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T/K - 5th Grade at Urban Discovery Schools
Academics » UTK - 6th Grade

UTK - 6th Grade

Academic Overview
Urban Discovery Academy takes an integrated, whole-child approach to learning. Our small-school setting and individualized approach to learning, where relationships are at the forefront of our work, help create a positive environment for learning and helps our students build self-confidence. To further support this whole-child, personalized learning approach, ongoing Design Challenges are embedded into the school curriculum on to allow our students to solve real world problems and connect more deliberately to the world around them. To culminate these community-based learning experiences, our families are invited to celebrate with us twice per year at our Exhibition Nights (celebrations of student learning). The high-engagement academic culture cultivates self-motivation, problem solving and innovation among our students. Arts enrichment, physical activity, and learning beyond the classroom walls are a part of the student experience at our school. Elementary students experince daily enrichment programming and ongoing field trips with our enrichment specialists. 
  • Visual Arts
  • STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)
  • Performing Arts
  • Physical Education.
Scroll down for specific academic course of study information. 
Meet the Urban Discovery Academy UTK - 6th Grade Team
Mathematics: By the end of grade K students will be able to identify numbers 0-20, count to 100 fluently add and subtract up to the number 5 and be able to name 2D and 3D shapes, based on the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics in Kindergarten.
 
English Language Arts: Students will master letter recognition, phonemic awareness and simple CVC words, based on the Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts Kindergarten. They will be able to identify the front, back and sentence structure of a book or written word. They will be able to produce simple sentence structures on their own with appropriate punctuation. 
 
Science: The performance expectations in kindergarten of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) help students formulate answers to questions such as: “What happens if you push or pull an object harder? Where do animals live and why do they live there? What is the weather like today and how is it different from yesterday?” In the kindergarten performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate grade-appropriate proficiency in asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, designing solutions, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.
 
History Social / Science: In Kindergarten and based on the History Social-Science Framework of California, students begin the study of history–social science with concepts anchored in the experiences they bring to school from their families and communities. Students explore the meaning of good citizenship, national symbols, work now and long ago, geography, time and chronology, and life in the past. 
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics: By the end of 1st grade students will understand various concepts based on the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics First Grade. Major topics include:
  • Operations & Algebraic Thinking
  • Numbers & Operations in Base Ten
  • Measurement and Data
  • Geometry
 
English Language Arts: By the end of 1st grade students will understand various concepts based on the Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts First Grade. Major topics including but not limited to:
  • Literature & Informational Text:
    • Key Ideas & Details
    • Craft & Structure
    • Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
    • Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
    • Reading (Foundational Skills)
  • Print Concepts
    • Phonological Awareness
    • Phonics & Word Recognition (Dolch Sight Words-First List)
    • Fluency
  • English Language Skills
    • Conventions of Standard English
    • Vocabulary Acquisition & Use
  • Speaking & Listening
    • Comprehension & Collaboration
    • Presentation of Knowledge & Ideas
  • Writing
    • Opinion
    • Informational
    • Narrative
 
Science 1 - By the end of 1st grade students will understand various concepts based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) First Grade. Major topics include but not limited to:
  • Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
  • From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
  • Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
  • Earth's Place in the Universe
  • Engineering Design
 
History Social Science 1 - By the end of 1st grade students will understand various concepts based on the History Social Science Framework of California First Grade. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Citizenship
  • Family, Community and Culture
  • History
  • Geography
  • Economics
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics 2 - By the end of grade 2, students will learn addition and subtraction strategies through operations and algebraic thinking. Students will learn to compare and manipulate numbers through numbers and operations in base ten. Students will learn strategies to measure and estimate lengths. Students will learn to recognize and partition shapes through geometry based on the California Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. Major topics include but are not limited to:

  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
  • Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
  • Measurement and Data
  • Geometry
 
English Language Arts 2 - By the end of grade two, students will learn the core reading standards for informational text and literature while focusing on the foundational skills for reading, through writing, speaking and listening and conventions of standard English grammar based on the California Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts for Second Grade. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Foundations of reading
  • Literature
  • Informational Text
  • Writing
  • Speaking and Listening
  • Language
 
