In
the Classroom
In the
Community In God's
Eyes In Touch
Homework
& Grades
Discipline
Supplies
Room
Needs
Special
Activities
Our
Curriculum
Teacher's
Philosophy
About
Mr. Gibbs
Parents
Contact
Info
The guidelines for what is taught in our school is based on the curriculum guides of the Pacific Union Conference and the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists Fact 21st Century Guide. These guides are in parallel with the US National Standards and the California State Standards in each subject.
Morning
Worship
A variety of instruments are used to teach good moral judgment and living.
Examples are children's morning worship books, Bible story tapes, and
mission & miracle stories. Our spelling textbook has a worship story
at the beginning of each lesson. Through a kind donation we now have current
song books and accompaniment on CD so we can praise God through music.
Bible
Our Bible curriculum is based on a four year series which covers God's
Family, God's Power, God's Plan, and God's Way. This year we
are covering God's Plan. Each child has a copy of the International
Children's Bible which is used for memory work and the lessons. The great
theme of the Bible and of our classes is that God is love and He has provided
us a way out of sin so we can stand eternally with Him. Heavily stressed
is that Jesus is our best friend and a life with Him is exciting. Service
learning, or doing kind acts for Jesus, is the practical side of Bible
class. Students will be involved in helping others, on and off campus,
throughout the year as an expression of our love for our Creator and our
human family. Memory work is required.
Math
We are using the Houghton Mifflin Math series (2001) which is based on our California standards for students. A major goal for third
grade is to automatically know the basic functions of multiplication from 0 to 10. Math is enjoyable and fun. We want our
students to experience this and to see the importance of math in daily
living and life.
Music
Studies have shown that students involved in music and especially instruments
do better academically. Choir is provided twice a week for our students and a Ukelele class once a week.
The goals of these activities are to expose and train the student to choose
good music, to develop their artistic talents, and to enjoy music for
life, both for personal enjoyment and in praise of our Creator. With their Ukelele talents the student will witness for Jesus by visiting the Veteran and Senior Citizen homes.
Our reading series was originally written by Ginn & Company, and then revised, with Christian standards, by the North American Division. "This series makes provision for instruction in decoding, vocabulary development, comprehension, study skills, language enrichment, literature, and creativity." To enrich our program, the students will be heavily involved in the reading of library books and oral reading at home and at school. Book reports will be required, along with a weekly reading log. The teacher also reads to the students after lunch. A major goal of this class is to train the student to be a lifetime reader, both recreationally and academically, and to help train them to make good choices when reading, watching TV, choosing videos, or listening to music. I have not had an opportunity to read all the material that is in our room's library. If you find something that is questionable, please let me know. A major goal is to expose our students to good moral building material. Our students are very fortunate in that we are receiving a shipment of new Christian library books for our room. A friend of our students placed an order for more than $1,000 of books from Pacific Press and the Review & Herald.
Phonics
In the whole word approach to reading, both sight reading and phonics are used. Besides phonics in our spelling and reading programs, this skill is taught as a separate class though the week.
Comprehension
A major goal of third grade reading is to develop good comprehension. The Morgan Hill workbook Spectrum is used weekly.
Language
We are using the Houghton Mifflin Language series. Stressed
is the basic grammar, sentence and paragraph construction, and creative
writing. The students are also exposed to speech writing, oral presentations,
written reports and poetry. Our goal is to help our students
to formulate good communication skills that will be further developed
and will help carry them through life.
Handwriting
Students
will review skills for a clean, legible hand in printing and
start to develop the skills for cursive writing. Our goal is that each
student will have legible and clean handwriting abilities that will help
them to communicate clearly through life.
Spelling
Our series is titled A Reason for Spelling. Each week the students
will learn the meaning, pronunciation, and correct spelling of words that
will build their vocabulary for life. At the beginning of each unit (six
lessons), the parents will receive a list of the spelling words which
the students are required to learn. With practice at home, our lessons
at school will proceed smoothly. Our goal is to build a vocabulary and
understanding of the English language that will help our students to communicate
clearly.
Research has shown that proper keyboarding instruction needs to begin to be taught in the 3-4th grade level so the child will learn the correct skills for a life that will certainly include computers. RAA has keyboarding software and we will expose our students to this skill, along with simple word processing and research. Students will be encouraged to use the computers in free moments. All games on our computers will be academically orientated. We will also give our students the opportunity to go online, under supervision, to do simple research.
Social
Studies
Our new series is titled From Sea to Shining Sea, by Houghton-Mifflin.
We will be covering the history and development of our country, from the
Native Americans to the present. Along with the historical and cultural
development of America, our students will learn research, map and geographical
skills. Field trips are planned to study our area and the development
of our nation. We will also be involved in history projects throughout
the year. Our goal is to develop a love for history in our children that
will be carried through life and to show them that by understanding the
past, we can understand the present. A rich part of history is our cultural
diversity and how it makes us what we are today. Students will be taught
to recognize our cultural differences, to respect each other, and to see
how these differences have made America great. Students will also be taught
how God looks at us individually and how He treats us and thus how we
should treat each other.
Science
Our new science series Discovery, by Houghton-Mifflin,
focuses on plants, environments, the solar system, natural resources,
and matter, energy and forces. We will also study a unit on taking care
of our bodies. We will start with plants and the students will be planting
a small garden and taking a field trip to the forest. A master goal of
science is to help develop an inquisitive mind for the unknown and to
search out and answer "why". This will also expose us to the
wonders of God's creation and His love toward the human family, as God
can be seen in His creation. You will find in our classroom a nature center
with several live animals in it. Students are allowed to handle the animals
and are taught how to protect and take care of them. The nature center
is an excellent way to teach about God's creation. His love for us and
can be used as a springboard to other curriculums.
Recess
and Physical Education
Our children are provided with recess throughout the week. These are supervised
by a playground supervisor and one of the faculty. This is basically a
free time for the children to play as they would like. Physical education
is three times a week. It is a structured class with activities chosen
to develop the physical skills of our students. This class is under the
direction of the PE Department. At times I will take the physical education
class and play with the children. During these times we will play soccer,
softball or dodgeball. This gives me an opportunity
to observe our students and guide them in their development of Christian
sportsmanship.
Room
Duties
Throughout the year students will be involved in cleaning and taking care
of their classroom. This will include straightening library books, tidying
the classroom, cleaning the windows, etc. This will help
our students develop an attitude of taking care of public property and
the feeling of doing a good job.
Lunch
Please make sure your child has had a good breakfast that will last them
to 11:30 AM and a good nutritious lunch. Please control the sugar. If
a child forgets their lunch, I will advance them $3 for a hot lunch. The
money should be replaced the next day.
The children love to celebrate their birthdays at school. If you as a parent would like to have a party for them at school, here are some guidelines. The birthday will be celebrated at lunchtime or at the end of the day. If you plan a meal, please make sure it is vegetarian.
