Course Description:

The Kindergarten and First Grade Math course is designed to introduce young learners to foundational mathematical concepts and develop their problem-solving skills. Through hands-on activities, games, and real-world applications, students will develop a strong number sense, critical thinking abilities, and a solid foundation for future mathematical learning.

Course Objectives:

1. Number Sense: Students will develop an understanding of numbers, counting, and number relationships. They will learn to recognize and write numbers, count objects, and understand basic operations such as addition and subtraction.

2. Measurement and Data: Students will explore measurement concepts such as length, weight, and capacity. They will also learn to collect and analyze data, and interpret simple graphs and charts.

3. Geometry: Students will identify and describe basic shapes, explore spatial relationships, and develop an understanding of symmetry and patterns.

4. Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Students will develop problem-solving skills and learn to solve simple addition and subtraction problems. They will also explore patterns, sorting, and basic algebraic concepts.

5. Mathematical Reasoning: Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills through hands-on activities, puzzles, and logical reasoning tasks.

Teaching Methods:

The course will utilize a variety of teaching methods to engage students and cater to different learning styles. Teachers will incorporate hands-on manipulatives, visual aids, technology, and interactive games to make math concepts tangible and accessible. Group work, discussions, and individualized instruction will be used to support student learning and promote collaboration.

Assessment:

Assessment will be ongoing and varied, including observations, informal assessments, and formal assessments such as quizzes and performance tasks. These assessments will provide feedback to students and parents on progress and areas for growth. Teachers will use assessment data to inform instruction and differentiate learning experiences to meet the needs of all students.

Core Connections:
Courses 2 and 3 are the second part of a three-year sequence of courses, compressed into two years, designed to prepare students for a rigorous college preparatory high school mathematics course.

On a daily basis, students in Core Connections, Course 2 use problem-solving strategies, questioning, investigating, analyzing critically, gathering and constructing evidence, and communicating rigorous arguments justifying their thinking. Under teacher guidance, students learn in collaboration with others while sharing information, expertise, and ideas. The course helps students to develop multiple strategies to solve problems and to recognize the connections between concepts. The lessons in the course meet all of the content standards and embed the “Mathematical Practices” of the Common Core State Standards released in June 2010. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

- Use integers and complete operations with integers and rational numbers, including using the Order of Operations.
- Use diagrams and equal ratios to represent part-whole relationships.
- Use percents and scale factors to determine percent increase or decrease, discounts, and markups.
- Use variable expressions to represent quantities in contextual problems.
- Simplify variable expressions by combining like terms and using the Distributive Property.
- Solve linear equations, including those with fractional coefficients and those with no solutions or infinitely many solutions.
- Solve and graph one-variable inequalities.
- Compare experimental and theoretical probabilities.
- Distinguish between dependent and independent events and calculate the probability of compound independent events.
- Represent probabilities of multiple events using systemic lists, area models, or tree diagrams.
- Design, conduct, and analyze surveys.
- Collect and compare data and describe the distribution of sets of data.
- Solve distance, rate, and time problems.
- Compare ratios and calculate unit rates.
- Recognize and solve problems involving proportional relationships.
- Recognize and use the properties of similar figures and scale factors to solve problems.
- Describe angles, angle pairs, and their measures.
- Compute area and perimeter of standard and compound shapes.
- Compute the volume of a variety of solids.

Course 3:

- Solve contextual word problems using multiple strategies, including making tables, looking for patterns, drawing diagrams, and creating a table of guesses to assist with writing and solving a variable equation.
- Represent data using scatterplots and describe associations.
- Collect and analyze data and make predictions based on the trend of the data.
- Recognize and solve problems involving proportional relationships.

Precalculus meets all of the standards for a Common Core 4th Year high school math course, and includes an introduction to calculus with functions, graphs, limits, area under a curve, and rates of change. The course is designed similarly to the CPM Core Connections courses. On a daily basis, students work collaboratively with others as they use problem-solving strategies, complete investigations, gather evidence, critically analyze results, and communicate clear and effective arguments while justifying their thinking.

This course provides a qualitative introduction to modern astronomy. The topics include a brief history of astronomy, the tools of astronomy, the solar system, fundamental properties of radiation, astronomical measurements, stellar evolution, supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, and an introduction to cosmology. This course is intended for students who are not majoring in science as a broad-based introduction to astronomy and astrophysics.

