10 Best Elementary School Curriculum: A Complete Guide for Home & School

What complicates this issue further is that finding a suitable curriculum for your child isn’t easy. Luckily, we’ll make it easier for you! Read on to find the best elementary school curriculum for your kid.

Top 10 Elementary School Curriculum & Resources

1. Positive Action Elementary Curriculum

Positive Action offers some of the best curriculums on the market today for one main reason — they work for schoolers, but you can alter them to fit homeschool students. As a result, they’re a favorite for teachers and parents.

In addition, the elementary school curriculums offer information to students through colorful animated characters to get them more excited to learn. For instance, some grade kits include hand puppets that teach kids social, physical, and intellectual skills.

Generally, students understand the importance of positive actions and how they can help them feel good about themselves.

Also, Positive Action offers a combo bundle that includes all elementary school grades, kindergarten through grade 5. Moreover, each year’s curriculum comes with a teacher’s manual to help you plan the lessons if you don’t have expertise in terms of education.

In addition to the guide, you’ll get activity sheets, colorful posters, CDs, board figures, and more. Not to mention, you’ll get a discount if you purchase the combo bundle as a whole, not each grade on its own.

2. Forest Trail Academy Grade 1 Elementary School Course

The Forest Train Academy Elementary School Course will build a solid educational foundation for your kid during the first years of their learning journey. For starters, students will study many core subjects: math, science, reading and writing, geography, and social studies.

In math, students will be taught the basic four operations along with an introduction to geometry and graphing. As for language, they’ll develop the essential skills that enable them to read and write simple, short statements.

Moreover, the science program will give them an overview of geology, biology, and physical science. Meanwhile, the social studies course contains simple information about American history and holiday celebrations.

Even better, this curriculum implements an adaptive learning program to ensure that your child won’t fall behind in their studies. As a result, it’s an excellent choice for learning-disabled students.

3. Calvert 5th Grade Home Curriculum

The Calvert Home Curriculum is a top-notch choice for parents who are new to homeschooling. It provides a smooth learning process that excites children about studying. Moreover, it offers many subjects, including language arts, math, science, history and geography, and spelling.

In language arts, students learn basic English skills, including reading and writing. In addition, they learn how to read comprehension texts and communicate. As for math, students develop their number skills, understand basic geometry concepts, and study measurements.

The science program teaches students how to observe the world around them and introduces them to animal and plant cells. Moreover, students will learn the difference between plants, animals, fungi, and more. In history and geography, kids will be introduced to historical explorers like Magellan and learn the basics of reading a map.

Finally, the spelling program will teach students about compound words, phonograms, and vowel patterns.

4. Oak Meadow Third Grade Curriculum Package

Oak Meadow offers a school and homeschool curriculum that encourages students to be more creative, imaginative, and precise when it comes to learning. It provides courses in language arts, math, science, social studies, and more.

Firstly, in language arts, students develop their reading, writing, and grammar skills. In social studies, they get a brief introduction to geography, ancient cultures, and religion.

Secondly, the math program teaches students addition, subtraction, and multiplication for three-digit numbers. This builds a solid foundation for the upcoming years. Thirdly, students learn about many climatology concepts in science, including weather patterns and seasonal changes.

Finally, the fun part about this learning program is that it includes content about music, arts, health, and crafts. It also has many enjoyable and engaging activities for students, including cooking, coloring, and more.

5. Moving Beyond the Page Age 4 -5 Full Year Package

Moving Beyond the Page provides the four core subjects students need in each grade level, math, science, social studies, and language arts. And the best part is that it meets the national standards in both social studies and science curriculums.

Generally, this program is based on interactive activities in all subjects. As a result, the learning process will be enjoyable for students, and they won’t have a dull moment. In addition, you can use this program as either a preschool or kindergarten curriculum.

As a bonus point, this curriculum comes with many art materials, including papers, die-cuts, and stickers. Accordingly, children will find the curriculum fun.

If you purchase this package, you should expect a teacher manual, an activity book, literature books, and a materials kit for students.

6. Time for Learning 2nd Grade Curriculum

The Time4Learning curriculum will benefit elementary students on so many levels, as it’ll develop their reading, computational, mathematical, and problem-solving skills. Not to mention, it provides engaging content that teaches students all the essential subjects.

As a bonus point, this curriculum provides assessments to ensure students fully understand what they’re learning. Also, it’s an excellent choice for students who like to study at their own pace. Generally, the Time4Learning curriculum fits most kids’ needs because of its flexibility.

The subjects included are science, math, language arts, and social studies. All their programs use the skills the students have learned during the past years. For example, in math, students learn how to add and subtract money and estimate differences and sums.

With that being said, if you’re homeschooling your kid, you should check before purchasing the curriculum whether it meets the homeschool laws in your state. Finally, this curriculum comes with full-year material and pre-planned schedules for students.

7. Power Homeschool 3rd Grade Program

The Power Homeschool Program takes a proud stance among other curriculums for its enjoyable content. It provides engaging video lessons to make sure that students get excited about learning. Moreover, it includes science, math, reading, language arts, and social studies.

In reading and language arts, students will develop their writing and reading skills with the many exercises that come with this program. As for math, they’ll gain a deeper insight into complex mathematical concepts, including multiplication, division, geometry, and fractions.

