K-4 (students must be 4 years old before October 1 of the school year): Language Arts skills focus on
language development and listening. Concepts include: color words, shapes, animals, transportation,
community helpers, health, safety, manners and science. Phonics and reading skills include: recognition
of all letters and sounds, blending consonants with vowel sounds to form words, and reading of
sentences and stories with one- and two- vowel words. Handwriting emphases the formation of letters,
blends and words. Memory skills focus on poems, finger plays and Bible verses. Math skills include:
number recognition and counting 1-100, number concepts 1-20, and simple addition facts of adding one
to a given number 1-9. Bible, music, physical fitness, and arts and crafts are implemented.
K-5: Phonics and Readings skills include: identifying all letters and their sounds, blending long & short
vowel sounds with consonants to form words, beginning phonics rules and special sounds, reading of
sentences and stories from 12 books. Handwriting focus is on letter formation, words and sentences.
Grammar emphases sentence recognition by capital letters and periods. Memory skills include poems
and Bible verses. Math concepts include: number recognition, counting, and writing 1-100, identifying
larger and smaller numbers, counting and writing by tens, fives, and twos to 100, value of coins, telling
time, using the calendar, days of the week, addition facts through 10, one-step story problems in
addition and beginning subtraction. Science foundational concepts include: plants, animals, health and
human biology, and earth and space. Social studies units: community helpers, children of the world, and
famous Americans and places (map skills). Bible, music, physical fitness, and arts and crafts are
implemented.
1st Grade: Phonics and reading skills include: recognition and use of all phonic letters and sounds in
reading, spelling rules for doubling consonants, dropping silent e, changing y to I, and oral reading.
Memory skills include: weekly spelling lists, poetry, and Bible verses. Handwriting reinforces academic
concepts with practice size and spacing. Grammar skills include: capitalization of first word in a
sentence, proper names, days and months; use of correct punctuation to end sentences; introduction to
words with suffixes, prefixes, syllables, compound words, rhyming words, opposite words, same
meaning words, and contractions; alphabetizing, writing sentences and short stories. Math concepts
include: number recognition, counting and writing 1-1,000, number sequences, ordinal numbers, three
digit addition with carrying, two digit subtraction, story problems, recognition of odd and even numbers,
place value to 100, fractions, coins, calendars, rulers and Roman numerals. Units in Bible, history,
geography, science, safety, manners, music, physical fitness, and arts & crafts are also implemented.
2nd Grade: Phonics and reading skills include: review and use of all phonic letters and sounds in reading,
spelling rules for doubling consonants, dropping silent e, changing y to i, and oral reading. Spelling
includes: weekly phonic-based words, vocabulary and definitions, and use of glossary. Memory skills
include: weekly spelling lists, poetry, and Bible verses. Cursive writing is implemented and reinforces
academic concepts. Grammar skills include: capitalization of first word in a sentence, proper names,
days, months, holidays, people and places; use of correct punctuation to end sentences; introduction to
words with suffixes, prefixes, syllables, compound words, rhyming words, opposite words, same
meaning words, contractions, singular & plural words; alphabetizing words & other dictionary skills,
writing sentences, letters, and short stories. Math concepts include: number recognition, counting and
writing 1-10,000, number sequences, ordinal numbers, four digit addition with carrying, four digit
subtraction with borrowing, multiplication facts 0-5, division facts 1-5, story problems, recognition of
odd and even numbers, place value to 1,000, fractions, making change, telling time by minutes, reading
graphs, calendars, rulers and Roman numerals. Units in Bible, history, geography, science, safety,
manners, music, physical fitness, and arts & crafts are also implemented.
3rd Grade: Phonics and reading skills review all phonics rules, emphasis on oral reading and
comprehension. Cursive writing is used for all written work. Sentence dictation is added to spelling
lessons. Language skills focus on the writing process in creative writing and friendly letters with correct
use of punctuation and capitalization rules. Grammar skills include: recognition of nouns, subjects,
verbs, adjectives, word usage, plurals, contractions, antonyms, homonyms, synonyms and dictionary
skills. Math concepts include: adding large numbers with carrying, subtracting by borrowing, multiplying
with carrying, dividing and checking answers, solving for unknown numbers, recognizing geometric
shapes, fractions, working with greater than and less than, solving money problems, solving story
problems with 4 steps, using rulers, thermometers, clocks and Roman numerals to 1,000. Units in Bible,
history, geography, science, safety, manners, music, physical fitness, and arts & crafts are also
implemented.
4th Grade: Reading and Literature focus on oral reading, comprehension skills, speed reading and
vocabulary building. Spelling lists are based on phonics and spelling rules, challenging words and
vocabulary. Language skills emphasis the writing process including sentence structure and type, letters
of all kinds, reports, writing with details, creative writing and dictionary skills. Grammar skills include:
recognizing and using all eight parts of speech, diagramming sentences and correct use of troublesome
words. Math concepts include: mastery of fundamental operations, solving story problems, estimating,
solving measurement problems, averaging, factoring, introduction to decimals, graphs and scale
drawing, identifying geometric shapes, solving for perimeter & area, using English and metric rulers, and
solving time lapse problems. Units in Bible, history, geography, science, health, music, physical fitness,
and arts & crafts are also implemented.
