Live Oak School Curriculum

Choose Your K-8 Journey

List of 11 items.

Language Arts

"How can I share my perspectives and understand the experiences of others?"

Kindergarten
In the alphabet unit, kindergartners explore the question how do letters make sounds and words? Students are guided in their expanding awareness that words and letters are everywhere and they are encouraged to seek them out and make observations. To work towards an understanding of this question, students experience each letter of the alphabet through multiple modalities and learn changemaker vocabulary. As a culminating assessment, students complete an alphabet dictionary and contribute daily to an alphabet bulletin board.

First Grade
It is a long standing Live Oak tradition that the first graders bring a schoolwide post office to life in the final unit of the year. Their guiding questions are: How do I use writing to communicate? How do I get better as a writer? During this unit students learn to identify the five parts of a letter (heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature) and the types of letters people write. Students write a friendly letter to a member of the school community and an invitation letter to someone for Grandparents and Special Friends Day. Students also learn to identify strategies for persuasion (logic, compromise, ultimatum). Everyone in the community participates and letters are delivered to adults and students alike. When letters are received there are smiles and excitement to write back. For children who have not been exposed to actual letter writing, it is a unique experience and one that benefits the whole community.

Second Grade
Second graders delve deep into reading and writing nonfiction. They work towards understanding how to read across a variety of nonfiction texts to learn about a topic and that nonfiction text includes features such as images, captions, diagrams, and glossaries that deepen their knowledge. In writing some of the learning goals include collecting information about a topic of their choice using a variety of sources such as books, expert interviews, photographs, observation, video, and internet, and categorizing their research to determine what is important and what is not. They write books about a topic of interest and create lab reports from the experiments they conduct in science.

Third Grade
In third grade, students continue to read nonfiction to learn about the world around them. They see reading as a tool for gaining knowledge and perspective. In writing, students work towards understanding the importance of seeing the world through another's perspective. In reading some of the learning goals are determining the importance in expository texts and synthesizing and growing ideas in nonfiction. In writing, students practice independent revising and editing, show understanding of sequencing, and using observations and information learned in Social Studies to add details to writing, and teaching about another person's culture.

Fourth Grade
In fourth grade, students engage in persuasive and opinion writing as they learn the basics of writing essays. They consider: How does an essay help us argue our opinions? How can we persuade others to pay attention to issues that matter? The goals of these units include creating thesis statements, using reasons and evidence to support their opinion, drafting an essay with a point of view and learning to revise an essay for clarity and depth. Students engage in all steps of the writing process to produce final drafts that show their effort, persistence, and unique ideas and opinions.

Fifth Grade
As our fifth graders near the end of their time in the lower school, they are celebrated. It is a long standing tradition for them to recognize their transition to middle school by giving speeches. Students study famous speeches given by admirable changemakers and dig deep within themselves to find the message they want to deliver to their audience. Learning goals for this occasion include writing a speech that establishes a strong theme supported by rich examples, revising and editing drafts to improve clarity and coherence, and engaging the audience with appropriate pace, volume, and eye contact.

Sixth Grade
In the fall of sixth grade, students embark on the first round of book clubs. The focus is on belonging and there are many diverse books to choose from. All of the characters face challenges and struggle to find their place in the world. One focus of this unit is change. Students graph belonging over the course of the stories. With support from their math teacher, they use their data and graphing skills to complete this cumulative assessment. In addition to their graphing skills, learning goals include reading comprehension, time management, collaboration and group work, and editing and revising.

Seventh Grade
In the fall, seventh graders explore identity and power in short stories. Through rich texts, students strive to understand that there is power in identity and that active reading and discussion helps us to dig under the surface of these texts to make meaning. Students lead group discussions, annotate texts, write compare/contrast responses, and create artifacts throughout this unit. Their literacy skills are pushed and stretched as they explore theme, incorporate feedback into their writing, and find justification for their opinions and perspectives in examples from the texts.

Eighth Grade
Throughout eighth grade, students engage in an ongoing poetry unit. They explore this form of expression and evaluate, analyze, and interpret texts using a variety of tools. Students also write their own poetry and receive feedback from their teacher and their peers using the Ladder of Feedback and other protocols. Using the writing process, students revise and edit their work. Many students discover the joy of reading and writing poetry. They come to see it as a form of writing that allows for expression and creativity.
Mathematics

“What does it mean to think like a mathematician?”

