Curriculum

Christ the Redeemer Catholic School offers Pre-K for 3 and 4 year olds. Each of these classes has a full-time teacher and a full-time teaching assistant. The curriculum is developed each year with the guidance and scope of the Curriculum Guides provided by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and includes time in their day for fine and gross motor skill development, reading and math centers, small group instruction, music and movement, and religion.

During reading centers, students are taught fundamental reading skills, such as print awareness, letter recognition, and phonemic awareness. Currently, we use FrogStreet Press for reading, math, science, and social studies, and RCL Benzinger’s Stories of God’s Love for religion. The daily routine in Pre-K includes snack, nap time, uninterrupted play and centers. Pre-K 4 students attend weekly Mass on Wednesdays with an 8th-grade church buddy.

In Kindergarten, each class has a full-time teacher and a full-time teaching assistant. Students in Kindergarten are introduced to the reader’s workshop through Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study in Teaching Reading. With this curriculum, children are taught daily mini-lessons and then given a chance to read independently or in small groups with the teacher. During small group time, students are taught phonics lessons from Heinemann, assessed individually for strengths and weaknesses, and taught skills to enhance fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.  

CtRCS also utilizes Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing to teach writing, scientific spelling and a number of other resources to help our learners become engaged readers and writers. For math, Sadlier’s Progress in Mathematics is used to help develop number sense, addition and subtraction. Students are also given time to explore math manipulatives, work in small groups, and utilize technology to help practice skills and math facts.  

The Stories of God’s Love series is continued in Kindergarten and students attend Mass once a week. In addition to their religion resources, our handwriting curriculum, Writing Our Catholic Faith, also reinforces religious content.

In 1st grade, students are really starting to shift their focus from learning how to read to being able to read independently. Students in 1st grade continue with Lucy Calkin’s “Units of Study” in Reading and Writing. The teachers will meet with students for reading and writing conferences, small group instruction, and individualized assessments of fluency and comprehension. Students are also introduced to Sadlier’s Vocabulary Workshop and continue their work in Scientific Spelling and Multisensory Grammar.  

For math, 1st grade students use Envision Math to continue instruction in addition and subtraction and are able to apply those skills to real world problems. During their math block, students rotate through hands-on learning centers where they use manipulatives, play math games, receive small group instruction, and use technology to reinforce math concepts.

In science and social studies, students explore their communities and the world around them. S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) projects are completed in the classroom using PebbleGo, BrainPop and Discovery Streaming.

During religion, students use “Blest are We,” a curriculum that focuses on belief statements, prayer, worship, and morality and they attend Mass weekly. Students will have a digital portfolio to showcase all their work.
 

Our second-grade Crusaders are becoming more aware of what qualities create strong readers and writers. In 2nd grade, students continue with Lucy Calkins reader’s and writer’s workshop, growing in comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. Students are explicitly taught reading skills to help when they are struggling to read texts. They are given time to write about personal experiences, nonfiction texts, responses to their reading, and continue to grow their spelling and vocabulary through Scientific Spelling and Sadlier’s "Vocabulary Workshop. Students in second grade also use the "Blest Are We series, which includes instruction in worship, prayer, morality, and the Catholic belief statements, in addition to attending weekly Mass.

Our handwriting curriculum, "Writing Our Catholic Faith," focuses on building handwriting skills while reinforcing religious content. Teachers and students utilize a number of resources for science and social studies to meet the objectives outlined by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston,  such as PebbleGo, Discovery Streaming, and BrainPop.

Students’ math blocks are composed of teacher-led instruction with small group centers that allow students to explore math concepts through games, hands-on activities,  and skill practice stemming from Pearson’s "Envision Math." Students actively work to build their online digital portfolios to showcase their work with Seesaw.
 

Our 3rd grade Crusaders are making the transition from learning to read to reading for learning. Our 3rd graders start to focus their reader’s workshop time toward greater comprehension and increasing their vocabulary, fluency and accessibility. We continue to use the reader’s and writer’s workshop model from Lucy Calkins' Units of Study, implement Sadlier’s "Vocabulary Workshop," Scientific Spelling, and begin to utilize novels for teaching units. Our religion studies are focused through the "Blest Are We" series, which includes instruction in worship, prayer, morality, and Catholic beliefs. Students in 3rd grade attend weekly Mass.  

Students meet their social studies objectives through TeachTCI, an online, kid-friendly curriculum that focuses on community, geography, different cultures and public service roles. For science, students use Pearson Interactive Science to explore topics such as animal habitats and different ecosystems, matter, earth’s various cycles, and many others, while also completing several S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) projects throughout the year.

