SECTION d
Curriculum
Curriculum Description
We know from our academic research and visits with educators across the country that Place-Based
Education, integrated with state standards, has been proven to increase achievement levels. Learning that
is rooted in place provides a rich, relevant context for knowledge that motivates students.
We also know that lifelong learners have developed habits of mind, heart, and hands that support ongoing
attainment of knowledge. Therefore, we have identified eight learning habits (used in professional
development training at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and included below) that support our
mission of nurturing creative, critical thinkers who contribute to their communities: collaboration, social
awareness, critical thinking, grit, creativity/resourcefulness, self-actualization, and health.
To that end, every academic goal at the Boggs School has three purposes:
1) To ensure that each child develops the skills embedded in the Grade Level Content Expectations
(GLCEs) and Common Core State Standards (CCSSs) in order to achieve college-readiness by
graduation from the Boggs School
2) To encourage stewardship of place
3) To develop habits of mind, heart and hands for life-long learning
Place-Based Education (PBE)
PBE immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these
as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects
across the curriculum. PBE emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the school
and local community. Because PBE embraces a wide range of strategies, each project or unit of study
looks different. There are, however, some very important similarities in successful PBE work.
Successful PBE criteria (adapted from Sobel, 2005):
Work is focused on relevant community issues
Community organizations, schools, students, teachers, and parents all become partners in learning
Community members become resources of the classroom
Students are valued as productive, problem solving citizens of a community
Students get out of the classroom and into the community
Lessons and projects provide for student voice and student driving inquiry
Experiences build meaningful, long-term relationships with community partners
Student learning meets and exceeds state standards
Experiences require sustained academic work (not a one-shot exposure)
Work goes beyond a field trip. A field trip may be a critical component, but it should be only one
component of the learning
Allows students to see the “results” of their work in the school and community (examples include
exhibitions of student work, changes in community policy as a result of work, something that
students can point to and be proud of)
Successful PBE benefits (adapted from Sobel, 2005):
Partnerships and experiences lead to increased resources for schools and communities
Experiences engage traditionally marginalized, disengaged students of all abilities
Work solves community issues
Experiences provide relevance and rigor in core content areas
Work exceeds academic standards and can lead to students performing higher on standardized
tests
PBE is applicable and meaningful at any grade level
PBE provides cross-curricular opportunities, and can lead to interdisciplinary teamwork
Principles of Place-Based Education
Learning takes place on-site, in the schoolyard, and in the local community and
environment.
Learning focuses on local themes, systems, and content.
Learning is personally relevant to each learner.
Learning experiences contribute to the community’s vitality and environmental quality; they support
the community’s role in fostering global environmental quality.
Learning is supported by strong and varied partnerships with local residents, organizations,
businesses, and government.
Learning is interdisciplinary.
Learning experiences are tailored to the local audience.
Learning is grounded in and supports the development of a love for one’s place.
Local learning serves as the foundation for understanding and participating in appropriate regional
and global issues.
Common Core State Standards
The Boggs School has been designing our curriculum to align our Place-Based approach with the CCSSs.
PBE offers myriad opportunities for authentic learning experiences that cut across traditional disciplines. It
is the responsibility of the classroom teacher, along with his or her team, to plan instruction that maintains
the tenants of PBE while also addressing the requirements of the CCSSs. All of the instructors at the
Boggs School will have a thorough understanding of both state and national standards and use this
knowledge while collaboratively planning instruction.
PBE is easily applicable to all traditional disciplines and content areas. In order to give a sense of what
lessons at the Boggs School might look like, we have included a sample unit outline and a detailed lesson
plan.
(See Curriculum - Unit Outline)
Essential Skills: Literacy
Overview of Balanced Literacy
Balanced Literacy is a framework for instructional planning and implementation of literacy education. It
involves the use of observation, assessment, and work sampling to make instructional decisions; the
structure of classroom delivery that moves through whole group, small group, and independent learning to
build student competence and independence; and incorporates a balance of quality fiction and nonfiction
materials to support instruction and learning in reading and writing. Untested literacy skills such as
listening and public speaking are infused throughout a Balanced Literacy framework. The Boggs School
will use the materials and framework of Fountas and Pinnell in implementing our Readers’ and Writers’
Workshops and Word Study. We will supplement our Writers’ Workshop with elements of Lucy Calkins’
writing curriculum and other related resources.
Elements
Balanced Literacy reading instruction incorporates the five foundation elements of reading (phonemic
awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension) into an instructional framework
based on Vygotsky’s “Gradual Release of Responsibility Theory.” The teacher’s goal is to support the
growth and development of students so that they become independent learners. The teacher uses a
structure of whole group, small group, and individual learning settings to identify and support the “Zone of
Proximal Development,” the specific area of challenge where rigorous instruction can support and expand
the learning of each student.
Balanced Literacy writing instruction addresses the goal of fostering effective and lifelong writers, pairing
creative writing and traditional convention instruction to this end. It is based upon four principles: students
will write about their own lives, they will use a consistent writing process, they will work in authentic ways,
and the process will foster independence. Each grade level has specific units of study tailored to meet
developmental and curricular needs. Students have a large amount of choice in their topic and style of
writing. The teacher acts as a mentor author, modeling writing techniques and conferring with students as
they move through the writing process. Direct writing instruction takes place in the form of a mini-lesson at
the beginning of each workshop and is followed by active writing time. Each workshop ends with a sharing
of student work.
Use of Observation and Assessment
A teacher in a Balanced Literacy classroom uses observation and assessment to monitor the skill
acquisition and development of children as they grow as readers and writers. This requires a deep and
working knowledge of multiple ways to assess the foundational areas of reading and writing and having the
flexibility to use assessment and observation data to make instructional decisions and modify instruction to
meet the needs of each learner. It requires conversations between and among teachers at grade levels
and across grade levels to discuss and problem-solve the reading and writing needs of students. Reading
and writing will be assessed using a number of formative and summative assessment methods: Scantron
Performance Series testing, Fountas and Pinnell’s Benchmark Assessment System, teacher-student book
talks, guided reading notes analysis, writing sample rubric evaluation and comparison, and others.
Structure of Classroom Delivery
In a K/1 Balanced Literacy classroom, Readers’ and Writers’ Workshops, including Word Study, will be 8090 minutes per day. In 2/3 and 3/4, Readers’ Workshop, including Word Study, will be 90 minutes, while
Writers’ Workshop will be an additional hour.
