Curriculum

Saint James Catholic School's Early Childhood preschool curriculum provides students with practical strategies, utilizing positive and effective methods to prepare students for Kindergarten. Our program curriculums are aligned with the Florida Department of Education preschool framework and are considered best practice models.

PROGRAM CURRICULUM 

We use the Houghton Mifflin Pre-k curriculum to develop and implement daily lesson plans to educate our preschoolers to prepare them for Kindergarten. The Houghton Mifflin Pre-K curriculum is a comprehensive and integrated program that provides each child with a strong foundation that builds on the skills they will need to succeed as lifelong learners. The program is a hands-on, minds-on curriculum, based on scientific research and aligned with National and State pre-k learning goals. The program’s flexibility integrates easily with Dual Language Learning strategies to develop oral language, vocabulary, listening comprehension, print and phonological awareness, and letter recognition skills as well as math skills. Activities and explorations address social and emotional development, physical development, science, social studies, and art. The curriculum is based on scientific research and is aligned with key critical pre-k learning goals, including those defined by Early Reading First, Head Start, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and State Frameworks. The Houghton Mifflin curriculum provides developmentally appropriate practices to help prepare preschooler’s for Kindergarten. 

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES

We use the Guided Language Acquisition Design strategies to develop English language acquisition, academic achievement and cross-cultural skills. The Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) provides an organizational structure for an integrated, balanced literacy approach. The integration, of listening, speaking, reading, and writing into all content areas and the interrelating of science, social studies, and literature with each other are strategies that are easily incorporated into our Houghton Mifflin curriculum. These strategies foster a risk-free, cross-culturally sensitive environment where students are able to acquire academic language and concepts. Although, this model is for dual language learners, it is valuable for acquisition of language for all students. The structure, strategies, and classroom implications, are invaluable in a multilingual setting. GLAD is a United States Department of Education, OBEMLA, Project of Academic Excellence exemplary program. It is also highlighted as a Florida Department of Education “Best Practices” program.

SCIENCE PROGRAM

We use “Sid the Science Kid” to support science learning. This program takes advantage of kids’ instinctive quest to figure out the world.

The goals of this program are:

• To encourage children to think, talk and work incorporating their natural curiosity about the world around them
• To show that science is all around us
• To contribute to school readiness fostering motivation to learn and confidence in themselves
• To support children’s learning by nurturing  and reinforcing the “climate of curiosity “ for children

The Superkids Reading Program combines effective brain-based literacy instruction with engaging, character-based stories to build success—and helps teachers develop the whole child from head to heart.

Lasting Lessons

The Lasting Lessons provide opportunities to discuss critical life skills, build character, and develop social skills. They are a launching point for teachers to integrate Catholic content and connect to values.

Catholic Connections Crosswalk

To help Superkids teachers reinforce Catholic identity, the Catholic Connections include virtues, values, and other teachings from the Catholic faith, all stemming from the Lasting Lessons.

 Literacy is the key to understanding—across time, borders, and cultures—and will help students recognize and embrace the role they play in the world they are creating.

Wonders is an evidence-based 3–5 ELA program that empowers students to take an active role in learning and exploration. Students will enjoy unparalleled opportunities to express and assess themselves through reading, writing, and speaking. They will encounter the right content at the right moment in their learning journey to promote strong educational outcomes for all.

Student Edition offers easy step-by-step instruction for cursive handwriting reinforcement; provides meaningful practice and application with engaging full-color lessons; and teaches students how to evaluate their writing skills.

Scannable QR Codes throughout the Student Edition link to online animated letter models and how-to videos that students can access immediately from any mobile device.

Develop Mathematically Proficient Students for Life!

Sadlier Math, a comprehensive core math program, provides a pedagogy that reflects the keystones of mathematical learning that empowers you to:

• Foster students’ conceptual understanding and skill development with a cohesive grouping of lessons, explicit instruction, and guided and independent practice
• Strengthen students’ metacognitive development and promote learning with abundant real-world problem solving and applications related to STEAM
• Harness innovative support for teaching and learning with embedded professional development, robust digital tools, and a comprehensive assessment plan

Identifies and resolves students’ learning gaps by assessing their skill levels and prescribing targeted resources from Progress in Mathematics. 

Introducing a NEW Studies Weekly Science core curriculum:

• Fully aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
• Hands-on with open-and-go lessons
• Adaptable to in-class or remote learning
• Driven by guiding questions that push students to explore

Next Generation Science Standards

HMH Into Science is an NGSS science curriculum that provides a coherent, phenomenon-driven storyline; delivers three-dimensional learning; and incorporates the Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning model.

Authentic Science Activities

Hands-on activities include embedded social and emotional learning. Open-ended simulations allow students to use technology, like a real scientist in the field.

FUNomenal Readers Model Science Practices

Lesson-aligned, “factual fiction” readers support phenomenon-based activities and ask students to make claims, gather evidence, and apply reasoning.

Students Learn by Doing

The curriculum uses the effective 5E instructional model, which encourages students to Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate the science in hands-on and digital environments.

With a student-friendly core Social Studies curriculum organized thematically to the strands of civics and government, geography, economics, and history. All within our student-friendly periodical format and robust online learning platform.

• Hands-on and Interactive
• Spiraled and Scaffolded
• Integrated with ELA
• Standards-aligned
• Research-based

Challenge students to explore the past and present. Our social studies curriculum delivers compelling, interactive experiences that cultivate the critical thinking and analytical skills children need to succeed in college, career, and civic life.

Relevant and Engaging

Immersive media, audio, and visuals provide relevant content to encourage “Aha!” moments in the classroom.

Inquiry-Based Learning

Interactive tools enable students to analyze primary sources like a historian and complete evidence-based writing tasks.

Explore More

Rigorous, age-appropriate content highlights diverse perspectives, integrates primary sources, and makes relevant connections to bring the subject area to life.

Discover More

Project-based and inquiry activities ignite curiosity and facilitate critical thinking, teaching students how to analyze sources, cite evidence, and take informed action.

Inspire Active Citizenship

Stimulate collaboration, problem solving, debate, action, and draw connections to today. By demonstrating relevancy, students realize they have the power to shape the world around them.

Our religion program consists of the Finding God series from Loyola Press. The Kindergarten program honors the spirituality of little children and their ability to learn complex concepts when presented in ways that are friendly and proven to work with four-to-six-year-olds. With active-learning opportunities on every page of the program, children are always engaged and fully immersed in the rich content of their faith.

Catechetically rich and Christ-focused throughout, the Finding God Kindergarten Children’s Book uses beautiful images, thoughtful prayer, and engaging activities to help young children understand, experience, and express their budding faith as they begin a lifelong journey of discipleship. Every page is interactive and accommodates different stages of development and learning styles.

Spanish and French

In our Foreign Language program, students are taught and introduced to two different languages, French and Spanish. In the primary grades, students are introduced to and taught French. In the intermediate and middle school grades, students are introduced to and taught French and Spanish during their academic journey at St. James. We utilize the digital resource LanguageNut to complement our French and Spanish programs.

The LanguageNut program offers the following:

• Elementary level digital language learning resources for World Languages including French and Spanish
• Nurture reading, writing, listening and speaking skills through a wide range of games and activities