Our Curriculum

Built on 26+ years of teaching experience — not state testing benchmarks. We focus on the core skills students truly need at each grade level, taught in a warm and joyful environment.

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Reading & ELA

Real novels. Rich discussions. A genuine love of reading — built to last a lifetime.

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Math

Understanding the "why" behind every concept — not just memorizing steps.

✏️

Writing

From personal narratives to research essays — students become confident writers.

🌱

2nd Grade — ELA & Math

4 classes per week · 50 min. each · Full ELA & Math Curriculum

Monday
Reading
Tuesday
Math
Wednesday
Grammar & Spelling
Thursday
Writing

📖 Reading

  • Fiction: characters, setting, main idea, key details
  • Predictions, inferences, problem & solution
  • Sequencing, themes, point of view, cause & effect
  • Non-Fiction: main idea, key details, charts & graphs

🔢 Math

  • Place value, add & subtract up to five digits
  • Round and compare numbers
  • Time to the minute, measurement
  • Bar graphs, picture graphs, line plots
  • Basic 2D & 3D shapes, perimeter, area
  • Multiplication concepts & facts, division concepts
  • Fractions of a group and a whole

✏️ Grammar

  • Nouns (singular, plural, proper)
  • Verbs (action, helping, linking, tenses)
  • Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions
  • Commas, capitalization, punctuation
  • Conjunctions, sentence types

📝 Writing

  • Personal Narrative & Journaling
  • Opinion writing
  • Informational writing
  • Creative Fiction & Poetry
  • Sentence structure: subject, predicate, details

"Each class begins with a 10-minute academic warm-up and community-building activity. Our classroom is kind, caring, supportive, and just a little bit crazy — students learn best when they feel comfortable and safe!"

📗

3rd Grade — ELA & Math

4 classes per week · 50 min. each · Full ELA & Math Curriculum

Monday
Reading
Tuesday
Math
Wednesday
Grammar & Word Study
Thursday
Writing

📖 Reading

  • Fiction: characters, setting, main idea, key details & events
  • Predictions, inferences, problem & solution, sequencing
  • Themes, point of view, cause & effect
  • Non-Fiction: main idea, key details, reading graphs, charts & pictures

🔢 Math

  • Place value to 100,000; add & subtract up to five digits
  • Round & compare numbers; time to the minute
  • Volume, mass, bar graphs, picture graphs, line plots
  • Basic 2D & 3D shapes, triangles, quadrilaterals, angles
  • Perimeter & area; fractions (equivalent, comparing)
  • Multiplication concepts & facts to 100; division concepts & facts

✏️ Grammar — Sadlier Oxford

  • Nouns: singular, plural, proper
  • Verbs: action, helping, linking, tenses, agreement
  • Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions
  • Commas, titles, abbreviations, dialogue
  • Conjunctions, capitalization, punctuation

📝 Writing

  • Personal Narrative & Journaling
  • Opinion writing
  • Informational writing
  • Mystery, Fiction, Poetry
  • Sentence writing: subject, predicate, details, avoiding run-ons

"Class structure follows the proven 'I do, We do, You do' approach. Classes begin with walk-up music, a greeting, news, review, or a game — then move into direct instruction with games, group practice, and student interaction throughout."

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4th Grade — ELA & Math

4 classes per week · 50 min. each · Full ELA & Math Curriculum

Monday
Reading
Tuesday
Math
Wednesday
Grammar
Thursday
Writing

📖 Reading

  • Fiction & nonfiction comprehension
  • Characters, main idea, sequencing
  • Inferences, cause & effect, themes
  • Author's purpose, text structure, literary devices

🔢 Math

  • Place value, multiplication, division
  • Fractions & decimals
  • Geometry, graphing, measurement
  • Multi-step word problems

✏️ Grammar

  • Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions
  • Conjunctions, capitalization, punctuation
  • Sentence types and structures

📝 Writing

  • Multi-paragraph narrative, opinion, informational
  • Poetry and creative fiction
  • Organization, adding details, conclusions, supporting arguments

"Progress reports provided twice per semester. Monthly classroom newsletter keeps families informed. Each class begins with a 10-minute warm-up and community-building activity — relationships are always first."

