CURRICULUM
OVERVIEW
LOW E R SCHOOL
THEOAKSACADEMY.ORG
LOWER SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
1 ST GRADE
Continents
Thanksgiving feast
Christmas around the world
Backstage theatre visit
Indianapolis Zoo
English tea party
Farm visit
Timeline project
2 ND GRADE
In-school Egyptian museum
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis: Egyptology
Joseph play
Passover seder
Conner Prairie
3 RD GRADE
Third grade Olympics
Newelds: Greek and Roman Art
Wabash and Eerie Canal Boat Ride
Indiana State Museum
Greek Islands restaurant
Indiana Architecture Walkabout Tour
4 TH GRADE
St. Meinrad Archabbey
James Whitcomb Riley Museum Home
Medieval tournament of arms
Squire Boon Cave
State Park Tree and Leaf Identication
Ornithology Center at Eagle Creek Park
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church Stained Glass Visit
5 TH GRADE
Patriotic Speech Festival
Colonial Day at Camp Tecumseh
Holcomb Observatory
Mounds State Park
Eiteljorg Museum
Indiana Statehouse
1 ST GRADE
HUMANITIES
TOUR OF THE SEVEN CONTINENTS
Folklore of the world
Landmarks and natural wonders
Wyeth, Rivera, Renoir, Picasso, African tribal masks,
Katsushika Hokusai, McCubbin, Friedrich;
Benjamin Britten, world music
Geography and map skills
ART
Painting: Focal subject
Drawing: Shapes and form
Paper weaving
Recycled sculpture works
MUSIC
Beat: Steady beat in movement, rhymes and dances
Rhythm: Read, perform and notate rhythmic patterns
– 1/4, 1/8
Melody: Read and perform melodic patterns – mi, sol, la;
Step and skip – do, re, mi
Harmony: Ostinato pattern
Analysis: Introduction to the sta
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dynamic Physical Education (Pangrazi)
Life tness
Motor skill development: Running, skipping, hopping,
tumbling, throwing, kicking, striking
Tag, kick ball, mat ball
Teamwork
LANGUAGE ARTS
Phonemic awareness
Decoding and word recognition
Sentence construction
Sing, Spell, Read and Write curriculum
Handwriting (ball and stick)
Oral presentations
Chapter book read alouds
Victory Drill Book (reading uency)
Recitations: short poems and Bible verses
LIBRARY
Folklore around the world
Care of books
Checking out and checking in
Author studies
Learning to read spine label
MATHEMATICS
Understanding operations:
Addition and subtraction
Problem solving
Numeration to 100
Fractions
Basic geometric concepts
Measurement
Money
SCIENCE
Weather
Climate
Habitats, biomes, animals of the seven continents
Nature studies and eld trips
LITERATURE
Farmer Boy (Ingalls Wilder)
Winnie the Pooh (Milne)
The Pied Piper (Browning)
Folk stories and international tales:
Madeline, Babar, Arabian Nights
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
Tower of Babel: Origins of civilizations and culture
Esther
Nehemiah
Mark
2 ND GRADE
HUMANITIES
ANCIENT ISRAEL AND EGYPT / CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Ancient inventions and technology
Civil rights biographies
Egyptian art, Ellis Wilson; Verdi, Mozart, spirituals,
pioneer songs, freedom movement songs
ART
Painting: Waterscapes
Drawing: Crayon, pastel, symmetry, increasing realism
Loom weaving and 3D sculptures
Collage
MUSIC
Beat: Movement games and dances
Rhythm: Read, perform and notate rhythmic patterns
– 1/4, 1/8, 1/2, rests
Melody: Pentatonic solfege notes – do, re, mi, so, la
Analysis: Dierentiate principal instruments of the
orchestra; Decode symbols of music scores
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dynamic Physical Education (Pangrazi)
Life tness
Motor skill development: Running, skipping,
hopping, tumbling, throwing, kicking, striking
Tag, kick ball, mat ball
Calisthenics and stretching
Gymnastics and badminton
Game strategy
Teamwork
LANGUAGE ARTS
Decoding and word recognition
Types of sentences
Paragraph development
Printing
Beginning cursive
Letter writing
Literature Studies
Read and Write curriculum
Chapter book read alouds
Recitations: Short poems and Bible verses
LIBRARY
Caldecott authors
Library sections
MATHEMATICS
Operations: Addition, subtraction, multiplication
Numeration to 999 and place value
Relationship of fractions to division
Money and change
Probability
Order of operation
SCIENCE
Deserts
Plants
Insects
Birds
