Language Arts
Curriculum

Borromeo Academy Language Arts Curriculum

We want our students to read insightfully, write beautifully, speak articulately, and think critically. This means they must be taught how language works, which includes a deep grasp of phonics in reading and spelling, word usage, and syntax through the study of English grammar (and Latin beginning in 3rd Grade), and composition and expression. Students should learn how to question a story and be questioned by it. By being introduced to beautiful and enduring literature, poetry and biography, even young students can be encouraged to consider the worthiness of characters’ choices, the consequences of their actions, and the importance of right action and truth.

The study and recitation of poetry is used to cultivate memory, especially in the early years when children’s memory is strong and capable. Copy work and narration in the early years help students to imitate proper technique and find their voice. Dictation in later years allows students to emulate beautiful writing. The development of creative, expository, and analytical writing enables young thinkers to build confidence in the expression of their imagination, memory, and intellect.

Language and literature lessons complement concurrent, thematic lessons in history, culture, and religion, and thus provide a coherent, integrated curriculum.

Kindergarten

• Phonics:  The 70 Basic Phonogram Cards (Spell to Write and Read)
• Spelling:  Wise Guide for Spelling and Sight words/High-Frequency Words
• Grammar:  Learn parts of a sentence – capital letters, end marks, nouns, verbs
• Literature - possible selections include: Beatrix Potter Series, The Story About Ping by Flack, The Little House by Burton, Make Way for Ducklings by McCloskey, Ox-Cart Man by Cooney, Miss Rumphius by Cooney, A Child’s Garden of Verses by Stevenson, The Mitten by Brett, various classical picture books (Curious George), fables, poetry, and fairy tales (The Little Red Hen), Mother Goose, Dr. Suess
• Handwriting:  Writing Our Catholic faith

First Grade

• Phonics:  The 70 Basic Phonogram Cards (Spell to Write and Read)
• Spelling:  Wise Guide for Spelling/ Spelling Rules (sight words, prefixes/suffixes, plurals, homographs, and contractions)
• Grammar:  Shurley Grammar (parts of speech, punctuation, classification of pattern one sentence, three-sentence paragraphs, and Jingles)
• Literature:  McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader  
• possible selections include: Sammy the Seal by Hoff, Little Bear’s Visit by Minarik, Days with Frog and Toad by Lobel, Sam the minuteman by Benchley, The True Story of Pocahontas by Penner, Caps for Sale by Slobodkina, The Story of Ferdinand by Leaf, Bread and Jam for Francis by Hoban, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Burton, Blueberries for Sal by McCloskey, Stone Soup by Brown, Pinocchio by Collodi (read aloud), various poems, fairytales and folktales (Just So Stories), Benjamin Franklin, by Ingri D'Aulaire, George Washington, by Ingri D'Aulaire, Buffalo Bill, by Ingri D'Aulaire, A Child’s Garden of Verses by Stevenson
• Handwriting:  Writing Our Catholic Faith

Second Grade

• Phonics:  The 70 Basic Phonogram Cards (Spell to Write and Read)
• Spelling: Wise Guide for Spelling/ Spelling Rules
• Grammar:  Shurley Grammar (master two sentence patterns and classification,  question/answer flows, punctuation and editing skills, six parts of speech, plurals, synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms, and jingles)
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Literature - possible selections include:  Nate the Great by Sharmat, Madeline by Bemelmans, Amelia Bedelia by Parish, Billy and Blaze by Anderson, Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Roop, Just a few words, Mr. Lincoln by Fritz, The Courage of Sarah Noble by Dalgliesh, The Hundred Dresses by Estes, Encyclopedia Brown by Sobol, The Boxcar Children, by Warner, Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie by Wilder, Who was King Tut? by Edwards, Cleopatra by Stanley & Vennema, Charlotte’ Webby White, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis, various poems, fairytales and folktales
• Handwriting:  Writing Our Catholic Faith

