Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions	Sample Instructional Activities/Assessments
Bible	God created all, and he called and raised a nation through Old Testament patriarchs, judges, and kings. God makes and keeps covenant promises with people. God calls us to follow him and grow together.	How does God call and restore people and nations? How did God guide his people through sojourns, conquest, nation-building, exile, and post-exile? How is the Old Testament our story today?	Take-home tests; research study project Classroom discussions, Bible activities Memory Work: Exodus 20:1-17, I Samuel 2:1-10, Psalm 21, 51, 105 & 106, and other Old Testament passages
Reading	Read for fluency, understanding, application. Apply several genre; point of view, personification, alliteration, consonance. Study poetry, myth, fable, legend, fairy tale, story, novel.	How does high quality writing help us comprehend it? How can literary techniques match their content? Why did Jesus call himself The Word?   What can that mean for us?	Theme studies: Mythology, Legend, Fairy Tale, Tall Tale, Fable; Medieval Living; Jesus’ Day Application of personification, alliteration, consonance. Tic tac toe--independent reading of genre-novels
Spelling Vocabulary	English uses common vowel and consonant patterns. English spelling uses many common suffixes.	Why does English follow common vowel and consonant patterns? Why should we learn the most common suffixes?	Weekly pretests, practice tests, and post-tests Weekly lessons to practice vocabulary/spelling lists Practice pronouncing/defining vocabulary/spelling words
Grammar	Identify and write varied sentences; adjective and adverb prepositional phrases. Punctuate dialogue, interjections; review parts of speech.	How are phrases and modifiers used differently? How can you construct effective phrases and sentences? Why is knowing correct grammar important?	Daily grammar mini-lessons, journal writing, and sentence surgery; diagramming, paragraph crafting Unit pretests and post-tests; semester cumulative tests
Writing	Apply the writing process: prewriting, first draft, revise, proofread, and publish. Practice writing a personal narrative, comparison and contrast, story, and research report.	Why is writing clearly essential to communicating? How should different writing styles match different types of writings?	Personal narrative, comparison and contrast, story Research report:: prewriting, note cards, draft, revise-proofread, publish
Mathematics	Learn integers, patterns, and percents. Master decimals and fractions. Study geometry, and introduce algebra concepts and applications.	How do we understand and use integers, patterns, and percents? Why are geometry and algebra important to God’s world and our understanding of it?	Daily lessons Math activities Unit tests
Science	Learn how and why we study Earth Science: geology, weather, the universe and solar system, the environment and ecology.	How do we understand space, planets, and other heavenly bodies; weather, and geology?   How should we be stewards/caretakers of our planet? How do we acknowledge their Creator and Sustainer?	Laboratory experiments Projects Unit tests
Social Studies	Know the five themes of Geography: location, movement, place, human-environment interaction, and regions. Apply the five themes to the Western Hemisphere: Latin America, Canada, and the United States.	How do the five themes of geography help us understand God’s world? What are similarities and differences among people and places?   Why do people live where they do?	Log of geography terms; nonfiction reading for content Application/synthesis projects: maps, travel journal, virtual travelogue Unit tests
Christian Conduct Service	Jesus calls us to practice our faith with deeds of service. Growing a vibrantly Christian learning community involves helping, encouraging, and praying with one another.	How do we practice learning and living as Jesus’ school? How should we spend time, money, and effort to serve one another and others in our community and world?	Recycle paper and commingled plastics, jars, and cans Participate in chapel and assist with classroom devotions Annual local service projects such as raking leaves in a cemetery, fundraiser for Hope International rescue.