Colorado Common Core State Standards
We follow the new Common Core State Standards for elementary education in the Douglas County School District. The Common Core Standards can be found on the Colorado Department of Education website.
Reading
Here at Arrowwood, our community has made a promise of literacy to each child. Literacy is the key to understanding—across time, borders, and cultures—and will help students recognize and embrace the role they play in the world they are creating. Our entire staff works diligently to build and strengthen our Comprehensive Literacy System. As a component of this system, each classroom uses the curriculum Wonders. Wonders is an evidence-based literacy program that empowers students to take an active role in learning and exploration. Students enjoy unparalleled opportunities to express and assess themselves through reading, writing, and speaking. They encounter the right content at the right moment in their learning journey to promote strong educational outcomes.
We set a strong foundation for literacy by explicitly teaching all K-2 students phonemic awareness and phonics through Heggerty and Orton-Gillingham methodology. Phonemic awareness and phonics are the best early predictors of reading success.
As another component of our Comprehensive Literacy System, we work collaboratively as a Professional Learning Community. Teams closely monitor student growth and achievement, evaluate and adapt instructional practices, and seek out additional resources or interventions for any students who are not growing at optimal levels.
Mathematics
Arrowwood Elementary’s main resource for math instruction is iReady Classroom Mathematics Common Core (2024) which follows a sequence of standards-aligned units of study. Teachers incorporate discourse-based instruction that allows students to think mathematically, make connections between multiple mathematical strategies, and discuss mathematical ideas. The program’s concrete-pictorial-abstract approach builds conceptual understanding through manipulatives, diagrams, models, and abstract symbols. iReady Classroom’s framework encourages a balance of conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and problem-solving. There are many opportunities for practice, assessment, and personalized learning to support the needs of all learners.
Our teachers also work as members of a Professional Learning Community to increase mathematics achievement. Teams collaborate closely to ensure more equitable learning experiences for students. Members work together to clarify exactly what each student must learn, monitor learning, decide on support structures for students who may struggle, and seek extensions/enrichments when students have already mastered the intended outcomes.
Bringing mathematics to life from a curriculum resource relies on a deep knowledge of the students receiving instruction as well as the skills and knowledge of the teacher. Arrowwood Elementary is committed to providing ongoing mathematics professional development for teachers to improve instruction to help students succeed.
Science
At Arrowwood Elementary we use Stemscopes as our Science program. This program is for Kindergarten through sixth-grade students. The program is very engaging with real-world connections. Students will make connections and learn through hands-on experiences with experiments, exploration of ideas, interpretation of observations, and relate the scientific concepts to the real world. Science Standards are also integrated into our literacy curriculum, Wonders. The two programs provide interdisciplinary approaches to bringing science and literacy together in order to make the curriculums meaningful education.
STEAM (Science + Technology + Engineering + Arts + Math)
At AWE, we have decided that the STEAM approach, which includes the arts (fine arts, music, etc.) better reflects our desire to have well-rounded students. Most STEM programs tend to be heavy on the digital (think computers, iPads)- this is not our intent. We believe students learn problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in a variety of ways. Students will be engaged in hands-on projects to reinforce various concepts, for example, "Aerospace". In addition to learning about aerospace careers, current aerospace projects, and planets, the students will build a stomp rocket. This hands-on project will reinforce the underlying concepts of force, gravity, and aerodynamics while incorporating the engineering design process. Technology does not always have an on/off switch. One of the earliest and most useful pieces of educational technology was the lead pencil. Every piece of new technology you use starts with an amazing idea from a creative mind. We are developing the minds of our next generation of game-changers right here at AWE.
Social Studies
The Social Studies program at AWE focuses on creating and cultivating an environment where students grow in their capacity to understand the world around them. Students build and develop critical thinking skills, incorporate reading and writing practices, and learn what it means to be responsible, active citizens. Various texts and resources enable students to engage in their learning of civics, economics, geography, and history as a thematic story beginning in Kindergarten and continuing through 6th grade.
Specials
Students at Arrowwood participate regularly in weekly art, music, STEAM, and physical education classes as well as library instruction. In these special areas of study, students are exposed to a wide variety of topics and areas of study each session.
Academic Adventures
Arrowwood provides off-campus field trips for each grade level at least once per semester. In addition, there are numerous on-campus experiences that are brought to our students as extensions of their learning.
Extracurricular Clubs & Activities
Arrowwood also prides itself in offering a great many before, during, and after school opportunities for our students. Please refer to the "Thursday Folder" link, under the Parent Zone tab, to check out the amazing extracurricular offerings for students that are available before and after school.