Curriculum and Resources

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Kindergarten

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Key features of the curriculum include reading (literature, informational text, and foundational skills), writing, speaking/listening, and language. A strong emphasis on higher-level comprehension skills provides opportunities for students to analyze and integrate information from multiple texts, noting similarities and differences in the points of view presented. Students read an abundance of different types of complex texts and engage in rich discussions and conversations that focus on text-based information. Students express their thinking verbally and in writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students the strategies they need to be successful readers and writers.

Students will develop awareness that language and reading are ways to communicate and learn information. Your child's language skills are the foundation for reading success.

Kindergarten will focus on:

• Developing oral language vocabulary and concepts
• Expressing thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly
• Responding appropriately in discussions to questions, directions, and spoken messages
• Naming and writing upper and lowercase letters
• Matching letters to sounds and using other methods to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing
• Reading sight words • Learning and using new words
• Asking and answering questions about a story
• Retelling a story, including main ideas and key details
• Comparing two stories and making connections between characters, events, or information
• Writing with phonetic spelling and moving towards conventional spelling for familiar words
• Using a combination of drawing, speaking, and writing to describe an event, give information about a topic, or share an opinion

For more information about your child's ELA/Reading Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: First Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Key features of the curriculum include reading (literature, informational text, and foundational skills), writing, speaking/listening, and language. A strong emphasis on higher-level comprehension skills provides opportunities for students to analyze and integrate information from multiple texts, noting similarities and differences in the points of view presented. Students read an abundance of different types of complex texts and engage in rich discussions and conversations that focus on text-based information. Students express their thinking verbally and in writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students the strategies they need to be successful readers and writers.

Students in grade one will build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will continue to learn how to use word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words when reading and writing. Students will read, think, talk, and write about what they read in stories, articles, and other sources of information. In their writing, students will work on putting together clear sentences on a range of topics using a growing vocabulary.

Listening and Speaking

• Describe people, places, things, and events, expressing feelings and ideas clearly
• Participate in collaborative conversations by listening, responding to what others are saying, and asking questions

Foundational Skills

• Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when reading
• Increase word recognition and sight words
• Begin to read fluently with appropriate phrasing and expression

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Retell stories and demonstrate understanding of central ideas or messages
• Ask and answer questions about a story or about key details in a text
• Explain differences between texts that tell stories and texts that provide information
• Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details
• Know and use text features (headings, table of contents, etc.) to locate key facts or information in a text

Writing

• Understand that writing is a way to communicate ideas, thoughts, stories, and information
• Write using phonetic, transitional, and conventional spelling to communicate ideas, write stories, and record information
• Begin to use correct capitalization and punctuation when writing
• Write narrative, informative, or opinion pieces that include a clear beginning, sequence of events or details, and a sense of closure or ending
• Write to describe an event, provide information on a topic, or share an opinion
• Participate in shared research and writing projects

For more information about your child's ELA/Reading Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Second Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Key features of the curriculum include reading (literature, informational text, and foundational skills), writing, speaking/listening, and language. A strong emphasis on higher-level comprehension skills provides opportunities for students to analyze and integrate information from multiple texts, noting similarities and differences in the points of view presented. Students read an abundance of different types of complex texts and engage in rich discussions and conversations that focus on text-based information. Students express their thinking verbally and in writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students the strategies they need to be successful readers and writers.

Students in grade two will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will read, think, talk, and write about what they read in a variety of texts, such as stories, books, articles, and other sources of information. Writing will become an exciting way for students to use newly learned words and phrases and to share ideas and information.

Listening and Speaking

• Describe people, places, things, and events expressing feelings and ideas clearly
• Participate in collaborative conversations by listening, responding to what others are saying, and asking questions

Foundational Skills

• Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when reading
• Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
• Increase word recognition and sight words

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and retell stories to demonstrate understanding of the central ideas or messages
• Compare and contrast characters and events in stories and key details in informational texts
• Pay close attention to key details in texts to ask and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions
• Learn and use new vocabulary introduced in stories and informational texts
• Read and comprehend literature, stories, poetry, and informational texts proficiently within the appropriate levels of text complexity
• Know and use text features (headings, table of contents, etc.) to locate key facts or information in a text

Writing

• Write for a variety of purposes (Narrative, Informative, and Opinion)
• Write narrative, informative, or opinion pieces that include a clear beginning, sequence of events or details, and a sense of closure
• Write to describe an event, provide information on a topic, or share an opinion
• Participate in shared research projects to produce a report
• Spell frequently used sight words and previously studied spelling words correctly in writing

For more information about your child's ELA/Reading Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Third Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Key features of the curriculum include reading (literature, informational text, and foundational skills), writing, speaking/listening, and language. A strong emphasis on higher-level comprehension skills provides opportunities for students to analyze and integrate information from multiple texts, noting similarities and differences in the points of view presented. Students read an abundance of different types of complex texts and engage in rich discussions and conversations that focus on text-based information. Students express their thinking verbally and in writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students the strategies they need to be successful readers and writers.

Students in grade three will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. They will read, think, talk, and write about what they read in a variety of texts, such as stories, books, articles, and other sources of information. In their writing, students will pay more attention to organizing information, developing ideas, and supporting these ideas with facts, details, and reasons.

Listening and Speaking

• Participate in collaborative conversations by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, responding to what others are saying, and building on the ideas of others
• Give a class presentation on a topic, or tell a story using relevant facts and details, and speaking clearly

Foundational Skills

• Decode multi-syllable words when reading
• Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension

Reading and Literature

• Recount the central themes or messages from stories and key ideas in informational texts and determine how they support the text
• Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
• Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
• Compare and contrast themes, settings, plots, and characters in stories and/or the most important points and key details presented in informational texts
• Determine the meaning of general academic words and phrases that are used in a text, as well as the literal and nonliteral meanings of words in stories
• Read and comprehend literature, stories, poetry, and informational texts proficiently within the appropriate levels of text complexity

Writing

• Write for a variety of purposes (Narrative, Informative, and Opinion)
• Write narrative, informative, or opinion pieces that include a clear organizational structure with supporting details, connected ideas, and a sense of closure
• Write opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details
• Independently conduct short research projects that build knowledge about various topics

For more information about your child's ELA/Reading Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Fourth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Key features of the curriculum include reading (literature, informational text, and foundational skills), writing, speaking/listening, and language. A strong emphasis on higher-level comprehension skills provides opportunities for students to analyze and integrate information from multiple texts, noting similarities and differences in the points of view presented. Students read an abundance of different types of complex texts and engage in rich discussions and conversations that focus on text-based information. Students express their thinking verbally and in writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students the strategies they need to be successful readers and writers.

Students in grade four will continue to build important reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Building the stamina and the skills to read challenging literature and informational texts is fundamental in fourth grade. Students will be expected to clearly explain in detail what they have read by referring to details or information both explicitly and implicitly from the text. In their writing, students will organize their ideas and develop topics with reasons, facts, details, and other information.

Listening and Speaking

• Participate in collaborative conversations by listening, asking questions, sharing ideas, responding to what others are saying, and building on the ideas of others
• Give a class presentation on a topic or telling a story using relevant facts and details, and speaking clearly

Reading and Literature

• Recount the central themes or messages from stories and key ideas in informational texts and determine how they support the text and the author's point of view
• Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers
• Describe in depth characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
• Compare and contrast themes, settings, plots, and characters in stories and/or the most important points and key details presented in informational texts
• Determine the meaning of general academic words and phrases that are used in a text, as well as the literal and nonliteral meanings of words in stories
• Read and comprehend literature, stories, poetry, and informational texts proficiently within the appropriate levels of text complexity

Writing

• Write for a variety of purposes (Narrative, Informative, and Opinion)
• Write narrative, informative, or opinion pieces that include a clear organizational structure with supporting details, connected ideas, and a sense of closure
• Write summaries and opinions or explanations that group related information and develop topics with facts and details
• Independently conduct short research projects that build knowledge about various topics using books and the internet

For more information about your child's ELA/Reading Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Math Curriculum: Kindergarten

Math Curriculum

Capital's Math curriculum maintains a balance between the development of math concepts, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills while working on meaningful and challenging tasks. In addition to traditional math concepts, other topics such as numbers and operations, geometry, algebra concepts, patterns and relationships, and measurement will be investigated. The curriculum is aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and includes daily practice and problems, an emphasis on math discussions and vocabulary, math boards for visual drawing and representations of concepts, and lesson-based assessments and interventions to help meet individual student needs.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Counting to 15 by ones
• Modeling, reading and writing numbers 0 through 10
• Composing and decomposing quantities through 10
• Counting forward to 10 and backward from 10
• Comparing values of numbers to 5
• Identifying missing numbers in a series up to 5
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a model

Marking Period 2

• Counting to 25 by ones
• Modeling, reading and writing numbers 11 through 19
• Modeling addition and subtraction problems with numbers up to 10
• Comparing values of numbers to 10
• Identifying missing numbers in a series up to 10
• Solving problems by using the strategy act it out

Marking Period 3

• Counting to 50 by ones using different starting points
• Modeling, reading and writing numbers to 20
• Identifying and describing two and three-dimensional shapes
• Comparing values of numbers to 15
• Identifying missing numbers in a series up to 15
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a graph

Marking Period 4

• Counting to 100 by ones using different starting points
• Comparing and ordering objects by length, height, and weight
• Identifying and knowing the value of coins
• Comparing values of numbers to 20
• Identifying missing numbers in a series up to 20
• Solving problems by using the strategy draw a picture

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Math Curriculum: First Grade

Math Curriculum

Capital’s Math curriculum maintains a balance between the development of math concepts, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills while working on meaningful and challenging tasks. In addition to traditional math concepts, other topics such as numbers and operations, geometry, algebra concepts, patterns and relationships, and measurement will be investigated. The curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCSS) and includes daily practice and problems, an emphasis on math discussions and vocabulary, math boards for visual drawing and representations of concepts, and lesson-based assessments and interventions to help meet individual student needs.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Counting to 100 by ones
• Identifying numbers to 50
• Adding to 10 using models, pictures and numbers
• Subtracting from 10 using models, pictures and numbers
• Using a variety of strategies to add to 10 and subtract from 10
• Using addition to answer a subtraction fact
• Fluently adding to 5 and subtracting from 5 with and without manipulatives
• Solving problems by using the strategies make a model, draw a picture, or act it out

Marking Period 2

• Counting to 100 by ones, fives and tens
• Relating addition and subtraction to learn and understand facts to 20
• Using place value to model, add, and subtract numbers up to 100
• Fluently adding to 10 and subtracting from 10 with and without manipulatives
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a model

Marking Period 3

• Counting to 150 by ones, fives and tens using different starting points
• Using place value to model, order, and compare numbers
• Understanding the relationship between counting and patterns
• Modeling graphs and charts and analyzing and comparing the information in them
• Sorting and describing two- and three-dimensional shapes
• Fluently adding to 10 and subtracting from 10 without manipulatives
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a model

Marking Period 4

• Counting to 200 by ones, fives and tens using different starting points
• Sorting and describing two- and three-dimensional shapes
• Identifying, describing, and extending repeating and growing patterns
• Comparing and ordering objects according to length, weight and capacity using standard and nonstandard units
• Telling time to the hour and half hour and quarter hour
• Counting collection of coins up to a dollar
• Fluently adding to 10 and subtracting from 10 without manipulatives
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a model

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Math Curriculum: Second Grade

Math Curriculum

Capital’s Math curriculum maintains a balance between the development of math concepts, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills while working on meaningful and challenging tasks. In addition to traditional math concepts, other topics such as numbers and operations, geometry, algebra concepts, patterns and relationships, and measurement will be investigated. The curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCSS) and includes daily practice and problems, an emphasis on math discussions and vocabulary, math boards for visual drawing and representations of concepts, and lesson-based assessments and interventions to help meet individual student needs.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Expressing numbers to 1000 in terms of tens and ones
• Using place value to find the values of numbers and describe numbers in different ways
• Counting forward to and backward from 1000 by ones, tens, and hundreds
• Using patterns and strategies to find sums and differences for basic facts
• Developing fluency and recall of addition and subtraction facts to 18
• Solving problems by using the strategies make a list and make a model

Marking Period 2

• Counting to 200 by ones, fives and tens using different starting points
• Adding 2-digit numbers
• Estimating sums for 2-digit numbers
• Using place value to solve 2-digit subtraction problems with and without regrouping
• Using tally charts, pictographs, and bar graphs to solve problems
• Determining steps to take to solve multistep problems
• Developing fluency and recall of addition and subtraction facts to 18
• Solving problems by using the strategy draw a diagram and make a list

Marking Period 3

• Using strategies to add and subtract 3-digit numbers
• Modeling multiplication using skip counting, repeated addition, and arrays
• Comparing and ordering length
• Using standard and nonstandard units to measure length
• Estimating length in inches and centimeters
• Measuring length in inches, feet, yards, centimeters, and meters
• Understanding that 1 foot = 12 inches and 100 cm = 1m
• Fluently adding and subtracting facts to 18
• Solving problems by using the strategy make a model and act it out

Marking Period 4

• Estimating and measuring weight, mass and capacity
• Understanding that 1 pound = 16 ounces
• Counting money to $1.00 and telling time to the minute
• Naming and describing three-dimensional shapes
• Identifying lines of symmetry
• Describing growing patterns
• Fluently adding and subtracting facts to 18
• Solving problems by using the strategy act it out and find a pattern

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Math Curriculum: Third Grade

Math Curriculum

Capital’s Math curriculum maintains a balance between the development of math concepts, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills while working on meaningful and challenging tasks. In addition to traditional math concepts, other topics such as numbers and operations, geometry, algebra concepts, patterns and relationships, and measurement will be investigated. The curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCSS) and includes daily practice and problems, an emphasis on math discussions and vocabulary, math boards for visual drawing and representations of concepts, and lesson-based assessments and interventions to help meet individual student needs.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Identifying and representing whole numbers in patterns to 10,000 in our number system.
• Solving multi-digit addition and subtraction problems by using a variety of strategies to complete and explain thinking.
• Telling time to the nearest minute and identifying times of day and elapsed time.
• Counting, comparing and making change for money that amounts to less than $5.00.
• Collecting and recording data in tally charts, tables and pictographs and then interpret that data.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Developing fluency and recall of multiplication facts.

