Grades 1-6 Academic Curriculum

Cardinal Lacroix Academy is committed to academic excellence; which we believe is possible through proper instruction, curriculum, individualized attention, and student achievement. The school utilizes these best practices to offer a rigorous academic program. Click on each tab to learn about our curriculum.

MATHEMATICS
Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Attention should be paid to the needs of today’s society in teaching mathematics by fostering real world application, enabling students to undertake responsibilities in society both locally and globally while witnessing to the faith.

Individual subjects must be taught according to their own particular methods. It would be wrong to consider subjects as mere adjuncts to faith or as a useful means of teaching apologetics. They enable the pupil to assimilate skills, knowledge, intellectual methods and moral and social attitudes, all of which help to develop his personality and lead him to take his place as an active member of the community of man. Their aim is not merely the attainment of knowledge but the acquisition of values and the discovery of truth. The Catholic School, 39

After extensive research and review, the Diocesan Academic Committee determined that the Mathematics Content Standards for California Public Schools adopted by the California State Board of Education in 1997 and revised in 2000 (pre-Common Core and No Child Left Behind Act), contained the necessary competencies vital to a high-quality mathematics program. “Mathematics is critical for all students, not only those who will have careers that demand advanced mathematical preparation but all citizens who will be living in the twenty-first century. These standards are based on the premise that all students are capable of learning rigorous mathematics and learning it well, and all are capable of learning far more than is currently expected.” (Eastin, 2000).

In studying mathematics, we desire that our students in Catholic Schools will be able to:

Demonstrate the mental practices of precise, determined, meticulous and accurate questioning, inquiry

and reasoning
Respond to the beauty, harmony, proportion, and wholeness existing in mathematics
Appreciate how mathematical arguments and procedures can be inferred and practiced in other areas of

study, including theology and philosophy
Propose how mathematical objects or proofs (including the Fibonacci numbers, the musical scale, and

geometric proofs) support Divine origin.

We believe that the proposed Diocesan Curriculum Standards for Mathematics adapted and reprinted Mathematic Content Standards for California Public Schools – Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (2000) with permission from the California Department of Education, will help us begin building an educational paradigm that will enable our students to grow in logic and reason with the ability to discern and grow in academic acumen.

Pope Benedict XVI

SCIENCE

Science is crucial for all students to master; not only those who seek careers in science, engineering, and medicine, but all citizens who live in the 21st century. These standards are created for students who live in a world where scientific understanding is not just an asset, but a necessity.

In studying science, we desire that our students in Catholic Schools will be able to:

Demonstrate the mental practices of precise, determined, meticulous, and accurate questioning, inquiry, and reasoning of the Scientific Method.
Learn that science involves exploration and particular procedures and ways of developing and organizing knowledge in an ongoing journey of discovery.
Respond to the beauty, harmony, proportion, and wholeness existing in Nature.
Appreciate how scientific hypothesis, investigation, and experimentation relate to other areas of

study, especially the interplay of scientific research and theological and philosophical analysis.
Articulate how scientific theories such as the Big Bang and evolution reflect the glory of the

Creator.
Communicate the significant contributions that the Catholic Church has made to the

advancement of science, including the sponsorship of the first universities and such acclaimed scientists as Fr. Gregor Mendel, Fr. Georges Lemaître, Louis Pasteur, Nicholas Copernicus, Blaise Pascal, Galileo Galilei, Luigi Galvani, and Leonardo da Vinci.

The proposed Diocesan Curriculum Standards for Science adapted and reprinted from the Indiana Academic Science Standards will guide us in creating a science and engineering curriculum modeled on Design Process and the Scientific Method, enabling our students to approach the world with logic, reason, inquiry, and wonder. “

.” – Pope Saint John Paul II.