Third Grade

• Spelling: Wise Guide for Spelling
• Grammar:  Shurley Grammar (master three sentence patterns and classification, question/answer flows, punctuation and editing skills, eight parts of speech, jingles)
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition: Memoria Press Introduction to Composition
• Literature - possible selections include:  D’aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths, Detective in Togas by Winterfield, The Trojan Horse by Little, Aesop’s Fables, Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Taylor, Because of Winn Dixie by DiCamillo, Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Dicamillo, Tales from the Odyssey part 1 and 2, The mystery of the Roman Ransom by Winterfield, Magician’s Nephew by Lewis, Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, various poems, fairytales and folktales
• Handwriting:  Writing Our Catholic Faith

Fourth Grade

• Spelling: Wise Guide for Spelling
• Grammar:  Shurley Grammar (master five sentence patterns and classification,  question/answer flows, punctuation and editing skills, subject/verb agreement, verb tense consistency, and jingles)
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition: Memoria Press  Classical Composition I:  Fable Stage
• Literature - possible selections include:  Homer Price by McCloskey, Whipping Boy by Fleischman, Viking Adventure by Bulla and Gorsline, Beowolf by Rebsamen, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg, Prince Caspian by Lewis, Black Beauty by Sewell, King Arthur and His Knights of the Roundtable, The Door in the Wall by De Angeli, Robin Hood by Green, The Trumpet of the Swan by EB White, various poetry, fairytales and folktales
• Handwriting:  Writing Our Catholic Faith

Fifth Grade

• Spelling: Wise Guide for Spelling
• Grammar:  Shurley Grammar (master seven sentence patterns and classification,  master parts of speech, punctuation and editing skills, subject/verb agreement, and verb tense consistency, identify infinitives, gerunds, clauses, and participles, identify dependent and independent clauses,)
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition: Memoria Press Classical Composition II: Narrative Stage
• Literature - possible selections include: Secret Garden by Burnett, Duel in the Wilderness by Farley, Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Latham, Sign of the Beaver by Speare, Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle, Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare, Island of the Blue Dolphins by O’Dell, Across Five Aprils by Hunt, various poetry, fairytales and folktales, Paul Revere’s Ride by Longfellow

Sixth Grade

• Grammar: Fix It
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition:  Memoria Press Classical Composition III:  Chreia & Maxim Set
• Literature - possible selections include:  The Bronze Bow by Speare, Princess and the Goblin by MacDonald, The Trojan War by Coolidge, The Golden Goblet by Clark, The Aeneid for Boys and Girls, The Little Prince by De Saint-Exupery, A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle, The Good Master, The White Stag, The Singing Tree and others, by Kate Seredy, Phantom Tollbooth by Juster

Seventh Grade

• Grammar:  Students entering seventh grade should have a working understanding of grammar, usage, and punctuation.  While these concepts are regularly reviewed and incorporated into the composition, incoming students not able to demonstrate mastery have the benefit of an individualized, independent remediation program.
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition: Memoria Press Classical Composition IV: Refutation & Confirmation Set
• Literature - possible selections include: Mara, Daughter of the Nile by McGraw, The Odyssey by Homer, The Eagle by Sutcliff, Confessions by Augustine, Beowolf by Heaney, The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, The Bronze Bow by Speare, The Hobbit by Tolkien, The Trojan War by Colidge, various poetry, fairytales and folktales

Eighth Grade

• Grammar:  Students entering eighth grade should have a working understanding of grammar, usage, and punctuation. While these concepts are regularly reviewed and incorporated into the composition, incoming students not able to demonstrate mastery have the benefit of an individualized, independent remediation program.
• Vocabulary: Extracted from literature and history
• Composition: Memoria Press Classical Composition V: Common Topic Set
• Literature - possible selections include:  Treasure Island by Stevenson, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy, How Much Does a Man Need?  by Tolstoy, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain, Call of the Wild by London, The Scarlett Letter by Hawthorne, various poetry, fairytales and folktales