Marking Period 2

• Making bar graphs and line plot graphs, then interpreting the data to answer questions about the information shown.
• Demonstrating multiplication of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 using a variety of models and see how those factors are related to one another.
• Multiplying with 3,6,7,8, and 9 using a variety of strategies to solve problems.
• Demonstrating the concept of division using different models and understanding the relationship between division and multiplication.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply facts to 12.
• Developing fluency and recall of division facts.

Marking Period 3

• Using a variety of strategies to divide whole numbers and fluently dividing facts for 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
• Connecting real world situations to division through word problems.
• Using fractions to represent quantities that are equal parts of a whole, a set, or locations on a number line.
• Using fractions to represent numbers that are equal to, less than, or great than 1.
• Comparing and ordering fractions using a variety of models and strategies with the symbols >,<,=.
• Naming, identifying, describing, and comparing two-dimensional shapes.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply and divide facts to 12.

Marking Period 4

• Comparing two-dimensional shapes and their lines of symmetry along with the relationships of those shapes when they are manipulated.
• Naming, identifying, describing and drawing three-dimensional shapes and geometric patterns.
• Choosing and using appropriate measurement tools to estimate and find area, perimeter and length of objects.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply and divide facts to 12.

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Math Curriculum: Fourth Grade

Math Curriculum

Capital’s Math curriculum maintains a balance between the development of math concepts, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills while working on meaningful and challenging tasks. In addition to traditional math concepts, other topics such as numbers and operations, geometry, algebra concepts, patterns and relationships, and measurement will be investigated. The curriculum is aligned to the Common Core Standards (CCSS) and includes daily practice and problems, an emphasis on math discussions and vocabulary, math boards for visual drawing and representations of concepts, and lesson-based assessments and interventions to help meet individual student needs.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Identifying and representing whole numbers with addition, subtraction, rounding and estimating to 100,000 in our number system.
• Fluently multiplying and dividing numbers to 12 using strategies that include patterns and relationships of numbers.
• Selecting and using strategies to solve problems using all operations.
• Multiplying and estimating with 10, 100 and 1,000.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Developing fluency and recall of multiplication and division facts.

Marking Period 2

• Using a variety of strategies to estimate and multiply one- and two-digit numbers.
• Using a variety of strategies to divide four-digit numbers by one-digit divisors.
• Describing the relationship between multiplication and division of whole numbers.
• Collecting, recording, organizing, and analyzing data in charts and graphs.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply facts to 12.
• Developing fluency and recall of division facts.

Marking Period 3

• Interpreting and analyzing data on charts and graphs.
• Using models and words to represent fractions and decimals.
• Comparing and ordering decimals to the hundredths.
• Adding and subtracting fractions.
• Measuring lengths to the ½ and ¼ inch, centimeter, and millimeter.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply and divide facts to 12.

Marking Period 4

• Choosing appropriate tools to measure temperature and mass.
• Identifying, classifying and comparing two-dimensional figures.
• Measuring, finding and exploring angles of objects.
• Determining area and perimeter of shapes.
• Fluently add and subtract facts to 18.
• Fluently multiply and divide facts to 12.

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Kindergarten

P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Kindergarten students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Conduct oneself in a safe manner in situations involving water, traffic, fire, strangers, and bullies.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition.
• Utilize appropriate and effective personal hygiene techniques

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: First Grade

P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

First Grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Act in a safe manner in situations involving water, traffic, fire, strangers, and bullies.
• Understand the diversity of family structures.
• Develop ways to communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Second Grade

P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Second Grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs or inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Utilize strategies to stay safe around electricity and to prevent fires.
• React appropriately in the event of a fire.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition.
• Utilize appropriate effective personal hygiene techniques.
• Understand the diversity of family structures.
• Utilize school and community resources for health information.
• Understand how individual behavior affects the environment and the community (for example, recycling).

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Third Grade

P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Third Grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and inhalants.
• Conduct oneself in a safe manner in situations involving water, traffic, fire, strangers, and bullies.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition.
• Prevent sports and exercise-related injuries.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Fourth Grade

P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Fourth Grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and inhalants.
• Act in a safe manner when in situations involving water, traffic, fire, strangers, and bullies.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Understand the diversity of family structures.
• Express needs and wants appropriately.
• Speak effectively.
• Utilize valid, safe, reliable resources for information and support.
• Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Understand ways to prevent disease and infection.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

Science Curriculum: Kindergarten

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Trees

• How do we know trees are living things?
• What are the similarities and differences between different trees and different leaves?
• Why are trees important?
• How do trees change over time, as a result of changing seasons and/or of growth?
• In what ways do the offspring of trees resemble their parents?
• How do organisms change as they go through their life cycles?

Push/Pull/Go

• How does a force change an object in motion?
• How can I make something go/move?
• How can I make something stop?
• How can I make something change or turn?

Wood and Paper

• How can the shape of wood be changed for human use?
• How do the properties of different woods and/or papers make them useful for different purposes?
• How can wood and paper products be reused for other purposes?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: First Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Air and Weather

• How does weather affect all living things?
• How do weather instruments help to observe weather features?
• How do the senses help provide information about the weather?

EIE Catching the Wind

• What are technologies and who designs them?
• How can the engineering Design Process be used to help solve problems?
• How do Mechanical Engineers observe and think about machines?
• What properties of a sail affect how well it catches the wind?
• How can we use what we know about materials and their properties, our creativity, and the engineering design process to design windmill blades that catch the wind?

Cycle Two: Solids and Liquids

• Which physical properties determine if something is a solid or liquid?
• How do the physical properties of solids and liquids determine their use?
• How do the similarities and differences of a solid or a liquid determine how they should be sorted and grouped?
• How do the senses provide information about the physical properties of a solid or a liquid?

Cycle Three: Organisms

• How do organism’s structures help them survive in their environment?
• How do organisms change their environment over time?
• What do living organisms need for survival?
• What are the stages that living organisms go through in their life cycles?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Second Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Insects

• What are some similarities and differences in the larvae, pupae, and adults of insects that go through metamorphosis (complete or incomplete)?
• What are the behaviors of insects at different stages of their life cycle?
• How do specific structures aid in the survival of insects throughout their life cycle?
• How are insect life cycles related to the life cycles of other living organisms?

Cycle Two: EIE Bridges

• What are technologies and who designs them?
• What are some problems, criteria, constraints, and solutions associated with designing bridges?
• What are some of the forces that act on structures and how do civil engineers design structures that can withstand these forces?
• How does the structure of a bridge affect its strength and how can we use different materials in our bridge designs?
• How can we use our knowledge of materials and their properties, different bridge types, and the engineering design process to design a strong, stable bridge?

Cycle Three: Soils

• How do worms enhance the decomposition of plant material in composting?
• What simple tests can be conducted to identify the three basic components of soil (sand, clay, humus)?
• How can the components of soil be compared/contrasted?
• How can soil composition affect water retention and plant growth?
• What tools or technology can you use to analyze soil samples?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Third Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Human Body

• How do bones, muscles, and joints function together in humans to enable movement, protection and support?
• How does the structure of the different types of joints (gliding, hinge, ball and socket) enable the human body to move?
• How do models demonstrate how bones, muscles, and joints work in the human body to enable movement, provide support, and demonstrate protection of vital organs?
• What are the similarities and differences in structure and function between a human skeleton and other vertebrates?
• How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?
• What common diseases or problems of the muscular and skeletal systems affect our bodies?
• What are the similarities and differences in the skeleton of an infant to that of an adult human?
• How can the structure and function of the skeletal system be used to group vertebrates?
• How do muscles move bones in response to signals from the brain?
• How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?

Cycle Two: Water

• How does the property of a material determine the way in which it interacts with water?
• How does the slope of the land determine the rate at which water flow?
• What happens when hot water and cold water interact? Which way does the energy flow? How do you know?
• What happens to liquid water when it freezes? Does the mass of the water increase?
• How does air temperature and surface area affect the rate of evaporation?
• Where does condensation come from? What is condensation?
• Do all earth materials interact with water in the same way? Explain.
• What factors affect the ability of water to transfer energy to other objects?

EIE Water

• Why do you think it is important to stop pollution in all areas of the environment, not just water?
• What types of problems do environmental engineers address and what are sources of those problems?
• Which materials work the best for filtering different types of contaminated water?
• What criteria do you think we should use to measure whether or not a water filter material works well?
• How can we use our knowledge of how different filter materials work, our creativity, and the Engineering Design Process to design and improve a water filter that cleans contaminated “Mystery Water?"

Cycle Three: Earth Materials

• How are properties used to identify, sort, and classify rocks and minerals?
• What kind of simple tools are used to help determine the properties and how are the tools used?
• How does acid rain affect rocks that contain calcite? What kinds of rocks would be good choice for building material? Why?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Third Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Human Body

• How do bones, muscles, and joints function together in humans to enable movement, protection and support?
• How does the structure of the different types of joints (gliding, hinge, ball and socket) enable the human body to move?
• How do models demonstrate how bones, muscles, and joints work in the human body to enable movement, provide support, and demonstrate protection of vital organs?
• What are the similarities and differences in structure and function between a human skeleton and other vertebrates? • How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?
• What common diseases or problems of the muscular and skeletal systems affect our bodies?
• What are the similarities and differences in the skeleton of an infant to that of an adult human?
• How can the structure and function of the skeletal system be used to group vertebrates?
• How do muscles move bones in response to signals from the brain?
• How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?

Cycle Two: Water

• How does the property of a material determine the way in which it interacts with water?
• How does the slope of the land determine the rate at which water flow?
• What happens when hot water and cold water interact? Which way does the energy flow? How do you know?
• What happens to liquid water when it freezes? Does the mass of the water increase?
• How does air temperature and surface area affect the rate of evaporation?
• Where does condensation come from? What is condensation?
• Do all earth materials interact with water in the same way? Explain.
• What factors affect the ability of water to transfer energy to other objects?

EIE Water

• Why do you think it is important to stop pollution in all areas of the environment, not just water?
• What types of problems do environmental engineers address and what are sources of those problems?
• Which materials work the best for filtering different types of contaminated water?
• What criteria do you think we should use to measure whether or not a water filter material works well?
• How can we use our knowledge of how different filter materials work, our creativity, and the Engineering Design Process to design and improve a water filter that cleans contaminated “Mystery Water”?

Cycle Three: Earth Materials

• How are properties used to identify, sort, and classify rocks and minerals?
• What kind of simple tools are used to help determine the properties and how are the tools used?
• How does acid rain affect rocks that contain calcite? What kinds of rocks would be good choice for building material? Why?

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Fourth Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Structures of Life

• How does structure relate to function in living systems?
• How do responses to internal and external cues aid in an organism’s survival?
• How do organisms change as they go through their life cycles?
• How does an organism depend on its basic needs for its survival and growth?

Cycle Two: Magnetism and Electricity

• Explain what is needed to complete a simple circuit and why?
• Describe and explain the path of electricity through a given circuit.
• What happens to a light bulb when connected to a complete circuit and explain why?
• Given metallic and non-metallic objects, explain which you would use to complete a circuit and why?
• How is the flow of electricity the same and different in a series versus parallel circuit? How would you tell?
• Given certain materials, how would you classify them as magnetic/non-magnetic?

Cycle Three: Land and Water

• How does understanding the properties of Earth materials and the physical laws that govern their behavior lead to prediction of Earth events?
• How do changes in one part of Earth systems affect other parts of the system?
• In what ways can Earth’s processes be explained as interactions among cycles?
• How do the systems interact and allow us to explain observations or events and make predictions?
• How does human interaction affect changes in the landscape?
• How can we use a model to predict nature?
• How does the water cycle affect the land?
• How would land shape and soil composition affect how the land can be used?
• How would land shape and soil composition affect erosion?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Social Studies Curriculum: Kindergarten

Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Good Citizens

1. What are the qualities and responsibilities of a good citizen?
2. Why do people need rules to get along?
3. How can you show responsibility?
4. What are some symbols of the United States?
5. Why are leaders important to people?

Unit: School and Community Helpers

1. What are the roles of significant people at home, at school, and in my community?
2. How do people support each other?
3. How do individuals, families, and communities make choices and use available resources to satisfy their wants and needs?
4. What can you do to help save resources?

Unit: Where We Live

1. What tools can we use to help us understand and describe the places and features of our world?
2. How do land, water, and weather affect how and where people live?
3. How are places and regions connected?

Unit: Now and Long Ago

1. What tools can we use to help us understand and describe the concept of time?
2. How do people and places change over time?
3. How can people learn about events that happened long ago?

