First Grade
As your child enters first grade, he or she will be surrounded by an enriched learning environment filled with fun and excitement. The first grade allows your child to become a more independent learner by offering a curriculum based on individualized instruction and hands-on experience.
Language Arts
The Academy of Dover uses Hardcourt's Storytown Reading/Language Arts Program.
Students will find that Storytown is a great place to read. Storytown is filled with a variety of fiction and nonfiction literature, including narratives, poems, plays, fantasy, contemporary news articles, biographies and research material.
The program authors have included a robust vocabulary.
Math
The Academy of Dover uses Singapore Math, a focused method of teaching mathematics that allows students to gain mechanical proficiency and a deep understanding of math.
It recognizes different learning styles and proceeds from very concrete examples of a concept, to pictorial tools that are easily remembered, and then to handling numbers in the abstract.
The curriculum introduces new topics by building on earlier learning, using now familiar underlying skills rather than reviewing them. Simple words are used in early grades, making math accessible for both immigrant students and those whose verbal skills are just beginning to develop. Multi-step word problems, requiring logic rather than simple mechanics to solve, are introduced early and demonstrate math as relevant.
Science
AOD's science curriculum uses State Science Kits through the Science Consortium. First graders explore weather, solids and liquids, and other concepts. The Science Kits provide hands on learning and problem solving that allow the students to be a true scientists and explore.
Social Studies
AOD uses Houghton Mifflin Social Studies. This curriculum brings social studies to life through the use of maps, rich literature, history and real-life experiences. Through the use of differentiated instruction and rich text-based curriculum, your child will have the tools needed to achieve in second grade by the end of the year.