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Academics & Instruction
California has upgraded all core academic subjects – English Language Arts, mathematics, science, history/social science and English Language Development to give students the critical thinking and communication skills they need to succeed in 21st century college and careers. Orcutt Union School District has transitioned to the new standards.
Content standards were designed to encourage the highest achievement of every student, by defining the knowledge, concepts, and skills that students should acquire at each grade level. In addition to the content standards, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted curriculum frameworks for kindergarten through grade twelve. Taken together, the content standards and the curriculum frameworks describe what educators and professionals in the field expect kindergarten through grade twelve students to know and be able to do. Based on national research in education and the specific content area, the frameworks (which incorporate the applicable content standards) provide a firm foundation for curriculum and instruction by describing the scope and sequence of the knowledge and skills all students need to master. In turn, the frameworks provide direction to the textbook publishers in that each framework includes criteria for the evaluation of instructional resources.
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- 1st Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 2nd Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 3rd Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 4th Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 5th Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 6th Grade ELA Essential Standards
- 2020-21 Priority Instructional Content in ELA Literacy and Mathematics
- Kindergarten ELA Pacing Guide
- 1st Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 2nd Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 3rd Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 4th Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 5th Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 6th Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 7th Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- 8th Grade ELA Pacing Guide
- Accelerated Learning – 2nd Grade Journeys Example
- Acceleration of Learning PPT – Fall Focused Planning
- Boldly Reimagining What is Possible
- Foundational Skills Practice Strategies – Kindergarten and 1st Grade
- Four Pillars to Reading Success
- Structured Literacy and Typical Literacy Practices
- Teaching Reading is Rocket Science
- TNTP Learning Acceleration Guide – Planning for Acceleration in 2020-2021
- Phonemic Awareness Lesson Hand Motions
- English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- California Common Core State Standards
- for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
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The Orcutt Union School District has developed mathematics pathways for students in grades 6-12 using an extensive stakeholder input process across the public school districts in the Santa Maria Valley. These meetings began in 2014 with the adoption of new mathematics standards by the State of California which included an entire new year of math for eighth grade students. Members of the Santa Maria Valley Mathematics Task Force have met over the years and have collaborated around the creation of these pathways with a focus on instructional coherence and multiple opportunities for students to access higher level mathematics instruction.
Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, all students in grades K-8 will receive their grade level instruction; however, there are opportunities for advancement for students who demonstrate high levels of achievement and mastery of the content standards. Beginning in junior high, eligible students can participate in an additional section of mathematics instruction in their eighth grade year through enrollment in additional coursework. This opportunity exists throughout the entirety of their high school career. This flexibility enables students and their families to determine the best time to accelerate their mathematics learning.
Please refer to the Mathematics Pathways Flowchart for course sequencing information.
During Summer 2024, a district team developed a new plan for math acceleration in grades 7 and 8. The new plan is a four-page document that includes background on math acceleration in Orcutt, our assumptions, the math pathways we offer students, and specific criteria for four acceleration opportunities:
- The opportunity for incoming seventh graders to take eighth-grade math while in seventh grade;
- The opportunity for incoming eighth graders to take Algebra 1 concurrently with eighth-grade math;
- Placing junior high school students who have completed college courses in math; and
- Placing students with exceptionally high math achievement on a personalized acceleration path.
District math consultants Michele Douglass and Elizabeth Hammonds, Cal Poly math professor and CSU/UC Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project Site Director Dr. Kate Riley, and Santa Barbara County Education Office Director of Equitable Learning Systems Lauren Aranguren provided input for the plan.
Please review the Junior High School Placement Plan. Any questions can be addressed to Joe Dana, assistant superintendent of educational services, at jdana@orcutt-schools.net.
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According to the State of California Board of Education when should Algebra 1 be taken?
The State Board of Education positioned Algebra 1 as a 9th grade course when the California State Standards were adopted.
Is it possible to reach Calculus or Statistics by taking Algebra 1 as an 8th or 9th grader?
Yes. Generally students will need to double up on a math course before they enter 12th grade. There are multiple pathways or onramps to achieve the highest level math course, and students can do this at any time during their high school years with the approval of their counselor after having met any prerequisite requirements. Eligible students can also double up in their 8th grade year with the approval of their school principal.
Why were the math pathways changed and the compaction course is no longer offered?
It is essential our students have a full understanding of the standards at each grade level to succeed in higher level mathematics courses at the high school level. By compacting or accelerating students, there were some areas that were not covered because of the lack of time for instruction. By offering multiple opportunities to access higher level math, all students have the opportunity to do so at multiple levels and can choose the time when they are ready to do so.
How many years of mathematics instruction is recommended and/or required for acceptance into UC/CSU colleges?