Kindergarten
In kindergarten, student study patterns and attributes as they explore questions that help them learn. Their questions include: How do I create, recognize, and extend patterns? Where do I see patterns in the world? What is an attribute? Using the NTCM standards, students sort, classify, identify and extend patterns throughout the unit. To make these ideas concrete and to incorporate play, patterns and attributes are investigated through dress up, thematic activities, books, and their own personal experiences.

First Grade
In first grade, students spend several weeks learning about operations and algebraic thinking. They learn the concepts of addition and subtraction, and use their understanding of place value and properties of operations to add and subtract within 20. Students also come to understand that mathematical thinking can be used to solve problems in real life situations. Students showcase their understanding by "Solving the Room," and/or other math games that allow them to select efficient strategies.

Second Grade
In second grade, students study measurement. The overarching goal of the unit is for students to understand the importance of standard units of measurement. They learn about customary units of linear measurement (inches, feet, yards), explore nonstandard units of linear measurement, and make reasonable estimates using observation and data. Students also solve problems with a narrative context, and measure distance, height, and length of familiar objects or people.

Third Grade
Through the concept of grouping, third graders study multiplication and division. During these units, students come to understand the effects of multiplying whole numbers and dividing whole numbers into smaller, equal-sized groups. They learn to represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division including word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities. They also solve problems involving the four operations, and identify and explain patterns. By the end of the unit, students have learned to multiple and divide within 100.

Fourth Grade
In fourth grade, student study geometry and investigate how math is present in the world. During the unit, students learn to recognize polygons and their attributes, they build their understanding of angle measurement through practice and identify lines of symmetry. Thinking critically to solve problems, students explore approximations and precision, perimeter of two dimensional shapes, and demonstrate their understanding of place value.

Fifth Grade
Over the course of two units, fifth graders explore and learn adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Students think about models and landmarks that are useful to understanding and extending their knowledge of fractions. Some of their learning goals are finding the missing value in an equation, solving story problems using fractions with unlike denominators, and using the standard multiplication algorithm to multiply 2-and 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers. Throughout the unit, students make posters to show their mathematical thinking and collaborate on small group projects to build their collective understanding.

Sixth Grade
Sixth graders begin the year with a unit on properties of numbers and data displays. Some of their understanding goals for the unit are understanding that measures of central tendency are different ways of generalizing data, quantities can be represented in different ways, and products are the result of two or more factors. Students create data displays and learn the properties of numbers. Working in small groups supports students to understand and share their own strategies for problem solving.

Seventh Grade
The third unit of seventh grade math is integer operations and transformations in the coordinate plane. Students explore how they can communicate mathematically and how math connects to the world around them. Students study aspects of graphing including subtraction as addition of the opposite and movement on the number line. They also learn that a number's opposite is its additive inverse and the concept of absolute value. The assessments for this unit include a Transformation Stop Motion Animation.

Eighth Grade
Eighth graders study exponential functions in the second trimester. Some of the questions that students pursue are: What rules can we use to simplify exponential expressions? How can we utilize these in our work with numbers in scientific notation? How can we make sense of large and small numbers by breaking them down into manageable quantities? During the unit students compare exponential and linear growth models, work with numbers in scientific notation, and apply exponential functions to real-life data such as the Richter scale and population growth. Assessments include quizzes, a unit test, and a problem of the week project focused on large and small numbers.
Social Studies

"How can I understand change?"

Kindergarten
In kindergarten, changemakers are defined, explored, and considered. Some of the questions asked in this unit are, What do changemakers do? How can I be a changemaker? Students learn that there are a variety of ways to make the world a better place. Throughout the unit, students participate in a variety of change-making activities, such as making signs around the neighborhood, conducting their own peaceful protest, and making dog toys for the SPCA.

First Grade
In first grade, students learn the importance of community and what it means to be a contributing member. A goal of this unit is that students will understand that there are many jobs and tools that are needed to make a school function. Students generate questions and interview the people that work in the school. From these interviews, students make connections to themselves and how these jobs impact their day-to-day life at school. As students gain an understanding of what it takes to achieve a functioning community, they see how they can impact it positively and productively.

Second Grade
In second grade, students participate in a songwriting unit that centers around supporting their communities. Students identify problems they see in our world and come up with possible solutions. Through several brainstorming sessions students will share out their ideas and then collaborate through songwriting across sections to create a song representing their vision for addressing these problems and making change.

Third Grade
In the spring of third grade, students study immigration. They explore the different ways that people immigrate to the United States and then create a poster that evokes an emotion that represents an immigration experience from a group they learned about. During this unit, members of our school community are invited into these classrooms to share their own immigration stories. They research and take notes on their nonfiction reading. They also identify the similarities and differences in communities and people around the world.

