Community Day Charter Public School

Classrooms

Kindergarten 1

Kindergarten I will be focusing on learning social skills, school rules, and how to be a good friend. We will be learning about shapes colors, numbers, letters, and sounds. We use the Massachusetts Curriculum Standards to create thematic units. By using the standards we are providing the children skills for math and reading readiness. Some of the units will be on the five senses, the farm, nursery rhymes, and the ocean. We will have field trips to a farm and the fire station as well as several others. We will have a very exciting year full of learning and fun!

Kindergarten 2   

The kindergartens curriculum introduces children to the fundamental skills to be built upon throughout the elementary years. Children will use their skills to learn to read, write stories, and communicate. Curriculum subjects include units on the community, fall harvest, Native Americans, celebrations, Japan, Medieval times, author study, Presidents, planting, animals and the weather. This year’s highlights will include a visit to the Children’s Museum, Franklin Park Zoo and Drumlin Farm.

Grade 1

In first grade we focus on developing beginning reading, writing, addition and subtraction skills. We will explore American leaders, symbols and holidays, Mexico, Native Americans, dinosaurs, folktales, ocean life, insects, planting and magnets and electricity. We have had a visit from the Mayor of Lawrence, Michael Sullivan, as part of our American leaders unit. We plan on visiting the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium. We are working very hard to master the standards for the grade while developing greater independence and a love of learning.

Grade 2

In the second grade we work each and every day on model student behavior by demonstrating respect and responsibility in all that we do. We are expanding our reading and writing skills as we strive to become independent learners. In math we will master standards of number sense, patterns, geometry, data analysis and probability. Our themes will include civics and government, economics, historical timelines, geography, states of matter, weather, and simple machines.

Grade 3

Our goal in the third grade is to become independent learners as we acquire valuable skills. Problem solving and data analysis are the main focuses of our math curriculum. Developing proficient written explanations for all mathematical concepts is one of our aims. Awe look forward to enhancing our creativity and communication skills through the writing process. We will reinforce our reading comprehension strategies as we explore such topics as the solar system, the Wampanoag Indians, early Americans, history, plant life, and world geography.

Grade 4

Join the time travelers in the fourth grade. Our first stop, Ancient China, the land of many dynasties, then Ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, and lastly,home to North America to learn about the people and geography of the USA, Canada,and Mexico. During our travels we will be reading and making maps, researching,and writing about the cultures of many lands. Our other classroom focus will be improving our comprehension skills and enriching our vocabulary. In math we are concentrating on computation and problem solving with a critical thinking emphasis. We have quite a busy year ahead of us- all aboard!

Grade 5

The fifth grade language arts curriculum will consist of a combination of novels and selected shorter pieces. We will be focusing on comprehension, grammar skills, and writing responses to literature of many different genres.

Throughout the year the math curriculum will be focused on measurements and problem solving. We will concentrate on computation, order of operations, fractions, decimals and percents.

The social studies curriculum is geography based. Map skills will be reinforced throughout the school year. We are studying the development of our nations. Out time line will extend through the early 19^th century.

Grade 6

The sixth grade math curriculum focuses on solidifying an understanding of basic skills, procedures, and concepts. Topics include working with fractions, decimals, percents, statistics,probability, and two and three- dimensional geometry. In language arts, students focus on understanding and mastery of the mechanics of the English language. We use The Writers Workshop Model to focus on descriptive and informative writing. Our reading program is designed to increase the students’ experiences, broaden their understanding of the world around them, and to expose them to a wide variety of genres. In social studies we explore the world through the five themes of geography.

Grades 7 and 8

Departmentalization in the 7^th and 8^th grades allows our oldest students to experience a greater measure of freedom and responsibility in their daily schedule and lives at CDCPS. Students rotate through 70- minute blocks with different teachers for their major academic subjects (math, science, English, social studies,and Spanish) and participate in physical education twice weekly. One of the reasons to adopt this departmentalized model at these grade levels is to help prepare students for the challenges of high school.

Mathematics

The mathematics curriculum for grade 7 is a standards based course that centers on pre-algebraic concepts and a survey of two and three-dimensional geometry. Students will be encouraged to take the skills and concepts of these subjects and make real life applications in a variety of cooperative activities and projects. Applications to science, engineering, architecture, marketing, polling, and music will be explored and incorporated in classroom learning and culminating activities.  

Grade 8

The mathematics curriculum for grade 8 is a standards based course that involves the study of algebra at appropriate levels for student groupings. Students will engage in a dynamic learning environment that seeks to foster not only knowledge of skills and concepts, but ways to apply mathematical ideas and procedures to the real world. Grade 8 students will participate in class discussions, cooperative activities, and projects that explore mathematical applications to science, engineering, architecture, marketing, polling, and music. This class will serve as the important foundation for continued mathematical success for each student’s high school career.  

