- Alhambra Elementary School District
- Essential Standards
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Alhambra's Essential Standards for the 2024-2025 School Year
Through great collaboration and teamwork, our district has prioritized and sequenced the Essential Standards for a successful school year. By prioritizing and organizing these standards by quarter, teachers will share a focused set of overarching topics to teach, along with sharing a common set of standards to be assessed each quarter. As we have shared, all standards are important. Essential Standards are the most important and those most necessary to prepare students for success.Please select a grade below to locate the proficiency map for each subject.
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2024-2025
We are excited to share that the Essential Standards have been updated for the 2024-25 school year.
Please select a grade above to locate the planning guides for each grade level.Then, be sure to click the buttons to open resources available for each standard.
AESD Staff, please continue to provide your input on the Essential Standards via the feedback form linked here.
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Click Here for Mathematics
The Essential Standards for Math in Kindergarten build the foundation for all of math. Our main focus is ensuring students understand the counting process, the relationships between numbers and quantities, and introducing addition and subtraction. We will work mainly with numbers 0-20. Students will be able to write numerals, count sets, make groups, compare, and break apart numbers. These skills will set up each student for success in future grade levels as well as success in daily life.
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The Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Kindergarten encompasses foundational skills including letter names, letter sounds, decoding words, blending words, and reading and writing high frequency words. Reading comprehension skills will incorporate finding key details and retelling stories. Students will be able to write complete sentences with correct capitalization, spacing, and punctuation centered around a picture. Focusing on the Essential Standards will prepare students for success in First Grade and outside the classroom.Click Here for Science
By the end of Kindergarten, students learn to use their senses to help them make observations and predictions about the world around them. In this grade level, students will investigate how the senses detect light and sound, observe weather patterns and their influences on plants and animals, and differentiate between systems and structures of living and non-living thingsClick Here for History & Social Science (ADE)
Through an introduction to civics, geography, economics, and history, students will understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens within their own context. Students will also learn about their own culture and how it impacts understanding of oneself and others as well as be introduced to aspects of our National culture. -
The Essential Standards for Math in First Grade ensure students build a foundation in Numbers and Operations and Operations and Algebraic Thinking. We included standards in each domain and incorporated the essential skills needed to ensure students are successful in later grades. With these essential standards, students will be building their understanding of addition/subtraction within 20. They will also develop their overall concept of place value to be successful working with three digit numbers and adding/subtracting within 100. In our chosen standards, students are preparing for lifelong success by comparing data, knowing basic math facts, and understanding the components of equations. We used the 3rd Grade AASA blueprint to identify which essential skills were needed to be successful on that test. We chose to include comparing/contrasting, graphing, and measurement to support other content areas.
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The Essential Standards for English Language Arts in First Grade are a balance of simple and complex skills in all domains. The main focus is on the rigorous writing foundational skills which are supported by the related oral and reading standards. This includes blending, segmenting, and substituting sounds verbally, in text, and in writing. Additionally, students will focus on learning to use letters to represent common sounds, and writing complete, simple and complex, sentences using nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. These skills help prepare students for the next grade level as well as the AZELLA assessment. As students learn to read and write, they move towards comprehension standards and genre writing standards. First Grade focuses on asking and answering questions about text, understanding narratives, and making connections in texts. Students will also begin learning to write opinion pieces, informational pieces, and narratives. We believe that reading and writing are foundational lifelong skills that will serve as the basis of all learning and successful adulthood, regardless of the post-high school path.
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By the end of first grade, students make observations to understand the connections between earth materials and the ability for Earth to sustain a variety of organisms. Students learn how objects can impact other objects from a distance or by contact with each other, how organisms interact with earth materials for survival, and how life systems have cycles.Click Here for History & Social Science (ADE)
Through the study of civics, geography, economics, and history, students will understand how a community functions and how each member contributes to the community for the common good. Students will study their local community and learn about characteristics that define urban, suburban, and rural communities. Democratic principles and participation in government are introduced. Community resources, environment, change over time, and cause/effect are examined. -
The Essential Standards for Math in Second Grade will begin to build upon basic addition and subtraction skills learned in previous grades and provide a foundation for what 3rd grade needs students to learn for state testing. Our main focus is developing place value understanding through three-digit numbers and using those concepts to add and subtract with and without regrouping. Those skills are then used to solve word problems involving real-world situations. Students will learn skills for lifelong success like telling time, counting money, and knowing number facts through 20. These standards connect to other content areas like the HSS economics standards, science situations, and literacy in decoding word problems.
