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Core Curriculum

Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

Alder Creek's TK program seeks to balance child-initiated learning with teacher directed activities. This is a place to develop inclinations to read, write, and solve problems and to enhance creativity and imaginative play. 

The TK curriculum is designed to provide a developmentally appropriate, play-based learning environment for children who are at the cusp of kindergarten. Our focus is on fostering early academic, social, emotional, and physical development in a safe and nurturing environment.

Some specific areas of learning include:

Language and Literacy Development:

  • Foundational Literacy Skills: Develop phonemic awareness, letter recognition, and letter-sound correspondence to build early reading skills.

  • Vocabulary Expansion: Introduce age-appropriate vocabulary through storytelling, songs, and daily conversation to enhance language comprehension and expression.

  • Emergent Writing: Encourage children to experiment with writing by forming letters, drawing pictures, and creating simple words or labels.

  • Reading Comprehension: Use interactive read-alouds and guided discussions to foster comprehension skills, such as recalling details, making predictions, and identifying main ideas.

Mathematics and Number Sense:

  • Number Recognition: Introduce numbers 1-20, focusing on counting, recognition, and understanding the concept of quantity.

  • Patterns and Shapes: Identify and create patterns and introduce basic shapes and their attributes.

  • Basic Operations: Begin exploration of simple addition and subtraction concepts through hands-on activities and manipulatives.

  • Measurement and Comparison: Introduce concepts of size, weight, length, and volume, encouraging children to compare and describe objects in their environment.

Social-Emotional Development:

  • Emotional Expression and Regulation: Help students recognize and express their emotions appropriately, while learning strategies for self-regulation and problem-solving.

  • Building Relationships: Foster positive peer interactions by teaching sharing, cooperation, and empathy.

  • Self-Identity and Independence: Encourage self-help skills such as dressing, toileting, and following routines, while promoting a sense of responsibility and independence.

Science and Exploration:

  • Nature and the Environment: Introduce children to the natural world through hands-on experiences, such as exploring plants, animals, weather, and seasons.

  • Scientific Inquiry: Encourage curiosity and inquiry by engaging students in simple experiments, observations, and investigations.

  • Five Senses: Use activities to help children explore the world around them through their senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.

Creative Arts:

  • Art and Expression: Provide opportunities for children to explore various mediums (e.g., paint, clay, markers) to express their creativity and develop fine motor skills.

  • Music and Movement: Engage children in songs, dance, and rhythmic activities to enhance their understanding of music and movement.

  • Dramatic Play: Foster imagination through role-playing activities, building social skills, and encouraging narrative storytelling.

Physical Development:

  • Gross Motor Skills: Develop large muscle coordination through activities such as running, jumping, climbing, and ball games.

  • Fine Motor Skills: Enhance small muscle control through activities like drawing, cutting, and manipulating objects (e.g., building with blocks or threading beads).

  • Health and Wellness: Teach the importance of personal hygiene, nutrition, and physical activity to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Cognitive Development:

  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Encourage inquiry and decision-making by providing opportunities for children to solve simple puzzles, follow directions, and work through challenges independently.

  • Memory and Attention: Enhance memory and focus through games and activities that involve recalling information, following multi-step directions, and completing task

Kindergarten

Alder Creek Elementary’s Kindergarten curriculum focuses on building a strong foundation in core academic areas, including language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, while promoting social-emotional development.

  • Language Arts: Students work on developing early literacy skills, such as phonics, sight word recognition, reading comprehension, and writing. Activities include listening to stories, practicing letter sounds, and engaging in interactive reading and writing exercises.
  • Mathematics: The curriculum introduces foundational math concepts like number recognition, counting, basic addition and subtraction, and understanding shapes and patterns.
  • Science: Hands-on activities allow students to explore basic science concepts, including the natural world, simple experiments, and understanding seasons, animals, and plants.
  • Social Studies: Kindergarteners learn about their community, family, and cultural traditions, while beginning to understand broader concepts like maps, citizenship, and historical figures.

Social-Emotional Development: Emphasis is placed on developing social skills, such as communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution, through group activities and guided play.

This well-rounded curriculum aims to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, while helping children develop a love for learning.