For more information about your child’s Social Studies curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Social Studies Curriculum: First Grade

Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Citizenship

1. What are responsibilities, rights, and privileges?
2. Why are our responsibilities as citizens important?
3. How can you show respect for the rights of others?
4. Why do we have elections to choose leaders?
5. How do leaders help people?

Unit: Our Changing World

1. How are the lives of people today the same or different than they were long ago?
2. How do communities change over time?
3. How do cultural similarities or differences impact where people live?
4. How do people use and save resources? How has this changed over time?
5. To what extent do differences in climate and landforms affect how and where people live?
6. How can we use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to help us understand and describe our world?

Unit: We Love Our Country

1. How can artifacts, documents, and other historical materials help us understand the significant events in America's past?
2. How does the order of significant events help us better understand what happened?
3. What important people and events led to freedom for America?
4. Why are the symbols of our country important?

Unit: People in the Marketplace

1. Why are goods and services important?
2. How do people trade goods and services?
3. Why do people and communities buy and sell goods and services?
4. Why do scarce resources cause people to make choices?

For more information about your child’s Social Studies curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Second Grade

Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Governing the People

1. How can citizens be responsible in their community?
2. How does the government help people?
3. Why do we need leaders?
4. How does our country's government work?
5. What are the jobs of our community and state governments?

Unit: A World of Many People: People Now and Long Ago

1. How can we use artifacts and documents to compare and contrast life in different places and times?
2. What is culture?
3. Why is the United States a country of many cultures?
4. How are families alike and different?
5. How do customs and traditions reflect culture?

Unit: Living in Our Country

1. What geographic tools help us to understand and describe the physical and human- made features of communities and regions in our country and the world?
2. Why does climate and landform differ around the world?
3. How do the characteristics of places and regions affect the lives of the people who live there?

Unit: Using Our Resources

1. How do individuals, families, and communities make choices between available resources?
2. How does barter, money, and other media facilitate the exchange of resources, goods, and services?
3. How does the exchange of resources, goods and services create connections between people in different places?

For more information about your child’s Social Studies curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Social Studies Curriculum: Third Grade

Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units

Unit: Citizens in a Global World

1. How can we use maps, globes, and other geographic tools to understand and describe the features of our world?
2. What are the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of being a citizen or an elected leader in the American democracy?
3. What are the purposes of government, now and in the past?
4. How is respect for others, their opinions, and their property a foundation of civil society in the United States?
5. How do people work together to accomplish goals?
6. What are some actions that citizens can take to influence public policy?

Unit: The First American

1. What are the similarities and differences in the ways humans in various places (regions) and times have adapted to and modified their environment to satisfy their wants and needs?
2. How did early contact between Native Americans and Europeans change life in America?
3. What are the similarities and differences in the homes, food, clothing, and culture of the various regional Native American groups in the past? How do these regional Native American groups compare to the Native Americans who lived in Delaware?
4. What are the similarities and differences in the geography, climate, and natural resources of the identified regions?

Unit: Exploring the World Around Us

1. What economic, political, and cultural factors led to the exploration and colonization of America?
2. How did explorers from France, England, The Netherlands, and Spain lead the way for the European colonization of North America?
3. What does it mean to explore and claim land?
4. What effect did these explorations have on the settlement and colonization of the New World?

For more information about your child’s Social Studies curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Science Curriculum: Third Grade

Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Cycle One: Human Body

• How do bones, muscles, and joints function together in humans to enable movement, protection and support?
• How does the structure of the different types of joints (gliding, hinge, ball and socket) enable the human body to move?
• How do models demonstrate how bones, muscles, and joints work in the human body to enable movement, provide support, and demonstrate protection of vital organs?
• What are the similarities and differences in structure and function between a human skeleton and other vertebrates? • How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?
• What common diseases or problems of the muscular and skeletal systems affect our bodies?
• What are the similarities and differences in the skeleton of an infant to that of an adult human?
• How can the structure and function of the skeletal system be used to group vertebrates?
• How do muscles move bones in response to signals from the brain?
• How do different body parts respond to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli?

Cycle Two: Water

• How does the property of a material determine the way in which it interacts with water?
• How does the slope of the land determine the rate at which water flow?
• What happens when hot water and cold water interact? Which way does the energy flow? How do you know?
• What happens to liquid water when it freezes? Does the mass of the water increase?
• How does air temperature and surface area affect the rate of evaporation?
• Where does condensation come from? What is condensation?
• Do all earth materials interact with water in the same way? Explain.
• What factors affect the ability of water to transfer energy to other objects?

EIE Water

• Why do you think it is important to stop pollution in all areas of the environment, not just water?
• What types of problems do environmental engineers address and what are sources of those problems?
• Which materials work the best for filtering different types of contaminated water?
• What criteria do you think we should use to measure whether or not a water filter material works well?
• How can we use our knowledge of how different filter materials work, our creativity, and the Engineering Design Process to design and improve a water filter that cleans contaminated “Mystery Water”?

Cycle Three: Earth Materials

• How are properties used to identify, sort, and classify rocks and minerals?
• What kind of simple tools are used to help determine the properties and how are the tools used?
• How does acid rain affect rocks that contain calcite? What kinds of rocks would be good choice for building material? Why?

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

Social Studies Curriculum: Fourth Grade

Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: The Thirteen Colonies

1. How did the geography, history, economics, and government of the thirteen colonies have an impact on America?
2. What was Delaware's role in the colonies and the important events of the times?
3. What were some of the obstacles facing the colonists?
4. How does life in colonial times compare with life today?
5. How does the loss of a primary industry economically impact a community or region?

Unit: Countdown to the Revolution (Birth of a Nation)

1. What are the cultural, political, and economic factors that contributed to the significant events leading up to the American Revolution?
2. What artifacts, documents, and other historical materials help us understand the significant events and identify the important people in America's past?
3. Why did assistance from other countries play an important role in America's war for independence?
4. What impact did the Declaration of Independence have on the fight for freedom?
5. How do people create and change governmental and authority structures?
6. What are the key ideas of a democratic government?

Unit: From Sea to Shining Sea (The Westward Movement)

1. Why did people move to the American west in the 1800's?
2. What are the contributions of various cultures to the history of the West?
3. What are some of the significant events and their impact on Western history, including government actions to acquire land?
4. What are the geographic landforms and resources in the West and how did they economically impact the region?
5. How did the natural environment influence the journey West and how did emigrants adapt to the environment?

For more information about your child’s Social Studies curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4228.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Fifth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process as they receive instruction for writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences with a focus on narrative, opinion, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers.

Reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively are all very important parts of literacy development. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts/Reading Foundational Skills

• Read and understand grade level appropriate literary and informational texts of varied genres
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, central ideas, and how visual and media elements contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of a text
• Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a text drawing on specific details in the text
• Describe how point of view influences the events in a story
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats
• Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding unfamiliar words

Writing/Research

• Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting their opinion with reasons and information from the text.
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of the audience, purpose, and task
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing, and rewriting
• Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge about a topic

Speaking and Listening

• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Summarize a written text read aloud; summarize the important points a speaker makes
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
• Demonstrate command of the conventions and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language and word relationships, such as antonyms, synonyms, etc.
• Acquire and use general academic vocabulary appropriate for the middle school level

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Sixth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process as they receive instruction for writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences with a focus on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers.

Reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively are all very important parts of literacy development. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand grade level appropriate literary and informational texts of varied genres
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including connotative meanings and figurative language such as metaphors and similes
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, central ideas, and how visual and media elements contribute to the meaning, tone, and beauty of a text
• Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a text citing evidence from the text
• Describe how point of view influences the events in a story
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats
• Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding unfamiliar words

Writing/Research

• Write narrative, argumentative, and informative pieces on topics or texts, citing evidence to support their point of view with claims and reasons from the text.
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of the audience, purpose, and task
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing, and rewriting
• Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge about a topic

Speaking and Listening

• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Summarize a written text read aloud; summarize the important points a speaker makes
• Prepare and participate effectively in collaborative discussions with diverse partners

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
• Demonstrate command of the conventions and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language and word relationships, such as antonyms, synonyms, etc.
• Acquire and use general academic vocabulary appropriate for the middle school level

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Seventh Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand grade level appropriate texts
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases while analyzing the impact of word choice on meaning and tone
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas and their impact on the text
• Analyze how different points of view effect text and how the author distinguishes his/her position from others
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats from a variety of genre

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory and narrative tasks
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting
• Conduct and support research projects based on focused questions for further research and investigation

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Use appropriate technology and visual techniques
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts or issues

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grade 7 college and career readiness level

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Eighth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand grade level appropriate texts
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases while analyzing the impact of word choice on meaning and tone including analogies/allusions to other texts
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas and their impact on the text
• Analyze how the author acknowledges conflicting points of view in text
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats from a variety of genre

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory and narrative tasks
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting based on feedback
• Conduct and support research projects based on self generated focused questions drawing from several sources

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Use appropriate technology and visual techniques
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts or issues

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grade 8 college and career readiness level

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Ninth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand texts in grades 9-10 text complexity band with proficiency
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases, analyzing the impact of word choices
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas as they develop throughout a text
• Discriminate between and evaluate fact and opinion
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats from a wide range of world literature

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative tasks
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting
• Conduct research projects based on focused questions or to solve a problem, using multiple sources as support

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Use appropriate technology and visual techniques
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade 9 topics/texts/issues

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grades 9-10 reading and content

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Tenth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand texts at the high end of grades 9-10 text complexity band independently with proficiency
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases, analyzing impact of author’s choices
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas as they develop throughout a text
• Discriminate between and evaluate fact and opinion
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats from a wide range of world literature

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative tasks
• Gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources when appropriate, avoiding plagiarism
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting
• Conduct research projects based on focused questions or to solve a problem, using multiple sources as support

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Use appropriate technology and visual techniques
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade 10 topics/texts/issues

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grades 9-10 reading and content

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Eleventh Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand texts in grade 11-college and career readiness text complexity band with proficiency
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases, analyzing words with multiple meanings
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas to determine how they interact and build on one another
• Discriminate between and evaluate fact and opinion
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative tasks
• Use advanced searches to gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources in varying formats
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting
• Conduct and support research projects based on focused questions

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Integrate technology and visual techniques to add interest
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade 11 topics/texts/issues

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grade 11 reading and content

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

English/Language Arts Curriculum: Twelfth Grade

English/Language Arts Curriculum

Capital’s English/Language Arts curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and provides instruction in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension, writing, listening, speaking, and language. Students engage in the writing process by writing across the curriculum for various purposes and audiences, focusing on narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. Teachers use research-based practices and materials to teach the students. Students will have multiple opportunities to work both independently and collaboratively with peers. The goals for your child encompass all areas of literacy such as reading and writing for a variety of purposes, speaking confidently, and listening effectively.

Reading Literature and Informational Texts

• Read and understand texts at the high end of grade 11 and college and career readiness text complexity band independently with proficiency
• Look for and use context clues provided by synonyms and anonyms and other word clues such as metaphors and similes
• Interpret words and phrases, analyzing words with multiple meanings
• Analyze literary elements, text structures, and central ideas to determine how they interact and build on one another
• Discriminate between and evaluate fact and opinion
• Make and explain connections to text (text to text, text to self, text to world)
• Integrate, evaluate, and summarize content from diverse formats

Writing

• Publish and present information in a logical order
• Write in a manner that demonstrates an awareness of audience for argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative tasks
• Use advanced searches to gather, evaluate, and use primary and secondary sources in varying formats
• Develop and strengthen writing by editing, revising, and rewriting
• Conduct and support research projects based on focused questions

Listening and Speaking

• Use appropriate voice for audience and purpose
• Produce effective oral presentations using supporting evidence
• Integrate technology and visual techniques to add interest
• Prepare and participate effectively in conversations and collaborations with diverse partners on grade 12 topics/texts/issues (college and career readiness)

Language

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar usage when writing or speaking
• Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts
• Demonstrate understand and usage of figurative language
• Acquire and use accurately general academic vocabulary sufficient for grade 12 (college and career readiness) reading and content

For more information about your child's English/Language Arts Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4235.

Math Curriculum: Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade Math Curriculum

Go Math gets students engaged with learning, focused on working smarter, and ready for the future. There is an Interactive Student Edition offering a Personal Math Trainer. Instructional time focuses on three critical areas: (1) developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, and developing understanding of the multiplication of fractions and of division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and divided by unit fractions); (2) extending division to 2-digit divisors, integrating decimal fractions into the place value system and developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, and developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations; and (3) developing understanding of volume.

