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Integrated Curriculum OF AL-FALAH Academy, Inc.
Introduction
The goal of Al-Falah Academy’s curriculum is, a curriculum that integrates Islam in all subjects with Excellence in Islamic and Academic education
in a creative and nurturing environment
A team of educators with experience with Curriculum development has developed a curriculum specifically for Al-Falah Academy to meet the above
goal based on Gwinnett County’s Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) framework, which combines national,
state and performance standards.
As a first step, the curriculum team has developed mission and standards for the curriculum. The standards at Al-Falah Academy have been
developed using the framework of the Gwinnett County’s Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) and incorporating the goals of Al-Falah Academy.
Benefits of Curriculum Standards to the Al-Falah Academy’s community:
Students:
Standards set clear performance expectations for students, helping them understand what they need to do to meet the standards. Standards lead
to improved student performance and promote more challenging, equitable, and rewarding experiences for all learners.
Teachers:
Standards cause teachers to design curriculum, instruction, and assessment around what is important to learn. When teachers design
standards-based curriculum and assessment, learning is intentional and more purposeful than in most other curriculums.
Schools administration:
Standards provide a focus for developing new ways to organize curriculum content, instructional-delivery systems, and assessment plans.
Parents and community:
- Standards communicate shared expectations for learning and provide a common language for talking about the processes of
learning and teaching
- As a result, parents, and community leaders become more effective partners in, and monitors of, young people's education.
Standards allow people other than just the students to know and understand good learning and how the students are
progressing in their education.
Standards express what all students should know and be able to do while addressing the different needs of the school's constituencies.
The Qur’an program at Al-Falah Academy shall include
- Intensive Qaidah in Pre-K and Kindergarten
- Nazeerah and memorization in Grade 1+
Student’s current level will be evaluated and all effort will be made to bring up-to required class level, insha’Allah.
The Arabic curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall progressively have the students master spoken Arabic starting in pre-K and continuing on.
The goals are:
- Preparing and carrying out programs and curricula for teaching Arabic Language and Culture.
- Evaluating programs designed for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers.
- Preparing and developing measurement and evaluation tools in the field of teaching Arabic as a second or foreign language.
- Intro to Arabic letters
- Intro to spoken Arabic terms of color, shape and numbers
- Basic conversation
- Master the Arabic letters and ability to connect letters
- Master spoken Arabic terms for color, shape and numbers
- Intro to spoken Arabic terms for body parts, Animals & Birds
- Intro to writing basic words such as name
- Master spoken Arabic terms for body parts, Animals & Birds
- Intro to Arabic spoken & written vegetables and fruits.
- 100+ vocabulary words.
Program by grade:
PRE-K
KINDERGARTEN
GRADE 1+
Books: Oheb Al-Arabiyya (I love Arabic) series
This is the most comprehensive curriculum for teaching non-Arabic in Islamic schools in North America. Where The author who lived
and taught in the West; add a great advantage toward this recommendation and aim to focus on similar letters, reading
and comprehension, creative writing exercises, ordering, pronunciation, fill in missing letter, matching, time, gender. Strongly recommend
for children who have had previous exposure to the Arabic language. It is used by a number of full-time Islamic schools
throughout the U.S. and comes highly recommended
The Language Arts/Reading curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall develop young Muslims to share ideas, feelings, and information
in various ways. Students will develop effective communication techniques in English language literacy. The Reading Language arts program
will teach students to be critical thinkers, to send and receive information in a clear thoughtful manner, and to use related knowledge
to synthesize information into meaningful messages.
The language arts instruction at Al Falah Academy will be multi-level and that each child will:
- Become successful readers because each can learn in a way that best suits his/her learning needs
- Gain a firm foundation for emergence into more complex process of reading, writing, and speaking.
Pre-k to 2nd grade: Learning to read phase
- Emphasis is phonics
- Developing basic vocabulary
- Fundamental of spelling and spelling rules
- Basics of word structure and sentence structure
- Developing reading
Grade 3-5: Reading to learn phase
- Emphasis on word construction and history
- Developing higher level of vocabulary
- Building academic vocabulary
- Comprehension strategies
- Mastering reading speed and expression
The above goals achieved through exposure to a wide variety of literature. The literature includes the different genres like Fiction,
nonfiction, American literature, and international literature. Guidelines will be provided to teachers and students.
Books: Open court Reading program by McGraw Hill.
Open Court Reading is a literature rich, reading and language arts program that instills passion in children for lifelong learning and a love of reading.
Open Court’s selection of literature meets the state and National curriculum standards. The reading anthology has a selection of reading
that develops reading skills across genres and curriculum. The stories are designed to develop phonemic awareness, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension through engaging literature.
The Math curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall provide students with an understanding of the mathematical concepts and knowledge;
alongside the opportunity to be challenged through self-expression and creativity in real-life problem solving situations.
Our goal is to equip children with the correct mathematical tools, critical thinking skills, and strategies necessary to be lifelong learners
and successful members of our Muslim society.