Science 2 - By the end of grade 2, students will understand how to plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties, analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose, make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object, and construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot. Students will plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow, develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants, and make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Students will be able to use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly, compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land, develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area, obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid. Through engineering and design students will ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool, develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem, and analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs all based off of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).  Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Structure and Properties of Matter
  • Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • Earth’s Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth
  • Engineering Design
 
History Social-Science 2 - By the end of grade two, students will learn to differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday. Students will demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative locations of people, places, and environments. Students will explain governmental institutions and practices in the United States and other countries. Students will understand basic economic concepts and their individual roles in the economy and demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills. Students will understand the importance of individual action and character and explain how heroes from long ago and the recent past have made a difference in others’ lives all based on the History Social-Science Framework of California. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • People who make a difference
  • Geography
  • Culture
  • Economics
  • U.S. Government

 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics - By the end of grade 3, students will learn multiplication and division strategies through operations and algebraic thinking. Students will learn rounding strategies, addition and subtraction within 1000, and multiples of 10 through numbers and operations in base ten. Students will learn fraction strategies. Students will demonstrate understanding of the measurement and data domain by telling time to the nearest minute, identifying measurements of volume and mass, reading and creating picture graphs, and understanding and using measurements of area and perimeter. Students will also identify 2D shapes and attributes and be able to learn to partition shapes through geometry-based learning on the California Common Core State Standards. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
  • Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
  • Measurement and Data
  • Geometry
 
English Language Arts 3 - By the end of grade three, students will learn the core reading standards for informational text and literature while focusing on the foundational skills for reading, through writing, speaking and listening and conventions of standard English grammar based on the California Common Core State Standards for Third Grade. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Foundations of reading
  • Literature
  • Informational Text
  • Writing
  • Speaking and Listening
  • Language
 
Science 3 - By the end of grade three, students will demonstrate proficiency in Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), through design-based project work, as well as reading and writing.  The areas of focus include, but not limited to force, motion, symbiotic relationships within ecosystems, and life cycles. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Forces and Interactions
  • Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
  • Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits
  • Weather and Climate
 
History Social-Sciences 3 - By the end of grade three, students will demonstrate proficiency in History Social-Science Framework of California, through design-based project work, as well as reading and writing.  The themes will include continuity and change in the local region of San Diego. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Continuity and change
  • Geography of the local region
  • American Indians of the local region
  • Local community
  • American symbols, citizens, and government
  • Economics of the local region
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics - Fourth-grade students will extend their understanding of place value to include multi-digit whole numbers based on the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. Students read, write, and compare numbers based on the meaning of the digits in each place (a digit in one place represents ten times what it represents in the place to its right). Students also use understanding of place value to round multi-digit whole numbers. At grade four, the CCSS limits understanding of place value to whole numbers in the millions. In fourth grade, students perform multi-digit arithmetic with whole numbers. They fluently add and subtract multi-digit numbers. They multiply (multi-digit numbers by two-digit numbers) and divide (four-digit numbers by a one-digit number), including quotients with remainders. They can explain their understanding of multiplication and division calculations. 4th graders will be able to do addition and subtraction (with two whole numbers within 1,000–10,000), multiplication and division (whole numbers with up to four digits by one-digit numbers), and rounding numbers to the nearest thousands.

 

Major topics include but are not limited to:

  • Place Value, rounding, comparing numbers
  • Multi-digit addition
  • Multi-digit subtraction
  • Multi-digit multiplication
  • Multi-digit division
  • Multiplication and Division fact fluency
  • Multiplicative thinking
  • Equivalent fractions and ordering
  • Adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators
  • Fractions to decimals and comparing decimals
  • Converting units of measure
  • Identifying and classify angles, lines, and shapes
 
English Language Arts 4 - By the end of grade 4 and based on the Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts, students will use all stages of the writing process—prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing—to construct clear, coherent writing for each intended purpose. Students develop proficiency in each form of writing by having opportunities to practice their writing and by receiving feedback from their teacher. They learn about the links between reading different types of text structures and writing using those same structures, drawing on what they have read as examples of how to write.

 

Students learn to draw evidence from literary and informational texts to support their main idea with facts, details, and explanations. They use multiple sources of information, including online resources. They also learn to quote and paraphrase relevant information, and cite the source of information correctly. Through the school year, students write routinely over both extended time frames (several days or weeks with time for research, reflection, revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two). They write for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences on topics and texts in all fourth-grade subjects.