Daily Schedule for Readers’ Workshop, K/1, 2/3, and 3/4
Whole Group Lesson
- Introduction, Modeling, Setting the Purpose
(Level 1 Example: Decoding Consonant Blends; Level 2 Example: Mapping the Plot of a Narrative)
Small Group and Independent Learning
- Small Group: Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Paired Reading, Literacy Circles and/or
Intervention Groups
- Independent Learning: Independent Reading, Literacy Centers, Ongoing Assessment
Return to Whole Group Learning
Daily Schedule for Writers’ Workshop, K/1, 2/3, and 3/4
Whole Group Lesson
- Introduction, Modeling, Reinforcing a Strategy
(K/1 Example: Telling Events in Order; 2/3 Example: Attention-Grabbing Leads)
Independent Writing
- Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Final drafting, Publishing, Illustrating
- Conferring
o With Teacher
o With Peers
o Listen, help plan, give feedback, re-teach, reinforce strengths
Whole Group Sharing
- Presentation, Reflection, Feedback
Weekly Schedule for Word Study, 2/3 and 3/4*
Day 1: Mini-lesson; Choose~Write~Build
- Teacher chooses a word pattern or group and shares with class
(3/4 Examples: “Words With Silent –gh” or “Words That Come From Latin”).
-
Class cooperatively generates list of words that fit pattern or group.
Each student chooses a predetermined number of words from the list for his or her own folder.
Students supplement lists with a predetermined number of previously misspelled words from their
individual “Words to Learn” lists.
Students work independently, using magnetic letters and cookie sheets to build each of their
weekly words three or more times.
Day 2: Look~Say~Cover~Write~Check
- Students work independently with special class-created slotted folders to follow the five steps in the
title of the activity.
- Students are given time to return to magnetic letters for words not mastered during this activity.
Day 3: Buddy Test
- Students are put in pairs to do a practice quiz of weekly words.
- Students are given time to return to Day 1 and 2 activities for misspelled Buddy Check words.
Day 4: Making Connections
- Students participate in one of a wide variety of activities that will help them connect their words to
whole language and real-life contexts.
- Examples, depending on grade/ability level:
o Writing a short story with weekly words included
o Changing prefixes, roots, or suffixes to change meaning of words
o Looking for weekly words and words in the same group in a newspaper
o Creating a crossword puzzle using weekly words (advanced)
Day 5: Final Test
- Students test each other on weekly words.
- Tests are graded by teacher.
*Word Study lessons at K/1, including phonological and phonemic awareness, print awareness, alphabetic
knowledge, alphabetic principle, decoding, reading practice with decodable text, irregular or high-frequency
words, and reading fluency, are embedded seamlessly in Readers’ and Writers’ Workshops.
Integration
Balanced Literacy fits the curriculum at the Boggs School in a number of ways:
1) It is Place-Based Education. In addition to fantasy and other fictional text genres, students will
have access to and be directed toward texts that relate to their daily lives: Realistic Fiction
featuring characters that look and live like them, Informational Nonfiction that addresses real-life
topics from their communities and/or based on their individual interests, and nontraditional texts
that come directly from the community, including the work of Detroit poets, spoken-word art, and
neighbor interviews, to name a few.
2) It depends on a Responsive Classroom. As in Math Workshop, literacy learning needs to exist
in a community of discourse and constructive co-support. Students are asked to go beyond what
they like, dislike, and think someone else should read or write and learn to support each other in
their individual reading and writing skills and styles, drawing out the best in each other. The
gradual release of responsibility is vital to a Balanced Literacy classroom as students are often
working on different activities and skills at the same time; the Responsive Classroom is one in
which students can define and act out ideas like “silent,” “quiet,” “collaboration,” “feedback,” and
“respect.”
3) It serves our mission. In order to become creative, critical thinkers, students must be given
opportunities to use creativity and critical thinking in their work. The “guided discovery” that
Balanced Literacy employs allows students to experience a sense of responsibility for their own
learning and a freedom to explore their own interests while still achieving skill attainment
determined and facilitated by the teacher. In addition, literacy is a powerful tool in addressing the
goal of having students contribute to the well-being of their communities. As future leaders, our
students must be able to use the power of language to communicate with community members and
outsiders, conduct research, critically assess the written and spoken expressions of community
stakeholders, and advocate for his or her own beliefs. Balanced Literacy takes universal skills and
allows BEC teachers and students to ground them in easily accessible and interesting contexts,
fostering strong-minded and skilled citizens.
Essential Skills
Math Instruction at the Boggs School
The Mathematics in the City program defines mathematics as “mathematizing”—the activity of structuring,
modeling, and interpreting one’s lived world mathematically. Their mission is to support powerful
mathematics instruction. They do this by guiding teachers towards developing their classrooms into
mathematics workshops in which learners engage in inquiry, worthwhile mathematical tasks, proving their
thinking and communicating it to their peers.
That way, teachers help children develop a deep understanding of number and the operations of
addition and subtraction in grades K-3; multiplication and division in grades 3-5; fractions, decimals, and
percentages in 4-6, and on to algebra.
The way this will look at the Boggs School is to have daily Math Workshops, which function much
like Writing Workshops. Teachers begin by leading a ten- or fifteen-minute mini-lesson to highlight a
certain computational strategy or to help children develop efficient mental math computation. These
lessons are explicit and designed to offer children a way to notice strategies and patterns to solve problems.
After a mini-lesson comes the heart of the workshop, which is the investigation-- teachers find
situations or dilemmas and structure contexts for children to model and solve problems, all the while
searching for patterns, asking questions, and discussing strategies. Often these situations can be found in
the routine of the classroom. One example of this is having the kids figure out each day if there are enough
children in the room for everyone to walk in pairs to recess. Naturally, investigating odd and even numbers
every day. Or, to begin to facilitate the understanding of place value, a teacher might explain that the office
manager needs help counting out handouts for each classroom and having the kids figure out how to
bundle the handouts in stacks of ten and make a chart showing her how many packs and how many loose
sheets she needs for each class in the school. As the students are presented with the problem and work
together to make their charts, ideas and strategies are discussed on how to best count the handouts with
some kids developmentally further along than others. That’s where the Math Congress part of the
workshop comes in.
After the investigating, the class convenes for a math congress, where students communicate their
ideas, solutions, problems and conjectures with one another. Here is where students defend their thinking.
This is often where students have “aha” moments, coming to understand their own thinking by being
exposed to the different thinking of a classmate.
Elements of a Math Workshop
Mini-Lesson
Investigation
Math Congress
Math in the City fits the curriculum at Boggs School in a number of ways:
1) It is Place-Based Education. It fits this description in that the investigations are meant to
come out of the context of real world situations that the children can relate to, to be presented
with problems and dilemmas they need to solve in order to do something concrete (e.g.
someone in the school needs help figuring out a problem or we must figure out if we have
enough sunflower seed packets to pass out to each of our neighbors).
