Elementary (Grades TK-4)

Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

Our full-day Transitional Kindergarten program is designed for children who do not meet the Kindergarten admission age or would benefit from a smaller class environment. With a maximum of 14 students, this program allows children to progress academically at their own pace while developing essential social skills. Students engage in activities that prepare them for Kindergarten, including phonics, sight words, writing sentences, and basic addition and subtraction.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is a crucial step in a child's academic journey, where they explore learning and social interactions in a structured environment. In First Lutheran's kindergarten program, students enhance reading and comprehension through the Open Court Program, learn math concepts with patterning, counting, shapes, and measurements, and engage in hands-on science learning in Life, Physical, and Earth Sciences. They explore themes like community, history, and civic responsibility, express themselves through music with twice-weekly classes and participation in Winter and Spring musicals, and learn to apply Christian faith in their daily lives.

First Grade

First Grade Reading skills are essential for success across all subjects. First Lutheran School's first grade curriculum focuses on building strong phonetic skills and comprehension through the Common Core-aligned Imagine It reading program. Students engage in math, science, and social studies with a hands-on approach, integrating writing skills into all subjects. They learn about their community and the natural world, with enriching field trips to Madrona Marsh, the LA Zoo, and the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Second Grade

In second grade at First Lutheran School, children develop crucial academic and social skills for upper elementary grades. Using the Open Court Reading program, students read longer stories and discuss both fiction and non-fiction. Their math skills are enhanced through a Common Core program that introduces adding and subtracting large numbers and other essential concepts. Social Studies and Science are explored through hands-on experiments and field trips to the Natural History Museum, Discovery Science Center, and La Brea Tar Pits. Writing skills are integrated into cross-curricular projects, culminating in a research project showcased at Open House. Family participation is encouraged through the year-long Flat Friend project.

Third Grade

Third grade at First Lutheran is a year of transition, building on prior skills with a focus on vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and grammar. Students expand their writing to detailed five-paragraph essays in both fiction and non-fiction and learn 600 new words through spelling and vocabulary lessons. Math instruction emphasizes multiplication and division, while science introduces concepts like outer space, chemistry, and biomes. Third graders deepen their understanding of relationships with God and others, learning 30 more Bible verses.

Fourth Grade

In fourth grade, a multidisciplinary approach allows students to demonstrate understanding through writing, oral presentations, art, music, and technology. Subjects are integrated, with writing extending across the curriculum. Students transition from learning to read to reading for learning, mastering multiplication and division strategies, and solving real-world multi-step problems. Music education includes reading and playing instruments taught by professional teachers in weekly lessons. Students gain independence, taking responsibility for behavior, managing long-term assignments, and assuming leadership roles with younger students. Learning extends beyond the classroom, exploring community resources and California history.