Our Core Curriculum

Spiritual and Social Development – At Christ Lutheran School  in Albuquerque, our faith academy students are free to express their relationship to Christ in their writing, praying, singing and conversations. We help our students develop a clear understanding that God loves all and that each individual is unique and beautiful in their own way. We teach and help our students build each other up with character and be problem solvers through words and positive actions. Our approach to social interactions assures that each student learns and develops through friendship with their culturally diverse peers. Older children have the opportunity to mentor younger children as “chapel buddies.”

Math – Our dedicated teachers apply practical applications of mathematical skills in the classroom, but they don’t stop there. Each week our students are encouraged to stretch their logical and creative thinking skills to solve math problems in the real world. Going above and beyond our core Christian curriculum, we offer Algebra I to our Middle School students who are ready.

Reading – Strategies in reading are introduced, modeled and practiced as a class, and individually to increase comprehension. Word study skills are continuously honed througout the school year. Located in the Albuquerque area, our faith academy students experience the excitement of reading through the use of books and accompanying story tapes/CD’s and workbooks to reinforce the learned skills. Students also have the opportunity to bring the stories they read to life, through drama. Reading instruction is woven through all subjects, and individualized to reflect students’ varying reading level. Movie and Book compare and contrast projects to promote critical thinking, retention and comprehension. Various book projects are also designed to combine reading and writing skills.

Science – Conducting hands-on experiments helps our students discover the various disciplines of science. Each year our students, at every grade level, conduct experiments, take field trips, and follow the scientific method to discover the joys of science. Our elementary students enjoy raising horn worms, meal worms and butterflies. They learn body systems by creating models.

Language Arts – At Christ Lutheran our language arts classes include literature where our students read many classic and modern novels. In addition, the students compare and contrast movies with some novels and complete other creative projects related to one of the novels. In writing, students work in prose, poetry, essays and speeches .Our students also have the opportunity to participate in a local Speech competition with other schools. Grammar, punctuation and vocabulary are regular staples at every grade level. In drama, we take our students to local theater productions at the University of New Mexico’s Popejoy Hall.

Social Studies – Our students explore our communities and our world. History of our majestic land includes: early pioneers, first Americans, the State of New Mexico, government and much more. Projects are a wonderful way to introduce our students to family values and explore and embrace Biblically-based cultural diversity.

Physical Education – While budget cutbacks have forced many schools to omit physical education from their curricula, at Christ Lutheran School we continue to make it a priority. Students participate in a regular exercise routine emphasizing cardiovascular fitness and strength training. We also educate our students about good nutrition and encourage them to eat a healthy diet. We emphasize to students the importance of regular exercise – helping reduce the risk of obesity and disease. Exercise also helps our students boost their self-confidence and reduce stress.

Athletics – Volleyball, basketball, golf, cross country and track and field are included as part of our athletic program for boys and girls. We focus on team building and fun. Interested students in the upper grades can join the CLS teams for their age group and compete with players from other schools and faith academies in Albuquerque.

Technology – Our computer technology instruction is a fully integrated curriculum that spans the core subjects. Students from grades K-8th learn computer and word processing basics. Commonly used applications include; Pages, Numbers (spreadsheets), Keynote (or Power Point) and iMovie. As students learn advanced formatting techniques, they use NoodleTools to create MLA reports to accompany projects, construct databases/tables for their mathematical and scientific work, and develop necessary presentation tools that can be used in their core classes. Tablets  are integrated into the middle school lesson plans. Middle school students use HTML to create web pages. Spheros are used in elementary grades to explore programming basics. Middle school students build, wire and program Boe-bots.

Art – Our K-8th visual art program focuses on a variety of mediums. In each, our students work to develop their skills. Artwork and projects are often coordinated with subjects covered in other curriculum.

Music – Music education, taught in Kindergarten through 8th grade, at Christ Lutheran includes options for Choir, Band and Music Appreciation. Students learn basic music theory and notation along with sight reading using voice and/or instruments. In our Spring Musical program our middle school students have unique opportunities to contribute in every aspect of the show.

Foreign Languages – As a part of our curriculum students Preschool through 4th Grade will be introduced to Spanish. 6th through 8th Grade will be introduced to Spanish, French, and German.  They will learn about the culture, and to speak, read and write in these foreign languages, and gain better understanding of these beautiful languages.