Curriculum: Kindergarten-6th Grade

Technology plays a crucial role in the classroom today and can be used to teach important concepts in every subject area. Our teachers are comfortable with many forms of technology;  we continually provide them with education on the newest, most innovative tools for classroom and virtual education. We are excited to announce that 100% of our classrooms in grades K-8 have a SMARTboard - an interactive whiteboard. Teachers are able to create lessons that are more interesting, motivating and engaging for our students.

Every student is assigned either a Chromebook (grades 1-12) or iPad (Kindergarten) for their own, individual learning use. Our students use the Google Platform and Schoology, both in and out of school. Students in K-3 also use Seesaw as a learning platform. Students are given email addresses to better communicate with their peers and staff.  *Please note that Students only have access to email students and staff with an @agcharter.org/.net email address. Email is carefully controlled and closely monitored.

At the AGCS Early Learning Center, students are introduced to basic technology skills. In grades 3-6 these skills continue to be addressed in a more content-integrated fashion. Visit our Chromebook Program webpage for additional information about the 1:1 Technology Initiative at AGCS.

Curriculum Storyboards

Curriculum storyboards are a visual way to showcase what students will learn over the course of the school year. These short narratives provide a visual summary of student learning goals, by unit. View our math curriculum storyboards for kindergarten through eighth grade.

 

Please download our Kindergarten-6th Grade Curriculum Guide for more information about education at the AGCS Early Learning Center.

 

At AGCS, we strongly believe literacy is the key to accessing all learning. Classroom teachers utilize a blend of programs and materials to instruct students in reading and writing. For more information about our ELA program, download the Skills document for your child's grade level.

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In Kindergarten through 5th grade, McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders is used as the core program of instruction and addresses the 5 components of literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.

This program provides 4 levels of materials and texts to ensure that the needs of all students are met. In addition, Reading Wonders provides a plethora of online resources that align with the weekly instruction taking place at school. Students can access all materials while away from school.

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Heggerty is a phonemic awareness program used daily in K-2. Phonemic awareness, the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds, is a critical foundational skill for success in reading.

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As students enter the middle grades, they transition to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Into Literature. Into Literature builds in standards mastery and college and career readiness into the classrooms through diverse and authentic texts. Students can engage in materials while away from school. 

 

At AGCS, it is our goal to create strong mathematical problem solvers who have the knowledge to manipulate numbers and understand mathematical relationships. 

In K-8 this goal is addressed through hands-on, real world experiences using Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Math in Focus®. Math in Focus uses the Singapore approach to math instruction by focusing on the concretepictorial-abstract learning progression. All grades K-6 utilize differentiated small group instruction that helps teachers to meet each student at his or her own level. 

 

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Math in Practice is a standards-based professional learning resource. Though not a program, Math in Practice identifies the big ideas of math content and best practices in teaching unpacking essential teaching strategies and detailing why those strategies are powerful. 

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SpringMath is a classwide intervention program that builds foundational fluency to prepare students to be more successful in higher-level math skills. All classrooms, K-6, utilize this program to provide students with paired learning opportunities to build confidence in math and gain higher levels of math achievement.

For more information about our Math program,  view or download the Skills document for your child's grade level.

AGCS has always had a strong commitment to science and giving our students authentic learning opportunities that are aligned with PA Science & Technology Standards. Outside of grade-level science classes, students also participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) as a special (K-6) and Environmental Science as a special in grades 4-6. 

For grade level science, we use OpenSciEd, which offers a science curriculum that's different from traditional science curriculum. Their Next Generation Science standards-aligned instructional materials are designed for how students learn science best; learning revolves around figuring out an intriguing phenomenon. Students are motivated to figure out what’s in front of them, and teachers guide that process to deep science learning.

Our STEM curriculum is Project Lead the Way and for Environmental Science, we use Houton Mifflin Harcourt's Science Fusion, as well as programming developed internally.

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Into Social Studies is a Grades K-6 social studies program that inspires curiosity and cultivates analytical skills in students through hands-on lessons and activities, graphic magazines, and digital assets that fit into any classroom schedule. Grade-level topics are aligned to the PA Social StudiesStandards.