Somers Central School DistrictBoard of Education Meeting, January 20, 2015

NEW PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL

New Standards in ELA and Math along with examination of student learning data prompted a curriculum resource review process

Review Curriculum

RC

Implement Curriculum

IC

Implement and Review

Curriculum

IRC

Evaluate Effectiveness

EE

ELA - Fundations

Building foundational skills - phonemic awareness, phonics, word study - to build students’ abilities as readers and writers

Students working in large group Fundations word study

Students working individually on building words

Using gel pens to spell words from teacher dictation

Independent practice

ELA – Units of Study – A CC Workshop Curriculum by Lucy Calkins

Building a comprehensive K-5 Writing Program

ELA – Lucy Calkins CC Writing Units of Study

Grade Opinion/Argument Information Narrative

K Persuasive Writing of All Kinds

Launching the Writing Workshop

Launching the Writing Workshop

How-To Books Writing for Readers

1 Writing Reviews Nonfiction Chapter Books

Small Moments

From Scenes to Series

2 Writing About Reading Lab Reports and Science Books

Lessons from the Masters

3 Changing the World The Art of Information Writing

Crafting True Stories

Once Upon a Time

4 Boxes and Bullets Bringing History to Life The Arc of Story

The Literary Essay

5 Shaping Texts The Lens of History Narrative Craft

The Research-Based Argument Essay

Shaping Texts

Teacher-Created Charts in the Writing Workshop

Mathematics – Embracing both the Content and the Practices of Common Core Mathematics

The Standards for Mathematical Practices:• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

• Model with mathematics• Use appropriate tools strategically• Attend to precision• Look for and make use of structure• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

"The extensive research and field testing of Everyday Mathematics has always been the cornerstone of the program's success and the new features in Everyday Mathematics 4 were developed in direct response to our latest findings," said Andy Isaacs, Director of the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education. "By building a curriculum that leverages what students already know as the starting point and by allowing them to draw on their own everyday experiences and common sense to solve problems, we are setting students up to become confident, lifelong learners and math enthusiasts.“

The CCSS definition of rigor includes three dimensions: procedural skill (including fact mastery), conceptual understanding, and applications. EM has always been strong on all three of these dimensions, and particularly strong on concepts and applications.

Building Procedural Fluency AND the ability to apply learning and explain thinking

Games – both hands on and online – enhance engagement

Let’s hear from our Teachers!