 

Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Narrative writing
  • Opinion writing
  • Informative writing
  • Point of View
  • Grade level spelling and word choice
  • Grammar and Punctuation
  • Sentence fluency that is controlled and varied 
  • Compare and Contrast Texts
  • Interpret Vocabulary
  • Produce clear and coherent writing
  • Successfully Complete the writing process (planning, drafting, editing, revising, re-writing)
 
Science 4 - During fourth grade, students learn to formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships, differentiate observation from inference, and conduct multiple trials to test their predictions based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students develop their own questions, conduct scientific own questions, investigations, and communicate their findings in writing.  In their study of life findings in writing. Students extend their knowledge of ecology by learning about food chains and webs and exploring the relationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers. They consider all components of an ecosystem, living and nonliving, and are introduced to microorganisms. In earth science, fourth-graders learn about rocks, minerals, and the rock cycle. They learn how to differentiate rocks on the basis of their properties and how to identify common minerals. Students also study the processes of erosion and weathering and learn about the role of water in shaping the surface of Earth. In addition, students learn about rapid processes that change Earth’s land surface: landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
 
Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Rock Cycle
  • Water Cycle
  • Natural Disasters
  • Energy
  • Landforms
  • Endangered Species
  • Adaptations
 
History Social-Science 4 - By the fourth grade and based on the History Social-Science Framework of California, students’ geographic skills have advanced to the point where they can use maps to identify latitude and longitude, the poles and hemispheres, and plot locations using coordinates. Students locate California on the map and analyze its location on the western edge of North America. During their study of California history, students will use maps, charts, and pictures to describe how California communities used the land and adapted to it in different ways.

 

California has long been home to American Indian peoples. Students learn about the major language groups of the Students learn about American Indians and their distribution, social organization, legends and beliefs, and the major language economic activities. Students study the extent to which early people of California groups depended on, adapted to, and modified the physical environment by cultivation and American Indians and the use of sea resources. their distribution, Contemporary cities and densely settled areas frequently are located in the same social organization, areas as these early American Indian settlements, especially on the coasts where legends and beliefs, rivers meet the sea. In analyzing how geographic factors have influenced the location and economy of settlements, then and now, students have an opportunity to observe how the past activities. and the present may be linked by similar dynamics.

 

Students will learn about the explorers. They review the motives for colonization, including rivalries with other imperial powers such as Britain and Russia, which brought Spanish soldiers and missionaries northward from Mexico City to Alta California. The years following 1850 brought a transportation revolution, increased The completion of the diversity, and agricultural and industrial growth to California.

 

Major topics include but are not limited to:

  • Maps
  • Gold Rush
  • Native Americans
  • Explorers
  • Inventors
  • African American Leaders
  • Women Leaders
  • Regions in California
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics 5 - Students will write and interpret numerical expressions and analyze patterns and relationships based on the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. They will demonstrate an understanding of the place value system and perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to the hundredths. They will explore and use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions. They will also apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions. They will develop skills to convert like measurements, represent and interpret data, understand concepts of volume. Students will grow their understanding of graphing and classifying two-dimensional figures into categories.

 

Major topics include but are not limited to:

  • Write and interpret numerical expressions.
  • Analyze patterns and relationships.
  • Understand the place value system.
  • Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths.
  • Use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions.
  • Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions.
  • Convert like measurement units within a given measurement system.
  • Represent and interpret data.
  • Geometric measurement: understand concepts of volume and relate volume to multiplication and to addition.
  • Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
  • Classify two-dimensional figures into categories based on their properties.
  • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
  • Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
  • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
  • Model with mathematics.
  • Use appropriate tools strategically.
  • Attend to precision.
  • Look for and make use of structure.
  • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
 
English Language Arts 5 - Students will continue to develop their command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing and speaking. They will also develop skills to progress their command of capitalizations, punctuation, and spelling when writing. They will be doing this through multi-paragraph writing pieces such as a narrative, opinion piece, and an informational writing piece. Students will also be able to examine key ideas, details, craft, and structure of literature and informational text based on the Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts.
 