Fourth Grade
In fourth grade, students learn about social change in the last unit of the year. Students study key events in 1969 to understand what changemakers did to affect shifts in society. With a particular emphasis on California history, this unit captures what it means to change the world. The events include: Stonewall, protests of the Vietnam War, the protests that Cesar Chavez initiated, and the occupation of Alcatraz. Students compare and contrast these events with events in our world today through their research and class discussions. Students present their research and conclusions to the rest of the class.

Fifth Grade
In the fifth grade, students study The Great Migration through the lens of stories. Inspired by Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns, the fifth graders explore what stories our migration tells, how migration shapes our stories, and how stories carry our past, our present, and our hopes for a better future. They read folktales, nonfiction texts, and analyze the use of imagery and figurative language in Jacob Laurence's artwork. The culminating assessment includes students collecting oral stories, recording them, and using Scratch to create an animated version of the story.

Sixth Grade
In the fall of sixth grade, students dive into a cross-curricular study of San Francisco's change over time. For the math portion of this unit, students analyze the data they collected and graph the change over time. For the social studies aspects of the unit, students research the history of neighborhoods in the city, visit them, take pictures, and create maps. Using Rebecca's Solnit's "Infinite Atlas" as inspiration, the maps are correctly scaled but whimsical. Students also write vignettes from the standpoint of inanimate objects within these neighborhoods that tell the story of change over time.

Seventh Grade
Using the lens of resistance, seventh graders study worldwide colonialism. Some of the goals of the unit are: understanding that people throughout the world and throughout history have resisted colonialism and imperialism, colonialism and resistance have to do with power, identity, and belonging, and that resistance can take different forms. After learning about the belief systems of imperialism, colonialism, nationalism, and self-determination, students choose a resistance movement of their choice and create a podcast.

Eighth Grade
In the final unit of eighth grade humanities, students study intersectionality and voting. One of the understanding goals for the unit is that we must know what intersectionality means in order to understand and address inequities, and that we need to understand how different aspects of identity for marginalized groups compound and create a unique form of oppression. Students learn about the fight for and eventual ratification of the 19th Amendment and that the success of a democracy is dependent upon its definition of citizenship and how opportunities to participate in civic life are granted, protected, and chosen.
Science

“How do scientists look at the world to solve problems?”

Kindergarten
In the third trimester, kindergartners delve into the study of water and why we need it to survive. Students study the water cycle, displacement, and experiment with what sinks and what floats. The kindergartners create water books, learn about water changemakers, and build boats that will float.

First Grade
During the second trimester, first graders investigate local bridges and think about how people have solved problems of traveling around the bay. Students experiment with making their own bridges out of classroom materials to test weight, force, and gravity. Learning about the types and basic parts of bridges, they develop physical models of a suspension bridge to illustrate how its structures create support and strength.

Second Grade
In second grade, students dive deep into plant and animal adaptations. Through a lens of systems, structures and functions, the class learns about what plants and animals need to grow and survive, and how characteristics differentiate one species from another. Students explore patterns, design thinking - including prototyping - scientific vocabulary, data analysis, and observation. The unit culminates with final observations, sketches, and a birdhouse design project in the Changemaker Lab.

Third Grade
In the middle of third grade, the class embarks on a study of geology. This unit is well known in our school because the culminating project is a musical called "Geology Rocks!" During their studies, students gain experience with rocks and minerals. They use measuring tools to gather data about rocks as they hypothesize how to use geology to help others. Once they have collected data, they observe, describe, and record the properties of minerals ad organize them on the basis of the property of hardness. Students also travel to Devil's Slide to observe and learn about geology in action.

Fourth Grade
Fourth graders end the year with a study of generators, asking key questions including, How can we design systems for more sustainable energy solutions? Students use the design thinking cycle to apply scientific ideas to solve the problems of "burnable" energy sources. They learn collectively through failure that problem solvers work constantly to improve their designs. At the end of the unit, fourth graders reflect on their "aha" moments and offer advice for future design thinkers.

Fifth Grade
In the second trimester of fifth grade, students study vision and perception and learn how systems of the eye work and how that system connects to the world as a whole. Some of the questions they consider are: What is vision? What is perception? Working together on experiments, students test vision and recreate optical illusions. The culminating project is building pinhole cameras in the Changemaker Lab and testing their cameras on the roof to see what did and didn't work in their design process.