5th Grade: Reading and Literature focus on oral reading, comprehension skills, speed reading and
vocabulary development. Spelling lists are based on various categories and vocabulary study. Language
skills emphasis the writing process including sentence structure and parts, reports using quotation facts,
writing with details, making outlines, creative writing, dictionary and thesaurus skills. Grammar skills
include: diagramming sentences with all eight parts of speech and word usage. Math concepts include:
mastery of fundamental operations, solving story problems, estimating, solving measurement problems,
averaging, factoring, decimals, introduction to probability and percents, solving algebraic equations,
graphing ordered pairs, reading tables & charts, geometric shapes, solving for perimeter & area, using
English and metric rulers, and solving time lapse problems. Units in Bible, history, geography, science,
health, music, physical fitness, and arts & crafts are also implemented.
6th Grade: Reading and Literature focus on oral reading, comprehension skills, speed reading and
dictionary skills. Spelling lists are based on spelling rules, prefixes, suffixes, root words, vocabulary study.
Language skills emphasis the writing process including comparison/contrasts, outlines, research paper,
narration, journal, sentence structure, fragment, run-ons, punctuation and capitalization skills, and
diagramming sentences. Math concepts include: place value of whole numbers and decimals,
maintaining skills in fundamental operations, problems solving strategies, prime factoring, ratios and
proportions, percent, probability, perimeter, area, circumference, bisecting angles, equations and
introduction to basic algebra. Bible lessons include: the life of Christ, parables, salvation and Old
Testament prophets. Science focuses on plants, animals, earth, space, and chemistry. History and
Geography include: map skills of North and South American and all 50 states, and the United States
colonial history to the 20th Century. Elective classes: keyboarding and computer applications, PE and
health, orchestra, Spanish, French, art and career exploration.
7th Grade: Literature skills focus on reading all types of literature (fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, novels,
historical documents, and poetry) for enjoyment and information, developing critical and higher order
thinking skills to identify the author’s purpose and perspective. Composition skills focus on the writing
process, outlining, summaries, writing reports, research papers, writing style and application of
grammar and spelling rules. . Math concepts include: maintaining skills in fundamental operations,
problems solving strategies, prime factoring, personal finances, geometric concepts, use of formulas,
ratios and proportions, percent, probability, perimeter, area, circumference, bisecting angles, equations
and introduction to statistics, algebra, negative numbers, powers and roots. Bible lessons include:
Exodus and the life of Christ. Science units include: physical science, atmosphere, weather, classification,
microscope, insects, the human body and creation. History and Geography include: The Beginning,
Egypt, Israel, Greece, Rome, the early church history, Islam versus Christendom and Protestant
Reformation. Elective classes: keyboarding and computer applications, PE and health, orchestra,
Spanish, French, art and career exploration.
8th Grade: Literature skills focus on reading all types of literature (fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, novels,
historical documents, and poetry) for enjoyment and information, developing critical and higher order
thinking skills to compare, contrast, and evaluate for details, main ideas, themes, actions, and cite
examples from texts to support opinions and inferences. Composition skills focus on the writing and
editing processes which include: outlining, summaries, writing reports, research papers, writing style
and application of grammar and spelling rules. Math class is either pre-algebra or algebra. Bible lessons
include: the journeys of Paul, Joshua, and Judges. Science units include: a framework for Earth science,
the Celestial sphere, the atmosphere, the lithosphere, and the hydrosphere. History and Geography
include: life in colonial America, the Jacksonian Era, the second great awakening, the age of industry, the
rise of big government, the world at war, and the new millennium. Elective classes: keyboarding and
computer applications, PE and health, orchestra, praise band, Spanish, French, art and career
exploration.
9th-12th Grades: Students must maintain a “C” or better in each class to earn course credit. They must
meet all of New Mexico standards and requirements for graduation. Students must have 27 credits to
graduate; requirements include: 4 credits of English (World Literature, American Literature I & II, British
Literature), 3 credits of math (Algebra I & II, Geometry, Consumer math), 3 credits of science (Physical
Science, Biology, Chemistry or Anatomy/physiology), 4 credits of social studies (World History, US
History I & II, Government/economics), 4 credits of Bible, 1 credit of PE/health, 1 credit of
communication, 1 credit of careers and electives (student choice). Current electives include:
keyboarding and computer applications, PE and health, orchestra, praise band, Spanish, French, art and
career exploration. Junior and senior students are allowed to enroll in courses at NMSU-A for duel
credit. Seniors are required to complete a Capstone project for 1 credit.