Fall: The semester began with the students learning about and incorporating the scientific method into understanding the biological world around them as scientists do in their work. Students worked on the eight characteristics of living things and then wrote a response to “Are viruses living or non-living using some or all of the 8 characteristics of living things to justify their response to the question”. Students then shared their opinions with each other through open discussion. The students explored the organization of life and types of cells through the interactive website “cellsalive.com” and the teacher generated graphic organizer to collect information about plant and animal cells. Students were given a cell project/extension to help guide them towards mastery of the different cell organelles. Students were given choices to answer the prompt, “Name and describe the function of the cell organelles” by: a) Composing a song/rap/poem, b) Composing an interCELLactic voyage story, c) Composing and illustrating a comic strip, or d) Composing a cell catalog. For the end of the semester project, the students researched and put a slide presentation together on one of the macromolecules of living things assigned: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids, and Nucleic Acids.

Spring: This semester, the students explored the human body systems including: the Digestive, Circulatory, Respiratory, Excretory, Endocrine, and Nervous Systems. In addition, the students also studied the process of the cell cycle and cell reproduction (mitosis) on the cellular level. Students were given a project to assess their understanding of the various organ systems, and to present their work to the class. The students were given three scenarios to choose from, along with a graphic organizer, and a presentation rubric to help them organize their thoughts and to formulate questions to ask of each other's project. This semester also included the practice skill of reading scientific text for information.

Key Learning Objectives:

Fall: Scientific Method, Characteristics of Living Things, Organization of Life, Types of Cells, Cell Organelles, and Macromolecules.

Spring: Digestive, Circulatory, Respiratory, Excretory, Endocrine, and Nervous Systems, Cell Cycle, Mitosis, and Meiosis

Fall: The Fall semester began with the history of chemistry leading to how chemists study the natural world through the process of inquiry utilizing the scientific method. Students learned about the history of the atom in the atomic theory unit and got to “Indirectly Measure the Atom” as Rutherford did in his historic experiment to determine that the atom is mostly empty space. The students have been working on the metric system, conversions, significant figures, and scientific notation in order to prepare them for more advanced equations and problem solving in up-coming chemistry units (moles, molarity). The last semester topic covered was the trends in the periodic table in which students connected the introductory lessons on atoms, and why they react with each other based on their molecular characteristics.

Spring: This semester, the students continued to explore chemical interactions with molecules through the various types of bonding. The topics covered in bonding included: Lewis Structures, Polar Covalent Bonds, Nonpolar Covalent Bonds, Ionic Bonds, Metallic Bonds, and Intermolecular Forces. Next, the last unit exposed the students to utilizing both the qualitative and quantitative nature of moles in chemical reactions.

Key Objectives

Fall: Lab Safety, Scientific Method, Atomic Theory, Metric System, Conversions, Significant Figures, Scientific Notation, Periodic Table, and Introduction to Moles

Spring: Types of Bonding, Lewis Structures, Polar Covalent Bonds, Nonpolar Covalent Bonds, Ionic Bonds, Metallic Bonds, Intermolecular Forces, Moles, and Molarity.

Students will work on executive functioning skills of planning, organization and time management through projects, and presentations. Teacher will work with students 1:1, along with supplying rubrics, and checklists.

The fall semester in Chemistry II began with laboratory safety, which the students investigated through short videos, and guided questions. The students then explored chemistry safety through a project on one of the world’s worst chemical disasters, and presented their findings to the class. Chemistry II continued with a review of the periodic table, Lewis structures, polar covalent bonds, nonpolar covalent bonds, ionic bonds, metallic bonds, and intermolecular forces to prepare them for the upcoming topic on moles and calculating moles in various chemical processes. The last topic covered for the semester was the unit on solutions that involved the various types of solutions, their calculations through molarity, and analyzing graphs on solubility curves.

The spring semester in Chemistry II began with the introduction to the gas laws, which the students investigated through short videos, and guided questions. The students then explored the gas laws in depth starting with Boyle’s Law, leading to Charles's Law, and finishing with Gay Lussac’s Law. The students then formulated the combined gas law equation from the former individual gas laws and solved various gas problems through manipulation of the combined gas law equation. Students then compared the combined gas law equation to the ideal gas law equation to identify the differences in how ideal gases behave from real gases. Chemistry II continued with the study of various topics including solids, energy and states of matter, and nuclear chemistry.