📙

5th Grade — ELA & Math

4 classes per week · 50 min. each · Full ELA & Math Curriculum

Monday
Reading
Tuesday
Math
Wednesday
Grammar
Thursday
Writing

📖 Reading

  • Characters, setting, main idea, predictions, inferences
  • Problem & solution, theme, author's purpose & perspective
  • Text structure, literary devices, cause & effect

🔢 Math — IXL: The Ultimate Math Workbook (5th Grade)

  • Place value to 1,000,000,000; round & compare numbers
  • Add & subtract including decimals; word problems
  • Measurement: customary & metric, conversions
  • Graphing: bar, picture, line plots, stem & leaf
  • Geometry: 2D & 3D shapes, triangles, quadrilaterals, angles, perimeter, area, volume
  • Fractions: all operations, simplify, compare unlike denominators
  • Decimals: place value, fractions to decimals, conversion
  • Multi-digit multiplication & division
  • Prime & composite; LCM, GCF, Powers of 10
  • Variable expressions; coordinate plane geometry; statistics

✏️ Grammar — Sadlier Oxford Grammar Workshop (Blue Edition)

  • Nouns: singular, plural, common, possessive, proper
  • Verbs: action, helping, linking, tenses, agreement
  • Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions
  • Commas, titles, abbreviations, dialogue
  • Conjunctions & subordinating conjunctions

💬 Vocabulary — Sadlier Oxford Workshop (Blue Edition)

  • Suffixes & prefixes
  • Synonyms, antonyms, context clues
  • Shades of meaning; use in a sentence

📝 Writing

  • Personal Narrative & Journaling
  • Opinion
  • Informational
  • Mystery & Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Compare & Contrast
  • Book Trailer
  • Research Project

📚 Books We Read — Semester 1

Holes — Louis Sachar The Girl Who Drank the Moon — Kelly Barnhill The Bletchley Riddle — Ruta Sepetys

📚 Books We Read — Semester 2

The Genius Files: Mission Impossible — Dan Gutman The Lightning Thief — Rick Riordan History Smashers: The Titanic — Kate Messner

"My goal is to make learning as happy and stress-free as possible! My classroom is fast-paced and interactive — kind, caring, supportive, productive, silly, and just a little bit crazy. Students can only learn when they feel comfortable and safe. I provide that environment, then watch as their learning soars!"

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6th–7th Grade ELA — Adventures in Reading & Writing

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · ELA (Reading, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary)

Day 1
Reading Focus
Day 2
Grammar + Writing

This course blends reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, speaking, and listening into an exciting, interactive experience. Assignments are flexible so learners are challenged at just the right level — a 6th grader might focus on shorter responses with extra support, while a 7th grader expands essays with more depth.

📖 Reading Skills

  • Themes and universal subjects
  • Literary devices and figurative language
  • Close reading skills
  • Characters, literary elements, and story structure
  • Exploration of diverse cultures, backgrounds & time periods

📝 Writing Skills

  • Literary analysis
  • Personal narrative
  • Brainstorm, outline, and collect evidence
  • Essay revision techniques
  • Writing as a powerful tool for expression

✏️ Grammar Skills

  • Commonly confused words
  • Proper punctuation
  • Sentence types
  • Capitalization rules
  • Vocabulary in context

🎯 Class Structure

  • Each session opens with a community-building activity
  • Direct instruction + interactive practice
  • Student discussion and collaboration
  • Projects, essays, and vocabulary games
  • Flexible for all learners — enrichment available

📚 Semester 1 Novel

Framed — James Ponti

📚 Semester 2 Novels

Fever 1793 — Laurie Halse Anderson Medusa — Katherine Marsh

"My goal is for every learner to see reading as an adventure and writing as a powerful tool for expression. With over 31 years of teaching experience, I create a welcoming classroom where students feel confident to take risks, share ideas, and grow their skills."

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8th–9th Grade ELA

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · ELA (Reading, Writing, Grammar) · Socratic Seminar included

Students experience books as mirrors — seeing themselves and making connections to their own lives — and as windows into the lives of others, learning about diverse cultures, backgrounds, and time periods. Students build a reading skill toolbox and writing revision toolbox that will benefit them for upcoming school years and beyond.

