Grade by Grade Curriculum Planning and Teaching Sequences
This family planning guide offers a usable year-long sequence for kindergarten through grade 7. It is an original planning framework, not a certified curriculum or a completed crosswalk to every Alabama standard. Select each subject by the learner’s demonstrated skills. Ages alone do not determine grade. Complete the placement skills check and use multiple samples before choosing a level. A learner may work at different levels in reading and mathematics.
The four terms are flexible blocks of approximately nine teaching weeks, not a legal attendance calendar. Within each block teach, practice, assess, reteach and revisit. Families should use a complete grade-appropriate reading and mathematics core while the Academy’s full lesson library is being built.
Daily Instruction for Every Level
Reading: explicitly model the target skill, practice together, then have the child apply it independently in an unfamiliar text. Beginning readers need systematic phonemic awareness, letter-sound instruction, blending, decodable text and comprehension. Mathematics: model with objects, pictures or a worked example; guide practice, then give independent problems and a new application. Writing: plan, draft, review, revise and share privately as appropriate. Science and history: use real evidence, reliable references and accurate language. Teach Scripture in context, then discuss an appropriate ethical connection without presenting the passage as a scientific experiment.
A practical weekly rhythm: five days of reading and mathematics, writing throughout the week, at least two science and two history/civics sessions, regular movement and arts, and a weekly independent review. Adjust for age, attention, accessibility and local requirements. This is an educational suggestion, not a representation of required instructional hours.
Kindergarten
Reading and writing
Term 1: Hear and manipulate words and syllables, learn letter names and sounds, form letters and retell oral stories.
Term 2: Blend and segment simple sounds, decode taught consonant-vowel-consonant words, write letters and dictated labels.
Term 3: Read increasingly varied decodable words, distinguish characters and events, compose an oral or dictated sentence.
Term 4: Read short decodable text using taught patterns, retell with details, write sentences with adult support.
Mathematics
Term 1: Count and compare objects to 10; represent addition and subtraction with objects.
Term 2: Count and compare to 20, compose and decompose 10, solve concrete story problems.
Term 3: Develop teen numbers as ten and extra ones, describe shapes and measurable attributes.
Term 4: Review counting and operations, compare lengths and practice explaining solutions.
Science sequence: Observe weather and seasonal patterns; investigate pushes and pulls; describe plants and animals and their needs. Record pictures or counts with adult assistance.
History and civics sequence: Family, school and community; rules and responsibilities; basic maps, sequence, and how people meet needs.
Sample independent evidence: Independently count a collection, solve a fresh object problem, decode taught patterns and retell a short story. Observe work on multiple days.
Grade 1
Reading and writing
Term 1: Review phonemic awareness, short-vowel decoding, sentence formation and narrative retelling.
Term 2: Teach consonant blends and digraphs, high-frequency words and comprehension; compose related sentences.
Term 3: Extend vowel patterns and fluency; identify main topic and details, revise sentences.
Term 4: Read independently with taught patterns, write a short organized account and explain text evidence orally.
Mathematics
Term 1: Addition and subtraction within 20 using strategies; number relationships.
Term 2: Place value to 100 and addition/subtraction within 100 using models.
Term 3: Compare lengths, tell time and work with shapes and equal parts.
Term 4: Solve two-step readiness problems with supports, revisit operations, measurement and place value.
Science sequence: Investigate light and sound; compare young and adult organisms and structures; record weather and patterns using observations.
History and civics sequence: Community roles and geography; maps and directions; chronology, national symbols and shared civic responsibilities.
Sample independent evidence: Use unfamiliar decodable words and a new passage; check place value, operations and explanation with fresh problems.
Grade 2
Reading and writing
Term 1: Review decoding and fluency, read stories and informational text, identify topic and details.
Term 2: Teach multisyllable decoding, vocabulary in context and paragraph planning.
Term 3: Compare texts, write narratives and explanations, edit capitalization and punctuation.
Term 4: Cite details to answer questions, revise a focused paragraph and research a small topic with guidance.
Mathematics
Term 1: Place value through 1,000; add and subtract using place-value strategies.
Term 2: Fluency with addition and subtraction; solve one- and two-step word problems.
Term 3: Measure and estimate lengths, work with money, time, data and arrays.
Term 4: Explore equal groups as multiplication preparation, partition shapes into equal shares and review.
Science sequence: Explore materials and changes, plant and animal relationships, land and water, and solutions to environmental problems through safe investigations.
History and civics sequence: Local and wider communities, maps and resources, changing communities, government and responsible citizenship.
Sample independent evidence: Use a new passage, short written explanation, place-value problems, word problem and a labeled measurement.
Grade 3
Reading and writing
Term 1: Read grade-appropriate narrative and informational texts, determine central idea and support, build paragraph structure.
Term 2: Use text evidence, vocabulary and summaries; plan and write narratives and informational paragraphs.
Term 3: Compare sources, expand organized writing and revise sentences and grammar.
Term 4: Read independently, explain an inference with evidence, and research a question using sources.
Mathematics
Term 1: Develop multiplication and division from equal groups and arrays; connect inverse operations.
Term 2: Multiplication/division facts and problem solving; place value and multi-digit computation.
Term 3: Unit fractions, number lines, comparing fractions and equivalent examples.
Term 4: Area, perimeter, measurement and data; apply all four operations and review.
Science sequence: Life cycles, traits and environments; forces and motion; weather and climate; use evidence to explain patterns.
History and civics sequence: Geography and communities, economic choices, history and civics. Use the current Alabama grade-level course for the specific historical sequence.
Sample independent evidence: Assess multiplication and division, fraction models, area, a new reading passage and an evidence-based paragraph.
