VAIS Curriculum

Our Mandarin teachers use a variety of curriculum resources to support Chinese Language Arts. The curriculum resources support the learning of receptive language (listening and reading) and productive language (speaking and writing) in a developmentally appropriate way. Through formative and summative assessments Mandarin teachers plan instruction for students.

Mandarin teachers work closely with their English teaching partner to connect learning in both languages and promote trans-languaging between English and Mandarin. The Mandarin teachers also collaborate to create alignment in Chinese Language Arts across the K-5 grade levels.

 VAIS uses Math Expressions as its math curriculum resource. Combining aspects of the most powerful elements of reform teaching with the best of traditional approaches, Math Expressions uses objects, drawings, conceptual language, and real-world situations to help students build mathematical ideas that make sense to them. Math Expressions balances deep understanding with essential skills and problem solving. Through daily “Math Talk,” Math Expressions builds a community of learners with frequent opportunities to explain their mathematical thinking and thereby develop their understanding. Children are asked to solve problems, explain their solutions, answer questions, and justify their answers. They gain greater understanding and ownership of math concepts as they develop and express their own ideas.

VAIS uses Mystery Science as its science curriculum. Mystery Science is a hands on program aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. Mystery Science is based on the concept that a child’s questions should guide his or her investigations which will lead to the development of scientific thinking. Each Mystery is aligned to a topic, performance expectations, science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. Every lesson begins with a Mystery that hooks students, has an unforgettable story and concludes with hands-on activities. 

The English Language Arts structure at VAIS focuses on grade level standards including foundational skills, reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. VAIS uses myView Literacy as their curriculum resource. The literacy standards are often integrated with Science or Social Studies to support our biliteracy units. Our English teachers also bridge their instruction to the Chinese language learning to promote biliteracy and deepen student understanding. Our students continually amaze us with their ability to make connections between the two languages and showcase their learning.

At VAIS, students are engaged in an environment that promotes global citizenship. Teachers plan units and activities that allow students to explore Chinese and other cultures throughout the world. Our school observes different Chinese holidays and celebrations throughout the school year. VAIS uses the TCM Social Studies as a curriculum resource to supplement this learning. Throughout their K-5 experience students learn about history, geography, economics, and political science.

Students at VAIS participate in art, music, and physical education each week.

The music curriculum at VAIS follows the Wisconsin standards of elementary music education, with an additional emphasis on learning about, performing, listening to, and analyzing Chinese music and culture. The music curriculum also takes a global approach as a whole, as students are exposed to and learn about music from countries and cultures all over the world. In art, our artists participate in activities and discussions that align to one or more of the VASD visual art standards (directly aligned to the national core standards for art and design). Students are exposed to a range of historical and contemporary artists, vocabulary, and art techniques from around the world. They are encouraged to bring their own ideas and personality into the art making process to solve the art problem presented to them so that they can find confidence in creative challenges. At the end of each lesson, time for independent study/practice is provided so that students have time to dive further into content, reflection, or experimentation with art materials/techniques that align to their interests with materials available.