AAP Curriculum

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what is the AAP curriculum is for each grade? Each regular grade curriculum topics is listed on the FCPS website. but I could not find the curriculum for 3rd grade AAP or any grade. They say the AAP curriculum is a year ahead of the regular grade. Is there a curriculum for AAP listed somewhere or is it the same topics but more indepth? or should I look into the next grade curriculum?

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

i thought only math was accelerated...other subjects were more in depth, experiential, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i thought only math was accelerated...other subjects were more in depth, experiential, etc

+1

Math is offered as an accelerated option in all schools now, too.

[Anonymous]

It's the same curriculum as in Gen Ed, except for math where they cover 2 years worth of math in one year. The might dig deeper into some areas, but same topics in History, Science.

[Anonymous]

Even for AAP students, it is all about the SOLs. They have to stick with the "current" year curriculum in everything but math.

[Anonymous]

Curriculum is one of those things about AAP that is almost impossible to figure out, other than just go through it year to year. Because of SOLs they do tend to follow the FCPS curriculum but probably more in-depth - no real proof since both ours are AAP so can't compare. I've heard that they do sometimes switch stuff around though because 1 kid we know switched back to the home school after 1 year at center and ended up repeating a bunch of stuff, especially in science.

Depends on the AAP center but in our area it's different in the following ways: math - different texts, even from compacted at base school. Use of Caesar's English in 3-5 and Word within the Word in 6th grade - they learn lots of Latin roots/stems, Socratic Seminars, Civilization creation/archeology dig, artifact museums - maybe more open-ended projects than base school, Wordmasters, more science fair requirements etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even for AAP students, it is all about the SOLs. They have to stick with the "current" year curriculum in everything but math.

Not true.
In 3rd grade AAP, the students complete 3rd grade and 4th grade math and take the 3rd grade math SOL.
In 4th grade AAP, the students complete 5th grade math and take the 4th grade SOL.
In 5th grade AAP, the students complete 6th grade math and take the 6th grade SOL.
In 6th grade AAP, the students complete 7th grade math and take the 7th grade SOL and the IAAT (Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test) to determine math placement for 7th grade.

At least that is what it looks like on paper. I can tell you that I have an AAP 5th grader and a 7th grader in regular math 7 and they are doing a lot of the same stuff.

In regards to the other SOL's, our center does little to no SOL prep with the AAP kids. At back to school night, the teachers said they're "not really worried about it" and that they "know these kids will do great."

[Anonymous]

The curriculum is the same as gen Ed. But math is 4tH grade and social studies, science and language arts are advanced. Which means they go into more depth and expect more from the kids- independent projects, speeches etc. I am surprised at how much more work there has been this year(3rd). If you look at the new progress reports, there is a separate new one for kids in AAP. Compared to the gen Ed one you can see what additional things they expect from the kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i thought only math was accelerated...other subjects were more in depth, experiential, etc

true, the rest depends on the teacher; the weekly spelling words are much harder though, haven't used most of them once in my entire life. Completely crazy you ask me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum is the same as gen Ed. But math is 4tH grade and social studies, science and language arts are advanced. Which means they go into more depth and expect more from the kids- independent projects, speeches etc. I am surprised at how much more work there has been this year(3rd). If you look at the new progress reports, there is a separate new one for kids in AAP. Compared to the gen Ed one you can see what additional things they expect from the kids

malarkey. Well, maybe it depends on the school....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's the same curriculum as in Gen Ed, except for math where they cover 2 years worth of math in one year. The might dig deeper into some areas, but same topics in History, Science.

This is exactly correct. Accelerated math and a few more in depth projects but beyond that not much difference from your so-called Gen. Ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curriculum is one of those things about AAP that is almost impossible to figure out, other than just go through it year to year. Because of SOLs they do tend to follow the FCPS curriculum but probably more in-depth - no real proof since both ours are AAP so can't compare. I've heard that they do sometimes switch stuff around though because 1 kid we know switched back to the home school after 1 year at center and ended up repeating a bunch of stuff, especially in science.

Depends on the AAP center but in our area it's different in the following ways: math - different texts, even from compacted at base school. Use of Caesar's English in 3-5 and Word within the Word in 6th grade - they learn lots of Latin roots/stems, Socratic Seminars, Civilization creation/archeology dig, artifact museums - maybe more open-ended projects than base school, Wordmasters, more science fair requirements etc.

haven't had a single science fair project in three years at a school dubbed for "arts and sciences"; plenty of poetry, dancing and recorder playing though.

[Anonymous]

We found the homework in 3rd grade to be much more than it was in 4th or 5th, and then it picked back up again in 6th. In our AAP center, the AAP kids have science every day, and spelling work is an occasional thing. There are a lot of projects and writing that are done at school only, mainly so the work is genuinely that of the kids and not of the parents. The kids were expected to do short answer (paragraph) type answers on tests and short essays on tests starting in 5th. Wordmasters and math contests are given as part of the curriculum. The curriculum has seemed a lot more challenging than what my other ds recieved in general ed. There is a distinct lack of busy work in AAP, and the assignments given often have requirements that allow the kids to capitalize on their strengths, but require them to push themselves in areas that aren't.

[Anonymous]

No subject on this forum amuses me more than this one - AAP and what it's all about.
Ask 10 parents and you'll get ten different versions that describe the curriculum.
People read into it exactly what they want to read into it.
Except for Math and the Caesar's English/Word Within a Word, it hasn't been much different from the base school.
I do expect a big difference though in middle school, which is why we will stick with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No subject on this forum amuses me more than this one - AAP and what it's all about.
Ask 10 parents and you'll get ten different versions that describe the curriculum.
People read into it exactly what they want to read into it.
Except for Math and the Caesar's English/Word Within a Word, it hasn't been much different from the base school.
I do expect a big difference though in middle school, which is why we will stick with it.

There are so many different versions because every center is very different from the next. The county allots extra funds to schools that are centers and it is up to them how to use those funds to support the AAP students.