Go Math Parent Tips

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1

• Investigate Place Value and Patterns
• Place Value of Whole Numbers
• Algebra: Properties; Powers of 10 and Exponents; Multiplication Patterns
• Multiply by 1- Digit Numbers and Multi-Digit Numbers
• Relate Multiplication to Division
• Problem Solving: Multiplication and Division
• Algebra: Numeric Expressions, Evaluate Numerical Expressions, Grouping Symbols
• Place the First Digit; Divide by 1-Digit Divisors
• Investigate Division with 2-Digit Divisors
• Partial Quotients
• Estimate with 2-Digit Divisors and Divide by 2-Digit Divisors
• Interpret the Remainder; Adjust Quotients, and Problem Solving with Division
• Investigate Thousandths
• Place Value and Decimals/Compare and Order Decimals and Round Decimals
• Investigate Decimal Addition and Subtraction
• Estimate Decimal Sums and Differences
• Algebra: Patterns with Decimals
• Problem Solving: Adding and Subtracting Money

Marking Period 2

• Algebra: Multiplication Patterns with Division
• Investigate Multiplication of Decimals and Whole Numbers
• Multiply using Expanded Form and Problem Solving with Multiplying Money
• Decimal Multiplication
• Zeros in the Product
• Algebra: Division Patterns with Decimals
• Divide Decimals by Whole Numbers; Estimate Quotients; Division of Decimals by Whole Numbers
• Algebra: Division Patterns with Decimals & Dividing Decimals by Whole Numbers
• Estimate Quotients
• Division of Decimals by Whole Numbers
• Divide Decimals
• Write Zeros in the Dividend and Decimal Operations
• Addition and Subtraction with Unlike Denominators
• Estimate Fraction Sums and Differences
• Common Denominators and Equivalent Fractions
• Add and Subtract Fractions and Mixed Numbers
• Subtractions with Renaming
• Algebra: Patterns with Fractions
• Problem Solving: Practice Addition and Subtraction
• Algebra: Use Properties of Addition

Marking Period 3

• Fraction and Whole Number Multiplication
• Multiplying Fractions & Compare Fraction Factors and Products
• Divide Fractions with Whole Numbers & Connect Fractions to Division
• Line Plot and Ordered Pairs
• Graph Data
• Numerical Patterns
• Problem Solving: Find a Rule
• Graph and Analyze Relationships
• Customary Length, Capacity, and Weight
• Multi-step Measurement Problems

Marking Period 4

• Customary and Metric Conversions Graph Data
• Elapsed Time
• Polygons, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Three-Dimensional Figures
• Three-Dimensional Figures
• Unit Cubes and Solid Figures
• Understanding Volume
• Volume of Rectangular Prisms
• Apply Volume Formulas, Compare Volumes, and Find Volume of Composed Figures

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Math Curriculum: Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade Math Curriculum

GO Math offers an engaging and interactive approach to covering state standards. Its seamless digital path and Write-In Student Edition ensure that students can access content at appropriate levels of depth and rigor. Grade 6 curriculum allows students to learn ratio and proportional relationships, the number system, expressions and equations, geometry, and statistics and probability.

Parent Resources

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1: Numbers and Number Operations

• Integers, factors and multiples, and rational numbers
• Number Operations with fractions and decimals

Marking Period 2: Proportionality and Equivalent Expressions

• Ratios, rates, and percents to solve real world problems
• Generating Equivalent Numerical Expressions: Equivalent Expressions and algebraic expressions used to solve real world problems
• Equations and Inequalities: Writing Equations; Addition and Subtraction of Equations; Multiplication and Division of Equations; and Writing Inequalities

Marking Period 3: Relationships in Geometry

• Calculate, model and compare two-dimensional area and three-dimensional surface area and volume
• Area of polygons (paralleograms, rhombuses, and trapezoids)
• Using equations to solve problems about area of rectangles, parallelograms, trapezoids, and triangles
• Find the area of a polygon by breaking it into simpler shapes
• Distance and Area in the Coordinate Plane
• Surface Area and Volume of Solids
• Use absolute value to find the distance between two points with the same x or y coordinate
• Use nets to find surface areas
• Find volume of a rectangular prism

Marking Period 4: Measurement and Data

• Solve real world problems by displaying, analyzing, and summarizing data
• Using measure of center to describe a data set
• Determine and use the mean absolute deviation of a set of data points
• Use a box plot and measures of spread to describe a data set
• Using mode, median, mean, and range of data sets to describe data and make predictions
• Exploring ways to represent data in a histogram

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Math Curriculum: Seventh Grade

Seventh Grade Math Curriculum

GO Math is designed to fully facilitate conceptual development, as students work from introduction to mastery of each content standard. Students will use manipulatives, models, quick pictures, and symbols as they apply Mathematical Practices to build understanding.

This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1: The Number System

• Apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers
• The value of any real number can be determined by applying the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division of two or more specific numbers
• Adding and subtracting integers
• Multiplying and dividing integers
• Rational Numbers

Marking Period 2: Ratios and Proportional Relationships

• Numbers are compared by their relative value
• Rates and proportionality
• Proportions and percent

Marking Period 3: Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities

• Ways to express a number or expression; use algebraic expressions and equations to solve real-world problems
• Adding integers with the same and different signs
• Subtracting integers
• Solving multi-step problems involving addition and subtraction of integers
• Multiplying and dividing integers
• Using integer operations to solve real-world problems
• Converting rational numbers to a decimal
• Adding, subtracting, and dividing rational numbers
• Using different forms of rational numbers and using tools strategically to solve problems

Marking Period 4: Ratios and Proportional Relationships/Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities

• Use proportions and percent to solve real-world problems
• Find and use unit rates
• Identify and represent proportional relationships
• Use graphs to represent and analyze proportional relationships
• Use percent to describe change
• Rewrite expressions to help you solve markup and markdown problems
• Use percent to solve problems
• Posing questions and deciding what data to collect to address the question
• Using algebraic expressions and equations to solve real-world problems
• Add, subtract, factor, and multiplying algebraic expressions
• Use one step equations with rational coefficients to solve problems
• Write two-step equations
• Write and solve one-step and two-step inequalities

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Math Curriculum: Seventh Grade - Accelerated

Seventh Grade Accelerated Math Curriculum

GO Math is designed to fully facilitate conceptual development, as students work from introduction to mastery of each content standard. Students will use manipulatives, models, quick pictures, and symbols as they apply Mathematical Practices to build understanding.This year, your child's curriculum will include:

Marking Period 1: The Number System

• Apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers
• The value of any real number can be determined by applying the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division of two or more specific numbers
• Adding and subtracting integers
• Multiplying and dividing integers
• Rational Numbers

Marking Period 2: Ratios and Proportional Relationships

• Numbers are compared by their relative value
• Rates and proportionality
• Proportions and percent

Marking Period 3: Expressions, Equations, and Inequalities

• Ways to express a number or expression; use algebraic expressions and equations to solve real-world problems
• Adding integers with the same and different signs
• Subtracting integers
• Solving multi-step problems involving addition and subtraction of integers
• Multiplying and dividing integers
• Using integer operations to solve real-world problems
• Converting rational numbers to a decimal
• Adding, subtracting, and dividing rational numbers
• Using different forms of rational numbers and using tools strategically to solve problems

Marking Period 4: Ratios and Proportional Relationships/ Expressions, Linear Relationships, Equations, and Inequalities, Statistics, Probability, Geometry

• Use proportions and percent to solve real-world problems
• Find and use unit rates
• Identify and represent proportional relationships
• Use graphs to represent and analyze proportional relationships
• Use percent to describe change
• Rewrite expressions to help you solve markup and markdown problems
• Use percent to solve problems
• Posing questions and deciding what data to collect to address the question
• Using algebraic expressions and equations to solve real-world problems
• Add, subtract, factor, and multiplying algebraic expressions
• Use one step equations with rational coefficients to solve problems
• Write two-step equations
• Write and solve one-step and two-step inequalities
• Linear relationships and equations: express a number or expression, proportional and non-proportional equations
• Statistics, analyzing and comparing data, and random samples and populations,
• Probability, experimental probability, and theoretical probability
• Transformations and Similarities: properties of dilations, effect of a dilation on coordinates, and transformations and the orientation of similar figures
• Angle relationships in parallel lines, triangles, and/or volume

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Math Curriculum: Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade Math Curriculum

GO Math is designed to fully address the State Standards. Concepts within eah grade are organized in units that align to major domains and provide focus on key big ideas. Within each unit, concepts are organized into modules that align to clusters and build connections among the individual standards. Grade 8 standards will address the number system, expressions and equations, geometry, statistics and probability, and functions.

Marking Period 1: Real Numbers, Exponents, and Scientific Notation

• Relationships between sets of real numbers
• Irrational numbers including π
• Ordering irrational and rational numbers
• Scientific notation (Positive and Negative Powers of 10)
• Properties of integer exponents
• Scientific notation
• Operations with scientific notation
• Rewrite rational and decimals, take square roots, and approximate irrational numbers
• Describe relationships between sets of real numbers
• Develop and use the properties of integer exponents
• Using scientific notation to express very large and very small quantities
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide using scientific notation

Marking Period 2: Proportional and Non-Proportional Relationships and Writing Linear Equations

• Proportional relationships
• Rate of change and slope
• Interpreting the unit rate as slope
• Representing linear non-proportional relationships
• Graphing linear non-proportional relationships using slope and y-intercept
• Writing linear equations from situations and graphs, from a table, and using bivariate data

Marking Period 3: Functions, Solving Linear Equations, Solving Systems of Linear Equations

• Identifying and representing functions
• Describing and Comparing Functions
• Analyzing Graphs
• Equations with variables on both sides
• Equations with rational numbers
• Equations with Distributive Property
• Equations with many and no solutions
• Solving systems of linear equations by graphing, substitution, and elimination
• Solving systems by elimination of multiplication and special systems

Marking Period 4: Transformations and Congruence, Transformations and Similarity, Angle Relationships in Parallel Lines and Triangles, Pythagorean Theorem, and Volume

• Properties o translations, reflections, rotations,
• Algebraic representations of transformations
• Congruent Figures
• Properties of dilations
• Algebraic representations of dilations and similar figures
• Paralel lines cut by a transversal
• Angle theorems for triangles
• Angle-Angle Similarity
• Pythagorean Theorem
• Converse of Pythagorean Theorem
• Distance between two points
• Volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres

For more information about your child's Math Curriculum, please contact your child's teacher or call the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Math Curriculum: Algebra 3 with Trigonometry College Prep

Algebra 3 Math Curriculum

This course is designed to strengthen the understanding of Algebra 2 concepts and extend them to a mathematical level which will prepare a student to compete at the college level in a pre-calculus or calculus program designed for non-math majors.  This course will include a study of both algebraic and transcendental function (trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential), sequence and series, matrices, and topics from discrete mathematics including probability, statistics, combinatorics, and curve fitting.

Marking Period 1

• Real Numbers, relations, and functions, lines and linear models

• Mathematical patterns, arithmetic sequences, geometric sequences

Marking Period 2

• Solving equations graphically and solving quadratic equations algebraically

• Applications of equations, other types of equations, and inequalities

• Functions, graphs of functions, quadratic functions

• Graphs and transformations, operations on functions, inverse functions

Marking Period 3

• Polynomial functions, real zeros, graphs of polynomial functions and polynomial models

• Rational functions

• Complex numbers and The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

• Radicals and rational functions, exponential functions, applications of exponential functions, common and natural logarithmic functions

• Properties and laws of logarithms, solving exponential and logarithmic equations, exponential, logarithmic, and other models

Marking Period 4

• Right-triangle trigonometry, trigonometric applications, angles and radian measure, trigonometric functions, basic trigonometric identities

• Graphs of the sine, cosine, and tangent functions, graphs of the cosecant, secant, and cotangent functions, periodic graphs and amplitude, periodic graphs and phase shifts

• Solving systems of equations, matrices, matrix operations, matrix operations for square systems

Math Curriculum: AP Calculus

AP Calculus

The purpose of this course is to prepare the student for college mathematics. Calculus is used to solve problems of change and motion. Topics include slopes of curves, velocities, acceleration, forces, extreme values of functions, areas, volumes. Differential and integral calculus are studied. Students are required to take AP exam in May.

Marking Period 1

• Evaluate limits numerically , graphically, analytically

• Evaluate derivatives

• Apply derivatives to finding slopes, rates of change, related rates

• Evaluate difference quotients

Marking Period 2

• Locate relative and absolute extrema of a function

• State and apply Rolle’s and Mean Value Theorem

• Determine intervals on which a function is increasing or decreasing , or concave up or concave down

• Analyze and sketch the graph of a function

• Solve optimization problems

• Approximate the zeros of a function using Newton’s Method

• Estimate errors using differentials

• Evaluate in definite and definite integrals

• Find the area of a plane region using limits

• Approximate definite integrals using Trapezoidal and Simpson’s Rule

Marking Period 3

• Calculate derivative and integrals of logarithmic, exponential, trigonometric functions

• Solve differential equations

• Use slope fields to approximate solutions to differential equations

Marking Period 4

• Find areas of regions between intersecting curves using integration

• Find volumes of solids of revolution using disc, shell and cross section method

• Review for AP exam

• Use integrals to find arc length, surface area, work, centers of mass, fluid pressure, and fluid force

Math Curriculum: AP Statistics

AP Statistics

This is a college-level course designed to give the serious math student a strong foundation in the field of statistics. Students will be introduced to the major concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. Students are exposed to 1. exploring data, 2. sampling and experimentation, 3. anticipating patterns, and 4. statistical inference. A graphing calculator is mandatory. Students are required to take the Advanced Placement Examination in May, and depending upon the exam score, may earn college credit.

