Appendix
D: Summary of the Georgia
Quality Core Curricula
NCS plans
to adopt, in their entirety, all provisions of the GQCC appropriate to a K-5
elementary school. The following is a partial summary of key portions of the
GQCC standards and objectives:
Kindergarten
students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment to develop
oral language skills and an awareness of print materials as sources of
information and enjoyment. Kindergarten students will recognize and print
letters of the alphabet and develop phonemic awareness. Kindergarten students
will become effective communicators through listening, speaking, drawing,
writing, and using available technology.
First
grade students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment and use
print materials as sources of information and enjoyment. They will be provided
a balanced reading program including instruction in direct systematic explicit
and implicit phonics, syntactic and semantic relationships, sight vocabulary
development, and the use of quality children's literature. These students will
receive formal instruction in handwriting, and they will communicate ideas by
listening, speaking, writing, drawing, and using available technology.
Second
grade students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment that
includes classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selections. They will
be provided a balanced reading program including instruction in direct
systematic explicit and implicit phonics, syntactic and semantic relationships,
sight vocabulary development and the use of quality children's literature.
These students will expand their oral language skills by participating in
conversations and discussions. Through the writing process and personal
writing, students will effectively communicate ideas. The students will refine
their handwriting skills. Media materials and support, and available
technology, will be used as sources of information and pleasure.
Third
grade students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment that
includes classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selections. When
reading orally and silently, third grade students will integrate phonetic
strategies, a knowledge of syntactic and semantic relationships, and sight
vocabulary to refine their comprehension skills. They will continue to expand
their oral language skills by participating in conversations and discussions.
Through the writing process, personal writing and research, the students will
effectively communicate ideas. These students will receive direct instruction
in cursive handwriting, while continuing to refine their manuscript handwriting
skills. Students will use media materials and available technology as sources
of information and pleasure.
Fourth
grade students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment that
includes classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selections. When
reading orally and silently, they will integrate phonetic strategies, a
knowledge of syntactic and semantic relationships, and sight vocabulary to
refine their comprehension skills. These students will continue to improve
their oral communication skills by participating in conversations and discussions;
by responding to literal, inferential and evaluative questions; and by using
oral language to inform, persuade and entertain. Through the writing process
and personal writing, fourth grade students will write in a variety of genres
such as personal narratives, imaginative stories, responses to literature, and
content area pieces. Students will receive direct instruction in grammar and
usage skills and will begin to use a systematic research process. Handwriting,
both manuscript and cursive, will continue to be refined. Media materials and
support, and available technology, will be used as sources of information and
pleasure.
Fifth
grade students at NCS will be immersed in a literature-rich environment that
includes classic and contemporary fiction and nonfiction selections. When
reading orally and silently, they will integrate phonetic strategies, a
knowledge of syntactic and semantic relationships and sight vocabulary to
refine their comprehension skills. These students will continue to improve
their oral communication skills by participating in conversations and
discussions, by responding to literal, inferential and evaluative questions;
and by using oral language to inform, to persuade and to entertain. Through the
writing process and personal writing, fifth grade students will write in a
variety of genres such as personal narratives, imaginative stories, responses
to literature, and content area pieces. Students will receive direct
instruction in grammar and usage skills and will begin to use a systematic
research process. Handwriting, both manuscript and cursive, will continue to be
refined. Media materials and support, and available technology, will be used as
sources of information and pleasure.
NCS adopts
the state’s Mathematics Quality Core Curriculum and its vision of
mathematics well suited to meet the diverse needs of the likely student
population of NCS and other intown Atlanta neighborhoods. The QCC represents
high academic standards across a broad spectrum of mathematical topics. It
establishes the basis for a challenging program of study that will increase
student achievement in mathematics. The QCC content standards will be expanded
and enhanced as the NCS curriculum evolves, as detailed elsewhere in this document
and the NCS petition, but will not be deleted or replaced.
NCS adopts
the vision of the Mathematics QCC that students become avid mathematical
problem solvers, communicate
mathematically
(listen, speak, read, write, and reflect), reason mathematically using basic and higher-order
thinking skills concurrently, and make connections within mathematics as well as
between mathematics and other disciplines.
The
mathematical topics are organized by strands: Estimation, Fractions &
Decimals, Geometry & Spatial Sense, Measurement, Number Sense &
Numeration, Patterns & Relationships, Problem Solving, Statistics &
Probability, Whole Number Computation, and Whole Number Operation. These
strands extend throughout the K-12 Mathematics QCC, and NCS’s adoption of
standards will ensure continuity and a smooth transition across elementary,
middle, and high school programs.
The
Mathematics QCC is designed to support teachers as they instructionally
maximize each child's mathematical experiences. NCS teachers will be urged to
provide for movement through the curriculum regardless of a student's current
grade level. NCS recognizes that the use of concrete objects (manipulatives)
and visual models is vital for students to understand concepts and explore
processes. Knowledge acquisition requires a transition from concrete, through
pictorial, to the more abstract for all students at all levels and ages.
NCS will
incorporate technology in instruction to empower its students to keep pace with
the information age and to enhance and provide flexibility in the learning
environment. Calculators and computers are essential tools for learning and
doing mathematics at all grade levels. NCS students should be able to solve
practical problems, investigate patterns, explore strategies, and focus on the
process of solving problems rather than on tedious computation unrelated to
applications.
