Early Grade (1-3)

General Information

The Effective Learning Programme is the curriculum we have built for our early grades. Its advantages include:

Linking what students learn in the classroom to the demands of life outside it.
Teaching students to find information independently, with more class time devoted to their own work and exploration.
Translating abstract ideas into tangible activities, so students engage with them directly to build the skills they need.
A flexible period of time depends on the skill quality and activities required.
Classes and activities within the classroom are carried out by qualified and highly experienced teachers, who are trained continuously on this curriculum, strategies, and methods of education. The work of the two groups is applied to the cumulative core subjects (Arabic, English, mathematics) to increase the share of each student’s attention and learning.
Effective learning begins with the conviction that learning is a daily necessity for life now and life to come — not a means to a passing certificate. The programme therefore ensures that every day’s learning has a direct, visible benefit to the student’s life.
We have designed the curriculum at this early stage of primary education with an effective learning approach; the need to use senses in learning all subjects, and then the abstraction journey begins gradually.
The learning method has been adopted in groups (teams); it increases the effectiveness of classroom learning, enabling the teacher to work individually with each student, listening to what he reads, and following up on his work. Also, The small number of students increases the proportion of proximity to the teacher from each of them and thus increases the opportunity for supervision, and the student’s opportunity to understand and interact.

Class Environment

The school environment is designed to make the students feel a sense of belonging to the place; each classroom is prepared to suit the modern educational systems and methods, which are recommended by the education scientists (student-friendly classrooms) so that the student feels that he is in a place they enjoy, supporting their academic and social development.

The classes are full of senses and means of learning because one of the conditions for teaching students at this stage is to use the senses so that the student can reach an abstract understanding.

The method used in teaching is mini-groups system where students are divided into two equal groups. The learning process is based on two basic parameters so that the student can ask all his questions and each teacher can give each student his or her right to learn.

Characterization of Subjects

Islamic Studies

Tawhid, Fiqh, Hadith, Islamic Culture, and Tafseer: Each teacher is given special attention by ensuring the inculcation of Al-Eiman (Faith), Tawheed Allah (unifying God), worshiping Allah, teaching Islamic behaviors and manners, and applying in students’ daily life. In the manner in which our good ancestor did, interpreting Quran verses, understanding his words, understanding the meanings and extracting the methodologies from the Suras, and applying them to reality, through the application of the Ministry of Education’s curriculum, and complimenting it with stories, films and pictures and carry out teaching strategies that develop thinking and research skills, dialogue, discussion and so on among students.

Art

Art builds The child’s character because it’s a way for him to express what’s inside, without any pressure exerted on him, which further suppresses it .. Drawing in the early years of life – in particular – is a message to the organizers of the educational and upbringing process, explaining what is going on in the child’s life, and his feelings and emotional state wither negative or positive.

The aim of teaching art:

The development of fine muscles (fingertips) gives the child some skills through artistic activities.
Encourage the child to express his thoughts, feelings, and needs freely and openly.
Development of the child’s aesthetic sense, and artistic taste.
Develop the child’s ability to express freely, and creatively, and develop the child’s sense of the beauty of his surroundings, and express his love for it.
Give the child the skill and ability to use tools, and various artistic raw materials. There are also goals of artistic education that depend on the achievement of many concepts, including cultivating an innovative spirit, Acquiring artistic culture, The formation of good behavioral patterns, enhancing practical skills and scientific expertise, Good use of free time .. and many more.

Arabic Language

Students learn reading, writing, speaking, grammar, and spelling skills. All Arabic language skills are integrated into a single lesson, so that every part of the Arabic language holds the need amount of time and training. First grade students study Arabic through the cognitive literacy program, which is designed to match the characteristics of their growth and needs. Second and third grade students study Arabic through integrated modules, stories, and comprehensive texts. Stories occupy an important part of the teaching of the Arabic language, because it includes the skills of reading, writing, comprehension, and skills of thinking, summarization, and expression.

