Oak Learners offers progressive, interdisciplinary, inquiry-based programming in a student-driven, teacher-facilitated, alternative learning environment.

Each learner goes through a cyclical process of identifying their unique strengths, needs, goals, and interests. Through collaboration with teachers, peers, parents and members of their community, they design inquiry-based projects to guide their learning over the course of a term.

Each day at Oak Learners brings new learning opportunities through an integrated and immersive approach to elementary education. Ontario Curriculum content and skill achievement guidelines are covered and enriched through a holistic approach to learning in a project-based inquiry model, leading to a much deeper and richer learning experience for the students.

 Take a look inside our classrooms:

Integrated Literacy

Overview

Reading and Writing form the building block for communication FOR and ON learning. At Oak Learners, reading comprehension and oral communication skills are taught within other subject areas, such as Science or Social Studies. Children develop strong literacy habits and communication skills through meaningful experiences with text.

Skills Gained

Students in the Primary Program at Oak Learners will:

*Develop a deep phonetic understanding and expansion of language use, This includes spelling, sounding out, pronouncing and reading words and sentences.

*Engage in more advanced communication via use of new words, sounds and verbal comprehension.

*Use advanced descriptions and expanded terminology, along with the ability to distinguish between nouns, pronouns, adjectives and other types of words.

Teaching Strategies

The lower elementary school program is delivered by passionate teachers that use an alternative and experiential learning tactic in order to influence the most beneficial learning for your child. Through years of experience, the teachers continue to instill confidence and comfort in the school environment while encouraging the children to expand their knowledge and understanding, inside and outside of the classroom. The encouragement of curiosity in an educational setting will only help the children find the passion for school that Oak Learners strives for.

Mathematics

Overview
Math is all around us and students at Oak Learners are taught to recognize Mathematical patterns and apply problem solving skills through real-world applications. Mathematics instruction at Oak Learners takes a very hands-on approach, using manipulatives as well as leveled workbooks to provide an enriched approach to learning Math.

Skills Gained

Students in the lower elementary mathematics program are focusing on a continuum of learning. Every skill is scaffolded off of a successfully learnt topic in math. Key concepts they will learn are:

*counting everyday objects

*learning concrete versus regular concepts within math, and how they expand off of each other

*applying skills into everyday items, such as counter, objects for measurements, etc.

*learning about more abstract ways of collecting units of measurements

*understanding how mathematics evolve and build off of each other -> perfecting addition and subtraction, and beginning the introduction into multiplication and division

*focus on topics such as collecting data, organizing and displaying data, interpreting data, probability, properties of geometry, units of measurement, location and movement, counting, estimation, place value, fractions and decimals, among other topics as well.

Teaching Strategies

Each Mathematics class in the Lower Elementary program will follow a three-part lesson: 1) Minds On (i.e., activating prior knowledge); 2) Action (i.e., students have the opportunity to work in small groups to solve a problem and share their strategies, via “”conference style””, with teachers and peers); 3) Consolidation (i.e., independent practice with teacher support). Many Math classes will take place within the community so students can witness the subject in real-world contexts.

S.T.E.A.M. *Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts Math

Overview

At Oak Learners, we believe that STEAM Education plays a very important role in educating young leaders of the 21st Century. The more students can observe, explore, question and design the world around themselves, the more they have the opportunity to construct true understanding of new concepts.

Skills Gained

Technology is the future and although it cannot be fully predicted what the employment opportunities or challenges that our students will face in the years to come are, we can certainly prepare them to ask questions, engage in design challenges and think like innovators through an integrated approach. The most important skills that students will learn through engaging in STEAM activities at Oak Learners are problem-solving, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Through hands-on skills such as website and app development and design, coding, building and engineering, students will feel confident in bringing their STEAM skills to life.

Teaching Strategies

Oak Learners takes a hands-on, experiential, project-based approach when teaching STEAM so that students can be fully immersed in each step from start to finish. Each design challenge begins with a question and students, as innovators and creative thinkers, devise ways to solve the problem.

The Arts

Overview

We believe that Arts Education plays a very important role in educating young learners. We make sure to integrate Art, Music, Drama and Dance throughout our days, throughout every subject area. The Arts brings learning to life and provides a context for deep emotional and social learning.

Skills Gained

In Visual Arts, students will gain skills in each of the five elements of art: line, colour, shape, form and texture and use these skills to create beautiful and functional art pieces that express creativity and individuality. In the Lower Elementary program at Oak Learners, Eco Art and digital art are also important components, where students will learn skills in art such as the different forms of it. This can include sculpting, collaging, painting, and uses the environment as a source of art supplies. In Drama, students will work collaboratively to learn skills in performance and improvisation, with the incorporation of dance routines and techniques. In Music, students will learn theory and composition through consistent enjoyment of songs that include layers and different sound textures.

Teaching Strategies

In the Lower Elementary program, the students are immersed into the Arts in a variety of ways. Students are provided with diverse instructions that allow them to use their creativity and become comfortable with their own ideas. Oak Learners urges the students to learn a variety of art forms and techniques and allows the students to be expressive in whatever way they would like.

Outdoor Education

Overview

Outdoor Education is the centre of everything we do at Oak Leaners. Research has demonstrated that interacting with nature on a consistent basis is highly beneficial for the mental health and well-being of children and teenagers. In particular, the World Health Organization has found that children raised with exposure to green spaces are 55% less likely to develop mental health concerns, such as stress-related illnesses. Also, children have demonstrated improved concentration, increased productivity, better behaviour and more positive relationships amongst their peer group when frequently learning in an outdoor environment.

Skills Gained

Utilizing the outdoor classroom as the “third teacher”, students at Oak Learners have the opportunity to develop skills in navigation, observation and stewardship. Skills in other subject areas are not learned in isolation; rather, students see how they are used in the community to ask questions and devise plans to solve real-world problems.

Teaching Strategies

All subject areas can be taught in an outdoor environment; however, the learning involves interaction with the outdoors and using our natural world as an opportunity for deeper understanding. Through Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and the Arts, students gain knowledge about their role as stewards and take responsibility for their role in preserving their environment. In particular, students are given many opportunities to see ‘treasures’ and ‘troubles’ in their community and work towards devising solutions.