Social
Studies education at NCS will be designed to help students become productive
and responsible citizens. The QCC Social Studies objectives fit precisely with
NCS’s stated commitments to community empowerment, diversity and the
educational value of a richly varied and multifaceted student population. As
envisioned by the QCC standards, the NCS curriculum will enable students to
develop the ability to make informed decisions that balance concern for
individual interests and the public good in a culturally diverse and
interdependent world. The community-based programs and community leadership
development efforts of NCS, as well as the parental and community governance
envisioned in the NCS charter will serve as vivid demonstrations of the very
objectives of the QCC. Through the charter itself, NCS will teach its students
the importance of shared decision making, respect for diverse cultures and the
value of a shared social compact.
Exemplary
Social Studies instruction provides opportunities for students to acquire
knowledge, reflect upon and use that knowledge, and gain a better understanding
of self and others. The NCS Social Studies program will include the study of
geography, history, political science, economics, behavioral sciences, and the
humanities.
NCS will
adopt the three major elements that comprise the Social Studies guidelines as
established by state and national organizations: knowledge (what students need
to know about various social sciences and related disciplines), skills (what
students should be able to do with acquired knowledge and skills), and values.
Social Studies instruction should be meaningful, integrative across teaching
and learning, value-based and challenging. Through such a process, students
will develop the necessary knowledge, skills and values of a committed,
competent citizen who participates in the civic affairs of the community and
nation. Key social studies skills necessary for the proper integration,
application and development of content, skills and constructive attitudes will
be incorporated into NCS’s curriculum objectives. The social studies
skills are divided into five basic areas: (1) Information Processing, (2)
Problem Solving, (3) Civic Participation, (4) Time and Chronology, and (5) Map
and Globe.
Following
are general Social Studies objectives and standards for each NCS grade level:
Kindergarten: Myself, My Family, My World
The focus
of the QCC kindergarten program is on the student and the student's interaction
with family, peer group, school, and community. The study includes the
importance of rules, existence of needs and wants, and introduction of national
symbols and holidays.
First
Grade: Families
and Cultures of North America
The
focus of the first grade program is the study of North American families with a
special emphasis on the United States. Other themes include wants and needs,
transportation and communication, rules, citizenship responsibilities, and
national symbols.
Second
Grade: Cultures
and Customs Now and Then
This
course is designed to examine the interaction of people with their geographic
environments. Themes include impact of climate and natural resources on how
people meet their basic needs and wants. The following groups are studied:
Plains and Eastern Woodlands American Indians, Early American Settlers, and
Modern Day Residents of Australia and Japan. Other topics include flag
etiquette and beginning economic concepts such as producers and consumers.
Third
Grade: Communities
Third
graders study communities - rural, urban, suburban, mountain, desert and
coastal. The origin and development of the local community is a major component
of this study. Organizing themes include geography, economic development,
technological changes, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Pertinent objectives about Georgia have been integrated as appropriate.
Fourth
Grade: The Early
Development of the United States
This
course begins with an overview of comparative regions of the United States. The
major focus then shifts to an investigation of the geographic, historical,
economic, civic, and cultural development of the early United States. A
historical chronology of the growth of America will serve as the organizing
theme of this study. Rights and responsibilities of citizens will be
emphasized. Georgia history is integrated within the units during appropriate
sequencing of events.
Fifth
Grade: The United
States Through Modern Times
The
fifth grade continues the study of the development of the United States. The
new curriculum incorporates the geographic, historical, economic, civic, and
cultural development of the United States through modern times. Georgia history,
as it pertains to the development of the United States, should be integrated
throughout fifth grade studies. NCS adopts the QCC standards that instruction
in the Civil War and Reconstruction be included in this study if they were not
presented at the fourth grade level.
At each
grade level, NCS adopts the three major strands of the Science QCC: physical
science, life science and earth/space science, as well as content standards
dealing with science, technology and society. As permitted by the QCC, the
strands will be integrated into the evolving Zoo Atlanta curriculum to be
adopted by NCS.
NCS will
adopt the objectives in each grade for science inquiry and processes, reference
skills, safety and tools used in science. Using the Zoo Atlanta program and
other teaching components, these objectives will be integrated into the
instructional activities addressing these concepts and content standards rather
than taught in isolation.
Science
develops thinking, problem-solving, and lifelong learning skills. Science
process and inquiry skills are essential to the development of skills necessary
to live interesting, responsible and productive lives. Science instruction
lends itself to integration with other subject areas and can generate student
interest and motivation for all subject areas. Students should be actively
engaged in the learning process via hands-on/minds-on science activities and
experiences.
Health and
Physical Education are lifelong processes, which are the shared responsibility
of the student, home, school, and community. The Health and Physical Education
programs at NCS will provide each student with the information and skills
necessary to be active and healthy. Students have opportunities to practice and
apply skills and knowledge learned. Through these programs, students are
provided a foundation to be healthy and motivated to participate in physical
activity in a variety of school and community settings.
NCS adopts
the QCC standard and objectives for character education, and through its unique
community-based curriculum and outreach efforts will focus on the 27 character
traits contained in state standards: courage, patriotism, citizenship, honesty,
fairness, respect for others, kindness, cooperation, self-respect, self-control,
courtesy, compassion, tolerance, diligence, generosity, punctuality, cleanliness,
cheerfulness, school pride, respect for the environment, respect for the creator,
patience, creativity, sportsmanship, loyalty, perseverance, and virtue.