PRESCHOOL THROUGH KINDERGARTEN CURRICULUM: The daily routine is flexible yet structured and planned to meet the individual needs of each child, as well as those of the whole group. The activities are designed to foster bonding and staff/child interaction. Daily care routines are used as “learning-teaching times.” Teachers ensure that pre-school children receive a ppropriate stimulation throughout the day. Motor and language acquisition skills are stressed. Children are grouped according to their physical and developmental needs, skill levels, and age. Hands-on and Montessori approaches are practiced throughout our curriculum.

Preschool 2's and Young 3's: We at Prince William/Early Years use the Peabody Early Experience Kit (PEEK) for the pre-school children. The curriculum utilizes hands-on learning experiences to enhance the children’s ability to think and communicate. Activities range from creative movement to riddle solving. It is our hope and desire to make the early learning experience for your child one that will make learning fun.

Preschool 3's: Through daily participation in circle activity, the children will learn number and letter recognition. Through repetition the children will learn new songs. The activities taught with finger play are designed to teach each child “learning can be fun.” Materials used in the curriculum will help children develop vocabulary, sorting skills, and listening comprehension skills as well as matching, counting and sequencing skills.

Jr. Kindergarten: The junior kindergarten students will use a language arts book from the Open Court curriculum. The curriculum will teach letter knowledge and phonic awareness before and during the introduction of sound/letter associations. The intent of instruction is to engage the children in the kinds of activities that will prepare them for reading. The math book is based on the McGraw-Hill curriculum. This program emphasizes thinking strategies for problem solving. Students develop self-confidence as they learn to explain their reasoning in cooperative learning situations. Students learn they can do math and use it in every area of their lives. Through the thematic system, junior kindergarten students will explore science and social studies concepts as well as create art projects during scheduled classes.

1ST THROUGH 8TH GRADE CURRICULUM: Our class size at Prince William/Early Years Academy averages 15 students per class. Teaching is individualized with a one-on-one academic plan to challenge students to perform at the highest possible levels. The environment is relaxed yet structured. Grammar is covered on a daily basis, and the curriculum is designed not only to meet but also to exceed Virginia standards of learning. Setting a high standard is what we demand from our students and ourselves.

First Grade: First grade students will be using the Collection for Young Scholars Anthology, Open Court Curriculum for language arts. This program is based on phonics, and the students will be reading from two anthologies with a variety of classic and contemporary storybooks. The writing skills are developed through two workbooks, cassettes, student-made books, journals and independent writing.

In math our students will be using the Math-In-Action workbook. Students will be reviewing concepts like computation, money, measurement, time, geometry, fractions, numbers to 1,000, multiplication and division facts. Hands-on manipulatives are used hand-in-hand with our text.

We use Neighborhood and Communities for social studies, In Your World for science, and Focus on You for health. Our students will take Spanish and French as second languages. Our curriculum is enriched with art classes, physical education and computer skills.

Second Grade: Students will be immersed in a literature rich environment, filled with classical and contemporary fiction, through the use of the Collection for Young Scholars, Open Court Curriculum Anthologies. Writing and spelling skills are taught along with reading lessons and through the use of a reading/writing workbook, grammar workbook and different writing activities.

Students will be working in math with numbers, money, adding and subtracting whole numbers, regrouping, multiplication and division facts, measuring, fractions and geometry. The use of hands-on material is incorporated to add a concrete approach to the math concepts.

For social studies, the students will focus on neighborhoods, communities, and cultural studies in China and Egypt, while getting a better understanding of the heritage and contribution of historic groups of people throughout the world.

Second graders will continue to focus on a broad range of science skills to understand the natural world. Scientific processes, living systems, and changes in the natural world are some of the concepts explored, along with the human body and health related needs, requirements and changes.

Our students will have other subjects for enrichment including, French, Spanish, computers, art, music and physical education programs.

Third Grade: Third grade students will read a variety of literature works from our Collection for Young Scholars texts for this grade level. Students will focus on the use of effective communication skills, reading and comprehension strategies and research work. The students will plan, draft, revise, and edit stories focusing on cursive writing skills.

Math in Action is our text for this grade level. Students will review concepts introduced in previous years and will focus on division with whole numbers, and problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions and decimals. Students will be helped to develop a wide range of skills and strategies for solving a variety of problem types.

In social studies, the standards for third grade allow students to develop an understanding of elements of civilizations and their interrelationship by focusing on several early civilizations.

The third grade standards for science place emphasis on conducting investigations using the scientific process. The students will study simple machines, earth science, matter, life and living processes and systems, earth and space.

Our students will be introduced to an appropriate grade level set of computer skills, music, Spanish, French, art and physical education.

Fourth Grade: The fourth grade student will communicate orally in large and small group settings. Students will read classics and contemporary literature by a variety of authors.

Social studies for the fourth grade focuses on the regions of the United States by examining history, geography, economics, the humanities, and citizenship. International lessons are integrated into the units for easy comparison. Students will learn about Virginia through activities-based class projects.