In addition, the science curriculum mainly includes an introduction to earth science and physics. Also, this program features many enlightening research-based experiments so that students get to demonstrate what they’ve learned.

Finally, this program provides easy access to the courses through the Acellus application, which helps parents track their kids’ learning progress.

8. BJU Press Grade 5 With Books

With interesting content and informative video lessons, the BJU Press Grade 5 online curriculum remains one of the best in the educational learning field. It includes English, math, science, reading, handwriting, spelling, and heritage studies.

And the best part about this online program is that your kid can study the video lessons whenever they want. So, if you’re a busy parent and have limited time for homeschooling, you have the freedom to fit those lessons into your schedule whenever you want.

In addition, this program provides progress tracking and assessments so that you know where your child stands in terms of learning. If you purchase it, you should expect student books and workbooks for each subject, online textbooks, a parent guide, and a link to the videos.

9. Master Books 1st Grade - Basic 4 Subject Set

The Master Books curriculum will come to your rescue if you’re still going through the dilemma of choosing a suitable curriculum for your child. Not only does it guarantee full student engagement with its enjoyable content, but it also includes the four core subjects that every grade level requires.

Furthermore, this program comes with a 36-week worth of material for both students and teachers. It includes math, science, history, and English. Additionally, it also comes with lesson plans and instructions to make the process easier for you. Accordingly, you won’t go through the hassle of planning an entire year.

Finally, the set also comes with worksheets, quizzes, and answer keys so that you can assess your kid’s performance.

10. SONLIGHT 2nd Grade Curriculum

If you want to build a solid religious foundation for your students, then you’ll love the Sonlight curriculum. It gives children a brief introduction to the Bible and teaches them about God’s creations.

The subjects taught in this curriculum are science, language arts, math, geography, history, and literature. Also, history and geography curriculums are taught from a Christian perspective. Luckily, the reading curriculum here does wonders for struggling readers, as it improves their skills significantly.

If you’re worried about planning lessons for your child, let us assure you! This curriculum comes with a detailed instructor’s guide to guarantee elementary students have the best educational experience possible. Finally, this program includes a Math-U-See curriculum to ensure that your kid has a solid math foundation.

What Is Taught in Elementary School - A Complete Guide

Math

The math curriculum during elementary school builds a foundation for the many upcoming years. So, you should pay attention to it when choosing a suitable curriculum for your kid.

For starters, children will learn how to count numbers to 100, understand the basic mathematical operations, and understand fractions and how to use them. Afterward, they’ll start using those skills in real-life processes, including counting money and telling time.

Over time, they’ll gain deeper insight into multiplication, division, decimals, and fractions. They’ll even know how to do operations on fractions. As a result, they’ll be ready to study middle school math curriculums.

Finally, by the end of their elementary school years, students should multiply and divide multiple-digit numbers, understand geometry and algebra basics, and solve simple word problems.

Science

Science is often an enjoyable subject for students because it unfolds exciting information. During elementary school, students get introduced to many fascinating topics. For example, they’ll know the definitions of oceans, continents, and other natural formations. They’ll also learn all about the five senses and how to use them to observe the world around them.

In addition, they’ll learn about the difference between animals and plants and how animals are classified. As for biology, they’ll get a brief introduction to the human body and essential life processes.

Finally, elementary students will learn briefly about weather changes, astronomy and constellations, chemistry, and physics. However, it’s worth mentioning that the science course may differ significantly from one curriculum to another.

Social Studies

The social studies curriculum may differ from one curriculum to another. This is mainly because some curriculums separate history and geography, while some group them into one subject. However, its topics are generally the same for each grade level.

Firstly, in history, elementary students will start learning about ancient and current cultures. And they’ll study essential information about early American history and how governments operate.

Secondly, in geography, students will be introduced to the U.S. states and their capitals. During later elementary years, they may learn how to use a map or a globe to locate a state. Finally, according to the curriculum you chose, your kid may get introduced to some economic activities.

Reading

Reading is an essential subject in almost every grade level because students need a solid foundation during elementary years. For starters, they’ll learn all about words with the same patterns and how to use the sounds of letters. They’ll also learn how to read short comprehension texts or stories and identify speech parts.

In addition, elementary students will work on improving their handwriting and write short sentences. Some schools encourage students to work in small groups to enhance their social skills along the way.

As for independent reading, your child should learn that by the end of first or second grade. They should also be able to read short books and stories. Finally, some curriculums incorporate reading in the English curriculum, so you don’t need to worry if you don’t find it.

Language Arts

During the first few years of elementary school, students learn the language basics. Then, they get to implement what they’ve learned in the following years. As a result, you should expect your child to learn many new skills during those years.

For starters, they’ll learn how to write correctly using grammar skills and punctuation. Afterward, they’ll learn how to use thinking maps and plan before writing to write comprehensive pieces. Next, students will learn to use the dictionary as a reference during writing and reading to enhance their vocabulary skills.

Finally, they’ll learn how to write in cursive and use transition words to make their writing flow smoother. As for types of speech, they’ll study nouns, verbs, adjectives, and how to use them in writing pieces. By the end of elementary school, students should be able to read and write independently.

Final Words

Ultimately, elementary school is a vital time in every kid’s life; that’s why you should make a research-based choice regarding curriculums. Generally, the Positive Action curriculum is one of the best choices because it works for school and homeschool students. Using puppets, animation, and more, kids learn numerous social, intellectual, and physical skills!