The teaching of the Arabic language begins through study of texts and subjects suitable for the stages of age and growth in each grade. Cards that teach characters, words and their spelling are used. Graduation is also carried out according to children’s cognitive development through matching, classification, and sequencing. In other words, children apply to reading, listening, writing and speaking through manual work that is interacting with the practice of mental processes.

These units combine language with science, life facts, values of dealing, and self-perception through a set of notebooks that open to children the doors of technical, and expressive writing. The program is accompanied by a series of stories, children choose what they like to read, and are asked to identify characters, attitudes, and reproduce them by acting and roleplaying. The activity of individual presentations also takes a good portion of the classroom’s time, provided by children after the use of various physical and mental tools.

The Arabic Font (Calligraphy )- the form of sensory and artistic aesthetic – the role of the heart in learning the skills of sensory material. Emotional writing also comes at the end of the stage as the production of sensory skills such as writing, and Calligraphy, and the actual skills of classifying, matching, devising, and extrapolating, thereby becoming functional and interactive language with life and reality.

Computer Science

The Dar Al Fikr Technology curriculum integrates ICT into the teaching and learning process and provides children with opportunities to use modern technology to enhance their learning in all subjects.

Students participate in activities that assist in the development of their ability to:

use computer-based technologies to locate, access, evaluate, manipulate, create, store and retrieve information.
express ideas and communicate with others using computer-based technologies.
develop an awareness of the range of applications of computer-based technologies
discriminate in the choice and use of computer-based technologies for a given purpose
develop the confidence to explore, adapt and shape technological understandings and skills in response to challenges now and in the future.
apply learnt skills in Real-world scenarios and carefully graded activities to motivate students.

The Holy Quran

The Holy Quran teaching has received special attention through the application of Tajweed (recitation and memorization) and continuous evaluation through the specific skills of the Holy Quran.

In the primary stage, the memorization of Chapter 30 (AM’MA) and revision to be fully memorized, as a module to teach the Quran for the elementary stage (grades 1st through 6th). With the application of Tajweed rules through oral and recitation classes for the first to third grade in addition to Al-Qaidah An-Noraniah, and the simplified Tafseer, and Asbāb al-nuzūl, meaning occasions or circumstances of revelation, refers to the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed.

English Language

The Elementary English Program is designed to advance the level of English that our students use on a daily basis. This is done without interfering with the strong foundation that our students have in both Arabic and Islamic Studies and the ethos of Dar Al Fikr Schools which is rooted firmly in its proud Islamic traditions.

Aims:
Our Elementary English Curriculum promotes a whole language experience approach to competency in English. The Program is designed to integrate all language skills and challenging activities that incorporate listening, speaking, reading and writing so that all students are helped to develop their English skills and fluency, regardless of level on entry to school and help them to become proficient in English.

Social Studies

The Social Studies program at Dar Al Fikr Schools is the integrated study of history, geography, economics, government and civics. It is also inclusive of study of humanity, of people and events that individually and collectively cause a change in the world.

The program helps students to make sense of the world they live in. It allows them to relate their personal experiences to major ideas, and it helps them see themselves as members of their own community and the surrounding communities as well. It offers students the knowledge and skills necessary to become active and informed participants on a national and international level.

In addition the curriculum also teaches students to understand, respect, and appreciate the complexities of history which can only be fully understood within an appreciation and analysis of diversity and multiple perspectives.

PE

Physical education provides a positive and enjoyable experience for all students through a variety of exercises, cooperative games, individual sports (gymnastics, badminton, tennis, and expressive rhythms), and team sports (basketball, volleyball, handball, football ..) in closed or opened fields or stadiums.

The curriculum of physical education is designed to meet the student’s personal needs.