Sixth Grade
In sixth grade, students learn about plants, photosynthesis, and cycles of matter. Asking questions about the role that plants play in their lives, they learn about the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Students are guided to understand the structures of plants that support life on Earth and the role they play in the cycles of matter. Through research and Cornell notes, they learn the role of plants in the creation of our atmosphere, the process of transpiration, photosynthesis, and the carbon and nitrogen cycles. The final assessment is a detailed, illustrated, and creative depiction of the cycles of matter.

Seventh Grade
In seventh grade, students spend four weeks exploring epidemiology. Their unit-long question is, How do epidemiologist think like scientists to help people? The unit is a timely exploration of epidemics and pandemics. Students study different microbes, assessment strategies epidemiologists use to control outbreaks, and how different microbes behave and what their effects are on public health. Students use data to determine patient zero in a viral outbreak simulation, develop appreciation for different cultures around the world, and understand that epidemiologists from all over the world work together to save people.

Eighth Grade
In eighth grade, students study motion in the universe and ask, How can we change the motion of an asteroid headed toward Earth? They apply the concepts of motion and force to help understand the world and how they can help people. Students gather evidence to support their hypotheses and use contact forces to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two objects on a path for collision. They create experiments to determine the factors that affect the strength of electrostatic, magnetic, and gravitational forces. The culminating project is developing a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions of objects within the solar system, including that of the asteroid and Earth.
Social Emotional Learning

“How do I contribute to and build community?”

Kindergarten
In the "All About Me" unit, students explore how they are growing and changing and how a variety of experiences help them understand their similarities and differences with other people. Through stories, play, discussions, and activities, students learn about the things that connect us and the things that makes unique. For the culminating performance of understanding, students create a poster that illustrates (through art and writing) various aspects of self and family.

First Grade
First graders being the year by studying friendship and community. They consider what it means to be a good friend and community member and how they fill other people's "buckets". Students strive to understand why we need to be considerate of each other in order to function as a group and that when a conflict arises there are steps we can take to solve it. They also gain perspective on how we become friends with people because we share something in common (interests, goals, dreams) and we enjoy their company. The culminating project is a mural depicting their understanding of friendship.

Second Grade
Second graders spend time throughout the year focused on mindfulness. Students learn how to demonstrate awareness of their emotions. They work on understanding how their emotions may be the same or different from others. Other learning goals include identifying positive and negative consequences connected to behavior, describing things they do well (confidence), and what they need to be successful. By learning and practicing these goals, students are more able to make responsible choices.

Third - Fifth Grades
In third, fourth, and fifth grades, students begin to work with the CASEL wheel on the five competencies that make up the wheel: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making. Woven throughout the day and throughout the curriculum, students focus on learning to put these competencies into action. This is a framework for approaching social emotional learning that enables students to cultivate skills and environments that advance their learning and development.

Middle School
In Middle School, all students have an advisory that meets twice a week and uses the Responsive Classroom Advisory format. The purpose of advisory is to give students a "home base" and a touch point during their busy days. The leader of the advisory maintains a close relationship with their advisees and works with their parents when needed. In a group of 12-14 students, advisory is a place to build relationships and work on social emotional topics. The CASEL framework is used in advisory through activities and discussions such as Open Session which is a structured and safe way for students to bring concerns, events in their lives, and other issues they may be struggling with to a wider audience. It is anonymous and allows for other students to offer advice, connections, and support. Other goals of advisory are to support student-to-student affiliations, academic readiness, and strengthening the relationship of the advisor and the advisees.
Art

“Why is art important?”

Lower School
Across all grades, Live Oak’s art program encourages and inspires students to use and display their creativity. Skills practiced include drawing, tinting, creating clay pieces using slab techniques, and learning the difference between seeing and feeling as they produce work that reflects identity and sense of self. Students also reinforce their collaborative skills and develop accountability working with peers within the art framework. They are encouraged to constantly explore and build a sense of perseverance that comes with widening their art skills and awareness.

Middle School
In addition to making art, Live Oak’s program is concentrated on developing an appreciation and understanding of art across the globe, now and throughout history. The focus during these years is to understand how art and courage are linked, how to create a sense of movement in their work, and that art is a necessary and elemental modality for self-expression and for capturing the character of a given society. Through artist studies such as Marisol, Betye and Allison Saar, Kara Walker, and Etel Adnan students explore technique and inspiration. Engaging units like Afrofuturism and Street Art challenge to students to ask questions about and consider the role of art in a variety of contexts.
Drama

“How can I share my identity with the world?”