Topics include but are not limited to:
  • Text Types and Purposes
  • Production and Distribution of Writing
  • Research to Build and Present Knowledge
  • Range of Writing
  • Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
  • Key Ideas and Details
  • Craft and Structure
  • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
  • Range and Level of Text Complexity
  • Phonological Awareness
  • Phonics and Word Recognition
  • Fluency
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.

Mathematics 6 - This course emphasizes mastering the four arithmetic operations with whole numbers, positive fractions, positive decimals, and positive and negative integers based on the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics. Students will be able to accurately compute, solve problems and apply their knowledge to statistics and probability. Students understand the concepts of mean, median, and mode of data sets and how to calculate the range. They analyze data and sampling processes for possible bias and misleading conclusions; they use addition and multiplication of fractions routinely to calculate the probabilities for compound events. Students conceptually understand and work with ratios and proportions; they compute percentages (e.g., tax, tips, and interest). Students know about “p” and the formulas for the circumference and area of a circle. They use letters for numbers in formulas involving geometric shapes and in ratios to represent an unknown part of an expression. They should be able to solve one-step linear equations.
 
English Language Arts 6 - In English Language Arts, students will begin learning how to more actively engage with various texts, moving beyond comprehension into analysis, interpretation, and a more complex understanding of how author’s use their words to convey ideas and make arguments based on the Common Core State Standards of English Language Arts. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Use textual evidence to analyze and make inferences, as well as write arguments to support claims.
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases and analyze the impact of an author’s craft.
  • Compare and contrast texts in different forms (historical documents, fiction, and nonfiction) and their different approaches to similar themes or topics.
  • Determine author’s point of view and perspective and how it affects the impact of the text.
  • Evaluate and learn to use narrative techniques for their own writing.
  • Conduct short research projects.
 
Science 6 - This course guides students through inquiry-based investigations into phenomena found within the solar system and Earth system based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students are tasked with thinking and acting as scientists by engaging students in various Science and Engineering Practices (asking questions and defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using math and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in evidence-based argument, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information) and examining Cross-Cutting Concepts (patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; energy and matter; structure and function; and stability and change) within each phenomena. Course topics include space systems, the history of Earth, internal processes in Earth’s systems, external processes in Earth’s systems, weather and climate, and the relationship between Earth’s processes and human activity.

 

Major topics include but are not limited to:

  • Understand the nature of inquiry through identifying Science and Engineering Practices
  • Model cyclical patterns within the Earth-Moon-Sun system with consideration to gravity’s role
  • Explain, using geological and fossil data, how Earth’s surface has changed to form modern geographic features
  • Model the cycling of matter and energy in the rock cycle and water cycle
  • Collect evidence for how motion of air masses, unequal heating, Earth’s rotation, and human activity result in weather conditions, regional climate, and global temperature increases
  • Analyze data on natural hazards and human impact on the Earth’s resources and environment
 
History Social-Science 6 - Based on the History Social-Science Framework of California, students will use primary and secondary historical documents to investigate ancient civilizations and their influence on modern society. Using related fiction and nonfiction stories, we will explore the concepts that link modern life to these ancient societies, including: power and perspective, our relationship to the environment, and the relationship between a society and their stories. Major topics include but are not limited to:
  • Use textual evidence to analyze and make inferences, as well as write arguments to support claims.
  • Determine the meaning of words and phrases and analyze the impact of an author’s craft.
  • Compare and contrast texts in different forms (historical documents, fiction, and nonfiction) and their different approaches to similar themes or topics.
  • Determine author’s point of view and perspective and how it affects the impact of the text.
  • Evaluate and learn to use narrative techniques for their own writing.
  • Conduct short research projects.
 

Physical Education - At Urban Discovery Schools, Physical Education plays a vital role in providing students with a holistic approach to their education. Physical Education provides the opportunity to explore and promote mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. Through physical activity, students learn to develop confidence, resilience, responsibility and how to work cooperatively with each other.

 

The Physical Education program at Urban Discovery Schools provides the skills and knowledge students will need to lead an active lifestyle. Students will learn about different movements and strategies, the importance of teamwork, and health related fitness. Our program focuses on the development of fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a variety of age-appropriate activities. In addition, our program provides students the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social interactions. Through regular participation in physical activity, students also have the opportunity to develop their emotional and psychological skills.