Marking Period 1

• Displaying distributions with graphs, describing distributions with numbers

• Density Curves and the normal distribution, standard normal calculations

• Scatterplots, correlation, least-squares regression

• Transforming relationships, cautions about correlation and regression, relations in categorical data

Marking Period 2

• Designing samples, designing experiments, simulating experiments

• The idea of probability, probability models, general probability rules

• Discrete and continuous random variables, means and variances of random variables

• The binomial distribution, the geometric distribution

Marking Period 3

• Sampling distributions, sample proportions, sample means

• Estimating with confidence, tests of significance, making sense of statistical significance, inference as decision

• Inference for the mean of a population, comparing two means

• Inference for a population proportion, comparing two means

Marking Period 4

• Test for Goodness of Fit, inference for two-way tables

• Inference about the model, predictions and conditions

• Inference for population spread, one-way analysis of variance

Common Core Parent Roadmaps

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

Grades 9-12

Math Curriculum: College Prep Algebra 1

College Prep Algebra 1

College Prep Algebra 1 will introduce students to the terms and principles of Algebra. The course will include an in-depth study of solving linear and quadratic equations, solving linear systems and solving linear inequalities and systems. Students will also study sequences and the comparison of functions (linear, quadratic and exponential). Students will use Algebra to model practical applications.

Marking Period 1

• Solving equations and inequalities

• Solving literal equations

• Graphing functions

• Graphing, modeling and construction arithmetic sequences

Marking Period 2

• Graphing linear functions using various methods

• Constructing the equation of a linear function

• Graphing and solving inequalities

• Data distributions (histogram, box plot and normal)

• Fitting data

Marking Period 3

• Solving systems of equations and inequalities

• Piecewise functions

• Solving and graphing absolute value

• Converting from radical expressions to ones with rational exponents

• Geometric sequences

• Exponential functions

• Comparing linear and exponential functions

Marking Period 4

• Adding, subtracting and multiplying polynomials

• Graphing quadratics and finding their attributes

• Solve quadratics by factoring, square root, complete the square and quadratic formula

• Comparing linear, quadratic and exponential functions

Math Curriculum: College Prep Algebra 2

College Prep Algebra 2

College Prep Algebra 2 is designed for those students who have completed Algebra 1 and Geometry. Successful completion of Algebra 2 is a state requirement for graduation. Topics will include functions, their graphs and solving equations and inequalities. Functions to be studied include absolute value, cubic, polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric. Where possible, connections to real life applications will be used to extend the Algebra.

Marking Period 1

• Introduction of functions including notation, transformations and parent functions, domain, range, inverses and composition.

• Solve and graph absolute value equations and inequalities

• Solve quadratics using various methods – square roots, complete the square, quadratic formula – including complex solutions

• Circles and parabolas and their characteristics

• Solving quadratic and linear systems

Marking Period 2

• Graphing cubic and polynomial functions

• Add, subtract, multiply, divide and factor polynomials

• Solve polynomial and rational equations

• Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational expressions

Marking Period 3

• Graphing quadratic, cubic and radical functions

• Convert from radical to exponential form and vice-versa

• Arithmetic and geometric sequences and geometric series.

• Model exponential functions – growth and decay

• Simplify logarithmic and natural logarithmic expressions using their properties.

• Solve exponential and logarithmic equations.

• Fitting data

• Unit circle to find sine, cosine and tangent

Marking Period 4

• Graphing sine, cosine and tangent function with transformation.

• Fitting data to a sine function

Math Curriculum: College Prep Algebra 3

College Prep Algebra 3

This course is designed to strengthen the understanding of Algebra 2 concepts and extend them to a mathematical level which will prepare a student to compete at the college level in a pre-calculus or calculus program designed for non-math majors. This course will include a study of both algebraic and transcendental function (trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential), matrices, vectors and topics from discrete mathematics including probability and statistics.

Marking Period 1

• Working with functions including transformations, operations, composition and inverse

• Graphing rational functions and finding asymptotes, domain, range and intercepts

• Trigonometry using special right triangles and finding the 6 trigonometric functions

• Using the unit circle to find the 6 trigonometric functions

• Use the addition or subtraction formulas and values on the unit circle to find sine/cosine/tangent of angles not on the circle (EX: 15=45-30)

Marking Period 2

• Perform operations (+,-,*,/) on complex numbers including powers

• Convert complex numbers from rectangular to complex form.

• Perform operations (+,-,*) on vectors

• Write a vector in component form and find its magnitude and direction

• Perform operations on matrices (+,-,*,determinant and inverse)

• Solve systems using matrices

Marking Period 3

• Properties and laws of logarithms, solving exponential and logarithmic equations, exponential, logarithmic, and other models

• Conic sections – parabolas, ellipses and hyperbolas – finding equation, graphing including special characteristics

Marking Period 4

• Statistics – graphs including histograms, box and whisker and normal

• Probability – sample space, distributions, simulation

Math Curriculum: College Prep Geometry

College Prep Geometry

College Prep Geometry is designed for those students who have completed Algebra 1. This course is designed to help students understand the nature of deductive proof with emphasis on definitions, postulates, theorems, and the logic of the deductive process. Some of the topics explored are angles, triangles, parallel and perpendicular lines, congruence, polygons, circles, and spheres.

Marking Period 1

• Statistics and Probability

• Tools of Geometry

• Transformation and Similarity

• Congruent Figures

Marking Period 2

• Line and Angles

• Triangle Congruence Criteria

• Application of Triangle Congruence

• Properties of Triangles

• Special Segments in Triangles

Marking Period 3

• Properties of Quadrilaterals

• Coordinate Proof Using Slope and Distance

• Similarity and Transformations

• Using Similar Triangles

• Trigonometry with Triangles

Marking Period 4

• Angles and Segments in Circles

• Arc and Length and Sector Area

• Equations of Circles and Parabolas

• Volume Formulas

• Visualizing Solids

• Modeling and Problem Solving

Math Curriculum: Honors Algebra 2

Honors Algebra 2

Honors Algebra 2 is designed to help students understand Algebra as a study of the system of real and complex numbers Successful completion of Algebra 2 is a state requirement for graduation. Topics will include functions, their graphs and solving equations and inequalities. Functions to be studied include absolute value, cubic, polynomial, rational, radical, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric. Where possible, connections to real life applications will be used to extend the Algebra and how it applies to probability and statistics.

Marking Period 1

• Introduction of functions including notation, transformations and parent functions, domain, range, inverses and composition.

• Solve and graph absolute value equations and inequalities

• Solve quadratics using various methods – square roots, complete the square, quadratic formula – including complex solutions

• Circles and parabolas and their characteristics

• Solving quadratic and linear systems

Marking Period 2

• Graphing cubic and polynomial functions

• Add, subtract, multiply, divide and factor polynomials

• Binomial Theorem and Rational root theorem

• Solve polynomial and rational equations

• Add, subtract, multiply and divide rational expressions.

Marking Period 3

• Graphing quadratic, cubic and radical functions

• Convert from radical to exponential form and vice-versa

• Arithmetic and geometric sequences and geometric series.

• Model exponential functions – growth and decay

• Simplify logarithmic and natural logarithmic expressions using their properties.

• Solve exponential and logarithmic equations.

• Fitting data

• Unit circle to find sine, cosine and tangent

Marking Period 4

• Graphing sine, cosine and tangent function with transformation.

• Fitting data to a sine function

• Data gathering and distributions including the normal distribution

• Confidence intervals

• Surveys

Math Curriculum: Honors Geometry

Honors Geometry

Honors Geometry is designed for those students who have completed Honors Algebra 1. This course is designed to help students understand the nature of deductive proof with emphasis on definitions, postulates, theorems, and the logic of the deductive process. Some of the topics explored are angles, triangles, parallel and perpendicular lines, congruence, polygons, circles, and spheres.

Marking Period 1

• Statistics and Probability

• Tools of Geometry

• Transformation and Similarity

• Congruent Figures

Marking Period 2

• Line and Angles

• Triangle Congruence Criteria

• Application of Triangle Congruence

• Properties of Triangles

• Special Segments in Triangles

Marking Period 3

• Properties of Quadrilaterals

• Coordinate Proof Using Slope and Distance

• Similarity and Transformations

• Using Similar Triangles

• Trigonometry with Triangles

Marking Period 4

• Angles and Segments in Circles

• Arc and Length and Sector Area

• Equations of Circles and Parabolas

• Volume Formulas

• Visualizing Solids

• Modeling and Problem Solving

Math Curriculum: Honors Pre-Calculus

College Prep Algebra 1

Honors Pre-Calculus is designed to prepare the student mathematically for calculus. The concept of function is developed with variations and considerable time is spent with the transcendental functions (exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric functions). Other topics include systems of equations and inequalities, matrices, sequences, probability, statistics and selected topics in analytic geometry. The finale is the study of limits and a preview of some calculus concepts. A graphing calculator is used daily.

Marking Period 1: Functions: Linear, quadratic, rational, radical, and polynomial

• Use of arithmetic and geometric sequences and sums.

• Analysis of linear functions and their attributes (slope, intercepts, regression).

• Apply and solve quadratic, rational and radical functions by various methods.

• Solve linear, quadratic, rational inequalities.

• Identify and apply transformations to functions along with composition and inverse.

• Use the graphing calculator to facilitate solving equations and finding pertinent information about the function (intercepts, zeros, local maxima and minima).

• Find real zeros of a polynomial function.

Marking Period 2: Functions: Complex numbers, matrices, exponential/logarithmic functions, conic sections

• Graph rational functions and find intercepts and asymptotes.

• Perform basic operations on complex numbers and use them to solve polynomial equations.

• Perform basic operations on matrices and apply them to solving systems of equations.

• Simplifying exponential and logarithmic expressions and applying those skills to solving exponential and logarithmic equations.

• Graph and find the pertinent information of the four basic conic sections (circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola).

Marking Period 3: Trigonometry: Functions, graphs, equations

• Use right triangle trigonometry to solve problems.

• Evaluate trigonometric expressions and solve trigonometric equations involving the 6 basic functions (sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, cosecant).

• Graph the six basic trigonometric functions and determine parameters of the graph (period, amplitude, vertical shift and phase shift).

• Use trigonometric inverses and identities to solve equations.

Marking Period 4: Applications of trigonometric laws, polar, and parametric equations, statistics and probability, limits

• Apply law of sines and cosines to solve problems

• Graph polar and parametric equations.

• Convert between rectangular and polar/parametric form and vice-versa.

• Calculate and apply measures of central tendency including the normal distribution.

• Calculate and apply basic probability.

• Determine the limit of a function and whether it is continuous.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Fifth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Conduct oneself in a safe manner in situations involving traffic, fire, strangers, and bullies.
• Understand techniques and strategies regarding personal safety.
• Utilize strategies to address situations such as poisoning, minor wounds, and injuries.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Understand the diversity of family structures.
• Express needs and wants appropriately.
• Speak effectively.
• Utilize valid safe, and reliable resources for information and support.
• Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Understand strategies to prevent disease and infection.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Sixth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Understand and follow rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Understand the short and long term effects of alcohol and other drug use.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Develop strategies for making a commitment not to use alcohol or other drugs irresponsibly or illegally.
• Conduct oneself in a safe manner when in situations involving fire, water, personal injury, traffic, and personal safety.
• Express needs, wants, and emotions appropriately.
• Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Resist negative peer pressure.
• Maintain effective hygiene techniques.
• Utilize techniques to prevent the spread of disease transmission by covering sneezes and coughs, frequent hand washing, and not exchanging blood.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Seventh Grade

Seventh Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Seventh-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Avoid the use of non-medicinal drugs and inhalants.
• Understand and follow appropriate rules for receiving medicinal drugs.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Utilize valid, safe, and reliable resources for information and support.
• Understand environmental health risks and how to advocate for the protection of natural resources.
• Express needs, wants and emotions appropriately.
• Develop and maintain healthy friendships.
• Analyze stressors and develop effective coping skills.
• Understand and access information regarding various mental health problems.
• Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Make a personal commitment to abstain from sexual intercourse.
• Recognize effective methods/steps for pregnancy prevention.
• Understand the risks of HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections (STI).
• Understand effective ways to prevent HIV and STIs.
• Access valid sources for information and help.
• Apply basic first aid techniques.
• Avoid or handle interpersonal conflict.
• Make positive choices regarding healthy physical activity and nutrition.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Eighth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Understand the relationship between alcohol and other drug use and injuries, violence, sexual risk behavior, mental health, and fetal development.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Understand the physical, emotional, social, and sexual changes that occur during puberty and adolescence.
• Make a personal commitment to abstain from sexual intercourse.
• Refuse unwanted/unprotected sex.
• Prevent pregnancy, HIV and sexually-transmitted infections.
• Access valid sources of information and help.
• Express wants, needs, and emotions appropriately.
• Analyze stressors and develop coping strategies.
• Prevent sports- and exercise-related injuries.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Ninth Grade

Ninth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Ninth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Understand the difference between drug dependence and addiction.
• Identify the effects and consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and inhalants.
• Understand the relationship between alcohol and other drug use and injuries, violence, sexual risk behavior, mental health, and fetal development.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Develop and maintain a physically-active lifestyle.
• Communicate respect for oneself and others.
• Build and maintain relationships and understand appropriate ways to end relationships.
• Analyze stressors and develop coping strategies.
• Understand the behaviors and symptoms of depression and other mental illness, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and impulse control disorders.
• Access valid sources of information and help.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Tenth Grade

Tenth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Tenth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Understand the difference between drug dependence and addiction.
• Evaluate the effects and consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and inhalants.
• Understand the relationship between alcohol and other drug use and injuries, violence, sexual risk behavior, mental health, and fetal development.
• Avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and inhalants.
• Find appropriate and valid sources of help for oneself and others.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Eleventh Grade

Eleventh Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Eleventh-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Understand the positive and negative influences of alcohol and other drug use.
• Accept personal responsibility for choices about alcohol and other non-medicinal drug use.
• Develop strategies to support the personal commitment not to use tobacco or controlled substances.
• Understand the short and long term benefits of avoiding the use of tobacco.
• Quit using tobacco and locate valid resources for getting help .