Key Objectives:

Fall: Review of: Periodic Table, Lewis Structures, Polar and Nonpolar Covalent Bonds, Ionic Bonds, Metallic Bonds, Intermolecular Forces, and Moles

Spring: Introduction to the Gas Laws, Boyle's Law, Charles's Law, Gay Lussac's Law, Combined Gas Law, Ideal Gas Law, Solid Compounds, Energy and States of Matter, and Nuclear Chemistry

Students will work on executive functioning skills of planning, organization and time management through projects, and presentations. Teacher will work with students 1:1, along with supplying rubrics, and checklists.

Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres: the biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere (or lithosphere). Earth science can be considered to be a branch of planetary science, but with a much older history.

Minerals, Rock Cycle, Weathering and Erosion, Running Water and Ground Water, Glaciers, Deserts, and Wind, Earthquakes, Tectonic Plates, Volcanoes, Geologic Time, Motions of the Earth, Moon and Sun.

Fall: The Fall semester of Environmental Science began with a review of the scientific method, leading into the various topics covered in this course including: history of man and the environment, tragedy of the commons, biotic /abiotic factors, food chain vs food web, primary succession, secondary succession, and the start of the unit on biodiversity.

Spring: The spring semester of Environmental Science included the following topics including: Populations, Water, Air Pollution, Renewable/Nonrenewable Energy, and Land Use. Many class discussions on how each topic's knowledge fits together in understanding the role humans play interacting with the environment.

Key Objectives:

Fall: Scientific Method, History of Man and the Environment, Tragedy of the Commons, Biotic /Abiotic Factors, Food Chain vs Food Web, Primary Succession, Secondary Succession, and Biodiversity.

Spring: Populations, Water, Air Pollution, Renewable/Nonrenewable Energy, and Land Use.

Students will work on executive functioning skills of planning, organization and time management through projects, and presentations. Teacher will work with students 1:1, along with supplying rubrics, and checklists.

Fall: The fall semester of Molecular Biology began with the review of topics including: eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and organelles, classical genetics, the structure of DNA, cell cycle, DNA replication, RNA transcription and translation, the operon, cell transformation, and the start of restriction endonuclease enzymes.

Spring: The spring semester of Molecular Biology began with the following topics including: electrophoresis, molecular cloning, PCR, bioinformatics, tyrosine kinase and cancer, and immunology.

Fall: Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cells, Organelles, Classical Genetics, Structure of DNA, Cell Cycle, DNA Replication, RNA Transcription and Translation, Operon, Cell Transformation, and Restriction Endonuclease Enzymes.

Spring: Electrophoresis, Molecular Cloning, PCR, Bioinformatics, Tyrosine Kinase and Cancer, and Immunology.

In this course, and matching with The Lang school mission, we will study physics from the ground up, learning the basic principles of physical laws, their application to the behavior of objects, and the use of the scientific method in driving advances in this knowledge. This course will cover the area of physics known as classical mechanics. Classical mechanics is the study of motion based on the physics of Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton. While mathematics is the language of physics, you will only need to be familiar with basic algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, we will study the units, motion in one and two dimensions, speed and velocity, projectile motion, force, work, energy, momentum and the concept of angular motion.

This course provides a qualitative introduction to modern astronomy. The topics include a brief history of astronomy, the tools of astronomy, the solar system, fundamental properties of radiation, astronomical measurements, stellar evolution, supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, and an introduction to cosmology. This course is intended for students who are not majoring in science as a broad-based introduction to astronomy and astrophysics.

Second and third grade science.

Recording data in words and pictures

Reading a map

Drawing conclusions

Recognizing patterns

Comparing and contrasting

Asking questions

Visualizing

Theorizing

Evaluating theories

Our Science curriculum is based on units from Mystery Science. We study a variety of science topics from the 4th and 5th curricula. Science units cover topics in life science, physical science, and earth science. Examples include human body systems, electricity, astronomy, Earth changes, and life cycles. Key learning goals in Idlewild Science include data collection, organizing information in graphs and tables, supporting claims with evidence, following lab procedures safely, and using the scientific method.

Course Description:

The Kindergarten and First Grade Science course is designed to foster curiosity and develop a foundational understanding of scientific concepts in young learners. Through hands-on exploration, observation, and inquiry-based activities, students will develop scientific thinking skills and engage in age-appropriate investigations across various scientific domains.

