Primary Years Program (PYP)

Literacy/Language Arts in English and Spanish

Language is fundamental to learning and permeates the entire IB. By learning language as well as learning about and through language, students nurture an appreciation of the richness of language and a love of literature. We do this in two languages at AGC!

The academic expectations based on the Common Core State Standards and IL Spanish Literacy standards are arranged into three main strands, although in practice they are interactive and interrelated elements of the program.

Oral Communication: listening and speaking

• Students learn to listen attentively, to understand and evaluate what they hear, to think about both literal and inferred meanings, and to respond appropriately
• Speakers use oral language to ask and answer questions; relate and retell; persuade; talk about needs, feelings, ideas and opinions; and to contribute to discussions in a range of formal and informal situations.

Written Communication: reading and writing

• Students learn how to understand, interpret and respond to the ideas, attitudes and feelings expressed in various texts; to think critically about what they read; and to be able to make predictions and inferences based on information that is both explicit and implicit in a text.
• Writing is a powerful means by which to remember, develop, organize, gain self-knowledge and communicate ideas, feelings and information. Grammar, spelling, handwriting, punctuation and paragraphing are taught gradually through writing practice.

Visual communication: viewing and presenting

• Opportunities are provided to explore the function and construction of images in order to critically analyze a wide variety of media.
• Learning to understand and use different media expands the sources of information and expressive abilities of students.

Science

The content of the science curriculum is driven by the Next Generation Science Standards. Many of the units of inquiry that we teach are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. These units provide opportunities for students to engage in scientific investigations by making accurate observations, handling tools, recording and comparing data, and formulating explanations using their own scientific experiences and those of others. The AGC Science curriculum is arranged into four main strands:

• Physical Science

• Life Science

• Earth and Space Science

• Engineering Design

Arts

AGC uses the IL Arts standards to offer both Visual Arts, Music and Performance opportunities for students throughout units of inquiry and Specialist Classes. Units of inquiry based on creative expression of all forms take place throughout the POI and all units offer moments for arts to take stage during performance tasks and representation of learning. Single subject teachers also instruct students in arts courses throughout their elementary years and build strong connections with unit content across the PYP.