Gwinnett’s curriculum for grades K–12 is called the Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) and is aligned to the state-adopted Georgia Standards of Excellence in Language Arts (K-12), Mathematics (K-12), and literacy standards for Science, Social Studies, and Technical Education for middle and high school students. The Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) are in place for other content areas. Gwinnett’s AKS is a rigorous curriculum that prepares students for college and 21st-century careers in a globally competitive future.
The AKS for each grade level spells out the essential concepts students are expected to know and the skills they should acquire in that grade or subject. The AKS offers a solid base on which teachers build rich learning experiences. Teachers use curriculum guides, technology, and instructional resources to teach the AKS and to make sure every student is learning to his or her potential.
The Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) curriculum was developed by our teachers, with input from our parents and community, in response to Gwinnett County Public Schools’ mission statement:
The mission of Gwinnett County Public Schools is to pursue excellence in academic knowledge, skills, and behavior for each student resulting in measured improvement against local, national, and world-class standards.
Kindergarten
In kindergarten, students work on beginning reading and writing skills that will lead to success in subsequent grade levels. Through GCPS’ Mathematics AKS, aligned with the Georgia Standards of Excellence, students will become confident and competent mathematical problem-solvers. AKS Brochure
First Grade
First graders focus on reading with sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression to support comprehension. Students use reading and writing skills throughout the school day as part of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies classroom activities. The 1st-grade mathematics curriculum focuses on the areas of mathematical practice, number, and operations in base ten, geometry, measurement and data, operations, and algebraic thinking. AKS Brochure
Second Grade
By the end of 2nd grade, all students are expected to demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds; know and apply grade level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words; apply grade appropriate language and word study skills in writing; self select books, self monitor to correct errors when reading and writing, talk with and listen to peers about one’s reading and writing to become lifelong readers and writers; and use reading and writing to communicate through listening, speaking, and viewing. Second graders extend understanding of base-ten notation; represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 20; build fluency with addition and subtraction; work with equal groups to gain foundations for multiplication; measure and estimate lengths in standard units; describe and analyze two dimensional shapes and their attributes; and work with time and money. AKS Brochure
Third Grade
Third graders work on reading with sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression to support comprehension of fiction and informational (nonfiction) texts. By the end of third grade students should be able to represent and solve problems with multiplication and division within 100; solve two step problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns in arithmetic; develop understanding of fractions as numbers, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1); develop understanding of area models and area, and relate area to multiplication and to addition; describe and analyze two dimensional shapes and their attributes; and solve problems involving measurement and estimation of liquid volume, mass, and time intervals. AKS Brochure
Fourth Grade
By the end of fourth grade, all students should be able to selfselect books, selfmonitor to correct errors when reading and writing, and talk with and listen to peers about one’s reading and writing to become lifelong readers and writers. Fourth grade math students use placevalue understanding and properties of operations to perform multidigit arithmetic; solve problems using the four operations with whole numbers; develop understanding of equivalent fractions, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers; analyze and classify geometric figures based on properties such as parallel sides, perpendicular sides, symmetry, and angle measure; generate and analyze patterns; and solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit. AKS Brochure
Fifth Grade
5th graders listen to and write about a variety of literary forms, such as stories and poems, in a variety of fiction and nonfiction (informational) genres, they read and analyze a variety of both literary and informational texts; Students apply the four operations to decimals to hundredths; extend division to two-digit divisors; develop fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions; apply multiplication and division understanding to fractions; understand concepts of volume and relate volume to multiplication and to addition; convert like measurements within a given measurement system; and graph points on a coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems. AKS Brochure
