At AUS, we are committed to preparing each student to be inspired, lifelong learners and responsible global citizens. The learning journey each student takes at AUS is carefully charted into curricular programs that challenge academic growth, embrace our diverse community and promote creativity and collaboration. With curriculum guidelines in place, each department works with their faculty members to create the right combination of strong relationships, access to state of the art technology and opportunities to apply new learning in meaningful ways, that together, provide the ideal learning environment for each student. To learn more about academics at AUS take a moment to explore our schools. 

Distinctive Programs

1:1 Technology Program

Part of our mission is to combine 21st century digital technology and traditional student-centered learning practices to ensure that students achieve academic success and social growth. Supporting the mission of a 21st century school, AUS has a 1:1 tablet program. In Pre-K, our students have in classroom access to tablets, In grades K through 5, students are provided tablets for use at school and at home.

Technology instruction follows the International Society of Technology in Education Standards, known as the ISTE Standards. These standards are grade specific and support students throughout the educational process. ISTE standards identify grade-level appropriate informational and technological benchmarks. At AUS, our community of students, parents and staff can access real-time information about grades, calendars, notifications, attendance, and communications through online Portal. AUS also incorporates Google Apps for Education, a workspace of productivity tools for classroom collaboration. A wide variety of new and ever-changing educational resources exist to support teaching and learning. A few resources implemented at the AUS elementary school are Raz-Kids for fun and engaging reading support, IXL for dynamic and adaptive practice in math and language arts, and ClassDojo for building positive classroom communities.

Supported Documents

2020 AUS Educational Technology Plan

Diving below the surface of questions and proposing challenging questions is the cornerstone of our Elementary School. Class time balances the freedom of wild curiosity and inventiveness within the thoughtful sequence of our curricular programs. The Elementary School academic program is comprehensive in scope and content; engaging students in literacy, mathematics, social studies, and science along with Arabic language, music, visual arts, religion (for Muslims), physical education, STEAM Maker Lab (the intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). With an eye on the future, we ensure our students are skillful collaborators, problem-solvers, and communicators. Our character education program instills an understanding of empathy and respect for others. Together with a research-informed faculty, Elementary School students become independent thinkers and global leaders. We know these foundational years are truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it is our privilege to curate projects and opportunities that harness their passions and critical thinking to bring big ideas to life.

Curriculum 

Literacy 

Reading

• Students will read for authentic meaning, to be informed, and to perform a task on a daily basis

• Reading instruction will be a balance of direct instruction, guided instruction, and independent learning (Readers Workshop)

Speaking and Listening

• Students will communicate orally in standard English to express ideas and support opinions on a daily basis
• Students will use standard English to provide feedback to peers
• Students will understand what is said and demonstrate it by paraphrasing, responding correctly in English and actively participating in class discussions on a daily basis

Writing

• Students will write and teachers will evaluate using authentic writing and assessment of writing

• Students will produce at least one multi-draft piece of writing

• Students will use writing as a way of expressing their ideas and/or supporting their opinions

Mathematics/Numeracy

The goal of our Mathematics program is to create students who:

• Comprehend and persevere in solving mathematical problems,
• Reason abstractly and quantitatively,
• Construct viable arguments,
• Critique the reasoning of others,
• Model with mathematics,
• Use appropriate tools strategically,
• Attend to precision, look for and make use of structure, and
• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The Common Core Standards for Mathematics serve as the road map with an instructional model that embraces the gradual release of responsibility instructional framework.
The AUS elementary regards competency in the fundamentals of mathematics as a critical component to the development of the whole child. 

Social Studies & Science

With a strong emphasis on building literacy and math skills in the elementary, the integration of social studies and science concepts and skills into literacy and math instructional units ensure students realize cross-curricular connections and gain needed skills as they transition into middle school.

Social studies utilizes the newly published Common Core 3 (C3) Standards for Social Studies. Our Science program applies Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-12. The emphasis of NGSS at the elementary level is on the scientific process and application. This methodology allows students to build background knowledge to solve real world problems in order to construct meaning of new skills learned.

The integration of subjects through a practical real world lens is part of best practices of 21st century learning and instruction.

General Music

In the AUS Music program, we strive to provide students with a deeper appreciation for music. Our goal is to give students a musical experience that lasts a lifetime. The AUS music program draws its standards from the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). These standards allow students to experience every aspect of music education.
Students in the AUS music program offer a range of experiences. Students in the program have an opportunity to develop singing voices and choral techniques, learn to plan an instrument, study music history and theory, connect the musical experience to core subjects, and integrate musical composition with character traits and values.
The AUS Music experience extends beyond the classroom as students are asked to demonstrate their learning through in class and AUS community performances. Performing, an integral aspect of music education, affords students the opportunity to take risks and discover new abilities. Students in the program develop and use creative and critical thinking skills and cooperative learning techniques, while using appropriate technology as they study all the elements of music.
“Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.” – Plato

Visual Arts

The Elementary Visual Arts Program helps develop skills in the elementary school through appealing to a wide range of subject matter, symbols, images, and expressions. Founded on the National Visual Arts Standards supported by the National Art Education Association, Visual Art at AUS strives to blend the 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity and collaboration into a technology-infused learning environment. This program utilizes a wide variety of art making tools, drawings, painting, printmaking, collages, sculptures, ceramics, and digital arts.