Seasons: Wind and air
Overview of body systems
Rainforest and food chains
Simple machines
Nature studies and eld trips
LITERATURE
Little House in the Big Woods (Ingalls Wilder)
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Lewis)
Freedom Train (Sterling)
The Courage of Sarah Noble (Dagliesh)
I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King (Davidson
Charlotte’s Web (White)
Sword of Egypt (Williams)
Egyptian mythology
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
Genesis: Patriarchs and matriarchs to Egyptian captivity
Exodus: Freedom
Joshua in the Promised Land
3 RD GRADE
HUMANITIES
ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME /
INDIANA STATE HISTORY
Roman villa project
Architectural tour of Indianapolis
Ancient art, pottery and
architecture, Currier & Ives;
Holst, Respighi
ART
Painting: Watercolor
Drawing: Mechanical, introduction
to foreshortening, shading
Clay works
Rag weaving
Design patterns in ancient and
modern cultures
MUSIC
Beat: Complex dance patterns
Rhythm: Perform whole note and
rest – dotted 1/2, 1/8, 1/16
Melody: Sing pentatonic songs
on pitch – do, re mi, so, la, ti,
high do, melodic percussion
Harmony: Partner songs and
rounds; Canons in two parts;
Play ostinati with skips, steps
and leaps
Form: Dierentiate secondary
instruments;
Decode symbols of music scores
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dynamic Physical Education
(Pangrazi)
Life tness
Motor skill development: Running,
skipping, hopping, tumbling,
throwing, kicking, striking
Dodge ball, soccer, tag, kick ball,
mat ball
Calisthenics and stretching
Gymnastics, badminton, soccer
Game strategy
Teamwork
LANGUAGE ARTS
Classical writing: Fable
Imitative stories
Paragraph organization: Narrative
Letter writing: Personal, persuasive,
formal
Spelling Workout curriculum
Cursive writing
Recitations: Longer poetry and
Bible verses
LIBRARY
Genres of literature
Using the Indianapolis Marion
County Public Library’s
online catalog
Book talks
MATHEMATICS
Operations: Addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division
Numeration to 999,999 and
place value
Decimals, fractions, percents,
mixed numbers
Units of length, capacity,
temperature, time, weight
Beginning algebra including
variables
Perimeter and area
SCIENCE
Grasslands
Mammals
Rocks and minerals
Sound and light
Nutrition
Nature studies and eld trips
LITERATURE
Julius Caesar (Shakespeare)
Black Ships Before Troy (Sutcli)
Greek Myths (D’Aulaire)
Theras and His Town (Snedeker)
Tales from the Big Thicket (Brett)
The Bears of Blue River (Major)
LATIN
Conjugate and decline
Vocabulary: Meanings, derivatives,
spelling
1st conjugation present tense
Present tense of “sum” (to be)
1st declension
2nd declension masculine,
feminine, neuter
Case names
Agreement of subjects and verbs
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
United and Divided Kingdoms: Saul,
David, Solomon, Judah, Israel
Prophets and Exile: Daniel, Esther,
Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, II Chronicles
(Sennecherib), Maccabees,
Proverbs
4 TH GRADE
HUMANITIES
EARLY CHURCH AND MEDIEVAL TIMES
Cathedral tour: Stained glass
Castle building project
Medieval, Byzantine and
Renaissance art;
Handel, von Bingen, Prokoev
ART
Painting: Color theory, composition,
special techniques
Drawing: Ratio and proportion
in portraiture
Clay works
Architectural features of cathedrals
Chinese calligraphy
Japanese sumie
Backstrap weaving
MUSIC
Beat: Complex dance patterns
Rhythm: Perform dotted 1/4
and 1/8; Syncopation
– 1/8, 1/4, 1/8
Melody: Matching pitch in
folk songs, fa and ti, whole steps
and half steps
Harmony: Matching pitch and
independent singing in canons,
ostinati, partner songs,
two-part singing
Analysis: Identify rhythmic and
melodic motives; Decode
symbols of music scores
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dynamic Physical Education
(Pangrazi)
Life tness
Motor skill development: Running,
skipping, hopping, tumbling,
throwing, kicking, striking
Dodge ball, tag, kick ball, mat ball
Calisthenics and stretching
Gymnastics, badminton, soccer,
lacrosse
Health
Teamwork
LANGUAGE ARTS
Classical writing: Chreia and Proverb
Letter writing: Personal, persuasive,
formal