First Grade

Alder Creek's first grade curriculum builds on the foundational skills developed in Kindergarten, with a focus on enhancing literacy, math, science, and social studies skills, while continuing to support social-emotional growth.

  • Language Arts: First grade students strengthen their reading and writing abilities through more complex phonics, vocabulary development, sentence structure, and reading comprehension. They read a variety of texts, practice writing short stories, and engage in activities that build their understanding of grammar and spelling.
  • Mathematics: The curriculum expands to include more advanced number operations, such as addition and subtraction with larger numbers, understanding place value, and introducing concepts like time, money, and measurement. Students work on problem-solving skills through hands-on activities.
  • Science: Students explore more detailed scientific concepts, including physical and life sciences. Topics might include the properties of matter, simple ecosystems, plants and animals, and weather patterns. Interactive experiments and observations are encouraged.
  • Social Studies: First graders learn about their community, both locally and globally, and study topics like geography, maps, and the roles of people in society. They also begin to explore historical figures and events and discuss basic economics and citizenship.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Continued focus on developing positive social skills, including teamwork, respect, and emotional regulation. First graders participate in activities that help them build empathy, problem-solving skills, and confidence.

Overall, the first grade curriculum at Alder Creek is designed to foster academic growth, critical thinking, and personal development in a supportive and engaging environment.

Second Grade

Alder Creek's second grade curriculum emphasizes the development of academic skills in a supportive and engaging environment, building on the foundations set in earlier grades while encouraging independence and critical thinking.

  • Language Arts: In second grade, students focus on expanding their reading and writing skills. They work on reading fluency, comprehension, and decoding more complex words. Writing activities include composing simple essays, stories, and reports, with an emphasis on sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Vocabulary development and reading comprehension strategies are key components of the curriculum.
  • Mathematics: Second graders continue to strengthen their mathematical understanding. Key areas include addition and subtraction with larger numbers, an introduction to multiplication and division concepts, place value, and telling time. Students also explore basic geometry, measurement, and data representation through graphs.
  • Science: The science curriculum introduces more in-depth exploration of natural and physical sciences. Topics may include habitats and ecosystems, forces and motion, states of matter, and the human body. Hands-on experiments and investigations foster curiosity and critical thinking.
  • Social Studies: Second graders study geography, maps, and communities, both locally and globally. They learn about cultural diversity, citizenship, and historical events and figures that have shaped the world. The curriculum encourages students to understand their role in the community and the importance of responsibility and cooperation.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Students continue to develop social-emotional skills by working on communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution. Activities promote empathy, emotional regulation, and self-awareness, helping students build strong relationships and navigate social interactions.

Overall, the second grade curriculum at Alder Creek encourages academic growth while promoting personal development, preparing students for more advanced learning in later grades.

Third Grade

Alder Creeks third grade curriculum focuses on building essential academic skills while fostering independent thinking and responsibility in students. It strengthens knowledge in core subjects like language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, along with continued support for social-emotional growth.

  • Language Arts: In third grade, students advance their reading and writing abilities by working on fluency, comprehension, and critical thinking. They read a variety of genres, including fiction and nonfiction, and practice identifying main ideas, details, and making inferences. Writing assignments include essays, creative writing, and opinion pieces, with an emphasis on organization, grammar, and expanded vocabulary. Students also focus on spelling and punctuation.
  • Mathematics: The math curriculum builds on earlier concepts, with a focus on multiplication and division, place value, and problem-solving. Third graders work with larger numbers and explore more complex operations, such as multi-digit addition and subtraction, as well as introductory fractions and measurement concepts. They also learn about area and perimeter and continue to develop skills in reasoning and logical thinking.
  • Science: In science, third grade students dive into topics such as the weather, life cycles and ecosystems. Hands-on experiments and inquiry-based learning help students develop an understanding of scientific principles, fostering curiosity and analytical thinking.
  • Social Studies: Third graders study geography, map skills, and communities, expanding their understanding of history and cultures. The curriculum includes learning about early American history, local government, and the role of individuals and communities in shaping society. Students explore historical figures, events, and how communities develop over time.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Emphasis continues on building positive relationships, managing emotions, and practicing teamwork. Students engage in activities that promote empathy, self-regulation, and responsible decision-making.