Main objectives:

Each student has the opportunity to grow, explore, and develop individual and group skills.
Encourages the student to demonstrate a sense of responsibility towards himself, and others in physical exercise.
Encourages students to participate in normal physical activities outside the school environment.
Enhances the importance of leisure time investment to the benefit of students.
The student will identify the type and quantity of the diet that supports physical activity.
The student will identify common injuries’ treatments, and first aid techniques.
It helps the student develop himself by learning the basic skills that help him to be a good trainee.
It helps the student develop himself by learning the basic skills that help him to be a good trainee.
It helps the student to be appreciative of the importance of physical activity, by introducing him/her to the laws and ethics required.
Allows students to participate in sports competitions, ensuring their fun and benefit.

Activities:

Athletics competitions.
Fitness competition.
Sports day contest.
Football matches.
Shooting with a bow, arrow, and karate (in the boys section).

Math

Dar Al Fikr Schools Math program is based on and incorporates the Common Core State Standards, USA, and is the core curriculum for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. We are currently using materials published by Pearson. At Dar Al Fikr Schools, Math is taught in English language by experienced and qualified Math teachers.
The Math curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of the students. We use a wide variety of teaching strategies to implement mental Math skills that are used to solve Mathematical problems.

The curriculum contains the following:

Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Number and Operations Involving Fractions
Number and Operations in Base Ten
Measurement and Data
Geometry

Science

In order to address the children at the youngest age in a comprehensible manner, we have to adapt teaching methods that are to be absorbed by their young minds.

The New Generation Science Standard adopts, along with the ordinary consumable books, interactivity that engages the child and captures his/her attention and curiosity.

Dividing those standards into four major units; A: Science, Engineering & Technology, B: Life Science, C: Earth Science, and D: Physical Science, makes it easy for the child to acquire the needed knowledge to ascend to the next level. In other words, the three learning pathways that are involved are Reading, Digital, and Inquiry.

Robotics

Evaluation and Reports

Schools adopt a continuous assessment system based on the educational vision, which emphasizes that the evaluation process is a process of learning, not separate from it.

Schools have therefore made sure that the assessment systems are diverse.

Performance indicators

The scores are translated into performance indicators (1 – 2 – 3 – 4) by skill, which means the following:

Descriptive Estimate	Meaning	Performance Indicator
Excellent	Skill acquired perfectly	4
Very Good	Skill acquired mostly	3
Acceptable	Skill acquired with help	2
Unsatisfactory	Skill was not acquired	1

Evaluation types

Students’ academic achievement in grades 1 through 3 is gained through:
Continuous Evaluation includes:

Classroom participation, learning habits from (4 – 1)
Behavior from (4 – 1)
Assignments from (4 – 1)
Skills evaluation from (4 – 1)

Converting performance indicators to percentages

Each discipline has a set of skills that vary for each semester and these are evaluated on the basis of the above performance indicators.

At the end of each half term, these indicators are converted to percentages, based on the credits and number of classes for the module, which varies from one module to another.

First: Success
A student is considered successful in the course if he/she achieves the following success requirements:

A student is successful in the course if the final grade is not less than 60%.
The student with special needs is considered, based on the diagnostic reports issued by the Comprehensive School Care Center, as stipulated in the Ministry of Education’s evaluation.

Second: Suspension
The student is suspended in the academic year, in the following cases:

Less than 60% of the course material at the end of the school year.
The student is given an intensive reinforcement opportunity to avoid repetition in the skills of the failed subject from one to two weeks to be retested with a test that includes all minimum skills required
If he/she passes the test, his/her grades will be modified in the grading system until it is higher than 60% in the subject and upgraded to the next stage accordingly.
If he receives less than 60% in one subject, he/she shall be referred to the School Guidance Council; to study his case and decide if he/she can pass to the next grade.
If he receives less than 60% in more than one subject, he/she will be transferred to the Guidance Council to decide whether to upgrade the student for the next stage or make him/her repeat the academic year

Educational and academic reports

Our Schools provide parents with the following reports every mid of each semester

A report for each subject will be delivered to the student, every six weeks (end of each mid).
Academic report at the end of each semester, covering all subjects with details of the averages.
Academic reports will be received during the 3rd way meeting.
A descriptive report will be presented at the end of the academic year.
Performance report sent after the subject test (assessment of the tested student’s skills).