Infusing the Curriculum With Reading and Writing Is Often Referred to as
OUR CURRICULUM
At Bloom Customs School, our curriculum provides structure to our integrated methods and arroyo. Nosotros utilize what is commonly referred to as a "screw curriculum." In a screw curriculum, learning is distributed - or spaced- over fourth dimension. Compare this to a more than traditional or "blocked" approach, which concentrates learning of a item concept or skill in a brusk catamenia of time and then moves on to new material.
Spiral curriculum is a highly effective strategy for all learners, including struggling learners and advanced learners. Spiraling allows learning difficulties to be identified early and intervention strategies put in place during early on phases of the spiral. An all-encompassing and robust body of literature has documented the advantages of spiraling curricula. In fact, spiraling curriculum (or spacing learning over time), is the first research-based recommendation in a 2007 practice guide from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Educational Sciences.
Our thematic and project-based approaches at Flower Customs School lend themselves nicely to a spiral curriculum. Children volition be repeatedly exposed to concepts, terms, and skills throughout our thematic units and will take many dissimilar opportunities to utilise and extend their learning in hands-on and meaningful means.
Balanced Literacy
The reading, speaking and listening, and writing components of our counterbalanced literacy curriculum are integrated into diverse parts of the twenty-four hour period and infused throughout the projection-based approach. Informed by Illinois Learning Standards (ILS)/Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts, learners engage in activities to increase their reading and comprehension skills and strategies, cultivate an appreciation and understanding of the spoken discussion that enriches their vocabularies, and develop their capacity to customs finer in writing. These goals are integrated into our balanced literacy curriculum.
Our balanced literacy arroyo integrates the Daily five model, developed by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, and Author's Workshop model, developed past Lucy Calkins at Instructor's College at Columbia University. The Daily v framework structures literacy fourth dimension in a mode that supports children to develop lifelong habits of reading, writing, and working independently. During the Daily v Literacy cake, students select from v accurate reading and writing choices, working independently toward personalized goals.
The Daily 5 choices include:
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Read to self to build a foundation for creating independent readers and writers
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Work on writing to provide additional back up children crave to get effective writers
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Discussion piece of work to focus on spelling and vocabulary with children and create a richly literate environment
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Listen to reading, which provides pronunciation and expression models that can just come from hearing fluent and expressive examples
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Read to someone supports readers, especially developing readers, increase areas of comprehension, accuracy, fluency and prosidy. It also increases reading interest, attention and collaboration.
Teachers support children's individualized learning needs through a combination of whole-grouping and pocket-size-group instruction and ane-on-1 conferencing and back up. For more information most the Daily 5 approach, we encourage you to read the 2016 written report, Effective Strategies for Instruction and Learning Literacy Independence: The Daily 5 Literacy Construction strategies.
In addition to our Daily 5 literacy approach, students will also participate in a separate Writer's Workshop block. During Writer's Workshop, students will be guided through all the stages of writing, from brainstorming and generating ideas to drafting, revising, editing, and publishing their work. Writer's Workshop typically begins with a brief writing lesson during one of the focus lessons of Daily v. These lessons will introduce a variety of concepts (e.g. word choice, wording, sentence structure, etc.). Students will engage in independent, guided, and interactive writing practices to strengthen their abilities to write ideas in sequence, practice new writing strategies, and apply them to different forms of text.
Mathematics
Our framework for math curriculum adheres to the National Quango of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Illinois Learning Standards (ILS)/Mutual Cadre Land Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics. Nosotros recognize the five "content" strands of math: number & operations, geometry, measurement, algebra, and data analysis & probability; and v "process" strands of math: problem-solving, reasoning & proof, advice, connections, and representation.
To ensure course-level math standards are met, we employ the Everyday Mathematics curriculum, developed past the University of Chicago. Everyday Mathematics is a comprehensive Kindergarten through fifth grade spiral curriculum. It is a research-based and field-tested curriculum that focuses on developing children'south understandings and skills in ways that produce life-long mathematical power.
The Everyday Mathematics curriculum emphasizes:
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Apply of concrete, real-life examples that are meaningful and memorable as an introduction to fundamental mathematical concepts.
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Repeated exposures to mathematical concepts and skills to develop children's ability to remember knowledge from long-term memory.
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Frequent do of basic computation skills to build mastery of procedures and quick recall of facts, often through games and verbal exercises.
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Use of multiple methods and problem-solving strategies to foster true proficiency and accommodate different learning styles.
Each grade of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum is advisedly designed to build and expand a student'south mathematical proficiency and understanding. The goal of Everyday Mathematics is to build powerful mathematical thinkers.
Science
Our framework for science curriculum is fatigued in office from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) three dimensions of learning science: crosscutting concepts, science and engineering practices, and disciplinary core ideas. Through investigation and inquiry, children learn how to further their understanding of scientific concepts. Learners have the opportunity to observe, enquire questions, develop hypotheses, collect and analyze data, setup experiments, do field work, and share their findings and discoveries with others. They explore a variety of scientific disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, and earth & space sciences every bit well as engineering, creating, building, and testing designs to solve problems.
Cultural/Social Studies
Our cultural/social studies curriculum helps children develop the chapters of critical thinking equally a central intellectual skill of analysis. Through our thematic and project-based approach, they explore their place in society and history in a way that empowers them to be effective agents of positive social change. In our younger grades, nosotros focus on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, the needs of people throughout our communities and histories, and human impact on the environment. Equally children grow and develop their social, historical, and civic knowledge, they will go along to explore these ideas by developing skills and cognition to interpret and analyze primary and secondary sources. The curriculum includes an examination of the electric current political, social, economical, and historical context of the United states, the State of Illinois, and our local customs. The roles and perspectives of immigrants, minorities, and indigenous identities are considered alongside (and as alternatives to) dominant social and historical narratives. Students are guided in studying the cultural identities of their families and their own personal histories.
Source: https://www.bloomcommunityschool.org/curriculum