Curriculum

The DCS curriculum, which uses materials from various publishers and incorporates selected manipulative and enrichment materials, supports and provides:

• The core learnings in basic skills and knowledge as articulated in the California Learning Frameworks.
• The process of teaching students to think critically and to identify and use many thinking skills and behaviors.
• The process of teaching students to communicate effectively and meaningfully.
• The process of teaching students how to demonstrate their knowledge.
• Meaningful, engaging, and useful tools that interest students in the learning process.

Curriculum Synopsis

Our curriculum and instructional practices reflect our curriculum philosophy. It emphasizes that:

• Each student has a unique cognitive ability and drive.
• Each student learns in different ways (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, sensory) and at different paces, and is therefore entitled to a differentiated curriculum approach to the instructional process. Modifications and extensions to learning are routinely provided.
• Each student needs structure, guidance and practice to feel secure and confident in the learning process.
• Students learn through a well-balanced environment routinely using all their senses.
• Students need strong role models on their path towards internalizing personal discipline, responsibility, and respect with the acquisition and development of their knowledge base.
• Students benefit from a wide variety of information and experiences.
• Students learn from their total environment and need regular practice with independent thought, cooperative learning, and organized purposeful expression of their growing skills.

Students at The Discovery Center School are grouped as follows:

• Grades K-2 (Primary)
• Grades 3-5 (Intermediate)
• Grades 6-8 (Upper School).

Primary

In grades K-2, the focus of our curriculum is to provide each student with a strong basic foundation in initial reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The love of good literature is nurtured through many special projects. Students learn to write stories, keep journals, and write letters. Students develop the basic understanding of numerals and number systems. Emphasis is placed on the operations of addition and subtraction. The concepts of time, money, simple geometry, probability, and measurement are also explored. Mathematical thinking is identified and practiced. The concepts of family, school, and community serve as the foundation for social studies. Under the guidelines of the California Learning Frameworks, students begin their studies into scientific inquiry, using units of study in the physical and natural science areas. Computers are used as a tool to augment the search for information, and an aid in beginning the art of organizing information through desktop software applications. Introduction to Spanish begins in Kindergarten and continues throughout the grades. Physical education and art are integrated into the curricular week. A good deal of emphasis is placed on the joy of learning!

Intermediate

In grades 3 - 5, the students continue to build on their developmental foundation. Portfolios of their schoolwork are kept for these three years in order to help them use reflective assessment of their progress as a technique to help set their learning targets. In reading, writing, speaking and listening, the emphasis is placed on developing a strong repertoire of skills in the area of comprehension and fluency. An array of literature genres (poetry, fiction, non-fiction, legends, fables, etc.) are read and discussed. Writing as a process is studied. Students learn the basics of prewriting, drafting, and editing their own work. Proper sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and paragraph development are emphasized. Students continue developing the basic skills involved in mathematical operations, with the addition of multiplication and division. The strands of geometry, probability and statistics, measurement, simple algebraic thinking, problem solving, decimals, and fractions are also included. In social science, students learn about natural landscape formations, explore Native American cultures, and learn about California and then United States history. Through research projects, field trips, performance based project learning, and independent study, they expand their knowledge of the people, cultures, and rich traditions of the world, both past and present. In applied science, they continue to promote their critical and creative thinking skills. They learn to use the scientific method of forming a hypothesis, collecting data, problem solving, and generalizing. Areas of study may include animal and plant life, energy, light, sound, and space. Formal instruction in Spanish continues, as does art and physical education. Educational and cultural field trips expand the classroom beyond the walls of the school. Computers are used to support the learning in the classroom. Keyboarding is offered, along with continued expansion of information gathering and sorting skills, and in the use of various applications to organize and present their projects.

Upper School

In grades 6 - 8, students rotate through their core subject classes–language arts, literature, math, social studies, and science–using a block schedule. Students in grade 6 have two teachers: one for language arts, literature, and social studies; and one for math and science. They continue with Spanish, physical education, and art instruction, as well as an integrated course of instruction in computer application skills. In grades 7 and 8, students differentiate further, providing them with subject-area teachers in five academic areas in order to prepare them for a high school routine. The students at this juncture solidify their core knowledge base of functional literacy, mathematics, and social and applied sciences. Upon this strong foundation, they continue to become more proficient in gathering and evaluating information, identifying and understanding relationships, mastering critical thinking skills, and communicating effectively with meaning and direct intent. Small group projects are balanced with personalized independent performances. A 2+ year portfolio is constructed, culminating in a product their first semester of 8th grade that includes a personal resume, an autobiography, samples of work, a self analysis of learning style, and a reflection of their years as a K-8 student. This is a tool that students can use in pursuing the application process to the High School of their choice.

The reading program at this level consists of reading and studying selected literature. Study of literary terms, vocabulary development, familiarity with authors and their work, identifications of plot, viewpoint, setting, characterization, symbolism, tone, irony etc., are among several key elements of this program. In a variety of creative, expository, and persuasive writing assignments, students continue to focus on writing as a process, emphasizing fluency, coherence, and voice as well as the mechanics of writing. Students also explore the areas of public speaking and dramatic expression.

In grade 6 students work with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and integers in all of the operations. Other areas of study continue to include the strands as defined by the National Council for the Teaching of Mathematics. Students are expected to demonstrate mathematical reasoning and thinking through projects and demonstrations. In grades 7 and 8 students work into pre-algebra by studying equations, proportions, integers, and formulas in preparation for high school algebra. In social science, students study ancient civilizations, beginning with Mesopotamia, Egypt, early Asian civilizations, and ancient Greece. Geography skills and note taking are emphasized. Students become more familiar with the people and events that formed contemporary American society. Cause and effect relationships are explored. In science, students become familiar with scientific concepts relating to the universe, the structure of the earth, geologic time, classification of living things, human biology, an introduction to chemistry, and elementary physics. Continued focus is placed on the scientific method of inquiry and analysis. Students are expected to participate in the annual Science Fair. Demonstration of knowledge through papers and projects is routine in these areas. Instruction in Spanish is continued for all students through grade 8. Physical education and art instruction is continued for all students. Use of computers, including elements of graphic design, use of spreadsheets, data base, and web publishing applications are explored. Students continue developing advanced word processing skills, and write, edit, compile, and distribute a student generated school newsletter. Out of school field trips to various cultural and educational sites continue to be an important part of the students' educational experience.

Our goal is to prepare students for entrance into the University of California which qualifies them to go anywhere.

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