Curriculum

After School Programs –Common Core ELA, Math & More

1. Critical Reading/Writing Program

Class Summary

This program is designed to encourage students to read and explore, build up the foundation of English language skills, reinforce the reading strategies through small group instruction, multimedia teaching methods, sustained silent reading, and creative and meta-cognitive journaling.
The students will reflect on what they read during the program to generate writing ideas, add details or facts, edit and revise, and create their own writing of narratives or informational piece with unique opinions through grade-appropriate sentence frames, one-on- one editing process, and multimedia deliverables.
We will incorporate project-based learning throughout the class. Each semester, they will be working on a project that will put their learning into practice. At the end, they will have a publicly presented product.

Project Based Strategy

Learn and practice 4 essential skills through hands on learning

Communication
Critical Thinking
Collaboration
Creativity

Differentiated Instruction

Support multi-grade and multi-level by providing the following throughout the class

Small Group instruction
1 on 1 instruction
Project will be tailored to student's level as well.

Common Core Aligned

Our lesson plans are designed with common core state standards in mind.

Reading: Literature
Reading: Informational Text
Reading: Foundational Skills
Listening and Speaking
Writing standards and more

Writing Competitions

All students in our Critical Reading/Writing programs are encouraged in participating in our Communication Arts League. The Communication Arts League is a new league dedicated to providing students training and experience in all forms of communication including; speaking, writing, and visual media. The writing competition typically includes expository writing, narrative writing or argumentative/opinion writing that is tied to the tournament theme.

2. Math Program

AMC

While American Mathematics Competition(AMC) is only the first step towards the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), outstanding performance in this competition alone is widely acknowledged by many renowned universities and colleges. Students with such performance will not only have higher chance of attending their dream schools but also expand the degree of their mathematical knowledge and skills while training for the competition itself.

Algebra 2

In order to graduate from a high school in California, Algebra 2 with C or higher is required by the California Department of Education along with a satisfying CAHSEE score. If the student is looking to study a math-intense major, such as business, engineering, physics, statistics, and many more, colleges will require at least one higher level of math, Pre-Calculus. However, in order to succeed in Pre-Calculus, students need solid foundation within Algebra 2, as many topics are originated from Algebra 2.

Geometry

Many will perceive Geometry simply as “math with shapes.” This common bias holds only partially true to its meaning because concepts revolving around triangles and following trigonometry are critical not only for Algebra 2 but also for Pre-Calculus and beyond. In addition, practicing in reasoning and providing proofs students get from Geometry will assist in excelling in higher level of logical math.

Algebra 1

Algebra 1 is when students develop what they learned from Pre-Algebra: quadratic equations, polynomials, factoring, radicals, and so many more. These rather basic skill will later be utilized and further built upon when students progress towards Algebra 2 and higher. That is why students are strongly recommended to make sure that they fully understand this field of math.

Pre-Algebra

Students will taste, for the first time, how math is really done starting from this level of math. While the concepts are quite basic and seem rather simply, profound skills in Pre-Algebra is a must.

Pre-Calculus & Up may be approved upon enough requests

3. Computer Science - Programming

Learning Objectives:

Learn the fundamental computer programming building blocks: sequences, loops, functions, conditionals, event handlers, and more
Gain familiarity with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript syntax, recognizing patterns and rules
Create digital drawings by measuring in pixels and utilizing geometry knowledge to create shapes and designs
Develop comfort with debugging
Create first games that respond to user input and actions and that follow logical rules
Create first animated, interactive stories with commands correlating to screen characters, backgrounds, and text
Learn the basic tools of graphic design and create original designs

Programming Level I

Suggested Grade Level: K - 8th
Friday's at 3 - 4 p.m.
In this beginner class, students will learn the fundamentals of computer programming through Blockly / Scratch (block-based). Students will learn how to use computer code to solve problems and create games and animations using familiar characters (like Angry Birds and Frozen's Elsa). Our instructors support students to develop projects of their own creation, and we'll explore new skills depending on their interests.

Programming Level II

Suggested Grade Level: 4 - 8th
Friday's & Saturday's

In this intermediate-level class, students will move beyond the introductory visual, block-based code to using Javascript and Python. Using simplified Javascript, students will build web apps. They'll learn to use coordinates, variables, movement and size commands, if/else (conditional) logic, and screen interactions. With Python they'll create animations, games and art using variables, loops, lists, functions, and events.