Paragraph organization: Essay
Spelling Workout curriculum
Cursive writing
Recitations: Longer poetry
and Bible verses
LIBRARY
Beginning research
Citing sources
Dewey Decimal System
Reference materials
Book talks
MATHEMATICS
All operations: Whole numbers,
fractions, decimals, percents
Powers of whole numbers
Numeration beyond one trillion
and place value
Beginning algebraic functions
Data, graphs, estimation, probability
Geometric shapes, angles,
measurement
Perimeter and area
SCIENCE
Woodlands
Trees and leaves
Fungi
Amphibians
Thermal energy
Electricity
Caves and weathering
Circulatory system
Nature studies and eld trips
LITERATURE
Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)
The Horse and His Boy (Lewis)
Cleopatra (Stanley)
The Bronze Bow (Speare)
Crispin and the Cross of Lead (Avi)
The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil
E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)
Medieval Tales: King Arthur,
Robin Hood, Lady Godiva;
Saint stories and legends
LATIN
Vocabulary: Meanings, derivatives,
spelling
2nd declension neuter
Gender: Noun and adjective
agreement
Present tense of “possum”
(to be able)
2nd conjugation present
1st and 2nd conjugation future tense
1st and 2nd imperfect tense
Personal pronouns
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Acts of the Apostles
5 TH GRADE
HUMANITIES
EARLY AMERICA
Mesoamerican civilization
Explorers and pioneers
American Revolution
Founding documents
Westward expansion,
Native Americans
Meso-American art and architecture,
Rembrandt, Velazquez, Trumball,
Catlin; Bach, patriotic songs
ART
Painting: Experimental watercolor
techniques
Drawing: Turning shape into form
Introduction to grid drawing
Portraits: front and 3/4 view,
realistic skin tones
3D sculpture
Huichol yarn drawing
MUSIC
Beat: Complex dance patterns
Rhythm: Dotted 1/8 then 1/16
and reverse
Melody: Matching pitch in folk songs;
Flat, sharp, natural
Harmony: Two and three part
singing; Play ostinati
Analysis: Identify rhythmic and
melodic motives; Decode
symbols of music scores
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Dynamic Physical Education
(Pangrazi)
Life tness
Calisthenics and stretching
Gymnastics, badminton, soccer,
lacrosse, basketball, kick ball,
mat ball
Health
Teamwork
LANGUAGE ARTS
Classical writing: Refutation,
conrmation, commonplace
Persuasive and expository focus
in writing
Spelling Workout curriculum
Recitations: Longer speeches,
poetry, Bible excerpts
LIBRARY
Using online databases
Book talks
Citing sources
MATHEMATICS
All operations: Whole numbers,
fractions, decimals
Powers of whole numbers,
square roots
Negative exponents
Estimation
Prime and composite numbers,
integers
Complex fractions
Measurement and unit conversion
Scale drawing and modeling
Slope
SCIENCE
Oceans and wetlands
Fish dissections
Mass and volume
Magnestism, gravity, inertia
Astronomy and the solar system
Drugs, alcohol, the nervous system
Nature studies and eld trips
LITERATURE
MacBeth (Shakespeare)
Mayan and Aztec mythology
The Ocean of Truth (MacPherson)
I, Juan de Pareja (Trevino)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare)
The Courtship of Miles Standish;
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
(Longfellow)
Johnny Tremain (Forbes)
Declaration of Independence
Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving)
The Raven; The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe)
Seaman (Langer)
Rip Van Winkle (Irving)
LATIN
Translations in present tense
Direct objects (accusative case)
Case functions and basic translations
2nd declension – er, ir, r words
Prepositions and prepositional
phrases
Present, imperfect and future tense
of “sum” (to be)
3rd conjugation present and
imperfect
4th conjugation present and
imperfect
Adverbs
3rd declension male and female
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
Epistles of Paul: Romans to Philemon
THE OAKS ACADEMY is a Christ-centered school that
exists to provide a rich, community supported classical
education to children of diverse racial and socioeconomic
backgrounds, preparing them to succeed in a rigorous
secondary educational program and to demonstrate
spiritual, social and emotional maturity.