✍️ Writing Skills

  • Literary analysis essay
  • Personal narrative
  • Persuasive OpEd
  • Research essay
  • Brainstorm, outline, and collect evidence
  • Multiple essay revision strategies
  • MLA format

📚 Reading Skills

  • Close reading skills
  • Identify themes and universal subjects
  • Literary devices, figurative language, and poetic devices
  • Exposure to diverse range of texts
  • Socratic Seminar participation

✏️ Grammar Skills

  • Commonly confused words
  • Proper punctuation
  • Sentence types
  • Capitalization rules
  • New vocabulary throughout the year

🎯 Assessments & Projects

  • Multi-draft essays
  • Creative projects
  • Socratic Seminar
  • One written progress report per semester (additional as needed)

"I am a calming but energetic and happy teacher. I strive to foster confidence in each child that I work with. I want students to see themselves as writers and readers — because I believe ALL children can learn." — Ms. Swan, B.S. English & M.A.T. Secondary English · 2024 Teacher of the Year

🔢

6th Grade Math

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · IXL-aligned curriculum

Day 1
Instruction + Practice
Day 2
Application + Review

🔢 Number Sense & Operations

  • Whole number operations and word problems
  • Exponents and powers of ten
  • Order of operations
  • Prime factorization, GCF & LCM
  • Decimal operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
  • Fraction operations including mixed numbers

➕ Integers & Rational Numbers

  • Understanding integers and absolute value
  • Comparing and ordering integers
  • Add, subtract, multiply & divide integers
  • Rational numbers on the number line
  • Classifying and comparing rational numbers
  • Opposites and absolute value of rational numbers

📊 Ratios, Rates & Percents

  • Writing and identifying equivalent ratios
  • Unit rates and rate word problems
  • Proportional relationships and scale drawings
  • Converting between percents, fractions & decimals
  • Percents of numbers and percent word problems
  • Tax, tip, discount, and simple interest

🔡 Algebra & Expressions

  • Writing and evaluating variable expressions
  • Equivalent expressions and distributive property
  • Combining like terms
  • Solving one-step equations
  • One-variable inequalities and graphing solutions
  • Two-variable equations and graphing relationships

📐 Geometry

  • Lines, angles, and angle relationships
  • Classifying polygons, triangles & quadrilaterals
  • Perimeter and area (rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, trapezoids)
  • Area of compound figures
  • Nets and surface area of 3D figures
  • Coordinate plane — all four quadrants

📏 Measurement & Data

  • Customary and metric unit conversions
  • Converting between Celsius and Fahrenheit
  • Consumer math: unit prices, sale prices, coupons
  • Identifying independent and dependent variables
  • Reading and interpreting graphs
  • Real-world problem solving across all domains

6th grade math is delivered through IXL's skill-based platform, giving students targeted practice with immediate feedback. Skills are sequenced to build strong number sense before moving into algebra and geometry.

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7th Grade Math

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · IXL-aligned curriculum

Day 1
Instruction + Practice
Day 2
Application + Review

🔢 Number Sense & Rational Numbers

  • Integer operations and rules
  • Decimal and fraction operations
  • Converting between fractions, decimals & mixed numbers
  • Comparing and ordering rational numbers
  • Absolute value of rational numbers
  • Operations with all rational numbers

🔬 Exponents, Roots & Number Theory

  • Understanding and evaluating exponents
  • Powers with negative and fractional bases
  • Scientific notation: read, write & compare
  • Square roots of perfect squares
  • Estimating square roots
  • GCF, LCM, and prime factorization

📊 Ratios, Rates & Percents

  • Unit rates with fractions
  • Proportions and solving proportion word problems
  • Proportional relationships: tables and graphs
  • Percent of change, percent error
  • Tax, tip, discount, and multi-step percent problems
  • Simple and compound interest

🔡 Algebra — Expressions & Equations

  • Writing and evaluating variable expressions
  • Equivalent expressions and distributive property
  • Combining like terms; linear expressions
  • Solving one-step and two-step equations
  • Two-step inequalities and graphing solutions
  • Slope: find from a graph, table, or two points

📐 Geometry & Measurement

  • Angle relationships: complementary, supplementary, vertical, transversals
  • Triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons
  • Circumference and area of circles
  • Area of compound figures
  • Surface area and volume (prisms, pyramids, cylinders)
  • Scale drawings; transformations and similarity

📈 Data & Statistics

  • Mean, median, mode, and range
  • Mean absolute deviation
  • Quartiles and interquartile range
  • Identifying outliers
  • Box plots, histograms, and stem-and-leaf plots
  • Populations and samples

7th grade math deepens algebraic thinking and introduces proportional reasoning at a higher level, laying the groundwork for the formal algebra and geometry students encounter in 8th grade and beyond.

