English Language Arts

At New LA Elementary we practice a balanced approach to teaching literacy in line with Common Core State Standards for literacy. It will include elements such as Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop, word work or phonics, guided reading, shared reading and read aloud.

Mathematics

To teach mathematics New LA Elementary uses Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) to teach the Standards for Mathematical Practice aligned with the Common Core State Standards. CGI is a methodology for problem solving in which students are sense-makers who actively participate in the learning process. CGI has three major components, number sense routines, problem solving and counting collections.

History-Social Studies

The New LA Elementary Social Studies curriculum is closely tied with the Language Arts curriculum, in that we use core literature and authentic artifacts such as news articles, video and service learning opportunities to address the standards in the history/social studies frameworks. In line with the Common Core Standards our Social Studies curriculum is heavily focused on literacy. In line with New LA mission, our social studies curriculum pushes our students to engage with their community and be agents of change.

New LA Elementary School follows the following themes for teaching history:

• TK/K: Learning and working now and long ago: building community and examining identity within that community.
• 1st Grade: A child’s place in time and space: Identifying the responsibilities of citizenship; examining geography, symbols and traditions of the nation’s people.
• 2nd Grade: People who make a difference: Important people in the history of the nation and in individual and family histories, geography, learning about government institutions.
• 3rd Grade: Los Angeles History: Exploring our city geographically, environmentally, culturally; connecting LA’s history and historical people to today.
• 4th Grade: California History: Exploring the people, events, and places that make our state special and connecting to today.
• 5th Grade: United States History: Exploring the people, events and places that lead to the creation of our Nation and development of our government; connecting historical events to current events in the United States; examining a young person’s role in shaping the future of our country.

Science

The New LA Elementary science curriculum is lab-based, offering opportunities for students to use the scientific method starting in the earliest grades. We use a number of curricular tools such as FOSS and GLOBE protocols which are inquiry based and hands on. Additionally, the science curriculum is embedded with themes of ecology and environmental education. All science curriculum will be designed around the Next Generation Science standards. 

Ecology/Environmental Education: New LA Elementary’s strong ecology focus will go hand in hand with our service learning mission. Environmental awareness will be embedded in the overall school culture with in-class recycling, resource conservation expectations, campaigns to keep the school and neighborhood clean and green. Environmental education goes beyond strict science in that it requires the study of cultural, political, economic and societal influences on the Earth. In science classes students will be exposed to this wide array of study and use it to develop action plans for a cleaner and greener future.