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ASHAR’s general studies curriculum is based on the Common Core standards and is modified and extended to provide a skills-based, content-rich curriculum in the areas of English language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics.

English Language Arts
ASHAR’s approach to balanced literacy begins in the Early Childhood Program and continues through eighth grade.  Using iReady diagnostics, students are assessed three times a year, allowing for growth monitoring and intervention as needed.  Our rich language arts program promotes vocabulary building skills, fluency and articulation in oral reading, and reading comprehension strategies, with content-based literature and thematic units selected for increased student engagement.  All language arts classes emphasize writing and communication skills.  Our continuity of instruction includes programs such as Fundations, Geodes, Framing Your Thoughts, and The Write Approach to Structured Writing.


Social Studies
Social studies at ASHAR is based on the scope and sequence of the New York State social studies standards and the National Council for Social Studies Standards. Social studies lessons at ASHAR focus on important skills including research and writing, oral presentations, interviewing techniques, and analyzing primary sources and documents.  Elementary school social studies topics are incorporated in our literacy program and include civil rights, western expansion, and concepts of government.  Middle school social studies topics include map skills and geography, civics, American history, ancient civilizations, and the Holocaust.  A significant portion of 8th grade social studies focuses on Holocaust studies through the Names, Not Numbers Oral History Documentary Project.    Field trips complement the social studies curriculum and include trips to the Jewish Heritage Museum, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Throughout all grade levels, critical thinking and analysis is stressed as is synthesizing information and identifying reliable sources of information.


Science
ASHAR's science curriculum is based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), incorporating three dimensions of science instruction in every unit:  core ideas, science and engineering practices, and cross-cutting concepts.  ASHAR’s state-of-the-art science lab is equipped with the latest technology to provide hands-on experimentation and investigation. Students learn the scientific method, conduct experiments and are taught the rules of science safety.  Trips to the Challenger Center, Liberty Science Center, and Franklin Mines, as well as other sites, provide real-life science experiences. In our lower grades, topics such as plants and agriculture, electromagnetism, animal adaptations, and meteorology are explored, while in the upper grades the students learn earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics in preparation for high school.
 
Math
Our mathematics curriculum blends elements of targeted independent practice with technology-based visual models to create a unique math curriculum that focuses on three distinct mathematical skills:  computation and fluency, applications and problem solving, and mathematical thinking.  Instruction is divided between four separate domains of mathematics:  numbers and operations, algebra and algebraic thinking, data and statistics, and geometry. Mathematics is tracked at ASHAR from grades 5 to 8 into accelerated, grade-level, and remedial math groups so that each student’s educational needs can be met, with the top math track graduating middle school with the successful completion of the Algebra I High School Regents Examination.  The math curriculum is largely based on the Next Generation Learning Standards for Mathematics, incorporating elements of the Common Core State Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to provide a rigorous, well-balanced mathematics experience.

 

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784