Our school incorporates a two-year cycle with science and social studies curriculums for all grade levels.
One year we cover these topics:
- Social Studies – Ancient Civilizations: Sumer, Egypt, India, Greece, Athens, Sparta, Rome, Islam, Mayas, Aztecs, Incas
- Science – Systems and Subsystems in Earth and Life Science; Earth Systems, Weather, and Organisms (Cells, Traits for Survival and Reproduction, Bodies, Genes)
The next year we cover these topics:
- Social Studies – American History: European Exploration to the American Revolution
- Science – Living Things and Ecosystems; Earth Systems; Changes in Matter; Earth, Moon, and Stars
- Math and ELA are divided into small heterogeneous groups that access each student at his or her academic level plus an extra push (L+1).
- Writing: Narrative, Opinion, Informative
Field Trips
Every student comes to the classroom with a different world experience. We know that students who have been exposed to many different things do better in school. In order to be successful readers, students need to relate what they read to what they’ve experienced. To think broadly, students, need to have a variety of experiences. Courtyard strongly believes in and supports single class, multiple classes, and age-appropriate outings and field trips which allows our students a real-world experience in the surroundings communities and afar. Good planning and organization always precede field trips. An example of good planning would be a field trip to a theater to see a play where the students read the story ahead of time. Many trips are then followed up with the students writing a report that focuses on the play’s meaning within the context of their own life experiences, applicable concepts learned about sharing, and much more.
Our overnight field trips (for 3rd– 8th) are on a two-year cycle. One year the class takes a 5-day trip to trip to either Catalina Islands, Santa Monica, Marin Headlands, or Olympic National Park. The following year the class travels to Astrocamp.