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The Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Second Grade will support students who may have struggled or had difficulty in Kindergarten or First Grade by filling gaps. There is a balance of literacy and informational text standards to ensure they are equally prioritized. Students are being set up to have foundational success in reading and writing, which will prepare them for the more rigorous work as they progress through the grades. Reading comprehension and fluency are prioritized in both literary and informational texts, as well as being able to identify the main components and topics of a text. There is a focus on encoding and decoding one and two syllable words to prepare students for the more complex words they will encounter in 3rd grade. The speaking and listening standards will support English Language Learners and supply leverage for other content areas.
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By the end of second grade, students understand the basic concept that energy can change the phase of matter and is necessary for life. Students begin to understand energy and matter, the formation of Earth’s surface features, water cycles and energy flow, changes in the environment, patterns in the sky, and the conditions necessary for life on Earth.Click Here for History & Social Science (ADE)
Through the study of geography and economics, the students’ lenses expand to learn how their world is interconnected globally. Students will develop a spatial understanding of the world around them, so they can understand how other cultures and civilizations are interconnected and have influenced who we are as a community, state, and Nation. United States history, world history, and civics will also be taught in a comparative context. -
The Essential Standards for Math in Third Grade reflect a shift in the concepts and skills that students are expected to master due to the state assessment--Arizona Achievement State Assessment. Critical shifts are seen in the focus areas of place value, mathematical operations, and fractions. To elaborate, third-grade students will have the opportunity to: 1. Extend their understanding of place value of multi-digit numbers to 1,000. 2. Develop competency and fluency in multiplication and division within 1,000 and an understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and area. 3. Develop an understanding of fractions beginning with identifying unit fractions on a number line. Students will understand and speak to the size of a fractional part relative to the size of the whole. Our choice in determining these essential mathematics standards stems from the identified needs for mastery to be successful on the AASA and to provide students with the foundational math skills and knowledge needed to be successful in upcoming grades and in life.
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The Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Third Grade will guide students to continue building on the foundational reading and spelling skills that were developed in Kindergarten through second grade. As students prepare for their first state tests, they are also preparing for the grade levels to come and their future success. Building on previous grades, the focus will shift to deeper comprehension of both informative and literary texts. Students will answer questions based on what they read and determine the main idea or central message of a passage, as well as compare and contrast details from two texts. In writing, students will compose informative and opinion multi-paragraph essays, while developing greater mastery of English conventions and grammar.
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By the end of third grade, students will gain an understanding of how the Sun provides energy for life on Earth. Students apply their understanding of light and sound waves, how they travel, are detected, and transfer energy. Students learn that organisms have different structures and functions which increase their chances of survival.Click Here for History & Social Science (ADE)
Students will study Arizona within an integrated approach considering the following factors:
● The contributions of various cultural and ethnic groups including the 22 Indian Nations that reside in Arizona.
● Economic, political, and geographic elements
● Structure of the state and local governments
● Roles and responsibilities as citizens of Arizona
● Examination of primary and secondary sources including written and oral histories, images, current events, and artifacts
● Disciplinary skills and processes including change and continuity over time, multiple perspectives, using and understanding sources, and cause and effect -
The Essential Standards for Math in Fourth Grade ensure student learning will be focused on the application of foundational place value conceptual knowledge to multi-digit operations. They will further apply their conceptual knowledge of place value as they develop their competency with fractional numbers through multi-step problems and exposure to the decimal section on the place value chart. They will apply their foundational knowledge of the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) to fractions and word problems involving multiple steps and numbers with multiple digits.