Social Studies

Grade 7 

During this year students will be learning about the significant contributions of human societies and the effect of those contributions on human history with a particular emphasis on the events of the world today. We begin by studying the Ancient River Valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia. That study will form a basis for understanding the modern Middle Eastern countries and the rise of the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Next we move eastward and discuss the issues of class and government in India and China, with an emphasis on the Hindu caste system and Confucian belief in government. We will then move westward and look at the continent of Europe and the effects of the Greeks and Romans on Western Civilization. We will study the continent of Europe and the effects of the European colonialism on the North and South America and Africa. We will finish out study with a look at the effects of World War I and World War II on the modern world.

Grade 8

The students will be learning about significant issues of the United States and the effect of those issues on United States history with a particular emphasis on the present day. We will begin by reexamining the foundations of democracy and the government with in-depth studies of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In October a critical assessment will be an endorsement convention whereby the eighth grade will research, debate , and endorse candidates running for selected positions in the November 2002 Massachusetts election. We will be looking at issues surrounding race throughout the history of the United States with particular emphasis on the Civil War, the reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, and finally the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. We will then be looking at the issues of economics and class as they effected major turning points such as the Revolutionary War, the Progressive movement, an the Great Depression. Next we will look at the history of the U.S. regarding Gender such as Women’s suffrage and the Women’s rights movement. We will focus on discussions of Justice and Sacrifice as we examine the individual contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others during the Civil Rights movement. Then we will look at the impact of immigration. n the Spring we will study the impact of World War II and the Vietnam War on today’s world. To end the year, we will be examining various episodes of political action that have brought changes to the U.S. and the world.

Language Arts

Grades 7 and 8

In the 7^th and 8^th grades the students will be studying the five genres of literature and writing. We begin with a study of the short story as an example of fiction. We then begin to examine many different types of non-fiction literature and writing. This includes the biography, auto- biography, essays and speeches. Fables, myths and folktales, will also be studied. Stories with similar themes from around the world will be read and compared. The art of poetry will be studied and the students will write their own compositions. Drama will complete the year’s curriculum as the students read, analyze and perform plays.

Science

The science curriculum is closely aligned to the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks. In addition to exploring topics in physical, life, and earth sciences, students study, in an integrated approach, how humans have harnessed scientific knowledge and discoveries to solve technological problems.

In addition to the regular coursework, both 7^th and 8^th grade are taking part in a national engineers week competition to design the city of the future. Classes will apply the engineering process and the use specialized software to design a three-dimensional and computerized future city.  

Grade 7

The students will investigate the following topics; structure of the atom and organization of the periodic table; forces, pressure, and the physics of building big; classification of organisms; cells and systems of living things. The goal for all students is to consistently apply the scientific method of inquiry in all content areas.

Grade 8

Students will continue developing inquiry skills as they study the following: motion and energy; genetics and heredity; earth and the solar system; weather and climate; evolution and adaptation; and MCAS review. By the end of the 8^th grade, students will have a strong foundation in science, fully prepared to take on more advanced topics in high school.

Spanish

The Spanish program focuses on exposure to the language, culture and development of basic vocabulary. As the students move in to the upper grades the course of study introduces and increased vocabulary and the use of the spoken and written word. Integral to the Spanish curriculum is the focus on the customs and cultures of the Spanish speaking cultures.

Athletics

Our Lower School curriculum focuses on teamwork and sportsmanship while embarking on such games as soccer, kickball, floor hockey and wiffle ball. Our physically fit students will participate in our own Olympics as we build our bodies as well as our minds. Our Upper School students will sample such sports as Lacrosse, Sumo wrestling, volleyball and track and field. Participation in nutrition classes will help educate and focus our attention on all the components of fitness.

The arts as the window into cultures throughout time will be a year -long theme. We will cover such areas as art as a means of self- expression, introduction to the basic elements of visual arts and the development of both artistic expression and imagination. Our journey into music, dance, theatre, and visual arts will help the students develop their ensemble skills so that the classes learn to work creatively and respectfully as a group.

The music program is designed to teach students basic music skills such as rhythm, melody, harmony, note reading and pitch matching. These skills are taught using a variety of activities; instrument playing, singing, movement and dramatic play. They also develop a repertoire of folk songs and classic/orchestral works through listening and singing. Students have an opportunity to present audience performances several times throughout the year.

Enrichment

The enrichment program is an important part of the Lower School curriculum. The program is designed to enrich and expand the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and Standards. The goal of the program is to challenge the students through integrating thematic units, science, social studies and the arts. In addition, there is a focus on character education and conflict resolution skills.

Guidance and Special Education

Community Day Charter Public School has a strong commitment to learning and literacy. The philosophy of the school is that all children have different learning needs. CDCPS develops Personal Education Goals (PEG) for each student. When a student requires modifications due to special needs, teachers and parents approve a plan of action. Services are provided within the framework of an inclusion model. All students participate in the regular curriculum with support provided through tutoring, pull-out instruction, small group instruction and work with learning specialists. Staff members of the special needs services group include a director, two full-time and one half-time learning specialists, and a part-time counselor. Speech-language and occupational therapy services are also provided to students in need of these services.