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

P.E. Health Curriculum: Twelfth Grade

Twelfth Grade P.E. Health Curriculum

Delaware law mandates that each school district have a sequential, skills-based K-12 Comprehensive Health Education that establishes a foundation of understanding the relationship between personal behavior and health. In compliance with state and federal mandates, the Capital School District is in the process of revising its Health Education Curriculum. The revised curriculum will focus on providing students with the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to “obtain, interpret, and understand basic health information and services and the competence to use such information and services in ways which are health enhancing.”

Twelfth-grade students will be taught the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Accept personal responsibility for choices about alcohol and other nonmedicinal drug use.
• Develop strategies to support the personal commitment not to use tobacco or controlled substances.
• Understand the short and long term benefits of not using tobacco.
• Quit using tobacco and locate valid resources for getting help and support.

For more information about your child’s Health Education curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-672-1951.

Science Curriculum: Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly-complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Unit One: Ecosystems or Environments

Curricular Materials Utilized: FOSS Environments or STC Ecosystems

Unit Overview: In this unit, fifth-graders explore the web of relationships that link organisms to one another and to their natural environments. By constructing, observing, discussing, and reading about both land and water ecosystems in this unit, students develop a growing sensitivity to living things and what they need to survive. Students learn that organisms in ecosystems have dependent and independent relationships and that natural and human-made events can disturb an ecosystem. They also learn that people bring different perspectives to environmental issues, and that they can work together to develop solutions.

Essential Questions: 

• How can change in one part of the ecosystem effect change in the other parts of the ecosystem?
• How do matter and energy link organisms to each other and their environment? Why is sunlight essential to life on Earth?
• How do humans have an impact on the diversity and stability of ecosystems?
• How is matter transferred in living systems? How is energy transferred/transformed in living systems?

Unit Two: Skywatchers

Curricular Materials Utilized: Carolina Biological Supply Company

Unit Overview: In this unit, students will learn about the components of the solar system and the effects of the sun in producing light and heat. Using models and observation, they will learn about comparing and contrasting the day and nighttime sky, earth’s rotation and revolution, and its affects on seasonal change and moon phases.

Essential Questions: 

• How have past scientific contributions influenced current scientific understanding of the world?
• What predictable, observable patterns occur as a result of the interaction between the earth, moon, and sun? What causes these patterns?
• What is Earth’s place in the Solar System?
• How has technology expanded our knowledge of the Earth, Moon, and Sun System?

Unit Three: Mixtures and Solutions

Curricular Materials Utilized: FOSS Mixtures and Solutions Module

Unit Overview: In this unit, students are introduced to chemistry as the study of the structure of matter and the changes or transformations that take place in it. Students investigate the properties of mixtures and solutions, dissolving a solid in a solvent, concentration and saturation of a solution, evidence of reactions, evaporation, and crystal formation. Students gain experience with laboratory tools and techniques.

Essential Questions: 

• What makes a question scientific?
• What constitutes evidence?
• When do you know that you have enough evidence?
• Why is it necessary to justify and communicate an explanation?
• How do the properties of materials determine their use?
• How can the properties of the components of a mixture be used to separate the mixture? How do the components determine the properties of mixtures?

Unit Four: Motion and Design

Curricular Materials Utilized: STC Motion and Design Module

Unit Overview: This unit allows students opportunities to explore the physics of motion and to apply those concepts to technological design. In this unit, students analyze the motion of vehicles they have built, investigate how forces affect a vehicle's motion, and design vehicles that are propelled by stored energy.

Essential Questions: 

• What happens to the energy in a system? Where does this energy come from, how is it changed within the system, and where does it ultimately go? How does the flow of energy affect the materials in the system?
• How do we know that things have energy?
• How can energy be transferred from one material to another?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly-complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Unit One: My Body and Me

Curricular Materials Utilized: SEPUP My Body and Me Module

Unit Overview: In the beginning of this unit, students investigate important ideas about the nature of science, the traditional scientific method, and experimental design. Students focus on the role of organ systems in providing nutrients and oxygen to the body and transporting and eliminating wastes. They also investigate the use of medication and the role of nutrition and exercise, and heart disease in maintaining or disrupting a stable internal balance.

Essential Questions: 

• What is involved in preparing a quality scientific investigation?
• How can variables influence the results of an investigation?
• What is the role of the respiratory, circulatory and digestive system in maintaining a healthy body?

Unit Two: Simple Machines

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit Developed by the Delaware State University and the Delaware Science Coalition

Unit Overview: The focus of this module is the physical concepts that surround the topic of simple machines. The key concept of energy as well as the force & distance relationship is emphasized throughout the investigations. The concept of “work” is de-emphasized as it is more appropriate for high school level students.

Essential Questions: 

• How do simple machines create a mechanical advantage for humans?

Unit Three: Forces that Cause Motion

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit Developed by the University of Delaware and the Delaware Science Coalition

Unit Overview: This unit is designed to complement the introduction to forces in Grade 5 and introduction to electricity in Grade 4. Students learn to identify and describe mechanical, electrical and electromagnetic forces in nature as well as form mathematical and physical models of their behavior. Students build an understanding of how motion and force are connected by investigating how these forces combine together to power and move an electric toy car. In addition, students learn to identify various types of mechanical energy and begin to build an understanding of energy transformations.

Essential Questions: 

• How do forces affect the motion of an object?
• How can we measure and calculate the speed of a moving object?
• What is electrical energy and how is it related to magnetism?

Unit Four: Earth's History

Curricular Materials Utilized: FOSS Earth’s History Module

Unit Overview: The Earth History unit emphasizes the use of knowledge and evidence to construct explanations about the processes and systems that have operated over geological time.

Essential Questions: 

• How do constructive and destructive processes shape the surface of the Earth?
• How are rock layers and fossils used to provide evidence of Earth’s history?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Seventh Grade

Seventh Grade Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly-complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Unit One: Diversity of Life

Curricular Materials Utilized: FOSS Environments or STC Ecosystems

Unit Overview: In this unit, students investigate the characteristics of life for single and multi-cellular organisms. The knowledge and evidence gained in this unit are used to construct explanations for the structures and functions of living organisms.

Essential Questions: 

• What characteristics are present in all living organisms?
• How does structure affect and/or define the function of structures in living things (both single and multi-celled).
• What is the source of diversity in living things?

Unit Two: Genetics

Curricular Materials Utilized: SEPUP Our Genes Ourselves

Unit Overview: This unit emphasizes the organizing themes of individuality, continuity, variability in relation to others, variability in time, and adaption. The instructional materials are designed to match the varying levels of cognitive development and social maturity of middle school students.

Essential Questions: 

• What is the difference between and the advantages of sexual and asexual reproduction?
• What are genes and how are they passed from parent to offspring?
• How can traits be influenced by both environmental and genetic conditions?

Unit Three: Properties of Matter

Curricular Materials Utilized: STC Properties of Matter Module

Unit Overview: The focus of this module is the physical properties that characterize matter. Students examine characteristic properties including density, solubility, and melting and boiling points. The particle model is utilized to illustrate how materials behave under different conditions (changes in temperature and/pressure). The link is made between the increase/decrease of energy and the behavior of the materials.

Essential Questions: 

• What are the differences between solids, liquids and gases in terms of energy and space between particles?
• How can physical properties be used to identify an unknown substance?
• How is the difference between a mixture and a solution?

Unit Four: Watersheds

Curricular Materials Utilized: A coordinated module including publications from It’s About Time Publishing, Stroud and Lamotte Chemical companies, the University of Delaware and the Delaware Science Coalition

Unit Overview: Students begin by reviewing concepts of land, water and Earth materials learned in earlier years and use these concepts to build a more comprehensive understanding of Earth systems. Each process involved in the water cycle is investigated and observed, and students use their knowledge of the properties of matter and mixtures and solutions to study the composition of water within a watershed. A virtual watershed is studied in preparation for a full investigation of a local watershed.

Essential Questions: 

• What materials can be carried in water as it passes over the through the land toward a body of water?
• What does the elevation of land affect the flow of water?
• What human impacts are detectable in local watersheds?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade Science Curriculum

Capital’s science curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. Teachers utilize research-based materials and strategies to provide all students with experiences in the life, earth, and physical sciences while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will develop an understanding of important science concepts as they demonstrate process skills such as observing, measuring, predicting, and communicating. The science curriculum engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based, integrated units which serve as a foundation for success in an increasingly-complex scientific and technological world.

This year, your child’s curriculum will include the following:

Unit One: Delaware Ecosystems

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the Delaware Science Coalition in conjunction with the University of Delaware.

Unit Overview: This unit focuses on the horseshoe crab/shorebird connection as a model to help students understand ecosystems. Students first examine how science is different from other disciplines. Students then look at where organisms live in order to establish the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors. Students learn a variety of sampling techniques and explore the effects of limiting factors on populations. Adaptations are investigated as they relate to the interaction of structure and function. Food webs and the flow of energy are a major focus before students cap the unit with a human impact/fisheries management computer activity.

Essential Questions: 

• How is matter and energy transferred throughout an ecosystem?
• How does the total amount of matter and energy within an ecosystem change as it is transferred through the system?
• How do changes in the physical or biological conditions of an ecosystem alter the diversity of species in the system?
• How does the number of individuals within an ecosystem change as a result of interrelationships among organisms, availability of resources, natural disasters, habitat changes, and pollution?

Unit Two: Transformation of Energy

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the Delaware Science Coalition in conjunction with Delaware State University and the University of Delaware.

Unit Overview: This unit is designed to set the stage for the entire 8th grade year. The unit starts out with an in-depth investigation of mechanical energy, progresses to the topic of heat energy, and ends with an investigation into the energy carried by waves. Energy transfers and energy transformations as well as the construction of energy chains are a key focus of the unit.

Essential Questions: 

• What is the largest source of energy for the Earth and how does energy transformation drive physical, chemical and biological processes?
• What is the nature of heat energy?
• What are the properties of light and how does it interact with other materials?

Unit Three: Weather

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the Delaware Science Coalition in conjunction with Delaware State University and the University of Delaware.

Unit Overview: The major theme throughout the unit is the effect of the Sun’s energy on the creation of weather systems. Students collect and analyze local weather data over time to note relationships between current data such as temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and cloud types and the existing weather and predict future weather.

Essential Questions: 

• What properties of Earth’s atmosphere can be observed and measured?
• What role does the heating of the Earth play in weather phenomena?
• What causes water to change state and be continually recycled?
• How do meteorologists study climatic patterns and predict weather changes?

Unit Four: Planetary Systems

Curricular Materials Utilized: FOSS Planetary Systems Module

Unit Overview: This unit emphasizes the use of knowledge and evidence to construct explanations for the structures and motions of objects in the Solar System. An advanced understanding of the motions of objects in our solar system and their effects on one another is developed as students study models to represent celestial activities.

Essential Questions: 

• How is the regular and predictable motion of most objects in the solar system responsible for observed phenomena such as day and night, seasons, and eclipses?
• How do scientists gather information from which they can speculate about conditions on the members of our solar system?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Physical Science

Physical Science

Unit One: Alchemy

Curricular Materials Utilized: Living By Chemistry: Key Curriculum Press

Unit Overview: Students become active learners as they investigate foundational chemistry concepts including safety, atomic structure, isotopes, periodicity, ionic and covalent bonds, and basic nomenclature and balancing of chemical equations

Students will understand that:

• Safety is paramount when dealing with chemicals in the laboratory
• Matter can be characterized by its physical and chemical properties
• The language of chemistry is logical and necessary when sharing information relating to chemical activity or processes
• The periodic table is a tool that is useful in understanding and/or predicting the behaviors and/or interactions of atoms and molecules
• All atoms have a specific structure that is key to its interaction with other atoms
• Some atoms contain more neutrons than others while maintaining a specific electron/proton balance. These atoms are called isotopes.
• Atoms have valence electrons that determine the types of bonds an atom can make with other atoms.

Essential Questions:

1. How does the structure of an atom determine its properties?
2. How do multiple atoms combine to form larger compounds?
3. How does the conservation of mass apply to the interaction of reactants and products in a chemical reaction?
4. What is the common language used by chemists in communicating chemical information?

Unit Two: Energy across the Systems

Curricular Materials Utilized: Delaware DOE Energy across the Systems unit

Unit Overview: This unit addresses both mechanical and radiant energy with respect to transfer and transformation. Students will use an integrated investigative approach to explore the mechanisms and effects of this transfer and transformation both conceptually and quantitatively, supporting the Law of Conservation of Energy. This unit is to be the first unit in the ninth grade Integrated Science course. The concepts are to be reinforced in the subsequent introductory chemistry, astronomy, and Earth Science units.

Students will understand that:

• Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically-oriented questions, collecting evidence, forming explanations, connecting explanations to scientific knowledge and theory, and communicating and justifying the explanation.
• The development of technology and advancement in science influence each other and drive each other forward.
• Understanding past processes and contributions is essential in building scientific knowledge.
• Energy takes many forms. These forms can be grouped into types of energy that are associated with the motion of mass(kinetic energy) and types of energy associated with the position of mass and energy fields(potential energy).
• Changes take place because of the transfer of energy. Energy is transferred to matter through the action of forces. Different forces are responsible for the different forms of energy.
• Energy readily transforms from one form to another, but these transformations are not always reversible. The details of these transformations depend upon the initial form of the energy and the properties of the materials involved. Energy may transfer into or out of a system, and it may change forms, but the total energy cannot change.
• People utilize a variety of resources to meet the basic and specific needs of life. Some of these resources cannot be replaced. Other resources can be replenished or exist in such vast quantities they are in no danger of becoming depleted. Often the energy stored in resources must be transformed into more useful forms and transported over great distances before it can be helpful to us.