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The Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Fourth Grade were chosen to strengthen the understanding of the writing process, analyzing works of literature as well as informational text, and reinforce reading fluently at grade level. The main areas of focus include comprehension, the writing process, and proficiency across content areas. Each domain is represented equally throughout the standards to create cohesiveness to assist all learners as they transition to the next grade level and beyond. The state assessment blueprint was an essential tool used to ensure that all tested standards are covered. Many of the standards chosen to be essential will help to support other content areas, particularly social studies, science, and math. The mastery of these standards will generate scholars who are innovative critical thinkers.
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By the end of fourth grade, students expand on the idea that energy from the Sun interacts with Earth systems and explore other forms of energy we use in everyday life. Students apply their understanding of the various Earth systems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere) and how they interact with each other and heat from the Sun. Students understand how geological systems change and shape the planet and provide resources. Students also develop an understanding of how Earth processes and human interactions positively and negatively that can change environments impacting the ability for organisms to survive.Click Here for History & Social Science (ADE)
Students will study the Americas (North, Central, and South America along with the Caribbean Islands) using an integrated approach considering the following
factors:
● Theories about the first peopling of the Americas
● The development of Mesoamerican and South American civilizations including the Olmec, Inca, Maya, and Aztec
● American Indian life in the Americas prior to European exploration including the peoples in the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River (Eastern Woodland)
● The causes and consequences of European exploration and colonization
● The environmental, political, and cultural consequences of the interactions among European, African, and American Indian peoples in the late 15th through 17th centuries
● Regional settlement patterns, significant developments, and life in the Southern, Middle, and New England colonies
● Roles and responsibilities as members of a society
● The contributions of various cultural and ethnic groups to the development of the Americas
● Examination of primary and secondary sources including written and oral histories, images, and artifacts -
The Essential Standards for Math in Fifth Grade will develop students’ understanding of place value. Students will fluently multiply whole multi-digit numbers and build competency in division. Students will apply their knowledge of division to begin working with decimals. They will be able to explain the placement of the decimal point after applying an operation and explain what the placement of the decimal point means. Students will perform all operations with decimals and fractions.
Click Here for English Language ArtsThe Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Fifth Grade focus on preparing learners with a firm foundation for middle school as well as promoting life-long learning. Fifth grade is the final exposure to elementary-level essential standards. Mastery is critical for the foundational standards at this grade level. Students will focus on ELA standards that are heavily tested, essential to comprehension, and applicable to future grades as well as cross-curricular. By focusing on these essential standards during fifth grade, students will be fluent in determining genre and text structures, will use that understanding to convey key ideas and central messages, and compare and contrast important ideas within the text. In addition, at this level, students will begin to use and enhance their analytical skills, to prepare them for tracing and evaluating arguments and claims in texts.
In fifth grade, the essential science standards require students to develop an understanding that changes can occur to matter(objects) on Earth or in space, gravitational forces in space cause observable patterns, and genetic information is passed from one generation to the next. Student application will be focused using the science and engineering practices: asking questions and defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematical thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. In addition to being prepared for future classes and life as an adult, the essential standards include the necessary skills and understandings for success on the fifth grade AZSci (state science test).
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The Essential Standards for History and Social Science in Fifth Grade consists of four main core disciplines in social studies: civics, economics, geography, and history. These core disciplines are designed to prepare our students for a contemporary society and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for college, workplace, and military opportunities. Specifically, in 5th grade, the essential standards are focused on United States history beginning with the American revolution (1763) to industrialization (1900s). Students will utilize inquiry, questioning, and reading skills to engage in deeper learning of the content and understanding of how our history contributes to being an active citizen in today’s society.
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The Essential Standards for Math in Sixth Grade will focus on number sense, ratios, and equations and expressions. Sixth grade extends students’ knowledge of patterns and is the first time students see ratios as relationships between numbers. There is a high emphasis on the standards with equations and expressions to give students a concrete understanding of unknowns in problems. Giving students a strong foundational understanding of these standards will help set students up for success beyond sixth grade.
