Reading and Writing
Kindergarten-Second Grade
We firmly believe in utilizing the Science of Reading to equips our Kindergarten through second-grade students with a solid foundation of the Five Components of Reading. Click this link to the Colorado Department of Education website for more depth on our training and practices CDE-Reading Info.
In the spring of 2021, we adopted the reading program Super Kids. Click this link Super Kids to visit their website to find out more. This program fits perfectly with our goals for students learning. It systematically and explicitly teaches phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and writing. This Brain Based Reading approach to reading is shown in numerous national and international studies to be an effective way to teach young children to read.
Third-Fifth Grade
We do all we can do to give students a solid reading foundation in primary grades so that transition can take place in third grade for students to transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." Starting in third grade, students primarily use the skill of reading to learn other content. Therefore our reading instruction at these grade levels emphasizes fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Often that takes place reading trade books, articles, and other non-fiction sources of information to learn.
During the 2021-2022 school year, our third through fifth grade teachers are reviewing the reading program, Read Side by Side. Click this link Read Side by Side to learn more. This program uses Book Clubs with whole chapter books with guided lessons. By using real books rather than a chapter or excerpt of a book as most reading textbooks use. Our teachers use this program to teach our students these vital skills to becoming powerful readers. These skills, fluency, word study, vocabulary, speaking about reading, comprehension, and writing in response to reading, are emphasized each day in our school.
At all grade levels, we believe in instilling the LOVE of READING for every child. That is why you will often see students at The da Vinci Academy reading real books, utilizing our library, checking out books online, and having reading time during school and for homework to engage in reading books.
Math
The subject of math is not just another set of concepts to learn; we believe that math is a life skill and, therefore, it is vital to the lifelong success of our students. Our responsibility is to ensure that our students have the foundational skills in mathematics to learn algebra and geometry successfully and beyond in high school and college. Building that foundation consists of several key components. The first is inquiry and interest. Students learn about the math concept, explore this concept, and become curious about the real-world applications around this concept. The second is math fluency. Students need to be fluent in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Finally, students need confidence in math applications of problem-solving. This is often where arts integration comes into the lessons in our classrooms.
We use the enVision Math Kindergarten through 5th grade math program in our school. To find out more use, this link enVisions Math. Students have engaging videos to watch, hands-on activities, and workbooks to guide their practice using this program.
Science
A strong foundation of science skills is vital for our students to become the leaders of tomorrow. We teach science concepts through investigations with hands-on activities blended with technology and interactive content. Students grow plants, hatch beetles, dissect animals, experiment with forces and motion, and more throughout all the grade levels.
We use the science curriculum Building Blocks of Science. To find out more, click this link Building Blocks of Science. In addition, each quarter, every grade level utilizes the Science Kits that include the materials for hands-on activities. We also use the websites and science reading materials to help our students learn the science standards and engage in the scientific process at each developmental level.
Social Studies
Social studies education includes history, geography, economics, and civics. These studies help students to understand our world. Students engage in critical thinking, current issues, and the history of our city, state, country, and world.