Physical Education

The American United School of Kuwait is committed to guiding students towards a healthy lifestyle. AUS students benefit from a powerful combination of nutrition and physical fitness.

AUS Elementary School implements the National Standards for K-12 Physical Education from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). The goal of physical education is to develop physically literate individuals who have the knowledge, skills and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity. To accomplish this, AUS students:

• learn the skills necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities,
• understand the implications and benefits of involvement in various types of physical activities,
• participate regularly in physical activity,
• become physically fit, and
• value physical activity and its contribution to a healthful lifestyle.

Teachers and students work to accomplish these goals through a variety of engaging games and sports, such as basketball, golf, bowling, soccer, weight training, and aerobics. The curriculum is designed to emphasize a student’s responsibility for their own health and well-being and fosters the development of skills and knowledge that will help them to nurture and care for themselves in the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual areas of their lives.

Information Center 

The AUS Information Center provides print and online materials including books, videos, databases, and periodicals for students. The information center is a key component to help our elementary students develop the love of reading and research.

Arabic/ Arabic as a Foreign Language

The American United School of Kuwait places great emphasis on the instruction of the Arabic language at the middle school, which is the language of the State and the religion; hence we would like to make sure all students are well versed in the language, and develop a love for it, as well as pride in their country, its heritage, religion and culture.
Students engage in Arabic language instruction daily; our goal is to achieve mastery of the language, with new methods of education, in a simplified manner, with the use of technology, to make the students proud of their language and heritage. The school uses the very best curricula and most modern educational practices, starting with the Kuwaiti Ministry’s curricula. In addition, we supplement the learning with different educational materials from different sources and countries. We are presently enriching our media center with reading material to support Arabic language literacy, such as stories, novels and others, through different publishing houses from the region and elsewhere.

Islamic Studies

All Muslim students follow the appropriate Kuwait Ministry of Education program in Islamic Studies. The curriculum topics cover aspects of sociology, philosophy, history, logic and reason. The student is guided into a path where reason and logic are seen as God-given qualities, which should be used to support and explore basic faith and beliefs. The Holy Quran and Hadith (sayings of the prophets and apostles) are an integral part of learning. The four basic skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, are focused upon regularly through the implementation of the syllabus.

DISTINCTIVE PROGRAMS

Character Education/ Positive Behavior Framework

Global Impact Projects/ Celebration of Learning

Critical and  Creative Thinking

Anchoring all of these opportunities is our Middle School Advisory course that focuses on building a caring and connected community. Within the course, adult advisors meet regularly with a group of students and follow the advisory curriculum. Through the developed curriculum, advisors provide academic and social-emotional mentorship and support, to create personalization within the school, and to facilitate a small peer community of learners.

Distinctive Programs

Course catalog

Our High School offers an exceptional experience for students in grades 9-12. Central to our mission is to challenge academic growth. We do this through our student-centered curriculum, state-of-the-art learning spaces, dedicated faculty, and commitment to academics, the arts, and athletics. At AUS, students are cared for and known as individuals, which allows us to leverage their particular passions and motivations to drive deep, authentic learning. Our High School students take ownership of the learning process, accepting challenges and harnessing their passions to craft an educational experience that’s designed to make the most of everything they have to offer. 

In this exceptional four-year program, students continue building core academic skills, evolving their studies into a customized academic program comprising highly personalized electives. Through a robust offering of both traditional track core subjects, Pre-AP and Advanced Placement course offerings and access to over 50 elective courses, our students are challenged to explore new ideas and emerging fields of study. This, combined with our community service learning program and inclusive community, means that our students’ High School experience prepares them to control their academic destiny and thrive at the world’s top universities and a life of learning long after AUS.

Distinctive Programs

Course Catalog 

COURSE GUIDE

EDUCATION FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP: A transformative vision of education

Education for global citizenship is a framework to equip learners for critical and active engagement with the challenges and opportunities of life in a fast-changing and interdependent world. It is transformative, developing the knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes that learners need both to participate fully in a globalized society and economy, and to secure a more just, and sustainable world than the one they have inherited.

LEARNING, THINKING AND ACTING

American United School believes that young people’s learning, thinking and actions – both now and in their adult lives – are integral to the achievement of a more just, and sustainable global future. Therefore, alongside a rigorous development of global understanding and multiple perspectives, an education for global citizenship should also include opportunities for young people to develop their skills as agents of change and to reflect critically on this role.

Global Citizenship