Middle School
Middle schoolers take drama through their three years. From drama enthusiasts, to intrepid beginners, all students support each other in taking chances and literally trying on new personas. From improv to marketing a play to applying make-up, students learn about and participate in all aspects of theatre, plays, and musicals. Students also have the option to participate in the school plays which take place twice a year. From tech to performing, students can find ways to be a part of the productions that are comfortable to them.
Music

“Where does our music come from and how does it tell our story?”

Lower School
In music, students learn that music tells a story. Students are given opportunities for self-expression throughout their musical education at Live Oak. Teachers strive to give students a joyful introduction to singing, instruments, and musical collaboration. Beats, patterns, and the roots of many genres are explored. Students also learn the basics of music notation.

Middle School
As students progress in their musical familiarity and skill, they delve into different kinds of music, different stories music tells, and the idea that music provides all of us with a chance to see ourselves and others in such a diverse discipline. Both the Lower School and the Middle School perform in festivals in the spring.
Spanish

“Why does learning and understanding another language lead to greater inclusion?”

Lower School
Students begin Spanish in the fourth grade. Introducing students through music, art, and physical movement allows them to enter into a new language with excitement and engagement.

Middle School
In middle school, students continue their language acquisition through different modalities. Music, physical movement, online platforms, videos, and group work are some of the strategies and practices that support students in growing their Spanish language skills. Some students who enter our middle school with a strong background in Spanish, either through immersion elementary instruction or bilingual home environments, take Immersion Spanish which includes literature, conversation, and a much deeper dive into the language.
Physical Education

“How does being a good teammate contribute to my community?”

Lower School
In PE, students learn what it means to work together, support each other, and push themselves to gain new skills and levels of fitness. While learning how to play many different sports and collaborative games, students are given the opportunities to gain communication skills and to learn what it means to be a good teammate.

Middle School
Students are allowed more and more autonomy as they grow and mature. Our PE teachers emphasize relationship building and students develop close connections to them throughout their nine years at Live Oak.
Design & Innovation

"How can I turn my ideas into reality to make the world more just?"

Kindergarten
Kindergarten is all about playfully exploring the world! Design projects include cardboard frames, block printing, stop motion animation, and building. Each project builds on skills and incorporates new tools. During the water unit, students make wooden boats in the ChangeMaker Lab and test them out at McLaren Park. To make their flotilla, they learned about using drills and wood glue as part of their design process.

First Grade
In first grade, design and innovation projects include building structures, block printing, designing and building tools to use in the Learning Garden, and light and sound explorations. Using recycled and found materials, first graders design and build their own musical instrument. They think about how sound is transmitted, the qualities of melody, and the nature of waves and vibrations.

Second Grade
Some of the first projects created in the ChangeMaker Lab allow students to investigate and reflect on their identities. Second graders create identity crowns to visually portray aspects of their identities as people and as learners that are not as visible. Students used pipe cleaners, fabric, markers, cardboard, and felt to create symbols to decorate their crowns. Once their crowns are complete, they share out their inspirations and what symbols represent.

Third Grade
Third graders explore the engineering and design cycle, and particularly how they can use design to support solutions to users' challenges. At the end of the year, they tackle a Shark Tank-inspired challenge where they create a prototype design that addresses a challenge they face, then pitch it to their classmates on how effective it is to address that issue.

Fourth Grade
Fourth graders approached their work in the ChangeMaker Lab as an extension to math. Students worked in partners to construct "wearables" for each other using their measuring skills and creativity in selecting materials from paper, tubes, and felt. When it comes time to bind their poetry books, they created incorporate fractions in designing covers for their books. At each stage, fourth graders solidify their identity as makers.

Fifth Grade
Fifth graders study vision, light, and perception as one of their science units. They build pinhole cameras in the ChangeMaker Lab to explore the structures that are similar and different to eyes in how they capture and project light. In this project they use their collaboration and problem solving skills to design and construct working pinhole cameras.

Sixth Grade
As part of their science unit on living systems, sixth graders design and nurture seedlings in self-watering planters. They practice using tools like drills and box cutters to make the planters, then observe how the plants grow over time.

Seventh Grade
The Mathematician Project is a cross-curricular project where students spend time in both humanities and math researching mathematicians such as Srinivasa Ramanujan, Cathleen Morawetz, Gottfried Leibniz, and Maryam Mirzakhani. This year’s iteration of the project involved time in the ChangeMaker Lab, where they created three-dimensional representations of their mathematician relating to their inventions, creations, beliefs, and lives.

Eighth Grade
Eighth graders collaboratively explore variables and thermodynamics, while also making connections to climate science through designing and testing greenhouses. They choose one variable to differ in the designs and note how it impacts the greenhouse's ability to store or dissipate heat.