Grade 4
Reading and writing
Term 1: Read complex stories and nonfiction, summarize and cite details; plan multi-paragraph writing.
Term 2: Analyze text structure and vocabulary; write explanatory text supported by sources.
Term 3: Compare accounts and perspectives, develop opinion writing with reasons and evidence.
Term 4: Research, cite sources, revise writing and demonstrate independent comprehension.
Mathematics
Term 1: Multi-digit place value and operations; factors, multiples and word problems.
Term 2: Fraction equivalence, comparison, addition and subtraction of like denominators.
Term 3: Decimals as extensions of fractions, measurement conversions and data.
Term 4: Angles, lines, shapes, area and perimeter; practice multistep applications.
Science sequence: Investigate energy, waves, Earth processes, organisms and how evidence supports explanations. Use the current state course to check specific grade assignments.
History and civics sequence: Alabama geography and history, Indigenous peoples, state government and economic change. Use multiple reliable sources and distinguish different perspectives.
Sample independent evidence: Check multi-digit operations, fraction reasoning, measurement, source-based reading and a revised written explanation.
Grade 5
Reading and writing
Term 1: Analyze central ideas, themes and evidence across texts; organize multi-paragraph writing.
Term 2: Compare accounts, research credible sources and draft informative and opinion pieces.
Term 3: Evaluate text structure and vocabulary, integrate sources and revise for clarity.
Term 4: Practice independent reading, evidence-supported writing and research with accurate attribution.
Mathematics
Term 1: Place value including decimals; multi-digit operations and applications.
Term 2: Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators; multiply fractions using models.
Term 3: Decimal operations, volume and measurement; interpret numerical patterns.
Term 4: Coordinate plane, geometry, data and multi-step problems; revisit fractional reasoning.
Science sequence: Explore matter and its conservation, energy in systems, ecosystems and Earth systems through models and evidence.
History and civics sequence: United States history and geography, government and economic development. Check the official grade-specific chronology and use primary and secondary sources.
Sample independent evidence: Assess fraction and decimal operations, volume, a new text with evidence questions and source-based writing.
Grade 6
Reading and writing
Term 1: Read literary and informational texts closely, determine central ideas and cite evidence; write organized explanations.
Term 2: Analyze arguments, vocabulary and text structure; develop claims, evidence and reasoning.
Term 3: Compare accounts and source credibility; write narratives and research with citations.
Term 4: Revise multi-paragraph pieces, address counterpoints when appropriate and evaluate multiple sources.
Mathematics
Term 1: Ratios, unit rates and proportional comparisons; operations with fractions.
Term 2: Decimals and percentages, division of fractions and applications.
Term 3: Expressions and equations, inequalities and the coordinate plane.
Term 4: Area, surface area, volume, statistics and distributions; explain reasoning.
Science sequence: Investigate physical, life and Earth systems using the state grade-level course to select topics; construct models, analyze data and identify limits.
History and civics sequence: World or United States history as assigned by the applicable state course; use maps, chronology, primary sources and civic reasoning.
Sample independent evidence: Check ratios, fraction division, equations, statistics, a new reading passage and an evidence-based written response.
Grade 7
Reading and writing
Term 1: Analyze complex texts, central ideas and supporting evidence; develop focused arguments.
Term 2: Compare authors’ methods and perspectives; use reliable sources in explanatory writing.
Term 3: Research with citation, recognize counterclaims, revise organization and grammar.
Term 4: Read independently across genres and produce a coherent argument supported by evidence.
Mathematics
Term 1: Proportional relationships, unit rates, scale and percent problems.
Term 2: Operations with rational numbers and numerical expressions.
Term 3: Linear expressions, equations and inequalities; solve contextual problems.
Term 4: Geometry, probability, sampling and statistics; interpret evidence and limitations.
Science sequence: Use current grade-specific Alabama science course for life, physical and Earth topics; design investigations and evaluate evidence and models.
History and civics sequence: Use the current grade-specific social studies course, studying chronology, geography, civics, economics and source interpretation.
Sample independent evidence: Assess proportional reasoning, rational operations, equations, probability, source evaluation and a cited argument.
Shared Scripture, Arts, Health and Digital Habits
Read Torah and Wisdom passages in their settings. Discuss truthfulness, justice, care, responsibility and wise speech with age-appropriate questions. Include visual art and music, movement, nutrition and personal safety, and supervised digital literacy. Teach students to protect identifying information, question online claims and cite sources. These themes complement, rather than replace, systematic academic instruction.
Alabama and Other States
Alabama identifies church school, private school and private tutor arrangements, each with different statutory rules. The private-tutor statute includes Alabama certification, specified subjects and hours, a superintendent statement and records; do not assume those tutor-specific rules apply to all families. Alabama law also addresses attendance registers and arrangement-specific reporting. Confirm the correct arrangement and current obligations with Alabama’s homeschool guidance, the applicable statutes and your local superintendent or qualified adviser. Private tutor statute | Attendance register statute.
Alabama ACAP is a public-school assessment and is not automatically required simply because a child learns at home. An umbrella school, program or other condition may have its own requirements. Families elsewhere should check their own state’s current laws for notification, attendance, subjects, testing, evaluations and records. Official ACAP information.
Standards and Coverage Record
Consult the official Alabama academic standards index for current grade-specific documents, including the 2021 English Language Arts, 2019 Mathematics, 2023 Science and 2024 Social Studies courses. For each exact standard record: course and edition; grade; official standard number; objective; lesson or resource; date taught; independent assessment evidence; result; and next step. Mark each standard not yet mapped, planned, taught or demonstrated. These planning outlines have not been checked against every standard and must not be represented as full coverage.