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8th Grade Math

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · IXL-aligned curriculum

Day 1
Instruction + Practice
Day 2
Application + Review

🔢 Number Systems

  • Rational and irrational numbers; classifying real numbers
  • Exponent rules: multiply, divide, power of a power
  • Negative and zero exponents
  • Scientific notation: operations and comparison
  • Square roots and cube roots
  • Solving equations using square/cube roots

🔡 Algebra — Equations & Inequalities

  • Solving multi-step equations with variables on both sides
  • Equations with the distributive property
  • Number of solutions (one, none, infinitely many)
  • Multi-step inequalities; variables on both sides
  • Equivalent expressions and linear expression operations
  • Writing equations from word problems

📉 Linear Equations & Functions

  • Slope from graphs, tables, and two points
  • Slope-intercept form: graph and write equations
  • Point-slope and standard form
  • Parallel and perpendicular lines
  • Identify and evaluate linear functions
  • Compare linear functions: graphs, tables & equations

⚖️ Systems of Equations & Proportions

  • Proportional relationships: constant of proportionality
  • Graphing and interpreting proportional relationships
  • Solving systems by graphing, substitution & elimination
  • Number of solutions to a system
  • Scale drawings and proportions
  • Percent of change; consumer math

📐 Geometry & Pythagorean Theorem

  • Angle relationships and transversals of parallel lines
  • Pythagorean theorem: find missing sides
  • Converse of the Pythagorean theorem
  • Transformations: reflections, rotations, translations, dilations
  • Congruence and similarity; angle-angle criterion
  • Indirect measurement with similar triangles

📦 Surface Area & Volume

  • Volume of prisms, pyramids, and cylinders
  • Volume of cones and spheres
  • Surface area of prisms, pyramids, cylinders & cones
  • Surface area of spheres
  • Area and circumference of circles
  • Area of compound figures; perimeter and area changes with scale

8th grade math is a pivotal year — students formalize their understanding of linear relationships, functions, and the Pythagorean theorem while being introduced to systems of equations and transformational geometry.

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9th Grade Math — Algebra 1

2 classes per week · 50 min. each · IXL-aligned curriculum

Day 1
Instruction + Practice
Day 2
Application + Review

🔢 Number Sense & Expressions

  • Operations with integers and rational numbers
  • Square roots, cube roots, and irrational numbers
  • Writing and evaluating variable expressions
  • Simplifying linear expressions using properties
  • Distributive property and combining like terms
  • Exponent rules and scientific notation

⚖️ Linear Equations & Inequalities

  • Solving one-step through multi-step equations
  • Equations with variables on both sides
  • Number of solutions (one, none, infinitely many)
  • One-step through compound linear inequalities
  • Absolute value equations and inequalities
  • Rearranging multi-variable equations

📉 Functions & Linear Functions

  • Relations, domain and range; identifying functions
  • Slope: from graphs, tables, and two points
  • Slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard form
  • Writing linear equations and functions
  • Parallel and perpendicular lines
  • Rate of change; direct and inverse variation

⚔️ Systems of Equations & Inequalities

  • Solving systems by graphing, substitution & elimination
  • Number of solutions to a system
  • Systems: word problems
  • Two-variable linear inequalities
  • Solving systems of inequalities by graphing
  • Piecewise-defined functions

🔣 Polynomials & Factoring

  • Adding, subtracting & multiplying polynomials
  • Multiplying binomials; special cases
  • Dividing polynomials by monomials
  • Factoring: GCF, quadratics, grouping
  • Factoring quadratics with leading coefficients
  • Rational exponents and radical expressions

📈 Quadratic & Exponential Functions

  • Characteristics of quadratic functions: graphs & equations
  • Solving quadratic equations (square roots, factoring, quadratic formula)
  • Exponential growth and decay; compound interest
  • Arithmetic and geometric sequences
  • Comparing linear, quadratic & exponential functions
  • Transformations of functions

9th grade Algebra 1 is the gateway to all higher mathematics. Students master linear relationships, functions, and systems before moving into the world of polynomials and quadratics — building the problem-solving toolkit they'll carry through high school.

We'd Love to Tell You More

Every child is different — Kim is happy to talk through which pod is the right fit for your learner. Schedule a free 10-minute "Get to Know You" meeting!