Grade Four Curriculum

  Theme:

  As God's people, we are called to live as Jesus did,
  choosing a life of love, characterized by obedience to God
  and service to others.

  Objective:

  To help the children form their consciences according to the teachings
  of the Catholic Church, and to learn the basis of Christian morality
  as taught in the Old and New Testaments.

  Basic Teachings Core Content -

  God is all good.

  In the work of creation human beings first saw traces of the Mystery
  of God. Creation reflects the infinite beauty, wisdom and goodness
  of the creator.

  Created in God's image, we have the ability to think, to make choices
  (free will) and to love.

  Throughout our lives God continully calls us and graces us to
  know the good, and to love unselfishly.

  Learning to know and to choose the good that God desires for
  us is the lifelong process of conscience formation.

  We sin when we disobey God and his law, whether by thought,
  word, action or omission.  Serious sin, that is, completely
  turning away from God, is called "mortal."  Less serious
  sin is called "venial."

  God's Self-Revelation was extended in history to a Choosen
  People with whom God made a covenant.

  Through the covenant, God taught the Chosen People how to live.
  This way of life is expressed particularly in the Two Great
  Commandments: "You shall love the LORD your God with all your
  heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all
  your mind, and your neighbor as your self."

  In order that they might live this covenant, God gave the Chosen
  People the Ten Commandments.
  1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange gods
     before me.
  2. You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
  3. Remember to keep holy the LORD's day.
  4. Honor your father and your mother.
  5. You shall not kill.
  6. You shall not commit adultery.
  7. You shall not steal.
  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
 10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

  God's self-revelation was brought to fullness in Jesus who
  made a New Covenant with his people.

  Jesus not only reaffirmed the commandments of the Old Covenant,
  but also gave a new commandment: "Love one another. Such as
  my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other."

  True freedom comes from following Jesus' law of love.

  In describing the final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus
  places particular emphasis on our responses to the needs of our brothers
  and sisters.

  Jesus gave us God's plan for our true happiness in the Sermon
  on the Mount, which expresses the ideals of christian behavior.

  In this Sermon, Jesus also gave us the Beatitudes which should
  be the marks of his followers.

  The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Blessed Trinity who enables
  us to respond to God's Covenant ofr love by living as Jesus did.

  Today, the Catholic Christian community, guided by the Holy Spirit,
  supports us in our response to God's covenant of love;
  - by teaching us God's Commandments,
  - by helping us form right consciences,
  - by pointing to the example of Jesus, Mary, the saints
    and all who live the covenant.

  Profession of Faith:

  Review the Apostles's Creed

  Words to be taught:

  Absolution, Beatitudes, Commandments, Communion of Saints,
  Conscience, Contrition, Corporal Works of Mercy, Covenant,
  Holiness, New Testament, Old Testament, Saint, Sanctus,
  Spiritual Works of Mercy, Temptation.

  Liturgical symbols and gestures to be taught:

  Give Sacred Scripture a special place in the classroom.
  Encourage a reverent and prayerful attitude in the place of worship.
  Foster the children's participation in the prayer and worship
  of the parish community.

  Prayers to be taught:

  Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary
  Sanctus

  Prayers to be encouraged:

  Act of Faith
  Stations of the Cross

  Review Prayers of the Previous Grades:

    Sign of the Cross
    Our Father
    Hail Mary
    Glory to the Father
    Act of Contrition
    Simple responses at Mass
    Morning and evening prayer
    Grace at meals
    Spontaneous prayer
    Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

END of Grade Four