The UC/CSU colleges (as well as most private colleges) recommend and/or require four years of high school math, regardless of the math taken. They do look at the highest level of math completed at some schools along with the highest level of math offered at the school.
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- Essential Standards – Math
- Mathematics Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- California Common Core State Standards
- Math Standards
- 2020-21 Priority Instructional Content in ELA Literacy and Mathematics
- Hinge Standards – Michele Douglass
Games
- Kindergarten Math Games
- Kindergarten Games – Individual pdfs
- 1st Grade Games
- 1st Grade Games – Individual pdfs
- 2nd Grade Games
- 2nd Grade Games – Individual pdfs
- 3rd Grade Games
- 3rd Grade Games – Individual pdfs
- 4th Grade Games
- 5th Grade Games
Number Sense K-2
- Number Sense – K-2 Hundreds Chart (200s)
- Number Sense K-2 – Add Them UP
- Number Sense K-2 – Adds Up
- Number Sense K-2 – Four in a Row Subtraction (Level 1)
- Number Sense K-2 – Four in a Row Subtraction (Level 2)
- Number Sense K-2 – Hundreds Chart (100s)
- Number Sense K-2 – More or Less Than My Roll
- Number Sense K-2 – Take All You Can
- Number Sense K-2 – Target Number
- Sprint Fluency Mod 3 – Quantity
- Sprint Fluency Mod 4 – Numbers to 5
- Sprint Fluency Mod 5 – Teen Numbers
- Sprint Fluency Mod 6 – Core Fluency Practice (Facts to 5)
- Subitizing Cards for K-2
- Subitizing Examples
- Understanding and Teaching Number Sense K-5 Handout August 2019
- Understanding and Teaching Number Sense K-5 PPT Aug 2019
- Sprint Fluency Mod 1 – Quantities and Facts to 10
- Sprint Fluency Mod 2 – Facts to 10 and Facts to 20 including missing addends
- Sprint Fluency Mod 3 – Facts to 10 Facts to 20 and 3 Addends
- Sprint Fluency Mod 4 – Basic Facts, Making 10s, Specific Strategies for Adding
- Sprint Fluency Mod 5 – Fluency to 10, Equality Statements to 10
- Sprint Fluency Mod 6 – Fluency and +1 Facts and +10 Facts
- Fractions – Number Meaning and Number Relationships PPT
- SBAC Analysis of Questions by Claim 1 – Measurement and Data
- SBAC Analysis of Questions by Claim 1 – Numbers and Operations – Fractions
- SBAC Analysis of Questions by Claim 1 – Operations and Algebraic Thinking
- SBAC Grade 3 Planning for End of Year
- Sprint Fluency Mod 1 – Multiplication 3s, 4s, 5s
- Sprint Fluency Mod 2 – Rounding Nearest Tens, Hundreds
- Sprint Fluency Mod 3 – Multiplication 2s
- Sprint Fluency Mod 4 – Multiplication 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s
- Sprint Fluency Mod 6 – multiplication, division
- Sprint Fluency Mod 7- Multiplication, Division 5s, 6s, 7s, 7s, 8s, 9s
- All Handouts 4th Grade
- Sprint Fluency Mod 1 – Multiplication Division – Rounding -Metric
- Sprint Fluency Mod 2 – Kilograms and Grams
- Sprint Fluency Mod 5 – Add, Sub, Mult & Div of Fractions
- Sprint Fluency Mod 6 – Base 10 Division, Decimals & Fractions
- SBAC Analysis of Questions by Claim 1 – Number and Base 10
- Sprint Fluency Mod 1 – Base Ten, Multiplication, Decimals, Exponents
- Sprint Fluency Mod 2 – Multiplication, Division, Base Hundred, Thousand, Multiplication and Division of Decimals
- Sprint Fluency Mod 3 – Fractions, Improper, Equivalent, Addition, Subtraction Fractions
- Sprint Fluency Mod 4 – Fractions, Multiplication, Division and Decimals
- Sprint Fluency Mod 5 – More Fractions
- All Handouts 5th Grade
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- Science Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- Next Generation Science Standards
- Science Framework
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- 7th Social Studies Pacing Guide
- 8th Social Studies Pacing Guide
- 1st Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- Kindergarten Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- 2nd Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- 3rd Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- 4th Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- 5th Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- 6th Grade Wonders ELA-SW Crosswalk
- History/Social Science Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- History/Social Science Content Standards
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- English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- California English Language Development Standards
- English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
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- Health Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- Content Standards
- for Health Education
- California Healthy Youth Act
- Health Framework
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- Physical Education Framework
- from the California Department of Education
- Physical Education Content Standards
- Team California for Healthy Kids
- Physical Fitness Testing (Grades 5, 7, & 9)
- Physical Education Framework