Core Curriculum

Lower School Curriculum   Specials   Chapel and Faith Studies   Social Justice Studies

St. Elizabeth’s is committed to rigorous academic development that allows students to grow intellectually at or above their chronological grade levels. As an independent school, St. Elizabeth’s maintains high expectations while nurturing individual progress.

 Our lower school mission-aligned english language arts curriculum in built upon the following principles:

• Equity in education depends on ALL students having access to high quality literacy instruction.  

• Literacy is a powerful catalyst for changemakers.

• Literacy is a “window” into the lived experiences of others and a “mirror” into our own self-reflection and growth.*

*Based on the work of Dr. Rudine Simms Bishop.   

Our classrooms also lean deeply into reading for pleasure and reading for purpose across all genres.

We strive for St.Elizabeth’s graduates to graduate with confidence in their ability to communicate effectively through written and spoken word.

We provide direct instruction in writing development across all genres:

• Handwriting

• Writing conventions (at the word level, sentence level and paragraph level)

• Word choice, sensory images and sentence complexity 

We also partner with students to find their unique voice and sense of agency as a writer. 

Technology / Assistive Technology in Literacy

• Beginning 3rd grade, students will receive direct instruction in keyboarding and digital citizenship.

• Beginning in 3rd grade, students begin mastering their writing skills on the computer as well as on paper.  

• Students who benefit from voice-text or text-to-voice accommodations as readers and writers, have access to these tools beginning in 3rd grade (or earlier if needed).

Social Studies is the integrated study of the social sciences including sociology, history, geography and political science. Areas of study include communities, maps, Colorado history, US history, and ancient civilizations.

St. Elizabeth’s School uses the FOSS (Full Option Science System) Program. FOSS Science is a hands-on inquiry-based K-8 program that was developed by the Lawrence Hall Of Science, University of California at Berkeley. It is organized in the developmental sequence of the scientific thinking process and includes life science, earth and space science, physical science, scientific reasoning and technology. In addition to the FOSS kits, teachers utilize addition curriculum based on the interests of the students and teacher. Classes enrich our science units using scientific process with a variety of field trips that correlate to what the students are studying.

The classes study the following units:

• Kindergarten – Life Cycles; Dinosaurs; The Five Senses

• First Grade – New Plants; Solids and Liquids

• Second Grade – Pebbles, Sand, and Silt; Air and Weather

• Third Grade – Adaption of Colorado Animals; Birds; Taking Care of our Earth

• Fourth Grade – Water; The Human Body; The Sun and Moon

• Fifth Grade – Models and Designs Environments

Learn more about the FOSS Program at these pages:

Main website

What is FOSS?

FOSSWeb

Watch a video about the FOSS Program

The Lower School Spanish program is driven by St. Elizabeth's School's commitment to nurturing students' empathy and inspiring a love of learning about the world beyond the classroom. Research shows significant, enduring benefits of early exposure to a second language, including enhanced problem-solving, critical thinking, and listening skills. Our Lower School Spanish program focuses on promoting language acquisition and cultural understanding through learning opportunities that emphasize high-frequency words and phrases, and involve movement, music, and storytelling. Our primary methodology is Teaching with Comprehensible Input (TCI) and our primary methods include Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) and Comprehensible Input (CI).