Humanities

The Science of Reading guides the Elementary School Language Arts Program. Students, guided by their teachers, learn from an interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research on reading and writing. Our approach to reading instruction focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. One of the major differences in our instruction of reading and writing is that it includes oral language profi-ciency. Throughout their experience, students are given many opportunities to present projects and engage in public speaking in addition to reading and writing skills. In our 21st Century world, students need to be able to speak and engage with their audience verbally as well as they read and write.

In the lower elementary grades, students have daily Language Arts lessons with labs that extend and support student learning in both reading and writing. Labs are designed to provide students the time to explore language in a deeper way, immerse themselves in content knowledge, and practice skills and habits of character through reading, writing, engineering, art, and story-telling. Students are introduced to a variety of imperative writing skills including spelling, sentence construction, hand-writing, revision, and editing.

In the upper elementary grades, Language Arts lessons are complemented by a language and literacy block when students have additional time to work with texts, ideas, and skills in order to deepen their understanding of concepts through small group activities. Students continue to build strong writing skills through extensive spelling, grammar, and vocabulary instruction. Along with studying mentor texts, students explore various genres of writing, and use their skills to write in real-world scenarios.

In all grades, our writing program uses differentiated instruction to foster insightful and impactful writing. As they move through our program, all students will write memoirs, essays, poems, persuasive essays, journals, research papers and technical reports. They also begin to plan stories and to consider voice, style, tone, and audience. Writing mechanics, spelling and grammar are emphasized across the curriculum.

Social Studies at our Elementary School is framed around the human stories and identities that make up our complex world. Students begin by exploring their own identity and story in Kindergarten, before expanding their awareness of the local communities in first and second grade, our state in third and fourth grade, and our nation in fifth grade. As they move through the grades, they examine the role of individuals, institutions, and ideas in the development of human societies; in addition, they work to understand how those societies have impacted the natural world. Aligned with the mission of New Roads, our exploration invites not only the conventional story, but also those stories that are often unheard, silenced and marginalized. Thus our students develop a more complete understanding of the complexities of the human experience. With a sharp focus on active engagement and social justice, our program provides students with habits and tools to adapt and innovate in a world of ever-shifting paradigms.

Social studies themes center on New Roads Commitments and Social Emotional Learning. Topics of empathy, compassion, love and belonging are woven throughout the grades all year. They build self and social awareness, and they take on responsible decision making so that they can contribute to the well-being of one’s self and others by advocating and interrupting situations that are unkind or unsafe.

The study of English at the Middle School is designed to develop effective written and oral expression, close reading and critical thinking skills, and mastery of the fundamentals of grammar. From the start of middle school, we introduce Narrative, Expository, and Persuasive writing with a carefully structured curriculum designed to unmask what is required to create effective writers and communicators. Writing is also used as part of the reflection and metacognition process. We balance traditional literature with a broader repertoire of reading choices, longer and shorter works of fiction and nonfiction, primary sources, plays, poetry, and essays.

Our middle school Spanish program emphasizes proficiency in listening, reading, writing, speaking, grammar, basic conversation, and developing fluency in a cultural context. Our Spanish program takes advantage of the living, dynamic language laboratory of Los Angeles. Our instructors employ various mediums including art, film, literature, music, and performance art, in an effort to inspire students to improve their speaking abilities using the methodologies of comprehensive input and TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling.). Students work towards fluency in the language via speaking, listening, verbal and reading comprehension, and expository composition.

The Social Science program at New Roads engages students in the core disciplines of History, Civics, Geography, and Economics, encouraging students to develop essential skills and core knowledge that will help them become and remain informed participants in a global society. Through an inquiry-based approach, students learn to read and engage with challenging texts, to locate and evaluate the validity of sources, to think empathetically, to communicate effectively, and to develop the knowledge and tools to critically approach the study of history and society. Aligned with the mission of New Roads, our exploration invites not only the conventional story, but also those stories that are often unheard, silenced and marginalized.

An English course at New Roads School is a place of imaginative exploration. In this rich environment students read, write, emulate, speak, listen, interpret, and think critically. The multicultural curricula includes both carefully chosen texts and a vibrant independent reading program that fosters proficiency and discovery. The course of study integrates the classic and the contemporary, including works of fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry from distinct time periods and geographical locations and representing a range of voices, including those that have been traditionally marginalized or ignored.

Our Upper School English courses include:
English 1
English 2
English 3
English 3, Honors
English 4
English 4, Honors

The Social Science program encourages students to develop essential skills and core knowledge that will help them become informed participants in a global society. Students learn to engage with challenging texts, evaluate the validity of sources, think critically, communicate effectively, and develop the tools to engage in an informed, thoughtful way with the essential questions of history and contemporary society. As is the culture of New Roads, the study of civilization addresses not only the conventional narrative, but also the marginalized stories so that students can develop a more complete understanding.

Our Upper School Social Science courses include:
World Civilizations 2
US History
US History, Honors
Psychology
Society & Ethics
World Religions

The Modern Language Department focuses its approach to language as revolving around an active engagement of conversational strategies, cultural studies, and grammar, linguistic, and literary analysis. We offer American Sign Language, Spanish, and French, in the Upper School. Our instructors employ various mediums — art, film, literature, music, performance art, TPRS, etc. — in the effort to inspire students to improve their speaking abilities. Faculty ensure that students continually participate in active engagement of the four major language skill areas — speaking, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and expository composition — in order to gain functional usage of the target language.

Our Upper School Modern Languages courses include:
American Sign Language 1-3
American Sign Language 4, Honors
Spanish 1-4
Spanish 4-7, Honors
French 1-3
French 4-5, Honors