2) It depends on a Responsive Classroom. Math workshop needs to exist in a community of
discourse, in which students ask questions of one another and comment on one another’s
work. Students are asked to explain their thinking, often to the whole class, so that the
process of learning is visible. The Boggs School will use Responsive Classroom to establish
a school culture that promotes learning. In a Responsive Classroom, students practice talking
with and to one another each morning so they are not dependent on the teacher to be the sole
listener in the room. That way, teachers can walk the line between participant and observer,
helping her or him notice those children who could use more challenges to push their
mathematical development.
3) It serves our mission. When an assessment with items that captured various levels of
mathematizing was designed and given to third graders who were taught math traditionally as
a list of procedures versus those taught by the Math in the City program, the answers were not
significantly different, but those children who were in classrooms where number relationships
and context were emphasized outperformed their peers in terms of using a number of
strategies to compose and decompose numbers to make them friendlier to work with, make
mental computations and answer problems within the context they were given. This is the kind
of creative, critical thinking that the Boggs School is committed to and that our 21st century
society needs.
Habits of Heart, Mind, and Hands
Learning at the Boggs School will be guided by the use of specific habits of mind, heart, and action that are
central to our mission of nurturing creative, critical thinkers who are also compassionate and caring
stewards of their environment.
Developing these habits of mind, heart, and action are important to everyone at the school, not just
students. Adults will be responsible for modeling these habits in practice, and teachers will incorporate the
habits into each of their lesson plans, including making sure that they are engaging children intellectually,
emotionally, and physically.
Habits of Mind, Heart, and Hands
Collaboration
Social Awareness
Critical Thinking
Essential Questions
Are we learning together?
Are we valuing each other’s gifts?
Is everyone getting what they need?
From whose perspective are we seeing, hearing,
reading?
What questions do we have about this?
What is the evidence? Is it reliable?
Grit
Are we dedicated, persistent learners?
Do we know what we need to learn to gain answers to
our questions?
Creativity and Resourcefulness
What else can we try?
How can we transform ideas into an artful form of
expression?
Self-Actualization
Do we know what we stand for?
Are we enacting the best version of ourselves?
Health
What makes us healthy?
How do we keep our lives in balance?
Mastery
What more can I learn? Have I taken any steps,
even small ones, toward my goal?
Curriculum: The Community Partners Program
Overview
To infuse our school with the arts, we will establish the Community Partners Program, an enrichment of the
academic program that will utilize the skills of uncertified teachers from the community and our network of art,
music, and movement educators to increase the learning opportunities for our students.
Community teachers will emerge from the immediate neighborhood and from our grassroots networks to share
their expertise within a boundless array of skills: carpentry, Suzuki violin, painting, gardening, food preparation,
yoga, sewing, athletics, and beyond. In addition, community organizations will partner with us to provide before-,
after-, and in-school enrichment opportunities. Community teachers will work in cooperation with certified
classroom teachers, who will remain the “teachers of record.”
Goals
The aim of the Community Partners Program is to:
1) Enrich the academic experience of our students with diverse and extended learning opportunities in
the arts
2) Honor and highlight the existing community resources and human assets of the neighborhood
3) Maintain and extend the large support network of the school
4) Model innovative educational arts programming that meets the needs of students and the community
Many studies confirm our belief that “a caring and supportive relationship with an adult remains ‘the most critical
variable’ predicting health and resiliency throughout childhood and adolescence” (Benard, 1991; Garmezy, 1993).
We also believe that the benefits of intergenerational relationships are plentiful, both for children and older adults.
We want the Boggs School to be the place where every student has numerous opportunities to find that caring
and supportive relationship with an adult. Oftentimes, it is a classroom teacher. But personal connections are
unpredictable and are not guaranteed. We want there to be as many opportunities as possible at the school academically and personally - to reach each child. Community members would be served by having their talents
honored and utilized; and students would benefit from enrichment classes that strengthen their school experience.
To implement this project, we will:
1) Identify the leaders in the community with skills that are widely respected and conduct background
checks to ensure that they are safe for the student population.
2) Offer professional development to those individuals in our school culture and curriculum as well as in
classroom management and lesson planning.
3) Partner community teachers with a classroom teacher for mentoring support, making sure that the
learning corresponds to the school-wide anchor project (to be a gift to the community), which is
required by our curriculum at the end of each trimester.
4) Develop high-quality before- and afterschool programming in partnership with Detroit Future Youth,
extending the day by 3.5 hours.
Partnerships
The strength of the Boggs School lies in the nexus of relationships we have developed with others over two
decades in our collective work to improve the city in which we all live. We are confident that we have a team of
people who understand the Boggs’ legacy and are committed to preserve the mission and goals of the school.
We see the Community Partners program as a potent exemplar of how to re-imagine education. We will contract
with four regular community teachers for specific art, music, dance, and movement classes and numerous
community teachers from the neighborhood to offer an array of programming for students. Each community
teacher would be paid an hourly amount, consistent with a living wage.
In addition to specific arts programs and community teachers, we have established relationships with partner
programs, including SEMIS, Detroit Future Schools, Detroit Future Youth, InsideOut Literary Arts Project, and the
Mt. Elliott Maker Space. We will also partner with other local organizations, including the Boggs Center to Nurture
Community Leadership and Earthworks Urban Farm, although not directly under the Community Partners
Program.
These programs are described below. For a graphic depiction of our partnerships, please go this link:
http://www.pearltrees.com/#/N-p=72281266&N-fa=7542472&N-f=1_7542472&N-s=1_7542472&N-u=1_1110050.
1) The Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS) – Eastern Michigan University
(http://www.semiscoalition.org)
The SEMIS Coalition facilitates school-community partnerships to develop students as citizenstewards of healthy ecological-social systems. The work of SEMIS is based on an EcoJustice
framework that recognizes that social and environmental justice are not separate; they share the
same cultural roots. SEMIS students, teachers, and community partners explore issues of social and
environmental justice through learning focused on:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Engagement
Care
Critical Analysis & Inquiry
Collaborative Problem-Solving
Action, Advocacy, & Empowerment
2) Detroit Futures
a. Detroit Future Schools
(www.schools.detroitfuture.org)
Detroit Future Schools partners graduates from Detroit Future Media with K-12 teachers to
design and implement digital media arts-integrated curriculum. The goal of DFS is to use
digital media arts to provide the project-based learning experiences that students need to
understand and shape their worlds. Participating teachers and artists receive a full year of
professional development support to implement and improve their instructional practices.
b. Detroit Future Youth
(www.youth.detroitfuture.org)
Detroit Future Youth aims to strengthen and deepen youth social justice organizing in
Detroit by partnering with youth programs that focus on social justice based education and
multimedia creation and are using digital media to transform ourselves and our
communities. Network members share a commitment to authentic youth-leadership
development that fosters the future creators, problem-solvers and social change-makers
our city needs.
