Common Ground | Curriculum

ACTIVE, AUTHENTIC LEARNING

…is woven through our courses

Common Ground’s curriculum has been designed to foster authentic learning – learning that is real, relevant, and meaningful for students – in an intensive, college-prep environment. We see no tradeoff between academic rigor and student engagement, consistently high expectations and individual support, environmental learning and state standards. All of these things are essential pieces of the educational puzzle. All of our classes are rooted in Connecticut Standards of Learning, and help students achieve on important tests like the CAPT and SAT. But rather than focusing just on skill-and-drill learning, we push our students to take on real problems and projects, work in teams, and perform for real audiences. We believe that this is the best route to student success in a high-stakes environment.

Our students are active learners every day. Imagine studying:

Literature while you… retrace the hikes taken by Romantic writers like Thoreau and Emerson
Science while you… investigate the environmental health of your neighborhood
History, while you…collect oral histories of New Haven residents
Math, while you… develop a computer spreadsheet on the water flow of an urban river

Block classes – taught by two teachers, and combining two academic subjects – help us keep the focus on authentic, challenging learning. Block classes offered at Common Ground include:

Architecture, which and uses American architecture as a medium for teaching geometry and U.S. history.
Four Corners, an English and history course in which students study and document the past and present status of New Haven’s neighborhoods.
Bioinventory, rooted in West Rock Park, and developing a deep understanding of local flora, fauna, and ecosystem processes.
Environmental Justice, an upper-level science and social studies course that focuses on the environmental challenges facing low-income and urban communities.
Power, which combines physics and political science to understand energy policy issues in the United States.
Africa, which links the study of literature and social studies to understand the history and current status of this continent.
Harvest, a Spanish and Biology course that uses the school’s garden as its primary learning laboratory.
Egg & Seed, in which students learn embryology and plant growth & development by following the life cycle of chickens and garden plants.

Core academic courses teach essential skills and knowledge, while connecting to school-wide environmental themes. Common Ground offers a surprisingly large variety of courses, given its small size:

· English courses include intensive readers’ and writers’ workshops, along with literature courses including short stories, American literature, British literature, African literature, multicultural literature, monster literature, poetry, drama, and senior writing.

· Math courses range from fundamentals through pre-calculus, demanding that students demonstrate their learning on the same placement tests used by college math departments before moving to the next level. Students ready for additional upper-level math content are linked to classes at local universities.

· Science classes include year-long courses in biology, environmental science, and chemistry/physics. Students also take Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Ecology, and Scientific Research courses, along with a number of team-taught interdisciplinary courses that focus on the local environment.

· The Social Studies curriculum includes a year-long U.S. history sequence; world history courses on Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean; Civics and Advanced Civics courses; and a range of social science electives: economics, women’s studies, writing about social issues, etc.

· The foreign language curriculum offers students an opportunity to learn spoken and written Spanish, from Spanish 1 through literature courses. Students who wish to study another language are connected with opportunities off-campus.

· Physical education and site courses that focus in on personal fitness, nutrition, health, and maintenance of the school site.

· Art courses that develop students’ skills in painting, drawing, stop animation, and a variety of other media.


	Curriculum ACTIVE, AUTHENTIC LEARNING …is woven through our courses Common Ground’s curriculum has been designed to foster authentic learning – learning that is real, relevant, and meaningful for students – in an intensive, college-prep environment. We see no tradeoff between academic rigor and student engagement, consistently high expectations and individual support, environmental learning and state standards. All of these things are essential pieces of the educational puzzle. All of our classes are rooted in Connecticut Standards of Learning, and help students achieve on important tests like the CAPT and SAT. But rather than focusing just on skill-and-drill learning, we push our students to take on real problems and projects, work in teams, and perform for real audiences. We believe that this is the best route to student success in a high-stakes environment. Our students are active learners every day. Imagine studying: Literature while you… retrace the hikes taken by Romantic writers like Thoreau and Emerson Science while you… investigate the environmental health of your neighborhood History, while you…collect oral histories of New Haven residents Math, while you… develop a computer spreadsheet on the water flow of an urban river Block classes – taught by two teachers, and combining two academic subjects – help us keep the focus on authentic, challenging learning. Block classes offered at Common Ground include: Architecture, which and uses American architecture as a medium for teaching geometry and U.S. history. Four Corners, an English and history course in which students study and document the past and present status of New Haven’s neighborhoods. Bioinventory, rooted in West Rock Park, and developing a deep understanding of local flora, fauna, and ecosystem processes. Environmental Justice, an upper-level science and social studies course that focuses on the environmental challenges facing low-income and urban communities. Power, which combines physics and political science to understand energy policy issues in the United States. Africa, which links the study of literature and social studies to understand the history and current status of this continent. Harvest, a Spanish and Biology course that uses the school’s garden as its primary learning laboratory. Egg & Seed, in which students learn embryology and plant growth & development by following the life cycle of chickens and garden plants. Core academic courses teach essential skills and knowledge, while connecting to school-wide environmental themes. Common Ground offers a surprisingly large variety of courses, given its small size: · English courses include intensive readers’ and writers’ workshops, along with literature courses including short stories, American literature, British literature, African literature, multicultural literature, monster literature, poetry, drama, and senior writing. · Math courses range from fundamentals through pre-calculus, demanding that students demonstrate their learning on the same placement tests used by college math departments before moving to the next level. Students ready for additional upper-level math content are linked to classes at local universities. · Science classes include year-long courses in biology, environmental science, and chemistry/physics. Students also take Advanced Placement Environmental Science, Ecology, and Scientific Research courses, along with a number of team-taught interdisciplinary courses that focus on the local environment. · The Social Studies curriculum includes a year-long U.S. history sequence; world history courses on Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean; Civics and Advanced Civics courses; and a range of social science electives: economics, women’s studies, writing about social issues, etc. · The foreign language curriculum offers students an opportunity to learn spoken and written Spanish, from Spanish 1 through literature courses. Students who wish to study another language are connected with opportunities off-campus. · Physical education and site courses that focus in on personal fitness, nutrition, health, and maintenance of the school site. · Art courses that develop students’ skills in painting, drawing, stop animation, and a variety of other media.