Mathematics at Al-Falah Academy will be taught in a non-traditional way, which includes engaging activities that promote curiosity
and foster the development of math and problem-solving skills. The students use manipulatives to act out problems and
solve real-world problems through hands-on experiences. Each lesson also integrates the use of technology tools
throughout the program to enhance the students’ mathematical learning experience.
Books: Math Connects by MacMillan/McGraw-Hill
“Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Math provides students with accurate, effective, and research-based content that integrates reading and writing skills.
Differentiated instruction makes it easy for teachers to reach every student and ensure success on state and standardized tests.
The series is also organized around the new NCTM (National Council of Teacher s of Mathematics) Focal Points and is designed to meet state
standards”.
Each classroom will be equipped with Manipulative Kits, a great resource for effective instruction in mathematics, especially for grades K-3.
The physical manipulatives which students use in the classroom such as: geoboards, pattern blocks, base-10 blocks, and tangrams
allow students to focus on investigation and skill solidification and helps students develop reasoning and problem solving.”
Using manipulatives in the classroom assists with those goals and keeping up with the progressive movement of discovery and inquiry-based learning.
The Social Studies curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall provide students with academic learning opportunities todevelop a sense of self:
where they have been, where they are now and where they will be in future. The Students will:
- Gain awareness of Islam and Islamic culture and acquaint them with their Islamic heritage.
- Understand and appreciate the history and richness of the nation they live in.
- Gain understanding of global changes in the state, nation and world.
- Enhance their learning abilities and become motivated to contribute in their communities.
After extensive research and consultation, the Al-Falah Academy’s Curriculum team has rewritten Social Studies program so the
students get a firm understanding of their world and their place in it.
This will be compiled as packets by each grade for teacher to use in their lesson plans.
Books:
After extensive research and consultation, the Al-Falah Academy’s Curriculum team has rewritten Social Studies program so the students
get a firm understanding of their world and their place in it. This will be compiled as packets by each grade for teacher to use in their
lesson plans. In addition to this, U.S. History by McGraw and McMillan will be used in 4th and 5th grade.
The Gwinnet county AKS (Academic Knowledge and Skills) was used as the base augmenting it with Al-Falah standards. The domains of
Social Studies Knowledge incorporated are:
- Geographic Understanding
- Climatic Understanding
- Historical understanding
- Religious understanding thru Islamic prospective
- Islamic history in the scheme of world events
Rationale:
- To better understand People of the world, a student needs to understand the layout of the land they live on (Geography, Climate, etc)
- To better understand American history, a student needs to understood Native American’s history
- To better understand Explorers history, a student needs to understand natural resources and superpowers of the world
- To better understand People of the world, a student needs to be aware religions of the world
The Science curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall provide children with an excellent Science foundation which includes Islamic theoretical
principals and scientific knowledge found in Qur’an, while encouraging children to discover, integrate, and apply new knowledge and
technologies of science. To teach children in a challenging environment to extend their own curiosity and wonder to fully prepare them
to be successful members in our ever-changing world.
The Science program engages students in real-world activities, which promote curiosity and foster the development of science inquiry skills.
Islamic Concepts:
- How moon phases affect Muslims,
- Relevance of solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, the equinox, Summer solstice and how all these connect to prayer schedules, fasting (sawm), etc.
- Famous Muslim Scientists
Book: Science – A Closer look 2011 edition by McMillan McGraw Hill
The series for The Science-A Closer Look newest edition is divided into the four categories: Life Science, Health Science, Earth Science and
Physical Science. This series uses the 5-E model
The Arts, Health and PE curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall strive to foster the development of sportsmanship and team work as well
as to enable students to make intelligent decisions concerning their health and lifestyles related to Islamic principles. Topics such as exercise,
nutrition, safety, and hygiene are important components of the curriculum.
The Islamic Studies curriculum at Al-Falah Academy shall include Tafseer, Hadith, tauhid, fiqh, seerah and general etiquettes relating to
different areas and situations. Importance will be given to ensure authentic Islamic knowledge is included. Importance of Islamic terms
with transliteration and translation of their meanings including supplication which have to be memorized in their Arabic version, with an aim
to help the student read the original text and understand its meaning.
Book: Islamic Education by Maulvi Abdul Aziz, published by Darus-Salam
- Authentic and material by this author used extensively in other Islamic Schools
- The material presented attracts the young readers’ attention, stimulate them, amuse them as well as educate them.
Seerah:
Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) will be covered in each grade using the progressive method:
Pre-K: Highlights of the Prophets (Pbuh) characteristics
Kindergarten: High-level summary of the Prophets (Pbuh) life.
Grade 1: Introduction to Meccan period
Grade 2: Introduction to Medinah period
Grade 3: Discussion of Last Sermon
Period after Prophet’s (PBUH) death
Grade 4: Detailed into to Meccan period
Grade 5: Detailed into to Medinah period
Islamic Governance during the period of the Prophet (PBUH) and Khulfa-e-Rashideen.
The Curriculum team will Insha’Allah revise and upgrade the standards and material on a regular basis to fine-tune the programs to meet
the goals of Al-Falah Academy.
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