Click Here for English Language ArtsThe Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Sixth Grade for reading include both informational and literature. These standards will help strengthen scholars’ comprehension of text by teaching themes, central/main idea, story elements, author’s purpose, point of view, and vocabulary. The standards chosen for writing will help scholars apply proper grammar and the rules of academic writing to develop and strengthen their own writing. The essential standards that we are dedicated to teaching our scholars are aimed at helping them develop a deeper understanding of the English language that will support them with reading, writing, and communication.
In sixth grade, the essential science standards require students to apply their understanding of how matter and energy relate to atoms, the solar system, and ecosystems. Students will develop an understanding of the nature of matter and the role of energy transformation. Students will build upon their understanding of scales, patterns, and properties of matter, the solar system, and ecosystems. Student investigations will focus on collecting and making sense of observational data and measurements, asking questions, defining problems, and using mathematics and computational thinking. Students will construct explanations and design solutions, engage in argument from evidence, obtain, evaluate, and communicate information. The standards in sixth grade focus on helping students understand phenomena though patterns, cause and effect, and structure and function. The sixth grade standards include the necessary skills and understandings for success on the eighth grade AZSci (state science test).
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The Essential Standards for History and Social Science in Sixth Grade guide students to work toward mastery of history, geography, civics, and economics. We will analyze connections in various geographic and cultural places and the impact on our students’ lives and in society. 6th grade HSS will prepare students to understand the perspectives of other people and cultures throughout the historical eras from (Paleolithic to Middle Ages, and Renaissance.) They will learn skills to research and evaluate the credibility of sources. This year we will learn about world religions, civic mindedness, respect for laws, and negotiation and compromise. The essential standards selected by our team of professionals address content, skills, and processes that transfer to and support other content areas & help to cultivate skills & depth of knowledge that leads to lifelong success. -
The Essential Standards for Math in Seventh Grade build on content such as ratios and distributive property. 7th grade also introduces vital components that our students need in future years and for lifelong success. The AASA blueprint helped to ensure that we hit the tested areas proportionally. In order to hit the most important standards, we specifically acknowledged that we need to focus on unit rate, multi-step equations, probability, integer problems with negatives, and the utilization of pi.
Click Here for English Language ArtsThe Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Seventh Grade have been identified to ensure students are prepared for lifelong success. The main areas of focus include analyzing complex text to be successful in implementing reading skills in any text. With the focus of these reading strategies, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills, students are working to enhance their proficiency across all disciplines. The alignment of these standards provide for the opportunity to effectively use the time permitted with every student. This preparation will not only set up our students for success in the following grade levels, but in the real world.
In seventh grade, the essential standards require students to explore how forces cause changes in motion (how things move and stop) and how types of energy are transferred differently in a variety of systems. Students demonstrate how rocks and fossils are created and destroyed. Students explain the parts and roles of cells that keep things alive. Investigations focus on learning about and doing science by: asking clarifying questions about problems, making and using models, using math & deeper thinking to examine data, creating & sharing explanations & designing solutions, as well as using arguments to prove a point. The standards in seventh grade focus on helping students understand phenomena through patterns, cause and effect, and structure and function. The seventh grade standards include the necessary skills and understandings for success on the eighth grade AZSci (state science test).
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The Essential Standards for History and Social Science in Seventh Grade will guide inquiry, collaboration and direct instruction. 7th Grade students will study Integrated Global Studies (Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment to present) and social justice, focusing on social, cultural, and technological advances with an emphasis on understanding how and why conflicts, revolutions, and wars occur and may be averted. Our students will leave with greater preparation for and understanding of their place in our world and how to make positive contributions and change. Our essential standards were created to ensure that students are prepared for success across grade levels and throughout life. These standards will help students achieve success in other content areas and on state assessments in areas such as science, reading, and writing. These essential standards cover the four core disciplines in social studies: civics, economics, geography, and history.
