Curriculum

Readers Workshop + Writers Workshop + Word Work + Math + Science + Social Studies

Readers Workshop

          In our school, we use the Readers Workshop curriculum and format to teach reading skills and strategies. Every day, a mini-lesson with an objective is taught to students in a whole group. Students are then dismissed to collect their reading drawer and choose a spot in the classroom to begin their independent reading. The reading drawer holds their reading binder, self-chosen books at their level, post-its, and writing utensils. Students read and respond to their reading during this time in their binders. I confer with students and hold guided reading groups to teach more targeted skills in groups of students at similar reading levels. The reading units will be aligned with the other 4/5 classes (Contemporary and Montessori) in our school. These units and lessons are thoughtfully planned in our grade level teams so that across programs, students are learning similar skills and can work/learn together!

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Writers Workshop

          Writers Workshop is similar to the format of Readers Workshop. A short mini-lesson focusing on a writing strategy is given at the start of the writing time. Students are taught tips and skills to try out in their writing during this lesson. Each student has a writing journal and a writing folder that hold their loose papers (graphic organizers or published papers). During the writing time, I hold conferences with individual or groups of students who need guiding in particular skills. Students will go through the writing process: brainstorming/gathering, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. We will hold writing celebrations from time to time where students can share their writing and we can celebrate their masterpieces!

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Word Work

          Word work includes spelling practice, Correct the Sentence workbook, and a "Morphology Dictionary". All word work will be housed in a folder that each student will have accessible in their desks. Spelling words are based on the Words Their Way curriculum lists. This list is assigned after an initial spelling inventory assessment. Students will have 2 weeks to practice their words along with in-class activities to study their words. Grammar lessons using Montessori materials are given during work time. The Morphology Dictionary features 320 prefixes, suffixes, and roots that will be studied throughout the school year. It will help students understand the meanings of words when studying the affixes and roots. This dictionary will be studied along with the spelling lists.

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Math

          In our class, we will be using the newly adopted math curriculum called "Math in Focus" in addition to the Montessori Math curriculum to teach units of math concepts. Math mini-lessons (15 minutes) are given daily as a small group based on the unit we are studying. Follow-up activities/work is assigned and turned in daily as well as an exit ticket. An exit ticket can be a mini-quiz, quick worksheet, a question to answer, word problems, or even a simple post-it that demonstrates student learning. This helps me to see what students know and which students need a review or extra practice. Unit tests are given at the end of each unit - the graded test will be returned to students to share with their families.

          Rocket Math is a math facts curriculum that help students learn facts and memorize them. It is a timed worksheet with differentiated goals depending on each student's writing speed. We spend about 5 minutes of our day to practice and take the Rocket Math test daily.

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Science

          We will study three different science units (district curriculum) including: Models & Designs, Microworlds, and Land & Water, in that order. We will incorporate some of the Montessori science curriculum touching on some concepts of Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Science, and Life Science. Many of the science lessons are given during work time with follow up activities as choice work on shelves. Students keep a science journal to record their findings from experiments and lessons. Science writing/recording is a critical part in these grades so that students are learning to communicate their ideas, data, and findings/learning.

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Social Studies

          Social Studies will consist of studies in American History and Government. We will incorporate much of our social studies lesson into Writers Workshop so that we will be writing about these topics.

          As part of Social Studies, we will also implement the new school-wide behavior system called: RULER. We are learning more about this program as a school and we will give more information as the year goes on.

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