Learning at Silver Oaks

An education at Silver Oaks Cooperative School is hands-on, outdoors-inspired, thematic, and fun. Teachers collaborate, create, and implement tailored units for our community of children and families based. Above all, learning is student-centered, based on leading practices from around the world, and developmentally appropriate.

Reading

In the early grades, children at Silver Oaks cultivate a love of literacy and develop important building blocks for the future. Our classrooms are ripe with magical stories, exciting new facts, varied opportunities for learning and exploration, and so much more. We use hands-on activities to promote self-sufficiency, develop fine motor skills, and appeal to the senses. The children are immersed in a stimulating environment that guides them through the natural ebb and flow of childhood learning.   

In the upper grades, children at Silver Oaks share and explore their passion for literature by asking questions, holding discussions, and writing their ideas in journals and essays. We research topics of interest and embrace reading as a powerful tool for learning.

Components of Silver Oak’s Literacy Program:

• Interactive Read Alouds (K-5th): Children practice understanding, analyzing, and evaluating texts, applying new understanding, and creating new ideas with their teachers as the teacher reads a book aloud to the class and stops at strategic points for discussion.

• Reader’s Workshop (K-5th): Children work independently or in small groups on a center (a game, reading, reading response, or other literacy activity) while the teacher works with a small group on print concepts, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and/or vocabulary through small group activities, group reading, or a book discussion.

• Thematic Projects: Every month, children work on a thematic project that culminates in a performance or special experience. Some thematic projects that we’ve done are:

  • Saplings Happening Podcast: Each Fall, second graders research a Maryland forest animal and write and create a podcast based on their research.

  • Annual Poetry Party: All classes study poetry in the month of April, culminating in live performances of original poetry at an annual event.

  • Boat Engineering: This year, Kindergarten designed and build boats to test out in the creek.

• Daily Phonics Instruction (K-3rd): Children practice phonemic awareness, letter sounds, decoding, and dictation.

• Weekly Word Work & Grammar (2nd-5th): Children learn word and sentence structure as they tackle more challenging words and text.

• Handwriting Practice (K-5)

Math

Math is an integral part of everyday life. We observe, experience, and use math in art, architecture, stories, music, money, nature, and so much more. Accordingly, math in the classroom should appeal to the child’s every day experiences, and prepare them for a life-long relationship with math. Math competency can be broken into five main components:

1. Number Sense - Understanding the number system and how to compose and decompose numbers

2. Algebra - Understanding patterns and mathematical relationships

3. Geometry - Understanding spacial relationships

4. Data Analysis and Probability- Understanding information, patterns, and problem solving

5. Measurement – Understanding how to quantify characteristics of objects or events

Silver Oaks Cooperative School uses Singapore Math with the addition of games, projects, daily routines, and more to help students develop a deep understanding of each mathematical component.

Writing

Each quarter, the children study a new genre of writing and work toward a publishing party at the end. Writing is taught three times a week in a stand alone class that focuses on teaching the children the importance of writing as a means of communication. The goal of writing at Silver Oaks is to help children develop the skills they need to be life-long writers in an effective, fun, and exciting way. In each genre, children experience the stages of writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Often, the writing genre is interrelated with their thematic project, social studies, or science.  

Physical Activity

Research shows physical movement is critical to learning for children. The outdoors, movement, choice, and play will be incorporated into each day to ensure students are learning with their whole body.  At Silver Oaks Cooperative School, children spend two 30-minute periods in our nature-based playground. Students go outside almost every day, regardless of the weather.

Social-Emotional Learning

We strongly feel it is important to help children learn to interact with one another.  Conflict resolution, empathy and social skills will be taught intentionally during Morning Meeting and Closing Circle, and reinforced throughout each day.  Through play and cooperative groups, students practice these important skills. 

Spanish

Students take two Spanish classes each week, learning not only the language for basic communication, but also about the culture and influence of the Spanish speaking world.

Music

During a weekly music class, students learn music fundamentals such as rhythm, pitch, and tempo. They also build performance skills in all grade levels and composition skills in the upper grades.

Art

Art is integrated in the children's educational experience and also taught as a stand alone weekly class.

Social Studies

We are part of a global society and we want to ensure our students experience the world around them and learn about history in order to process current events. Social Studies objectives are integrated into thematic units as well as taught in a weekly stand alone Social Studies class.

Science

Much like Social Studies, Science objectives are integrated in thematic units. They are also taught in a weekly stand alone science class, focused on on science experiments and hands-on trials.

Taekwondo

Our students also take a weekly Taekwondo class where they practice physical and mental discipline while working together to learn new sequences and fun moves.

Silver Oaks Cooperative School stands for:

authentic, age-appropriate learning; exploring the natural world;
a student centered classroom; small class sizes (max 16, usually 12); value-added assessment through portfolios; student choice; teaching empathy and conflict resolution; nurturing the whole child; parent involvement; helping students develop a deep understanding of concepts; physical movement throughout the day; treating students kindly and gentle discipline and most of all… having fun!