3) InsideOut Literary Arts Project
(www.insideoutdetroit.org)
InsideOut Literary Arts Project engages children in the pleasure and power of reading and writing.
The program places professional writers in schools to help students develop their self-expression and
give them opportunities to publish and perform their work.
4) Mt. Elliott Makerspace
(http://www.mtelliottmakerspace.com/)
The Mt Elliott Makerspace is a community workshop where people make, tinker, and learn
together. They do this in order to strengthen themselves and their communities. Based on the needs
and passions of the Southeast Detroit community, the Mt. Elliott Makerspace concentrates on
learning experiences and entrepreneurial opportunities related to transportation, electronics, digital
tools, wearables, design & fabrication (future), food (future), and music & arts (future).
Sustainability
The Boggs School team will go through an evaluation process at the conclusion of the school year to determine
the next year’s iteration of the program. If it is determined that we want to continue the program as-is or with
revisions, we will assess whether it can be funded through our regular per-pupil state aid or whether we will need
to seek outside funding.
Evaluation
Our criteria for a successful program is as follows:
1) We will see a vibrant, engaging, and rigorous learning community where students are developing strong
and positive relationships with one another as well as at least one other adult in the school besides their
classroom teacher.
2) We will experience high attendance numbers (a daily average of 95% or higher) because children are
excited to be in school.
3) Students will create exceptional digital media projects with Detroit Future Schools that benefit the
community and poetry with InsideOut that demonstrates a rich understanding of the school theme of
“Home”.
4) School curriculum and classroom lessons are exemplars of excellent practices and supported by
collaborations between classroom and community teachers.
5) Students will demonstrate the Eight Habits of Mind, Heart, and Hands, both in their regular classrooms
and in classes with the community teacher.
This will be measured using the transcription method developed by Detroit Future Schools as well as with a rubric
developed in collaboration with SEMIS based on its existing self-assessment rubric for schools. We are also in
the process of developing program evaluations with the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), the statewide
umbrella organization of which SEMIS is the southeastern hub, which has chosen us as a case-study for their
program evaluation plan currently in development. The GLSI, a place-based institution, will inherently include
community input in the evaluation process they are designing. In addition, we will measure the effectiveness of
our program through child and parent satisfaction surveys and teacher evaluations and feedback. Community is a
pillar of our school, and community members will be included at every phase of our school’s development and
revision.
Our anecdotal findings will be shared informally and periodically at community gatherings, while our formal
evaluation results will be disseminated through our annual report to families and the community at the conclusion
of the school year. We will strive to bring breadth and depth to our programming as we refine our process,
extending this program to older students as our students age and to young children as we add an early childhood
program in future years.
Boggs School Essential Skills: Reading, Writing, and Mathematics
There are essential skills that all students must master in order to become competent and lifelong learners.
Students who master these skills will experience a greater degree of engagement and enjoyment in all of
these subjects. The following charts show our commitment to the essential skills of reading, writing, and
mathematical thinking.
Essential Skill: Reading
Curriculum Components
Resources
Assessment
Aural: Teachers read aloud to
nurture the whole class’
enjoyment of literature and
teach reading comprehension
skills.
Texts:
Guided Reading, Fountas and
Pinnell
Formative assessments
through guided reading with
teacher
Guiding Readers and Writers
(Grades 3-6): Teaching
Comprehension, Genre, and
Content Literacy, Fountas and
Pinnell
Diagnostic Benchmark
Assessments
Verbal: Students have regular
opportunities to discuss books
with classmates, teachers, and
other adults.
Interpretive: Students use
reading experiences to make
connections between texts,
between text and place, and
between text and self.
Materials: High quality
literature of multiple genres,
written by notable authors is
used to enrich the lives of
children and their appreciation
of literary arts.
Individual: Silent reading time
is consistently given.
Integrated: Students have
shared literacy experiences
regardless of reading level.
Learning Record
MEAP
Teaching for Comprehending
and Fluency: Thinking, Talking,
and Writing about Reading, K8, Fountas and Pinnell
Strategies for Literacy
Education, Wiesendanger
Mosaic of Thought,
Zimmerman and Keane
Websites:
www.ncte.org
www.readwritethink.org
www.readworks.org
Essential Skill: Writing
Curriculum Components
Resources
Assessment
Process Orientated: Through
dedication to the writing
process: prewriting, drafting,
revising, and editing; minilessons emerging from student
writing; and reading related to
writing experiences.
Texts:
The Art of Teaching Writing,
Calkins
Frequent formative
assessments through teacherstudent writing conferences
The Writing Workshop, Calkins
and Harwayne
Published work taken through
the writing process
The Conferring Handbook,
Teacher Led: Through one-on- Calkins, Hartman, and White
one teacher-student
conferences, charting progress Writing Workshop: The
over time.
Essential Guide, Fletcher and
Portalupi
Peer Oriented: Through time
to orally share writing with
Craft Lessons: Teaching
classmates.
Writing K-8, Fletcher and
Portalupi
Expert Oriented: Through the
analysis of published authors’
Non-FictionCraft Lessons:
writing techniques.
Teaching Information Writing
K-8, Portalupi and Fletcher
Product Oriented: Through
the publication and celebration Websites:
of student writing.
www.ncte.org
www.readwritethink.org
Individual: Through quiet
blocks of time given for writing
exploration.
Writing Portfolio
Diagnostic Writing Assessment
MEAP
Essential Skill: Mathematical Thinking
Curriculum Components
Resources
Math Workshop
Texts:
Ongoing formative assessment
Elementary and Middle School including:
Mathematics: Teaching
Developmentally, Van de Walle - Periodic formative quizzes
Cooperative learning and
problem-solving skills
Inquiry-based data collecting
and analysis
Problem-solving approaches to
mathematics
Math Journaling
Calendar Math
Assessment
Young Mathematicians at
Work: Constructing Number
Sense, Addition, and
Subtraction, Fosnot & Dolk
- One-on-one task assessment
notes
Websites:
www.nctm.org
www.mitcccny.org
Pre- and post-tests for each
trimester’s units of study
- Timed skills practice quizzes
MEAP
Place-Based Education in Action: Stories from the Field
Finding the Alphabet All Around Town
Our team has traveled across the country visiting, observing, and experiencing schools that use PlaceBased Education. On our trip to Forest Grove Community School in Forest Grove, Oregon, one of the most
exciting examples of a Place-Based product was a professionally done alphabet photo book completed by
the youngest students. Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, cameras were donated to the kids as
they traveled through town taking pictures. They were specifically looking for places and things from the
community that fit the alphabet letter they were assigned. Once they’d taken a picture they loved that
captured their letter, they wrote a poem to go with their picture.