Scientific Process Standards
The Nature of Scientific knowledge is scientists' best explanations for the data from many investigations. Ideas about objects in the microscopic world that we cannot directly sense are often understood in terms of concepts developed to understand objects in the macroscopic world that we can see and touch. Student work should align with this process of science and should be guided by those principles. Students should also understand that scientific knowledge is gained from observation of natural phenomena and experimentation by designing and conducting investigations guided by theory and by evaluating and communicating the results of those investigations according to accepted procedures. These concepts should be woven throughout daily work.
Develop explanations to inquiries based on reproducible data and observations gathered during laboratory investigations.
Recognize that their explanations must be based both on their data and other known information from investigations of others.
Clearly communicate their ideas and results of investigations verbally and in written form using tables, graphs, diagrams and photographs.
Regularly evaluate the work of their peers and in turn have their work evaluated by their peers.
Apply standard techniques in laboratory investigations to measure physical quantities in
appropriate units and convert quantities to other units as necessary.
Use analogies and models (mathematical and physical) to simplify and represent systems that are
difficult to understand or directly experience due to their size, time scale or complexity.
Recognize the limitations of analogies and models.
Focus on the development of explanatory models based on their observations during laboratory
investigations.
Explain that the body of scientific knowledge is organized into major theories, which are derived
from and supported by the results of many experiments and allow us to make testable
predictions.
Recognize that new scientific discoveries often lead to a re-evaluation of previously accepted
scientific knowledge and of commonly held ideas.
Describe how scientific discoveries lead to the development of new technologies and conversely
how technological advances can lead to scientific discoveries through new experimental methods and equipment.
Explain how scientific knowledge can be used to guide decisions on environmental and social issues.

MUSIC

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).

Music expresses the deepest aspects of the human person. Saint Augustine observed that when we sing, we pray twice. Our Sacred Scripture so values music that one of the most beloved books of the Bible, the Psalms, is a compilation of musical compositions. Music represents one of the most sublime applications of mathematics. Beethoven and Bach represent the apex of the beauty of the mathematical foundation of music.

It is developmentally important to expose children to music at an early age to help then learn the sounds and meanings of new words. When children have the opportunity to experience the various modalities of music, we. help them to holistically grow as a person. The connections formed during exposure help build important social, emotional and cognitive brain connections, helping them to develop neuroplasticity in their young brains. Music strengthens memory skills, naturally calms and soothes, helps express love and joy, and fosters creativity and intelligence.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Social Science is the study of society and the relationship of individual members within society. We use this knowledge to uncover the truth of our connection with one another through time and across geographic barriers. This study helps to discover the deeper truth of each one’s relationship with God.

A curriculum that is open to the intercultural perspective presents the students with a study of civilizations that were previously unknown to them, or were remote from them, but which now are brought to their attention, as well as being brought much “closer” thanks to globalization and modern means of communication, crossing barriers of space and ideological defenses. Teaching that aims to help students understand the reality in which they live cannot ignore the importance of encounter; teaching has the duty to favor dialogue, as well as cultural and spiritual exchanges.
Educating to Intercultural Dialogue in Catholic Schools: Living in Harmony for a Civilization of Love, #68

Teachers should guide the students’ work in such a way that they will be able to discover a religious dimension in the world of human history. As a preliminary, they should be encouraged to develop a taste for historical truth, and therefore to realize the need to look critically at texts and curricula which, at times, are imposed by a government or distorted by the ideology of the author. Students should be engaged to study the development of civilizations and learn about progress. When they are ready to appreciate it, students can be invited to reflect on the human struggle that takes place within the divine history [of universal salvation]. At this moment, the religious dimension of history begins to shine forth in all its luminous grandeur. - The Religious Dimension of a Catholic School, 1988, # 58-59

ENGLISH

The Diocesan English Language Arts Standards are created from a long-planned revision of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, and build on the Stotsky Standards modeled after them. The standards are conjoined with the Neuman Standards and Integrated Faith standards created by Father Belmonte.

