Elementary School

The curriculum of the American School of Egypt is designed with the objective of educating and cultivating students who possess the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively address the evolving demands of society in the future.

To adequately equip students for the demands of the 21st century, it is imperative to offer them many possibilities for learning that are facilitated by contemporary technological advancements.

This is offered through:

  • Developing robust interpersonal and communication abilities
  • Offering comprehensive academic assistance across all domains, encompassing essential skills such as effective time management.
  • Fostering the belief that education is a continuous journey and that the abilities of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving are necessary for achieving success.
  • Providing a comprehensive curriculum that encompasses a wide range of artistic disciplines, including visual arts, music, and dramatic arts. Additionally, students are afforded the chance to engage in many athletic pursuits and participate in numerous extracurricular activities.
  • Instilling a sense of integrity, responsibility, self-respect, and respect for others empowers students to achieve their goals.
  • Ensuring ongoing training for all staff members to ensure teaching quality and administrative efficiency.
  • Encouraging “community service” to instill a better understanding of privilege and a stronger awareness of the issues facing our world today.

This parent curriculum guide provides an overview of what your child will be learning during the school year. Each grade’s curriculum reflects the Common Core standards for ELA and Math, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for Science, and the C3 Framework for Social Studies. Learning Standards and provides focused learning experiences for students. We hold a commitment to continually improve our curriculum to foster growth in every classroom throughout our school.

We look forward to partnering with you throughout the school year. It is through our partnership that we empower every learner to be an engaged, confident, caring, and inspired citizen.

Please reach out to your child’s teacher or principal to discuss specific grade level units and resources.

Best wishes for a successful school year!

Science

The purpose of science is to support students in the development of content knowledge and the skills to ask and define questions, investigate, analyze data, construct explanations, design solutions, and to support their findings with evidence. Students in this course will learn to explain scientific phenomena. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations rely on three dimensions of learning to develop student understanding of scientific concepts. Core conceptual ideas are learned by engaging in scientific and engineering practices and considering crosscutting concepts. These three dimensions support students in developing usable knowledge to explain real world phenomena in the sciences.

In science, performance expectations use three-dimensional learning to foster student understanding of science concepts. The three-dimensional learning is an approach to science teaching that focuses on disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts and scientific practices examining phenomena. 3-D learning helps students build their research, communication, and analytical thinking skills.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES

  • ask questions and define problems.
  • plan and carry out observations.
  • construct explanations and design solutions.
  • develop and use models.
  • engage in argument from evidence.
  • analyze and interpret data.
  • obtain, evaluate and communicate information.

LAB PROCEDURES

  • learn correct handling of lab equipment and proper lab procedures.
  • demonstrate basic safety rules and procedures for science activities.

English Language Arts

 

The English Language Arts program focuses on the broad areas of oral language, reading, and writing. Students will be introduced to a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction literature, which will serve as a basis for instruction and practice in phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and writing. With a focus on the Common Core State Standards, the ELA program at ASE offers a comprehensive approach to developing students’ literacy skills in preparation for college and career readiness. Through engaging activities and assessments, students will enhance their critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills within the context of diverse literary genres.

The model includes whole group instruction; small, needs-based groups; individual conferences, and ample time to read, write, speak, listen, and reflect independently and in groups. Teachers create a caring, innovative environment where students experience a growth mindset and are able to make choices to navigate their learning. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and autonomy in students, empowering them to take charge of their own learning journey. By providing a variety of opportunities for practice and feedback, teachers support students in developing the skills necessary for success in higher education and the workforce.

READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

  • make connections using schema.
  • visualize and use sensory images to understand text.
  • ask questions while reading.
  • determine important ideas and themes in text.
  • make inferences.
  • self-monitor while reading.

LITERACY AND INFORMATION TEXT

  • describe how characters’ actions contribute to the events.
  • compare and contrast stories.
  • independently read and understand grade-level literature.
  • describe a series of events, ideas, or concepts.
  • discuss a point of view and compare it to that of the author.
  • apply word-analysis skills when reading.
  • apply knowledge of words to expand vocabulary when reading.
  • read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional text and poetry.
  • read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts.

FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

  • use grade-level phonics and word analysis skills.
  • know the meanings of most common prefixes and suffixes.
  • read accurately and with understanding.

WRITING

  • write opinion pieces that include a chart or graph and list reasons that support the opinion.
  • write informative pieces that name the topic, supply facts, and use linking words and phrases.
  • write narrative pieces that introduce a narrator and characters, and write about what the characters say, think, and feel.
  • produce writing that is developed, focused, organized, and edited.
  • edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
  • use an inquiry process to write a short report.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

  • follow rules for discussions by building on what others are saying.
  • recall ideas and details from something read aloud.
  • plan and deliver an informative presentation.
  • speak clearly and in complete sentences.

LANGUAGE

  • explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences.
  • use correct grammar.
  • choose words and phrases for effect.
  • use a variety of sentence types.
  • use capitalization, commas, and quotations in dialogue.
  • correctly add suffixes to base words.

Mathematics

Math at the early stages of learning empowers children to engage in logical reasoning, effectively articulate their decisions, and proficiently solve common problems. As students mature, it is important for them to cultivate an appreciation for mathematics, as it fosters confidence, analytical thinking, and a knowledge of the significance of mathematics in their daily lives. Our Mathematics syllabus at ASE, in accordance with the Common Core State Standards, outlines the essential mathematics information, abilities, and concepts that are required to be taught to elementary students. They are categorized into four strands:

Strand 1: Operations and Algebraic Thinking

Strand 2: Number and Operations (Base ten – Fractions)

Strand 3: Measurement and Data

Strand 4: Geometry

The strands are expanded into topics consistent to progressive development and link from topic to topic for each level of mathematical thinking, understanding and application. A number of content standards are written for each topic and then expanded into performance standards and assessment tasks. These standards provide a framework for teachers to plan their instruction and assess student learning. By following these guidelines, educators can ensure that students are exposed to a comprehensive and cohesive mathematics curriculum that builds upon their knowledge and skills as they progress through elementary school.

The aims of this syllabus are for students to develop:

  • a sound foundation for further mathematical learning,
  • confidence and creativity in applying mathematical skills in communicating their ideas, investigating, using representations, and interpreting situations.
  • understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency with processes and are able to reason and solve problems in all key learning areas of mathematics at elementary,
  • mathematical thinking and problem solving abilities as a facility for the application of mathematics in everyday life,
  • mathematical language to effectively and accurately understand mathematical processes and concepts to his or her appropriate level of development and ability,
  • an appreciation for and value of mathematics as a very important role in their daily lives.

Social Studies

The purpose of the C3 Framework for Social Studies is to develop curious global citizens who think deeply about the world, can take multiple perspectives, and are inspired to take action.

Using an inquiry approach, students will study history, economics, geography, and civics at all grade levels.

INQUIRY SKILLS

  • develop essential questions, identify their importance.
  • create supporting questions to help answer an essential question.
  • identify resources with multiple viewpoints.
  • gather important information from multiple sources, understanding the difference between facts and opinions (use to determine credibility of a resource).
  • develop claims to answer an essential question.
  • create and critique ideas from multiple sources.
  • identify local problems and ways people are addressing these problems.
  • use different methods to come to conclusions and take action in their classroom and school.

CIVICS

  • identify and describe the different responsibilities and powers of government officials.
  • explain how a democracy relies on people to participate and establishes how people should participate.
  • compare the history, purpose, and structure of different systems within government.
  • explain how policies are developed.

ECONOMICS & FINANCIAL LITERACY

  • study why people, businesses, and nations specialize and engage in trade.
  • explore how positive and negative incentives impact behavior on the national and world economy.
  • describe the ways the government pays for the goods and services that are provided.
  • explain the concept of interest

HISTORY

  • create and use a chronological series of events, to compare events that happened at the same time.
  • use information about a historical source to determine usefulness in studying a specific topic.
  • explain the causes and effects of important events and developments in the history of the world.
  • use resources to investigate and explain the causes and effects of important events and developments.