Essential Questions: 

1. What makes a question scientific? What constitutes evidence? When do you know you have enough evidence? Why is it necessary to justify and communicate an explanation?
2. How do science and technology influence each other?
3. How have past scientific contributions influenced current scientific understanding of the world? What do we mean in science when we hay that we stand on the shoulders of giants?
4. Why do things have energy?
5. How can energy be transferred from one material to another?
6. What happens to a material when energy is transferred to it?
7. What happens to the energy in a system – where does this energy come from, how is it changed within the system, and where does it ultimately go? How does the flow of energy affect the materials in the system?
8. What is a “responsible” use of energy? Are there alternative forms of energy that will serve our needs, or better ways of using traditional forms of energy?

Unit Three: Earth Systems

Curricular Materials Utilized: Delaware DOE Earth Systems unit

Unit Overview: Understanding the properties of earth materials and the physical laws that govern their behavior leads to prediction of Earth events such as volcanism, earthquakes and plate tectonics. This unit is the third and final unit of the ninth grade curriculum. This unit is subdivided into Minerals, Rocks, Weathering and Erosion KUD1), Waves, Earth Layers, Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Continental Drift (KUD2), and Solar Nebula Theory (KUD).

Students will understand that:

• The Earth’s atmosphere, crust, and interior have changed since the formation of the planets. Driven by internal heat (radioactive decay and heat from accretion), the Earth’s layers have separated by density into a solid core, molten mantle, and crust of solid rock composed of plates.
• As a force, gravity causes tides, pulls matter together to make spherical stars and planets, maintains the orbits of planets, and gathers cosmic gas and dust to form stars and star systems.
• The Sun and our Solar System are part of the Milky Way galaxy consisting of billions of other stars that appear to be made of the same elements found on Earth
• Most elements are formed as a result of natural astronomical processes, either in the Big Bang itself or in the natural evolution of stars
• Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Common rock forming minerals found in Delaware (calcite, quartz, mica, feldspar and hornblende) can be identified by their chemical and physical properties.
• Rocks can be classified as igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary based on the method of formation. The natural cycling of rocks includes the formation of new sediment through erosion and weathering and of new rock through heat and compaction of the sediment
• Earth’s geosphere is composed of layers of rocks, which have separated due to density and temperature differences and classified chemically into a crust (which includes continental and oceanic rock), a hot, convecting mantle, and a dense metallic core.
• Continental and oceanic rocks differ in overall composition, density and age.
• Earth’s four spheres interact as part of a dynamic system in which changes over time are the result of external and internal energy sources
• Tectonic plates press against one another in some places (convergence), pull apart in other places (divergence), or slide past each other. These plate movements may result in the formation of mountain ranges, and can lead to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The consequences of these events impact the surrounding atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and the life existing within them.
• Earthquakes result when rocks rupture and slide by one another releasing stored energy, which travels through the geosphere in the form of waves. Local earthquake risks can be assessed and preparations made to minimize the hazards
• The type and eruptive style of volcanoes is determined by the viscosity and gas pressure of the magma. The effects of these eruptions can have both local and global consequences.

Essential Questions: 

1. Describe how the processes of accretion and fusion account for the energy and gravity responsible for the formation of celestial bodies such a stars and galaxies.
2. Why do density differences in minerals
3. How do the properties of Earth materials and the physical laws that govern their behavior lead to prediction of Earth events such as rock cycling, volcanism, earthquakes and plate tectonics?
4. How does the force of gravity drive condensation of interstellar dust to form stars and their systems?
5. How is Earth’s composition related to the natural events that shape it?
6. What are the root causes of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, how are their locations consistent with tectonic plate movements?
7. Describe the energy changes, transfers and transformations associated with plate movements and natural events?
8. How does the Rock Cycle model the laws of Conservation of Energy and Conservation of Matter?
9. How does physical and chemical weathering break down Earth materials?

Science Curriculum: Biology

Biology

Unit One: Nature of Science and Experimental Design

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the Delaware Science Coalition in conjunction with Delaware State University and University of Delaware.

Unit Overview: This designed to set the stage for scientific inquiry for the three following units. It first explores the nature of science, i.e. what science is. Then it develops the concept of a scientific theory. The second part deals with what elements are required for proper experimental design.

Essential Questions: 

• What is the nature of science?
• What is scientific theory?
• What are the elements that a good scientific experiment includes?

Unit Two: Cell Biology: World Health

Curricular Materials Utilized: This unit was approved by the Delaware Science Coalition and developed by SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program) and supported by the work of NSF (National Science Foundation.)

Unit Overview: This unit focuses broadly on the issue of health in countries in the developed and developing worlds and the affects of disease on sustainability, while applying the basics of cell biology throughout.

Essential Questions: 

• What is the cellular nature of life?
• What is the structure and function of cells?
• How are cells specialized and why are they differentiated?
• What is the life cycle of a cell?
• What is the role of microbes in infectious diseases?
• How does the breakdown of cellular functions lead to disease?
• How do the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration compare?
• What is the role of macromolecules in cells?

Unit Three: Genetics – Feeding the World

Curricular Materials Utilized: This unit was approved by the Delaware Science Coalition and developed by SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program) and supported by the work of NSF (National Science Foundation.)

Unit Overview: This unit focuses broadly on the issue of genetically modified organisms, while applying the basics of genetics.

Essential Questions: 

• What is the difference between sexual and asexual reproduction?
• How do mitosis and meiosis compare?
• What are phenotype and genotype?
• Why was Mendel’s research important?
• How do you perform genetic crosses and interpret pedigrees?
• How are genes inherited?
• What is the structure of DNA and how does it express genes?

Unit Four: Evolution – Maintaining Diversity

Curricular Materials Utilized: This unit was approved by the Delaware Science Coalition and developed by SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program) and supported by the work of NSF (National Science Foundation.)

Unit Overview: This unit focuses broadly on the issue maintaining biological diversity and sustainability while applying the basic concepts of evolution.

Essential Questions: 

• How biodiversity related to sustainability?
• How do impact ecosystems and biodiversity?
• How did Darwin’s research lead him to develop the theory of natural selection?
• How do the key events in geologic time and fossil evidence support natural selection?
• Why is phylogenetic diversity important when making conservation decisions?
• How does natural selection lead to speciation?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Astronomy and Ecology

Astronomy and Ecology

Astronomy and Ecology is a fourth-year college preparatory science course. The curriculum addresses topics that align with the State of Delaware Recommended Curriculum for the 12th grade. The first semester focuses on the Big Bang Theory, and the second semester focuses on environmental sustainability.

1st Semester

Astronomy with emphasis on the Big Bang Theory, covering the following topics:

• Scale models
• Our Solar System
• The Milky Way Galaxies
• Black Holes
• The Universe

2nd Semester

Ecology with emphasis on environmental sustainability, covering the following topics:

• Ecosystems
• Human Impacts
• Pollution affects ecosystems
• Environment Protection

Science Curriculum: AP Biology

AP Biology

Unit One: Chemical and Cellular Basis of Life

Curricular Materials Utilized: AP College Board curriculum standards

Unit Overview: This unit encompasses basic biochemistry and organic chemistry, which provide the foundation for understanding the emergent properties of cellular life.

Essential Questions: 

• How do the structures of the four major organic compounds relate to their functions?
• What are the structures and functions of the smallest unit of life, the cell?
• What are the details of essential cell processes, such as, membrane regulation, reproduction, energy transfer, and cell communication?

Labratory Component: Enzyme characteristics, Diffusion and Osmosis, Mitosis observations

Unit Two: Genetics and Gene Regulation

Curricular Materials Utilized: AP College Board curriculum standards

Unit Overview: This unit will address the genetic basis of life. DNA structure and protein synthesis will be investigated on a molecular level. Emphasis is placed on genetic and molecular technology and modern advances in genetic engineering.

Essential Questions: 

• How does the structure of DNA and RNA relate to its function in protein synthesis?
• How does the DNA self replicate?
• What are the techniques used in investigating genetic and protein properties?

Labratory Component: Gel Electrophoresis and Bacterial Transformation

Unit Three: Evolution, Diversity of Life and Ecology

Curricular Materials Utilized: AP College Board curriculum standards

Unit Overview: This unit discusses the major underlying theme of Evolution. A survey of taxonomy and relationships among the major kingdoms and phyla is explored and emphasizes the evolutionary relatedness of all living organisms.

Essential Questions: 

• What are the components of Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection:
• How is the Hardy-Weinberg equation utilized to explain the effects of evolution on a population?
• What are the major characteristics of the kingdoms? What are the evolutionary relationships among the phyla of the plant and animal kingdom?
• How do organisms interact in the biosphere?

Labratory Component: Lab Walk (live specimens of phyla), Genetic Drift and Hardy Weinberg Activities, Behavior lab

Unit Four: Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Plants and Animals

Curricular Materials Utilized: AP College Board curriculum standards

Unit Overview: Major life processes are explored and applied to whole organism anatomy and physiology. The physiological processes of digestion, transport, circulation, hormonal and nervous control, and movement are discussed and compared in plants and animals.

Essential Questions: 

• What structures and processes do organisms utilize to achieve the basic needs of all life?
• How do organisms obtain nutrients?
• How do multicellular organisms communicate and transport substances?
• How do multicellular organisms use nervous, endocrine and cellular communication to control life processes?

Lab Investigations: Plant Transpiration, Behavior Lab, Daphnia Circulation, Case studies

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: AP Physics

AP Physics

Unit One: Newtonian Mechanics

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the College Board.

Unit Overview: This unit lasts the first 13 weeks of school. It begins by describing one dimensional and two dimensional motions and explaining all motion through Newtonʼs Laws. Then, it progresses into the concepts of work, power, and conservation laws including energy and momentum. Finally, we analyze circular motion, rotation and oscillations.

Essential Questions: 

• How can one describe motion?
• What causes motion?
• How are work and energy related?
• What does it mean to conserve?
• What is the cause repetitive motion?

Unit Two: Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Physics

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the College Board.

Unit Overview: This unit lasts 5 weeks of school. It begins by describing and analyzing static fluids including pressure and buoyancy. Next, it studies fluids in motion and focuses on the equation of continuity and Bernoulliʼs equation. Finally, the unit examines temperature, heat and internal energy. Special emphasis is placed on graphing an ideal gas as it progresses through different thermodynamic processes.

Essential Questions: 

• What factors affect pressure?
• Why do things float and sink?
• What is the difference between temperature, heat and internal energy?
• How are different thermodynamic processes represented on a graph?

Unit Three: Electricity and Magnetism

Curricular Materials Utilized: Electricity and Magnetism

Unit Overview: This unit lasts 7 weeks of school. It begins by describing and analyzing static charge and their interactions including electric force, field, and potential. Next, it studies simple resistor or capacitor circuits (series, parallel, and combination). Then, the nature of magnetism and magnetic force are examined. Finally, the unit examines the electromagnetic induction.

Essential Questions: 

• How do charges interact with each other?
• How do charges behave in electric fields?
• How can you determine the current, voltage, capacitance, charge or resistance of different components in a circuit?
• What is the magnetism and where does it arise?
• How are electrical currents produced?

Unit Four: Waves and Optics

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the College Board.

Unit Overview: This unit lasts 4 weeks of school. It begins by describing and analyzing different types of wave motion including parts of the wave, wavelength, period, frequency, and wave speed. Next, it studies the particle nature of light through mirrors and lenses. Finally, the wave nature of light is examined through interference, diffraction, and dispersion.

Essential Questions: 

• How can one describe wave motion?
• How can light sometimes behave like a particle and other times behave like a wave?

Unit Five: Nuclear and Atomic Physics

Curricular Materials Utilized: Unit developed by the College Board.

Unit Overview: This unit lasts 4 weeks of school. It begins by describing and analyzing the nucleus of the atom and different nuclear radiation that can occur. Next, we study atomic structure, energy levels, and the interaction of light and particles including the photoelectric effect and Compton effect.

Essential Questions: 

• How is mass equivalent to energy?
• What are the possible nuclear decays that an unstable nucleus can go through?
• How can the absorption or emission of light affect an electronʼs energy level?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: CP Chemistry

College Prep Chemistry

Unit One: Matter and Energy

Curricular Materials Utilized: A Natural Approach to Chemistry inquiry-based hands-on program – this is the state adopted/approved chemistry curriculum for college prep level 11th grade students enrolled in chemistry.

Unit Overview: This unit is designed to continue students’ understanding of freshmen science and the freshmen chemistry unit. This unit starts out with an introduction to chemistry, a review of matter and atoms, and an in-depth study of atomic structure. This unit also includes an introduction to thermal/chemical energy and heat, as well as an in-depth study of the states of matter and solutions. Matter and how energy affects matter are the key focuses of this unit.

Essential Questions: 

• What is chemistry and what are some important tools of science used in chemistry?
• What role do matter and its properties play on the structure and function of a substance?
• How has atomic theory changed our understanding of the structure and properties of matter?
• What are the different types of solutions used in Chemistry?
• How do the properties and behaviors of solids, liquids, and gases compare?