Course Objectives:

1. Life Science: Students will explore the characteristics of living things, including plants and animals. They will learn about basic needs, life cycles, and the interdependence of living organisms.

2. Physical Science: Students will investigate the properties of matter, such as color, shape, and texture. They will explore concepts of light and sound, forces and motion, and simple machines.

3. Earth and Space Science: Students will develop an understanding of the Earth's features, including landforms, weather patterns, and the water cycle. They will also explore the solar system and the patterns of day and night.

4. Scientific Inquiry: Students will develop skills in asking questions, making observations, and conducting simple investigations. They will learn to record and communicate their findings using age-appropriate methods.

Teaching Methods:

The course will utilize a variety of teaching methods to engage students and promote active learning. Teachers will incorporate hands-on experiments, demonstrations, nature walks, and interactive discussions to make science concepts tangible and accessible. Students will be encouraged to ask questions, make predictions, and draw conclusions based on their observations.

Assessment:

Assessment will be ongoing and varied, including observations, informal assessments, and projects. Students may be assessed through their participation in experiments, completion of science journals, and oral presentations. These assessments will provide feedback to students and parents on progress and areas for growth. Teachers will use assessment data to inform instruction and tailor learning experiences to meet the needs of all students.

This course aims to equip students with the fundamental concepts of logic and algorithmic thinking, laying the foundation for their understanding of computer programming. Through engaging hands-on activities and interactive projects, students will learn how to break down problems into smaller, more manageable steps, design solutions using algorithms, and apply their knowledge to create their own computer programs.

Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Define and apply basic logical concepts, including truth tables, propositional logic, and Boolean operators.
- Understand the concept of an algorithm and its role in computer programming.
- Develop algorithms to solve simple computational problems.
- Apply algorithmic thinking skills to design and implement computer programs using a block-based programming language or text-based language like Python.
- Demonstrate problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity in approaching and solving computational problems.

This introductory course aims to provide high school students with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of computer programming, including algorithmic thinking, logic, control flow, and data types. Through hands-on programming exercises and real-world applications, students will learn how to design and implement computer programs using a modern programming language, such as Python or Java. The course emphasizes problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity in approaching computational problems.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Define and apply basic algorithmic thinking concepts to break down problems into smaller, manageable steps.
- Understand and apply fundamental logic principles, including propositional logic and Boolean operators.
- Implement control flow structures, such as conditional statements and loops, to control the execution of programs.
- Work with various data types, including integers, floats, strings, and characters, to represent information in computer programs.
- Design and write structured and well-documented programs using a modern programming language.
- Debug and correct syntax and logic errors in their programs.
- Apply programming skills to solve real-world problems and create simple computational applications.

This advanced course aims to provide high school students with a comprehensive understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP) principles and methodologies using the Java programming language. Through in-depth theoretical concepts and hands-on coding exercises, students will learn the core tenets of OOP, including classes, objects, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. The content of the course aligns with the Computer Science A (CSA) AP exam.

Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Explain and apply fundamental OOP concepts, including classes, objects, methods, and inheritance.
- Design and implement classes with appropriate attributes and methods to model real-world entities.
- Understand and utilize inheritance to create hierarchies of classes and share common code among related classes.
- Apply polymorphism to design flexible and reusable code that can handle different types of objects.
- Implement abstraction to hide internal implementation details and create interfaces for efficient code organization.
- Master the syntax and semantics of the Java programming language to write well-structured, efficient, and maintainable code.
- Solve complex programming problems using OOP techniques and apply their knowledge to real-world applications.

The language acquisition incorporates cultural and historical aspects of the francophone world from which the student will be able to understand very simple sentences about daily life if someone speaks to them slowly and clearly. They will learn how to introduce themselves, to describe their family and their environment and to talk about their tastes, hobbies and events using the present tense. They will be able to write a short email or a postcard. The skills will allow them to respond to simple and practical things.

By an instruction based on a cultural and historical aspects of the francophone world, the student will be able to understand very simple sentences about familiar subjects in daily life. They will grasp what a conversation is about, participate in a simple exchange and understand the key information in a short article or written document.

They will learn to speak about their daily life and express their feelings and opinions and apply their skills so that they can manage in shops and in situations such as at the railway station.