This project has all the elements of effective Place-Based Education: the children must go into the
community to complete the assignment, thereby establishing in them a sense of place and knowledge
about that place; the work is sponsored by a community entity (such as the Chamber of Commerce) that
supports and benefits from the school; students are learning core content material such as alphabetic
awareness and the writing process; creative expression is ingrained in the assignment, allowing for
individual strengths and talents to emerge; and there is a tangible product that demonstrates learning and
contributes to the community. It is also a beautifully produced book, proving that the youngest amongst us
are capable of producing quality work that can enrich all our lives.
From Julia Putnam, The James and Grace Lee Boggs School
Bats Need Houses, Too!
While learning about the habitats and roles of bats in Michigan ecosystems, Mrs. Magos’ and Mrs. Nagle’s
2nd & 3rd grade students learned that humans activities are destroying bats’ natural habitats. The students
and teachers felt they needed to do something about the problem. The first step was to create some places
where bats can live without the threat of losing their homes.
“My students wrote letters to many local area businesses and people who they thought might be willing to
hang a bat house. In these letters, they tried to teach the recipients all that they had learned about bats and
why they are of value to us and to our area. Many of my class’s bat houses have been hung: at a Preschool,
an orchard, a farm, homes, etc. One is scheduled to be hung at the University of Michigan in the Spring.” Teacher Wendy Nagle
The bat houses have also been hung in the homes of parents who volunteered to help the students
construct the bat houses, as well as at the Subaru offices neighboring the school.
From Ethan Lowenstein, Director, Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition and Professor of Curriculum
and Instruction, Eastern Michigan University
Sustainable Schools Project: What Does it Mean to be a Citizen in Our Neighborhood?
When Lawrence Barnes Elementary School teachers Amy LaChance and Deirdre Morris developed the
year long essential question for their 2nd and 3rd grade classes, "How do we care for the world and how
does the world care for us?" it made
sense to use the surrounding neighborhood as a springboard for
broader study. This winter, LaChance and Morris are keeping close to campus but expanding the walls of their
classroom
to include the Old North End neighborhood and to use community members as teachers as they set about
a new eight-week unit of study, "What does it mean to be a citizen in
our neighborhood?"
Key components of the Lawrence Barnes 2nd/3rd grade Neighborhood Unit:
Mapping: Students kick off the unit with the creation of a hall-sized map of their city, plotting their school,
roads, the river, lake, their homes and other points of community interest. Along the way, they learn map
reading skills and begin to visualize their place in new and different ways.
Literacy: Each week, students read neighborhood-themed informational text and fiction, exploring career
books and stories about children around the world. After a field trip, students write personal narratives
about the community resources they have visited.
Photography: In a workshop with a local photographer, students examine the powerful stories photographs
can tell. While viewing photos from a local newspaper, magazine advertisements and those taken by
children in
India and Haiti as part of the project Kids with Cameras, students learn to be mindful of each
shot as they use photography as a tool to share their individual voices and perspectives.
Field Trips: Equipped with clipboards, paper, pencils, inquiry skills and point-and-shoot cameras, small
groups of students embark on Friday afternoon field trips throughout
December and January. Each
excursion has 2-3
planned points of interest where students gather information as they meet with
community members, discovering new things about familiar and not-so-familiar places.
Service-Learning: The unit culminates in a class book illustrated with photos, illuminated with narratives
assembled as "An Old North End Neighborhood Guide," to be presented to new residents through the
Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.
Once they have evaluated the positive attributes and
opportunities for improvement in their community, students will be able to put their skills and knowledge into
action. They will perform a service-learning project of
their choosing to celebrate their work and
their
neighborhood. Possible projects include a neighborhood mural, assisting the food shelf, and a
community green-up.
By asking questions like "Where is our neighborhood? What makes our neighborhood function? What is the
history of our neighborhood? What roles do people have
in our community?" students begin to see the
interconnectedness of their place. Students have acquired and practiced these new skills and have come to
see and experience the familiar in a new light. Now they are ready to investigate new topics such as the
natural world, human
body systems, and the solar system. As students examine and value what is right
outside the school door, they are not only empowered to understand their neighbors as resources, but also
to begin their roles
as a stewards of the neighborhood and the greater community.
(Retrieved August 5, 2011 from http://www.promiseofplace.org/Stories_from_the_Field/Display?id=94)
New City River Kids: On the Move and Making Waves!
Teachers at the New City School, an independent school in St. Louis, Missouri, have been building strong
connections in their curriculum between classroom activities and field studies. As part of this effort, they
have taken things beyond simply engaging in outdoor learning by empowering the students to apply their
growing knowledge to make a difference in the community.
River Kids, an after school program made up of 4th through 6th graders at New City School, is making it a
point to become better educated themselves and then educate others and take action on issues relating to
river conservation. Carrying out this mission involves meeting on a regular basis to hear guest speakers,
participating in stream clean-ups and re-vegetation projects to improve riparian zones, and taking part in
community activities aimed at helping spread the word about river and water conservation issues.
At the St. Louis Earth Day held in Forest Park (St. Louis' large urban park) each year, River Kids acts as a
voice for river conservation by staffing its own booth. As part of this work, they use a stream table to
demonstrate what they have learned about streams and rivers over the course of their studies.
Integrating projects like this into both the regular school curriculum and the after-school program are
powerful ways for students to make connections between the classroom and the "real world." Preparing
students to teach others in an authentic context about the topics they have been studying also helps to
deepen their own understanding.
In addition to their Earth Day activities, River Kids also planned a benefit dinner at the City Museum to help
raise money for the River Des Peres Watershed Coalition, a local volunteer organization working to
improve the quality of our waterways and raise awareness about issues affecting St. Louis's streams and
rivers. At the dinner, they had activities including games, raffles, music, and dancing for all ages. All of the
proceeds from the dinner were given to the Coalition.
Watching the students' level of investment and dedication in River Kids activities is inspiring. Students not
only do a tremendous job of being advocates for rivers, but they play a role in nearly all aspects of the
group's operations, including helping to keep track of the group's budget and serving on planning
committees. This active, community-based learning environment sets the stage for students to grow up as
"citizens making a difference," one of the New City School’s themes for learning.
(Retrieved August 5, 2011 from http://www.promiseofplace.org/Stories_from_the_Field/Display?id=78)
Issue
S
O U T H1EA STSeptember
M IC H IG A N S
2010
T EW A RD SH IP C O A LIT
SIO
O UNT H EA ST M IC H IG AIssue
N ST EW
1 A RD
September
SH IP C O A LIT
2010
IO N
finding the
mea ning
of
community
in a pile of
t ir es
T r a cy D ur a ndet t o
Teacher, H ope of D etroit Academy
W HAT
4
C OMMUNITY ?
why are there so many brownfields in our
community and not the surrounding suburbs?