This curriculum framework provides standards designed to guide reading and English teachers in the development of a dynamic English language arts curriculum from PreK to 12. It is based on two premises: that learning in the English language arts should be cumulative and that the reading of increasingly challenging literary and non-literary works as well as the writing of increasingly extensive research papers are the basis for developing the independent thinking needed for self-government.

The four discipline-based strands in this framework—Listening and Speaking, Language Study, Reading and Literature, and Research and Composition—are interdependent. At all grade levels, a sound English language arts curriculum integrates concepts and skills from all four strands. A sound reading and literature curriculum also expects students to apply their language skills to increasingly challenging material linked in ways that promote cumulative learning. A coherent sequence of reading, research, and writing assignments ensures that students both broaden and deepen their base of literary/historical knowledge. It is this broadening and deepening knowledge base that stimulates intellectual growth and enhances their capacity for independent critical thinking.

In Catholic education, literature should be selected that supports Christian morals and virtues and fosters a love of Christ and other. The attached reading list is an aid for educating children across a broad spectrum of literature and includes many authors whose literary works can be both edifying and challenging. Care should be exercised in choosing among literary works by the authors listed within this document so that the selected reading material is developmentally and morally appropriate. We expect each teacher to use their literary judgment as they make selections. In planning a curriculum, it is important to balance depth with breadth. As teachers in our Diocesan schools work with this curriculum framework to develop literature units, they will often combine works into thematic units. Exemplary curriculum is always evolving. We urge each school to take initiative to create programs meeting the needs of their students.

ART

“The increased attention given to science and technology must not lead to a neglect of the humanities: philosophy, history, literature and art. Since earliest times, each society has developed and handed on its artistic and literary heritage, and our human patrimony is nothing more than the sum total of this cultural wealth. Thus, while teachers are helping students to develop an aesthetic sense, they can bring them to a deeper awareness of all peoples as one great human family. The simplest way to uncover the religious dimension of the artistic and literary world is to start with its concrete expressions: in every human culture, art and literature have been closely linked to religious beliefs. The artistic and literary patrimony of Christianity is vast and gives visible testimony to a faith that has been handed down through centuries.” The Religious Dimension of a Catholic School, 1988, # 60

“Literary and artistic works depict the struggles of societies, of families, and of individuals. They spring from the depths of the human heart, revealing its lights and its shadows, its hope and its despair. The Christian perspective goes beyond the merely human, and offers more penetrating criteria for understanding the human struggle and the mysteries of the human spirit. Furthermore, an adequate religious formation has been the starting point for the vocation of a number of Christian artists and art critics. In the upper grades, a teacher can bring students to: an even more profound appreciation of artistic works: as a reflection of the divine beauty in tangible form. Both the Fathers of the Church and the masters of Christian philosophy teach this in their writings on aesthetics - St. Augustine invites us to go beyond the intention of the artists in order to find the eternal order of God in the work of art; St. Thomas sees the presence of the Divine Word in art.” The Religious Dimension of a Catholic School, 1988, # 61

Basic Principles Underlying All Standards to be Used for the Planning of Curriculum for the Diocese of Manchester

A passion for mission should inform every curriculum decision.
All knowledge reflects God’s Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.
Curriculum and instruction enable deeper incorporation of the children into the Church, the formation of community within the school, and respect for the uniqueness and dignity of each person as created in the image and likeness of God.
Education fosters growth in Christian virtue and contributes to development and formation of the whole person for the good of the society of which he/she is a member, and in recognition of their destiny, an eternal life in Christ.
Each subject is to be examined in the context of the Catholic faith through Scripture and Tradition and is to be illuminated by Gospel values.
Learning and formation are interconnected, as are the natural and spiritual development of each student.
Curriculum and instruction seek to promote a synthesis of faith, life, and culture, forming students as disciples of Jesus.
All curricula must support a commitment to strong and consistent Catholic identity.
Curriculum will assist the student’s ability to think critically, problem solve, innovate, and lead

towards a supernatural vision.

Grades 1-6 Academic Curriculum

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