Unit Two: Bonding and the Periodic Table

Curricular Materials Utilized: A Natural Approach to Chemistry inquiry-based hands-on program – this is the state adopted/approved chemistry curriculum for college prep level 11th grade students enrolled in chemistry.

Unit Overview: The major theme throughout this unit is the study of the patterns of the periodic table and its role in determining how elements/atoms bond to one another. The key focus of this unit is to illustrate to students the importance of the periodic table and how to use it to determine the types of bonds an element can make with other elements.

Essential Questions: 

• How can we use the periodic table to tell us important information about the elements?
• What role does the electron play in atomic structure and elemental properties?
• How does the formation of chemical bonds make atoms more stable?

Unit Three: Chemical Reactions and Calculations

Curricular Materials Utilized: A Natural Approach to Chemistry inquiry-based hands-on program – this is the state adopted/approved chemistry curriculum for college prep level 11th grade students enrolled in chemistry.

Unit Overview: This unit focuses on the importance of mathematics in chemistry. Students are required to solve chemical word problems using the process of dimensional analysis and proper significant figures. This unit also introduces students to types of reactions, the role of heat in chemical reactions, and what changes can occur in the nucleus of the atom (nuclear chemistry).

Essential Questions: 

• What is the purpose of using significant figures and dimensional analysis in chemistry?
• What role does heat play in a chemical reaction?
• How do chemical equations explain what happens during a chemical change?
• What is radioactive decay and what role does it play in changes within the nucleus?

For more information about your child’s Science curriculum, please contact the Curriculum Office at 302-857-4234.

Science Curriculum: Honors Physics

Honors Physics

Honors Physics is a laboratory science. This course should be taken by any student who is planning to enroll in a four-year program in college. This course consists of the study of force and motion, sound, light, electrostatics, electricity, magnetism, atomic and nuclear physics. Laboratory experiments and problem-solving comprise a major part of the program.

1st Semester:

• Linear Motion

• Projectile Motion

• Newton’s Laws of Motion

• Momentum

• Energy

• Circular Motion

• Gravitation

2nd Semester:

• Waves

• Light

• Reflection and Refraction of Light

• Mirrors

• Electrostatics

• Electric Fields

• Electric Current

• Electric Circuits

Science Curriculum: Honors Chemistry

Honors Chemistry

Unit One: Matter  and  Energy

Curricular Materials Utilized: Prentice Hall Chemistry. Students in the Honors Chemistry program are taking the Honors level course in preparation for AP Chemistry. This course covers all required 11th-grade state science standards and additional key chemistry concepts needed for the next level of chemistry.

Unit Overview: This unit is designed to continue students’ understanding of freshman science and the freshman chemistry unit. This unit starts with an introduction to chemistry, a review of matter and atoms, and an in-depth study of atomic structure. This unit also includes an in-depth study of the states of matter and solutions. Matter and how energy affects matter are the key focuses of this unit.

Essential Questions: 

• What is chemistry, and what are some important tools of science used in chemistry?

• What role do matter and its properties play on the structure and function of a substance?

• How has atomic theory changed our understanding of the structure and properties of matter?

• What is radioactive decay and what role does it play in changes within the nucleus?

• What are the different types of solutions used in Chemistry?

• How do the properties and behaviors of solids, liquids, and gases compare?

Unit Two: Bonding and the Periodic Table

Curricular Materials Utilized: Prentice Hall Chemistry. Students in the Honors Chemistry program are taking the Honors level course in preparation for AP Chemistry. This course covers all required 11th grade state science standards and additional key chemistry concepts needed for the next level of chemistry.

Unit Overview: The major theme throughout this unit is the study of the patterns of the periodic table and its role in determining how elements/atoms bond to one another. The key focus of this unit is to illustrate to students the importance of the periodic table and how to use it to determine the types of bonds an element can make with other elements.

Essential Questions: 

• How can we use the periodic table to tell us important information about the elements?

• What role does the electron play in atomic structure and elemental properties?

• How does the formation of chemical bonds make atoms more stable?

Unit Three: Chemical Reactions and Calculations

Curricular Materials Utilized: Prentice Hall Chemistry. Students in the Honors Chemistry program are taking the Honors level course in preparation for AP Chemistry. This course covers all required 11th grade state science standards and additional key chemistry concepts needed for the next level of chemistry.

Unit Overview: This unit focuses on the importance of mathematics in chemistry. Students are required to solve chemical word problems including molar calculations and stoichiometry using the process of dimensional analysis and proper significant figures. This unit also introduces students to types of reactions, the role of heat in chemical reactions, and what changes can occur in the nucleus of the atom (nuclear chemistry).

Essential Questions: 

• What is the purpose of using significant figures and dimensional analysis in chemistry?

• What role does heat play in a chemical reaction?

• What are chemical equations, how are they balance and how is reaction type determined?

• What is a mole and how is it used to measure chemical quantities?

• What is stoichiometry, and how is it used to solve chemical word problems?

Social Studies Curriculum: Fifth Grade

Fifth Grade Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Principles of Democracy (Civics Standards 2: 4-5a, 3: 4-5 a/b, 4:4-5a)

• Essential Question: 
  • How are U.S. citizens’ rights guaranteed and why is it important to be an informed citizen?

Unit: Ecosystems (Geography Standard 2: 4-5a)

• Essential Question:
  • How does human society alter and affect the physical environment?

Unit: The Civil War (History Standards 2: 4-5a, 3: 4-5a)

• Essential Question:
  • What are the lasting effects of the Civil War on the United States?

Unit: Age of Immigration and Industrialization (Geography Standard 3: 4-5a; Economics Standard 1: 4- 5b)

• Essential Question:
  • How did immigration and industrialization change America?
  • How often does the past predict the future? What is the evidence for my conclusion?

Unit: Economic Choices (Economics Standards: 1: 4-5a/b, 2: 4-5a, 4: 4-5a)

• Essential Question:
  • How do personal, community, national and international economic choices affect one another?

Social Studies Curriculum: Sixth Grade

Sixth Grade Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geographics to learn about our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Building Global Mental Maps (Geography Standard 1: 6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How do personal mental maps effectively change and develop?

Unit: Humans Interact with the Environment (Geography Standard 2: 6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • Under what conditions should human cultures attempt to change the processes that shape the natural environment?

Unit: Cultural Patterns & Cultural Diffusion (Geography Standard 3: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • What makes a place culturally unique?
  • Under what conditions do cultures spread?

Unit: Culture & Civilization (Geography Standard 3: 6-8a and History Standard 1: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • What makes a place culturally unique?
  • Under what conditions do cultures spread?
  • How often does the past predict the future? What is the evidence for my conclusion?

Unit: Purposes and Powers of Government (Civics Standard 1: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • How often does the past predict the future? What is the evidence for my conclusion?
  • Why do we have government?
  • What needs does government address?
  • Why does the government have power?

Unit: Economic Systems (Economics Standard 3: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • How does the type of economic system impact a society’s standard of living?
  • How do cultural values influence economic decisions?

Unit: Reasons for Regions (Geography Standard 4: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • To what degree are economic regions specialized?
  • What’s “special” about a given region and how could it change?

Social Studies Curriculum: Seventh Grade

Seventh Grade Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: Expansion of Freedom (Civics 2:6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How does the concept of majority rule protect the rights of minorities?

Unit: Political and Economic Freedoms for U.S. Citizens (Civics 3:6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How does knowing my rights and freedoms help me to live as an effective U.S. citizen?

Unit: Historical Research (History 2:6-8a/b) – skills and concepts will be taught throughout the year

• Essential Question:
  • How do I gather and evaluate artifacts and documents in order to develop sound historical conclusions?

Unit: Why Trade? (Economics 4:6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How do government policies impact the wealth of their nation?

Unit: Green Cities (Geography 3:6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How do people of different cultures differ in their land use?

Unit: Partnerships and Partitions (Geography 4:6-8a/b)

• Essential Question:
  • How do conflict and cooperation among people contribute to the division of the Earth’s surface into distinctive cultural and political territories?

Unit: Civic Participation (Civics 4:6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • Why is it important for me to know how to effectively communicate with office holders?

Social Studies Curriculum: Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade Social Studies Curriculum

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit: How Markets Work (Economics Standard 1: 6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • Under what conditions does price change?

Unit: Money, Banking and Taxing (Economics Standard 2: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • How do spending, saving and production decisions affect a market economy?
  • How is money created in a market economy?
  • How does our government’s taxation and spending policies affect our economy?

Unit: Interpreting the Past & Historical Research (History Standard 2: 6-8a/b and 3: 6-8a)

• Essential Question:
  • How might thinking like a historian help students draw credible conclusions?

Unit: American Principles (Civics Standard 2: 6-8 b)

• Essential Question:
  • How are the principles of major American state papers guaranteeing liberty to contemporary Americans?

Unit: Structures of Government- Federalism (Civics Standard 1: 6-8b)

• Essential Question:
  • What different needs should be addressed by different levels of government?

Unit: Change Over Time (History Standard 1: 6-8a)

• Essential Questions:
  • How can the past be used to predict the future?
  • Is change inevitable?
  • What is the evidence for my conclusion?

Unit: American Citizenship (Civics Standard 3: 6-8b)

• Essential Question:
  • Why should American citizens perform certain civic duties?

Social Studies Curriculum: Economics

Economics

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This semester, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit 1: Microeconomics (Economics Standard One 9-12a)

• How do markets create incentives that impact decisions of individual consumers, producers, and government?
• How does economic self-interest (individual consumers and producers) contribute to the greater good?
• How do markets operate?
• How does competition impact efficiency?
• How do government policies affect markets?

Unit 2: Macroeconomics (Economics Standard Two 9-12a)

• Why is our economy interdependent?
• How might government policy decisions affect the stability of the economy?

Unit 3: Economic Systems (Economics Standard Three 9-12a)

• Why do some economies in transition experience success and others fail?
• Why might citizens of a society question whether an increase in the standard of living improves the quality of life?

Unit 4: International Trade (Economics Standard Four 9-12a)

• How is a nation’s standard of living related to its trading patterns?
• How might changes in trading patterns affect the distribution of income and quality of life globally?

Social Studies Curriculum: Political Science

Political Science

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit 1: Political Parties and Elections (Civics Standard Two 9-12a)

• How do political parties and elections affect American politics?
• To what extent are political parties necessary to democracy? Why do two political parties dominate in America but other democracies have more?
• Under what conditions might political parties evolve or collapse?

Unit 2: Responsibilities of Citizenship (Civics Standard Three 9-12a)

• What are the consequences of citizens not participating?

Unit 3: Participating in a Democratic Society (Civics Standard Four 9-12a and 9-12b)

• How should interest groups most effectively communicate with government?
• How should special interest groups convey their message to the public?

Unit 4: Origins of the U.S. Government and the Constitution (Civics Standard Two 9-12b)

• What problems would arise if a government failed to adept to changing needs and types of government structure?

Unit 5: Different Types and Structures of Government (Civics Standard One 9-12a)

• What is the relationship between the general differences between society and types of government structure?

Social Studies Curriculum: U.S. History

U.S. History

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit 1: Civil War/Reconstruction (History 2a/b, 3a, 4a)

• How can thinking like a historian help us to draw credible conclusions?

Unit: Development of an Industrialized Nation (Economics 1a; Geography 1a, 3a; History 4a)

• How might where and when events occur effect the way people live?

Unit: Emergence of the Modern Era (Civics 2a; Economics 2a; History 4a)

• How can informed and active citizens create a well governed society?

Unit: Great Depression and World War II (Economics 2a; History 3a, 4a)

• How can historical sources help us understand Americans and their experiences?

Unit: Post War Unites States (Civics 2b; History 1a, 4a)

• How might new experiences, ideas, and interactions change one’s view of the world?

Unit: Contemporary United States (Economics 1a; History 1a, 4a)

• How have advances in technology changed our lives?

Social Studies Curriculum: World History

World History

Capital’s social studies curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and addresses concepts in civics, economics, geography, and history. Students use tools such as maps, globes, timelines, charts and other geo-graphics to learn about various times and places in our world. Studying both primary and secondary resources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and newspaper accounts enables students to research topics, understand a variety of cultures and peoples, and analyze the causes and effects of events from the past to the present.

This year, your child will be focusing on the units listed below. The essential questions listed for each unit provide an overview of the main concepts that will be addressed in these units.

Unit Title – Renaissance & Reformation (Standards: History 1, Geography 1a and 3a)

• How much can we learn from studying historical responses to societal problems?
• To what extent is competition or interaction between places influenced by their relative location and accessibility?
• Why are some places more culturally diverse or similar than others?

Unit Title – Absolutism and Revolutions (Standards: History 1, Geography 1b)

• Were contemporary issues also problematic for past societies? Why are those issues difficult? Is there a pattern of continuity or change?
• How might societal problems be posed so that they are open to solution through geographic map analysis?

Unit Title – The World Wars and Between (Standards: History 2a, Geography 4a)

• What research strategies are necessary to investigate a historical topic?
• How might regional analysis solve societal problems?

Unit Title – The Cold War (Standards: History 2b, Geography 4a)

• Why does interpreting between fact and interpretation matter?
• To what extent are regional boundaries permanent? What might cause them to change over time?

Unit Title – The World Today (Standards: History 3a, Geography 2a)

• Is there such a thing as a completely unbiased history?
• To what extent can people predict the consequences from human alterations to the physical environment?
• Why might focusing on how people perceive the risks and resources of the natural environment help to explain human behavior in different parts of the world?