For the past three years Hope of D etroit Academy
(HO D A) and the Southeast Michigan Stewardship
Coalition (SEMIS) have been working together to
answer this question. Together with SEMIS, the
students at Hope of D etroit have been participating
in community-based projects to understand the
importance of becoming stewards of their
community. These projects included community
mapping, identifying brownfields,
starting a school recycling program,
tire sweeps, creating schoolyard
habitats and planning to make
improvements to the playground
next to the school.
The issue of brownfields stirs up powerful questions
about the connections between social and
ecological injustices.
IS
The topic of local illegal dumping came up in these
discussions.
D uring the past year, our school
petitioned the city to clean up the dumpsite next to
our school. W e collected over 500 signatures from
our parents, parents of children at a
neighboring school and other
community members.
W hile we
never received an official response
from the city, a few weeks later, the
garbage dumped on this site was
cleaned up.
Because our school is next to a
major brownfield site, one of our
first activities was to learn about
them.
W orking from curriculum
supplied by Creative Change
Educational Solutions, a SEMIS Community Partner
organization, students learned about the twelve
different types of brownfields (also known as “the
dirty dozen”) and how they affect the community,
both economically and environmentally.
The students’ concern about illegal
dumping inspired our Tire Sweep
program. If you were to drive
around the school’s neighborhood
you would see several piles of illegally dumped tires.
The students began questioning why this happens
and suggested working on a solution. W ith the help
of SEMIS and Southwest D etroit Environmental
Vision (SD EV), HO D A’s tire sweep event was born.
W orking within an EcoJustice framework we held
classroom discussions, and as we explored the topic
of brownfields, students at Hope considered the
question:
There were a series of activities involved in this
community-based project. The students first learned
how the dumped tires affect the environment and
they interviewed local tire distributors to find out
Responsive Classroom
The founders of the Boggs School know from experience that in order to have a strong academic culture,
we need a strong whole school culture. Our approach to a positive behavior system is to train all of our
staff to use Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom (www.responsiveclassroom.org) is a series of
teaching practices that promote community building in the classroom. It is based on the foundations of
child development, awareness that social and academic learning are symbiotic, and the belief that all
children want to learn and can learn.
In the early 1990’s, the Northeastern Foundation for Children began working in Washington D.C public
schools to share practical academic and social competencies. It was at this time, when they coined and
defined the term Responsive Classroom as “The Responsive Classroom approach is a widely used,
research-backed approach to elementary education that increases academic achievement, decreases
problem behaviors, improves social skills, and leads to more high-quality instruction.” Using this approach
at the Boggs School will help shape our school community and culture.
At the Boggs School, we believe that developing and teaching a social curriculum is key in healthy
development. The Responsive Classroom methods of establishing school culture, root teachers and
students in a positive environment with positive communication. It provides the tools, language, and
activities for academic and social success.
This philosophy of respect for children and the realization that children need to learn and practice the social
skills conducive to learning is a total complement to the Boggs School’s mission and vision for a school
that’s truly responsive to community needs, and we are confident that it will help us to establish a culture
where all children will academically, socially, and emotionally succeed.
Unit Outline
Theme
Home – The inaugural theme for the Boggs School is Home. This is the overarching theme that we come
back to throughout the year. All classes at all levels are working with the same main theme throughout the
year.
Home is a place, a space, and a venue where knowledge is applied. Home can denote a physical location
of our origin and family. It can be understood in terms of community, neighborhood, school, city, and region.
Paradoxically, it oscillates between permanence and ephemerality, concreteness and transience.
Home transcends the physical. It is what we know and where we have the most influence. It is the middle
of the bulls-eye with all else radiating outward like ripples in a pond. Home is the space where we
experience love, joy, belonging, and feel safe. Home, we believe, is not only experienced but it is
constructed, created, and fashioned. It is the place to which we always return.
Sub-theme
Family and Friends & Storytelling – Sub-themes act as the lenses through which we gain greater
understanding of the main theme. We can use our family and friends and the stories we have about them
to understand Home in a new and deeper way.
Unit Plan
This is a Kindergarten/First Grade unit plan. This unit is the particular application and integration of the
sub-themes Family and Friends & Storytelling expressly for Kindergarten/First Grade students. Units are
driven by 4 – 6 questions that students must answer, usually through a concrete outcome. The table below
lists the driving questions and tangible outcomes for this unit.
Questions
Who is in our family?
What makes a good friend?
What are some similarities between our family and
our friends?
How do we find out about our family stories?
What family story can I share?
What non-human families exist near our school?
Are we valuing each other’s gifts?
Outcomes
Family tree
A friend map
Venn Diagram
Interview of Family Member
Written and oral story ready for publication
Chart of neighborhood animal “friends”
Habit of Collaboration
Activities
Each of these outcomes is actualized through a series of activities. The activities lead to the successful
completion of the outcome. In general, most outcomes are completed through 4 – 8 activities.
Example
Outcome: Interview of a Family Member
Activities
Discuss how we find out information that we want to know from people
Define “interview”
Discuss how to conduct a good class interview (e.g. taking turns, active listening)
Brainstorm great interview questions
Practice interviewing skills with peers
Draft invitation to one or two guest family interviewees for more practice
Write and send thank you letters to guest interviewees
Each activity is connected to multiple CCSSs:
Activity
Discuss how we find out information that we
want to know from people
Define “interview”
Discuss how to conduct a good class interview
Research and brainstorm great interview
questions
CCSS
SL.K.1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and
adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to
others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts
under discussion).
b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
1st Grade extension:
SL.1. 1c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the
topics and texts under discussion.
RI.K 4. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions
about unknown words in a text.
1st Grade Extension:
RI.1. 4. Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify
the meaning of words and phrases in a text.
SL.K1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and
adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to
others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts
under discussion).
b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
1st Grade extension:
SL.1.1c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the
topics and texts under discussion.
W.K. 8.With guidance and support from adults, recall
information from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.
d. Understand and use
question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when,
why, how).
e. Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to,
from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
f. Produce and expand complete sentences in shared
language activities.
Practice interview skills with peers
SL.K 1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and
adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to
others and taking turns speaking about the topics and texts
under discussion).
b. Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
1st Grade extension:
SL.1. 1c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the
topics and texts under discussion.
SL.1. 3. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get
information, or clarify something that is not understood.
L. K. 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Draft invitation to one or two family members
interviewees for whole class practice
Write and send thank you letters to class
visitors
L.K. 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
a. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
c.Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel
sounds (phonemes).
d. Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of
sound-letter relationships.
Ist Grade Extension:
L.1.2 e. Spell untaught words
phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling
conventions.
Lesson Plans
The Common Core State Standards present the skills that students will need in order to complete each
activity. Lessons are designed to teach these skills and address the content expectations.
