Arizona Cultural Academy

Academics - english

Elementary Division (Grade 1 ~ 5)

Language Arts – Aligned with and exceeds AZ State Standards / National

* Standards supported by Harcourt Trophies, which is a research-based, developmental reading/language arts program; explicit phonics instruction; direct reading instruction; guided reading strategies; phonemic awareness instruction; systematic, intervention strategies; integrated language arts components; and state-of-the-art assessment tools ensure every student successfully learns to read.

* Great Books Program: The Shared Inquiry Method of Learning is to instill in adults and children the habits of mind that characterize a self-reliant thinker, reader, and learner. Shared Inquiry is a distinctive method of learning in which participants search for answers to fundamental questions raised by a text.

* The Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) Writing Strategy, developed by researchers and teachers at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL), is an approach to teach adolescents becoming good readers, writers, and learners.

* Accelerated Reader Program (AR), the most popular and successful reading program of all time. AR’s advanced technology helps every student to make essential reading practice more effective.

* Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop builds students’ ability to communicate through research-based, step by step instruction in vocabulary and writing. Student confidence soars as language competence grows through direct, proven-effective instruction that reflects currents research.

Middle School Division (Grade 6 ~ 8)

Aligned with and exceed the AZ State Standards / National Standards support by

• Holt Elements of Language and Elements of Literature is a research-based, developmental language arts program, which provides practical teaching strategies for today's challenging classroom, innovative ways to differentiate instruction, and streamlined technology tools.

• Great Books Program -- The Shared Inquiry Method of Learning is to instill in adults and children the habits of mind that characterize a self-reliant thinker, reader, and learner. Shared Inquiry is a distinctive method of learning in which participants search for answers to fundamental questions raised by a text. This search is inherently active; it involves taking what the author has given us and trying to grasp its full meaning, to interpret or reach an understanding of the text in light of our experience and using sound reasoning. In Shared Inquiry, participants learn to give full consideration to the ideas of others, to weigh the merits of opposing arguments, and to modify their initial opinions as the evidence demands. They gain experience in communicating complex ideas and in supporting, testing, and expanding their own thoughts. In this way, the Shared Inquiry method promotes thoughtful dialogue and open debate, preparing its participants to become able, responsible citizens, as well as enthusiastic, lifelong readers.

• The Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) Writing Strategy -- developed by researchers and teachers at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL), is an approach to teach adolescents becoming good readers, writers, and learners. It is based on the reality that for adolescents to meet high standards, they must be able to read and understand large volumes of complex, difficult reading materials. Additionally, they must acquire the skills to express themselves effectively in writing. The Sentence Writing, Paragraph Writing, and Theme Writing strategies provide concrete steps for students, beginning with the basics of writing a complete sentence through the more advanced processes involved in writing essays. Taken as a whole, the instructional components of SIM take the processes that are necessary for learning and break them down into manageable steps enabling students to successfully meet standards.

• Accelerated Reader Program (AR) -- is the most popular and successful reading program of all time. AR’s advanced technology helps every student to make essential reading practice more effective; personalize reading practice to each student’s current level; Assess students’ reading with four types of quizzes: Reading Practice, Vocabulary Practice, Literacy Skills, and Textbook Quizzes; Build a lifelong love of reading and learning.

• Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop builds students' ability to communicate through research-based, step-by-step instruction in vocabulary and writing.
Student confidence soars as language competence grows through direct, proven-effective instruction that reflects currents research. Built-in or add-on assessment lets teachers readily know each child's status and progress.