Big questions provide the base for a year of deep exploration and discovery. The theme informs Aurora’s Social Studies units and most of our field trips and extends across subject areas.

Service Learning projects inspired by the year-long theme vary from year to year. For example, students learning about Oakland may engage in a study of the homeless epidemic and then take the lead on creating a project to help people experiencing homelessness. Other students might educate the community on water pollution after they discover for themselves how hard it is to clean polluted water as part of their study of the science of water. When they get outside the classroom and engage with the world beyond our walls, Aurora students learn to see themselves as empowered citizens who know they can step up and make a difference.

We believe that children are natural born scientists who are always inquiring, investigating, formulating, and reformulating their ideas about how the world works. With this in mind, we strive to promote and develop a sense of wonder about the world.

At Aurora, we use the FOSS (Full Option Science System) science curriculum from the Lawrence Hall of Science to provide our student scientists with hands-on, experiential units of study.

Young mathematicians at Aurora study mathematics with students in their same grade.

We use the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum which serves to create a strong conceptual understanding of mathematical thinking and builds a solid foundation for future mathematical endeavors.

The concepts to the right represent a sampling of topics explored in a given year. For more information on specific topics covered each year, please visit the Bridges website.

At Aurora we use the Writing and Reading Workshop model, along with direct phonics instruction. Students read and write frequently in all areas of study in addition to designated Workshop time. We strive to ensure that all students see themselves as readers and authors capable of conveying meaning that matters.

Reading

Reading is taught with a combination of meaning- and phonics-based strategies. Students progress from learning to read in grades K/1 and transition to reading to learn by the time they have completed 5th grade.

Writing

As they develop their craft and their voice, Aurora students understand that their words can be powerful agents of change whether they come in the form of a story, a poem, or a speech. Because there are so many ways to inspire and enhance written expression, we include visual, kinesthetic, and auditory experiences in each phase of a students’ writing process from planning to publishing.

Children and adults learn best when they are secure and confident in their inter and intra-personal relationships. A primary goal for all Aurora community members is to develop and sustain a respectful, cooperative and supportive environment that is the foundation for learning and independent thinking. Aurora teachers work to help students develop the social-emotional life skills they need to be successful in and out of the classroom. Resources include but are not limited to: Open Circle and Responsive Classroom.

Aurora uses the Open Circle Social Emotional Program developed at the Stone Center at Wellesley College. Open Circle is an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. This innovative program proactively develops children’s skills for recognizing and managing emotions, empathy, positive relationships and problem solving. Open Circle helps schools build communities where students feel safe, cared for and engaged in learning.

Throughout the year, students at each grade level come together to explore a topic deeply and from many different perspectives and to further build community across our classes. Students rotate through both classrooms and the art room and work with each teacher on lessons about a single theme.

Example of a deep dive:

When our 2/3 students study Oakland they consider some of the diverse communities that make our city so special. In one classroom students explore food of the African American, Chinese American, Italian American and Mexican American people who were among the first to settle in Oakland. They cook and eat together and discuss how these diverse cultures influence how all of us in Oakland eat today. In another classroom students study, make and play games that are native to each culture. Finally, in the art room, students study modern day Oakland-based artists from each of these communities and use their art as inspiration to make their own pieces.