Math in the fourth grade places emphasis on developing proficiency in using whole numbers, fractions, and decimals to solve problems. Students will collect, display and analyze data in a variety of ways and solve probability problems using a sample space or tree diagrams. Students will also solve problems involving area and perimeter, classify triangles, and plot points in the coordinate plane. Variable expressions and open sentences will be introduced. While learning mathematics, students will be actively engaged, using concrete materials and appropriate technologies such as calculators and computers. However, facility in the use of technology shall not be regarded as a substitute for a student’s understanding of quantitative concepts and relationships, or for proficiency in basic computations. Students will also identify real-life applications of the mathematical principles they are learning that can be applied to science and other disciplines.

Fourth grade science stresses the importance of using information, analyzing data and validating experimental results. Defining variables in experimentation is emphasized, and making simple predictions from picture, bar, and line graphs is underscored. Questioning and hypothesizing become more detailed at this level. Students are introduced to basic principles of electricity and to the concept of energy as it relates to work and machines.

For our computer curriculum, the students will demonstrate a basic understanding of computer theory including bits, bytes, and binary logic. Students will also develop basic technology skills. Music, Spanish, French, art and physical education will also be part of our program.

Fifth Grade: The fifth grade student will continue to increase communication skills used in learning activities, and will use a variety of resources to prepare presentations. The students will plan, write, revise, and edit writings to describe, to entertain and to explain.

The fifth grade standards emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate instruments for measuring and recording observations. The organization, analysis, and application of data continue to be an important focus of classroom inquiry. Science skills from preceding grades, including questioning, using and validating evidence, and systematic experimentation, are reinforced at this level.

Students are introduced to more detailed concepts of sound and light and the tools used for studying them. Key concepts of matter include atoms, molecules, elements, and compounds, and the properties of matter are defined in greater detail. The cellular makeup of organisms and the distinguishing characteristics of groups of organisms are stressed. Students will learn about the characteristics of the oceans and the earth’s changing surface.

The students will demonstrate a basic understanding of computer theory including bits, bytes, and binary logic. Students will also develop basic technology skills.

Our students will also be introduced to music, Spanish, French, art and physical education.

Sixth Grade: In Collection for Young Scholars, the students will experience literature that includes time-honored and contemporary classics, as well as award-winning fiction and non-fiction.

The reading selections are organized into powerful learning units focused on important, engaging and complex explorable concepts that are designed to encourage the students to think, raise questions, and learn. Each level includes units about topics that are worth exploring. There are three types of learning units: units dealing with social studies; units dealing with science; and, units of universal interest.

The sixth grade social studies focus on making a connection between history and geography. Combined with the map study program and the geography in history activities, geography becomes a relevant part of each history lesson.

Culture Close Up features a high impact, in-depth look at the art, artifacts, music, and literature of various civilizations. This results in students actually experiencing the daily life of the past rather than simply reading about it.

Applications and Connections is the first series of mathematics textbooks developed for the combination of content and meaningful applications which help students learn that understanding mathematics will aid them in becoming problem solvers in other areas of life.

Seventh and Eigth Grades: Students are undergoing extensive psychological, physical and social changes, which make them curious, energetic and sometimes egocentric. It is our goal to provide opportunities to channel the interests and concerns of adolescents, provided it maximizes their exposure to highly interesting topics. The science class and laboratory are designed to help students learn about themselves and their world and potential career paths. As students take the initiative to learn science we also integrate technology.

The mathematic objectives for each goal progress in complexity at 7th & 8th grade level and throughout the middle school courses. Students in the middle grades use problem solving, mathematical communication, mathematical reasoning, connections, and representations to integrate understanding within all the strands. We focus on teaching the students how to succeed. We will develop deep mathematical understandings required for success in abstract learning experiences and apply mathematics as a tool in solving real-life problems. We are looking to present to our students, mathematics concepts with manipulative and hands-on materials. This is the mathematic that will give Prince William Academy students the greatest opportunity to shape their futures.

The students will be using Glencoe Literature’s The Reader’s Choice Course 2 to gain the complex act of reading. The students will be required to go through the highly interactive process in which students must rapidly, fluently, and automatically process print, and then bring their own experiences and knowledge of the world to construct meaning from the text. The children will be taught according to their level. The reading curriculum includes word analysis, vocabulary development, reading sources, comprehension and independent reading. Glencoe Literature also offers an abundance of appropriate and engaging materials for outside reading.

The teacher will engage the students through critical and creative reading, active reading and higher level thinking skills, and reading for comprehension. The selected material will include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, myths, legends, folktales, electronic media, songs, comic strips, and comedy scripts.

The students will also use Glencoe Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition text, which will cover integrating writing, grammar, and other language skills. Composition, grammar usage and mechanics, resources and skills will be part of the curriculum taught.

In the Social Studies subjects, the students will be covering The Human Heritage World History Text material which will include the following Units: Place and Time, River Valley Civilizations, Ideas and Arms, The Greeks, The Romans, The Early Middle Ages, Emergence of New Empires, The Late Middle Ages, Beginning of Modern Times, The Changing World, Nations and Empires, and The Twentieth Century. The curriculum will be taught through emphasizing map skills, charts, diagrams and illustrations, and world literature. Once the students cover the material they may move to additional learning, such as the World Music/Cultural Traditions, Foods of the World Texts and supplemental learning material.