Students’ math blocks are composed of teacher-led instruction with small group centers that allow students to explore math concepts through games, hands-on activities, small group instruction, and skill practice. In addition to our standard curriculum, students have access to online content through Pearson, Discovery Streaming, PebbleGo, BrainPop, Mathletics, and IXL. Students in 3rd grade work to build their online digital portfolios through Seesaw.

Our fourth-grade students enhance their reading and writing skills through Lucy Calkins’ reader’s and writer’s workshop by having ample time to read independently, conference with their teacher, complete novel studies, and write stories. Crusaders in fourth-grade access Sadlier’s Vocabulary Workshop online and also incorporate grammar skills through Sadlier into their daily writing skills.

We attend Mass weekly and continuously develop our knowledge of the Catholic faith through "Blest Are We." Our fourth-grade students utilize an online curriculum, TeachTCI: Social Studies Alive! in conjunction with various resources to understand the regions of the United States and the differences and similarities among people, economies and land features. In addition, students are exposed to Texas history through the studying and performing of the Texas Play: The Birth of the Lone Star State.

Through Pearson’s Interactive Science, students complete various labs to learn about the scientific process, energy, matter, the structure of living organisms and much more. Students’ math blocks are composed of teacher-led instruction with small group centers that allow students to explore math concepts through games, hands-on activities, small group instruction, and skill practice. In addition to our standard curriculum, students have access to online content through Pearson, Discovery Streaming, PebbleGo, BrainPop, Mathletics, and IXL.

Our 5th grade Crusaders continue to build their comprehension and stamina in reading and writing through Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study in Reading and Writing workshop. Students continue to grow their vocabulary knowledge through the online component of Sadlier’s Vocabulary Workshop. In addition to their writer’s workshop period, students utilize Writing for Grammar to enhance their editing and revising skills.

Students in 5th grade attend Mass weekly and grow their faith through the implementation of service projects, alongside the "Blest Are We" curriculum. Students in 5th grade are taught math primarily through small group instruction and center activities. Pearson’s Envision 2.0 is utilized to focus instruction on various topics, but then students are given time to meet with the teacher individually and in small groups.

Social Studies objectives are met through an online curriculum, TeachTCI, which focuses on America’s Past. This curriculum gives students an opportunity to explore the past in an interactive, hands-on way. Students complete various partner and group activities to explore the past and understand past events and how those events have shaped our country today. In science, students use Pearson’s Interactive Science to complete various labs, conduct research, and learn about the world around them. Some of these topics include inherited traits, earth’s place in the solar system, and how to create and interpret different data. These skills come in handy when completing S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) projects.  Finally, 5th-grade students learn how to be good digital citizens through the growing of their online digital portfolios in Seesaw.

THEOLOGY
The primary focus of CtR middle school theology is to help guide students to have an encounter with Jesus and to continue to cultivate a lifelong loving relationship with our Savior. This is under the direction of the Archdiocesan Guidelines for Religious Education. The resources used are the Catholic Bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the RCL Benzinger’s My Disciple textbook.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Students in grades 6-8 explore various short stories, novels, essays and articles in order to enhance and deepen their understanding and application of reading, writing and communication skills taught in earlier grades. Students in middle school will use a variety of fiction and nonfiction reading as models for different writing styles written during the year. Students also learn literary criticism and text analysis of characters’ actions and intentions, comparing stories’ themes, writing with figurative and expressive language, and conducting research while differentiating between primary and secondary sources. As in the lower grades, middle school students grow their vocabulary and grammar skills through reading and writing as well as the use of Sadlier’s Vocabulary Workshop and Grammar for Writing.

MATH
Middle school students receive general math instruction in 6th grade, and more specific instruction in grades 7 and 8.

Our 6th grade students utilize a Prentice Hall Pearson book titled Course 2 Mathematics, which is a general math book covering all major domains.

Our 7th grade students are prepared for 8th grade Algebra using a Prentice Hall Pearson Pre-Algebra book and given whole group and small group instruction, so that each student’s needs can be met. Additional resources and online programs such as Mathletics are used for independent skill practice, homework, and stations in the classroom while students meet with the teacher for more individualized, differentiated instruction.

In 8th grade, students receive Algebra-specific instruction and utilize Prentice Hall Pearson’s Algebra course, in addition to online resources.

SCIENCE
Students in middle school study science in a single subject focused manner, while continuously reviewing more general science topics. In 6th grade, students study earth science. In 7th grade, students focus on Life Science, and in 8th-grade students focus on physical science.  

SOCIAL STUDIES
All middle school students meet their learning objectives through Teach TCI’s Social Studies Alive! Online program. Students work in partners and small groups to conduct research, hands-on activities, watch videos, and explore the world around them. Our 6th-grade students focus on World Geography, 7th-grade students focus on Geography and Texas History, and 8th-grade students focus on American History.