staff and other students. Technology use will be very intentional and lessons carefully selected to grow responsible users.