Example
Activity: Research and brainstorm great
interview questions
Lesson Plan
Theme: Home
Sub-theme: Family and Friends
Unit: Kindergarten/First Grade Family and Friends
Driving Question: How do we find out our family stories?
Final Outcome: Interview of a family member
Lesson Time and Setting: Two days (Day one: Morning Meeting, Guided Read Aloud. Day two: Morning
Meeting, Writer’s Workshop, Project Work)
Materials: Writing journals, chart paper, pencils, dry-erase easel, Tell Me a Story, Mama (picture book by
Angela Johnson)
Objectives:
SW use language that is appropriate to his/ her audience;
SW identify courtesy words;
SW use courtesy words;
SW identify interrogative phrases (e.g. Who, What, When, Where, Why)
SW use interrogative phrases
SW request information
Vocabulary: Courtesy, Interview, Request.
Introduction: Engage students in a discussion that situates this activity within the context of the larger subtheme and theme, addressing the following points:
Home is the main theme for our entire school year, and we understand that the people in our homes have
stories to tell about their own lives and childhoods. The stories of our family become our own stories. One
way to understand the people in our home - and therefore our own story - is to ask them questions about
themselves. Interviews are one way to question people about things we want to know more about. The
thematic question students are currently working on is, “How do we find out our family stories?” To answer
this question, students have discussed the people who they consider to make up their family. They have
discussed different kinds of families, including ones that are not human. They have listened to stories
about families and compared their friends to their family members. Students have listened to interviews of
authors and have decided to interview someone in their own family to figure out a family story to tell at the
end of the trimester. To conduct the interview, they will continue their research on good interview questions
(begun while listening to excerpts of interviews of famous authors) and come up with a class list of possible
questions to use when interviewing one family member at home.
Instruction:
Day One
Morning Meeting (whole group) – Morning Message includes a review of Question Words in the message
along with correct punctuation.
Guided Read Aloud (whole group in circle on carpet)—Read Tell Me a Story, Mama by Angela Johnson.
Ask children to notice what questions could produce the stories told by Mama. List the questions. Have
students notice the question words used.
Day Two
Morning Meeting (Whole group)--Morning greeting has greeter asking a question. Sharing time includes an
opportunity for children to answer the question they were greeted with.
Writer’s Workshop (whole group in circle on carpet) – Review list of questions from yesterday’s story.
Teacher notes: Comments make an observation, share information or an experience, or make a
connection; Questions are used to find an answer or gather more information.
Pose question: Do responses change depending on how a question is asked?
Connect: Different question words provoke different responses. Some questions are simply answered with
a yes or a no. Other questions inspire longer answers. Teacher asks students to model what questions
they’d ask if they wanted to hear a story. Several students are invited up to role-play being asked different
questions.
Shared writing: What are some questions one could ask that would prompt a story versus a yes or no
response?
Pose question: How do we ask questions courteously? Guide students towards noticing the use of
“courtesy” words. Connect courtesy to the concept of respect. Courtesy words include greetings like hello,
titles like ma’am or sir, and other words like please, thank you, excuse me, and you’re welcome.
Connect: Interviewing a family member may sound different than talking with them casually. Have students
discuss how it might sound different when they are conducting an interview with a family member rather
than just having dinner or watching TV with them.
Shared writing: create list of words that can be used to show courtesy and respect.
Pose questions: Are courtesy words appropriate when interviewing a family member? How will students
use courtesy words when interviewing at home?
Project Work Time (whole group on carpet; partners at work stations) –
Have students work with their mixed-age partner at their individual workstations to think of possible
questions they will ask at home for their interview.
Connect: After students have listed possible questions orally or in their writing journals, reconvene the class
on the carpet. Students share out some of their questions. Make sure questions are focused on content
that would be appropriate to share in school. As partner-groups share possible questions the teacher helps
them identify unique questions that haven’t already been posed by another group in order to gather a
variety of information. Students put a star next to the questions they will ask.
Assessment: Students gather in a whole group to debrief and share information about what they anticipate
hearing based on the questions they’ve compiled.
Informal Daily Assessment – Question and Answer: students identify common courtesy words and use
them appropriately; students are able to demonstrate asking questions versus making comments.
Possible Learning Record Material – Journal entry response to the Read Aloud book. Written list of
interview questions: look for questions with appropriate punctuation, complete sentences.
Mixed-Age Adjustments: Younger students focus on the oral language elements of the project (using
courtesy words, making a request, speaking clearly and succinctly, etc.) while older students also
incorporate writing (recording the content of the interview, writing journal entries in complete sentences
using correct punctuation, etc.). Students are grouped in mixed-age groupings.
Accommodations: Peer-pairings allow students who are as of yet unable to independently complete work
experience success and complete the content of the lesson.
Integration with Place-Based Education:
At the end of the first trimester, the community celebration of learning will include an exhibition of the work
the students have completed. This would entail a community art project where students will choose and
display their best work of the trimester, be it a portrait of the person they interviewed (which would include a
community member in the 2nd/3rd grade mix), an oral telling of their family/friend story that they’ve crafted
into a performance piece, or a written publication of their family story. The exhibition would be presented at
a community fair as a gift to the community and a public display of the “portrait mural”, where all
stakeholders in the school would be invited so that they may ask questions of the students, honor and
receive the gift of the students’ work.
Schedule 7d: Core Courses and Learner Outcomes
KINDERGARTEN
MATHEMATICS
LEARNER DOMAINS (CCSS)
LEARNER OUTCOMES (CCSS)
Counting and Cardinality
Know number names and the count sequence.
Count to tell the number of objects.
Compare numbers.
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking
from.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value.
Measurement and Data
Describe and compare measurable attributes.
Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category
Geometry
Identify and describe shapes.
Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.
Mathematical Practices
1. 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
4. 4. Model with mathematics.
5. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. 6. Attend to precision.
7. 7. Look for and make use of structure.
8. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ARTS
STRAND
LEARNER DOMAINS (CCSS)
LEARNER OUTCOMES (CCSS)
READING:
LITERATURE
Key Ideas & Details
RL K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
Craft & Structure
RL K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RL K.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
RL K.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., storybooks, poems).
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
READING:
INFORMATIONAL
TEXT
Range of Reading & Level of Text
Complexity
Key Ideas & Details
RL K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they
appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
RL K.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in
familiar stories.
RL K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
RI K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RI K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
RI K.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of
information in a text.
RI K.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
RI K.5 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a boo
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
RI K.6 Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the ideas or information
in a text.
RI K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they
appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
RI K.8 With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.
READING:
FOUNDATIONAL
SKILLS
Range of Reading & Level of Text
Complexity
Print Concepts
RI K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same
topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
RI K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
RF K.1 Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
RF K.1.b Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
RF K.1.c Understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
RF 1.d Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Phonological Awareness
RF K.2 Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
RF K.2.a Recognize and produce rhyming words.