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Our focus in 8th grade math is on identifying and solving linear functions, identifying and classifying rational and irrational numbers and understanding the Pythagorean Theorem. These standards are commonly found in junior high and high school science standards. These skills will set students up for future success in high school and in life.
Click Here for English Language ArtsThe Essential Standards for English Language Arts in Eighth Grade helps build confidence in our students to continue engaging in literacy skills beyond Alhambra. Throughout 8th grade English Language Arts, the main focus is to immerse students in a higher level of thinking by building, analyzing and evaluating skills through informational and argumentative text. Effectively developing necessary abilities for success establishes essential skills for everyday life throughout multiple disciplines.
In eighth grade, the essential science standards are core ideas in the three disciplines used to develop a framework to understand all of the required standards. These selected standards are evenly distributed across the disciplines, including Life, Physical and Earth/Space. In Life science, the essential standards focus on core ideas in heredity and natural selection. These are the big ideas in eighth grade science that an understanding of will lead to success in high school biology and a better understanding of themselves. In Physical science, the essential standards focus on core ideas in matter and energy. Understanding these big ideas will prepare students for high school chemistry and to see how substances we work with every day are related and how we interact with them in our daily lives. The Earth science essential standard is focused on conservation of resources and human impact on the world. By guaranteeing that students leave eighth grade with a deep understanding of this standard, they will be smarter consumers with a better awareness of their need to conserve the earth’s limited resources. In addition to being prepared for future classes and life as an adult, the essential standards include the necessary skills and understandings for success on the eighth grade AZSci (state science test).
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The Essential Standards for History and Social Science in Eight Grade will focus on citizenship, the foundation of our government, and personal finance. These standards go beyond assessment as they provide life long skills and a strong foundation for our scholars to become stewards of our country. These essential standards not only help our scholars become wonderful citizens, they also enhance student learning in reading, writing, mathematics and deepen critical thinking skills.
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At the elementary, middle and junior high level art classes, the Essential Standards students are introduced to are: various art making approaches, processes, materials, tools and techniques as well as the elements and principles of art, while being given the opportunity to practice these from K-8. Students at the elementary level are introduced to materials and techniques where they can explore and experiment through play. At the middle and junior high level, they continue the practice of artmaking but are introduced to writing about their own artwork as well as artwork created by professional artists using art vocabulary. Students will not only work on individual art pieces reflecting personal interests and/or current issues, but also, at the 5th-8th grade level, work on collaborative pieces that reflect important community issues and values. Our goals are to not only make sure students are prepared to further art studies in high school, but to also gain an understanding of the importance of art in everyday life.
The Essential Standards for Music in Grades K-8 encourage critical thinking skills through different levels of musical composition and performance. From Kindergarten through second grade, students explore musical concepts to build skills, such as keeping a steady beat, identifying musical contrasts, and matching pitch. In third through fifth grades, students will expand on these concepts while adding an emphasis on music within other content areas such as literature, art, and social studies. Finally, in sixth through eighth grade, students compose and perform at a higher level within specific, chosen ensembles. Rehearsals and performances at these grades show students the importance of teamwork and responsibility for oneself and one another. As students progress through our program, they begin to understand and express musical and artistic intent, an appreciation that can be used beyond the classroom.
Through the Essential Standards for Physical Education in Grades K-8, we believe we can provide every child with a quality physical education experience. We have our students explore a wide variety of activities with the goal of guiding each child to discover their own personal physical activity interests. In our physical education programs, children learn fundamental movement skills, improve their fitness, how to stay healthy, and develop an understanding of the benefits that come with leading a physically active life. In K-2, students focus on movement-based activities. In 3-5, students focus on skills-based activities. In 6-8, students focus on utilizing skills in sports and fitness-based activities. In all grades, we focus on social and emotional skills to maintain cooperation, teamwork, and socialization. Through inclusive and engaging activities, our students develop a joy of moving and the skills they will need to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. We prepare today’s children with the knowledge, skills and motivation to be tomorrow’s healthy adults.
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Click the image below to open the Phase II-Outcomes book.