Overall, the third grade curriculum at Alder Creek encourages academic growth, critical thinking, and personal responsibility, preparing students for future challenges and instilling a love of learning.

Fourth Grade

Alder Creek’s fourth grade curriculum builds on the skills students have developed in earlier grades, offering a more in-depth and challenging academic experience. It emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and independent learning in core subjects such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, while continuing to nurture social-emotional development.

  • Language Arts: In fourth grade, students refine their reading and writing skills by focusing on comprehension, analysis, and fluency. They read a range of texts, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and practice summarizing key ideas, making inferences, and identifying themes. Writing assignments become more complex, with students composing detailed essays, reports, and narratives, focusing on organization, evidence, and supporting details. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary development are also key areas of focus.
  • Mathematics: The math curriculum in fourth grade includes more advanced concepts such as multi-digit multiplication and division, long division, fractions, and decimals. Students work on understanding place value, comparing fractions, and solving word problems. Measurement concepts, including converting units of measurement and working with angles, are also introduced. Students engage in problem-solving activities to apply math concepts to real-life situations.
  • Science: Fourth grade science includes hands-on exploration of topics such as Energy, the Earth’s Place in the Universe, Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer, and Structures and Processes. Students learn through experiments, observations, and inquiry-based projects, fostering scientific thinking and curiosity.
  • Social Studies: Social studies in fourth grade focuses on California history, geography, and government. Students study the early history of California, including Native American cultures, European exploration, the Gold Rush, and statehood. They learn about the geography of California, including its regions, landmarks, and resources. Additionally, students explore the structure of local government and how citizens participate in democracy.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Social-emotional learning continues to be an important aspect of the fourth-grade experience. Students work on building self-awareness, empathy, and strong communication skills. Group projects and collaborative learning activities help foster teamwork, while students are encouraged to manage their emotions and make positive decisions.

Overall, the fourth grade curriculum at Alder Creek is designed to engage students with more complex academic challenges while supporting their personal growth and development. The curriculum prepares students for greater academic rigor in upper grades, encourages curiosity, and fosters responsibility and teamwork.

Fifth Grade

Alder Creek's fifth grade curriculum focuses on preparing students for the transition to middle school by deepening their academic knowledge, strengthening critical thinking skills, and promoting greater independence in learning. It covers core subjects such as language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and continues to support social-emotional development.

  • Language Arts: Fifth grade students continue to build their reading and writing skills by engaging with a wide range of literature, including fiction, nonfiction, and informational texts. They focus on analyzing themes, characters, and plot structures, and develop the ability to make inferences and draw conclusions. Writing tasks include more sophisticated compositions, such as research reports, opinion essays, and narrative stories, with an emphasis on organization, clarity, and the use of evidence. Grammar, vocabulary, and spelling are integrated into their writing instruction.
  • Mathematics: The math curriculum in fifth grade expands to include topics such as multiplication and division of fractions, decimals, and percentages. Students also explore more advanced operations, such as multi-step word problems, geometric concepts (area, volume, and angles), and an introduction to pre-algebra concepts. They apply problem-solving strategies to real-world situations and work on strengthening their computational fluency.
  • Science: Fifth grade science covers a variety of topics, including the properties of matter, energy, ecosystems, the solar system, and Earth’s processes. Students engage in experiments, investigations, and projects that promote hands-on learning and scientific inquiry. Emphasis is placed on understanding the scientific method and how to design and conduct experiments, as well as analyzing data to draw conclusions.
  • Social Studies: Social studies in fifth grade focuses on American history, with a particular emphasis on the history of the United States from early exploration through the American Revolution. Students study key historical events, such as the founding of the nation, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, as well as the role of government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. They explore the social, cultural, and political changes that shaped early American society.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Fifth graders continue to develop essential social-emotional skills, including self-regulation, resilience, and effective communication. Group activities, leadership opportunities, and collaborative projects help students build teamwork and conflict resolution skills. They are encouraged to reflect on their personal growth, set goals, and engage in respectful interactions with peers and adults.

Overall, the fifth grade curriculum at Alder Creek is designed to challenge students academically, foster a deeper understanding of core subjects, and prepare them for the academic and social demands of middle school. It encourages independent thinking, responsibility, and a strong sense of community.

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