RF K.2.b Count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
RF K.2.c Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
RF K.2.d. Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme
(consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words.*(This does not include CVCs ending with /l/, /r/,or /x/.)
RF K.2.e Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
Phonics & Word Recognition
RF K.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
RF K.3.a Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most
frequent sound for each consonant.
RF K.3.b Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
RF K.3.c P Read common high-frequency words by sight. (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).
RF 3.d Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
RF K.3.d Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
WRITING
Fluency
RF K.4 Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
Text Types & Purposes
W K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which
they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
W K.3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked
events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.
W K.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details
to strengthen writing as needed.
W K.6 With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing,
including in collaboration with peers.
Production & Distribution of Writing
Research to Build & Present Knowledge
SPEAKING &
LISTENING
Comprehension & Collaboration
Presentation of Knowledge & Ideas
LANGUAGE
Conventions of Standard English
W K.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author
and express opinions about them).
W K.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.
SL K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with
peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL K.1.a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others and taking turns speaking about the
topics and texts under discussion).
SL K.1.b Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.
SL K.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by
asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
SL K.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not
understood.
SL K.4 Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional
detaiL
SL K.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detaiL
L K.1 Demonstrate command of the grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L K.1.a Print many upper- and lowercase letters.
L K.1.b Use frequently occurring nouns and verbs.
L K.1.c Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
L K.1.d Understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
L K.1.e Use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with).
L K.1.f Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
L K.2 Demonstrate command of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L K.2.a Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.
L K.2.b Recognize and name end punctuation.
L K.2.c Write a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).
L K.2.d Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
Vocabulary Acquisition & Use
L K.4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on
kindergarten reading and content.
L K.4.a Identify new meanings for familiar words and apply them accurately (e.g., knowing duck is a bird and
learning the verb to duck).
L K.4.b Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes (e.g., -ed, -s, re-, un-, pre-, -ful, -less) as a clue
to the meaning of an unknown word.
L 5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L K.5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
L K.5.a Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories
represent.
L K.5.b Demonstrate understanding of frequently occurring verbs and adjectives by relating them to their
opposites (antonyms).
SCIENCE
STRAND
LEARNER DOMAINS (GLCE)
LEARNER OUTCOMES (GLCE)
Science Processes
Inquiry Process
S.IP.00.11 Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses.
S.IP.00.12 Generate questions based on observations.
S.IP.00.13 Plan and conduct simple investigations.
S.IP.00.14 Manipulate simple tools (for example: hand lens, pencils, balances, non-standard objects for
measurement) that aid observation and data collection.
S.IP.00.15 Make accurate measurements with appropriate (non-standard) units for the measurement tool.
S.IP.00.16 Construct simple charts from data and observations.
Inquiry Analysis and Communication
S.IA.00.12 Share ideas about science through purposeful conversation.
S.IA.00.13 Communicate and present findings of observations.
S.IA.00.14 Develop strategies for information gathering (ask an expert, use a book, make observations, conduct
simple investigations, and watch a video).
Reflection and Social Implications
Physical Science
Force and Motion
S.RS.00.11 Demonstrate scientific concepts through various illustrations, performances, models, exhibits, and
activities.
P.FM.00.11 Compare the position of an object (for example: above, below, in front of, behind, on) in relation to
other objects around it.
P.FM.00.12 Describe the motion of an object (for example: away from or closer to) from different observers’
views.
P.FM.00.21 Observe how objects fall toward the earth.
P.FM.00.31 Demonstrate pushes and pulls.
Life Science
Organization of Living Things
P.FM.00.32 Observe that objects initially at rest will move in the direction of the push or pull.
P.FM.00.33 Observe how pushes and pulls can change the speed or direction of moving objects.
P.FM.00.34 Observe how shape (for example: cone, cylinder, sphere), size, and weight of an object can affect
motion.
L.OL.00.11 Identify that living things have basic needs.
L.OL.00.12 Identify and compare living and nonliving things.
Earth Science
Solid Earth
E.SE.00.11 Identify Earth materials (air, water, soil) that are used to grow plants.
STRAND
LEARNER DOMAINS (GLCE)
LEARNER OUTCOMES (GLCE)
History
Living and Working Together
SOCIAL STUDIES
Use historical thinking to understand the
past.
K – H2.0.1 Distinguish among yesterday, today, tomorrow.
K – H2.0.2 Create a timeline using events from their own lives (e.g., birth, crawling, walking, loss of first tooth,
first day of school).
K – H2.0.3 Identify the beginning, middle, and end of historical narratives or stories.
K – H2.0.4 Describe ways people learn about the past (e.g., photos, artifacts, diaries, stories, videos).
Geography
The World in Spatial Terms
Use geographic representations to acquire, K – G1.0.1 Recognize that maps and globes represent places.
process, and report information from a
spatial perspective.
K – G1.0.2 Use environmental directions or positional words (up/down, in/out, above/below) to identify significant
locations in the classroom.
Places and Regions
Understand how regions are created from
common physical and human
characteristics.
Environment and Society
K – G2.0.1 Identify and describe places in the immediate environment (e.g., classroom, home, playground).
Understand the effects of humanenvironment interactions.
K – G5.0.1 Describe ways people use the environment to meet human needs and wants (e.g., food, shelter,
clothing).
Civics & Government Values and Principles of American
Democracy
K – C2.0.1 Identify our country’s flag as an important symbol of the United States.
K – C2.0.2 Explain why people do not have the right to do whatever they want (e.g., to promote fairness, ensure
the common good, maintain safety).
K – C2.0.3 Describe fair ways for groups to make decisions.
Role of the Citizen in American Democracy
K – C5.0.1 Describe situations in which they demonstrated self-discipline and individual responsibility (e.g.,
caring for a pet, completing chores, following school rules, working in a group, taking turns).
Economics
Market Economy
K - E1.0.1 Distinguish between goods and services.
K - E1.0.2 Describe economic wants they have experienced.
K - E1.0.3 Recognize situations in which people trade.
Public Discourse,
Identifying and Analyzing Public Issues
Decision Making, and
Citizen Involvement
K – P3.1.1 Identify classroom issues.
K – P3.1.2 Use simple graphs to explain information about a classroom issue.
K – P3.1.3 Compare their viewpoint about a classroom issue with the viewpoint of another person.
Persuasive Communication About a Public
Issue
K - P3.3 Communicate a reasoned position on a public issue.
K – P3.3.1 Express a position on a classroom issue.
Citizen Involvement
K – P4.2.1 Participate in projects to help or inform others.
K – P4.2.2 Develop and implement an action plan to address or inform others about a public issue.