Elementary School Curriculum

ADOPTED CURRICULUM: MONDO’S BOOKSHOP COMMON CORE

Mondo is a comprehensive literacy program that offers teachers all elements of reading instruction. This program allows teachers to differentiate effectively and assess student growth throughout the year.

Components of Bookshop CC:

Information is taken from: "Bookshop Literacy Program." Mondo Publishing. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2017. 

READING RESOURCES FOR PARENTS:

• Whole Group Reading: Supporting deep, analytical thinkers while building thematic concepts and subject-area knowledge.
• Small-Group Reading: Meeting all students where they are as they practice standards from the whole group in a small group setting.
• Phonics: Teach phonics through sequential, fast-paced routines that develop foundational skills for proficient reading.
• Word Recognition/Study: Cover foundational and language standards for proficient reading and writing, teaching conventions of standard grammar usage and complete word analysis.
• Writing: Developing analytical and strategic writers, communicating ideas clearly and purposefully.
• Speaking & Listening and Language: Supporting language development throughout the literacy block with thoughtful meaningful conversations. Oral language explicit instruction embedded within lessons and small groups.
• MISD tips for reading at home
• Reading Rockets
• U.S. Dept. of Education
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Literacy Central
• Parenting a struggling reader. New York. Broadway Books. Hall, S. & Moats, L.C. (2002)
• Straight Talk about Reading. Hall, S.L. & Moats, L.C. (1999) Chicago, Ill. Contemporary Books
• Starting out right: A guide to promoting children's reading success. National Research Council. (1999). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
• Put reading first: Helping your child learn to read: A parent guide: Preschool through grade 3. The Partnership for Reading. (2000). MD: National Institute for Literacy.
• 7 keys to comprehension: How to help your kids read it and get it! Zimmermann, S., & Hutchings, C., (2003). New York: Three Rivers Press. 

Adopted Curriculum: Houghton Mifflin Math Expressions 

Mercer Island School District has used Math Expressions for several years. The most recent updates to this program were made a few years ago with the launch of Math Expressions Common Core.

Math Expressions combines elements of standards-based instruction with the best traditional approaches. Through drawings, conceptual language, inquiry, and real-world examples, it helps students make sense of mathematics. Put your students on the path to becoming lifelong learners—and lovers—of all things math.

Math Expressions is a comprehensive mathematics program that: 

• Develops mathematical concepts deeply and also develops skills through the use of research-based instructional strategies and learning paths, with daily investigative activities using objects, drawings, and real-world situations to help students make sense of the math and practice activities including facts fluency plans at grades 3–5.
• Provides rich resources in the Teacher Edition for hands-on activities with manipulatives and conceptual supports such as secret code cards, visual activities with MathBoards proof pictures, learning center activities, and Math Talk experiences, helping students explain and justify their thinking and develop their reasoning.
• Includes rich problem-solving and reasoning opportunities that focus on word problem types and structures, similar to the approaches in cognitively guided instruction (CGI).
• Relates research-based accessible algorithms to common algorithms, providing bridges from concrete, to pictorial, to abstract fluency.
• Focuses on inquiry and fluency (the hallmark of Math Expressions) that ensures student achievement of the Washington K-12 Mathematics Standards.

Mercer Island School District adheres to OSPI Standards for Grades K–5.

• Social Studies Skills
• Civics
• Economics
• Geography
• History

Adopted Curriculum: Center for the Collaborative Classroom’s Being a Writer and Guided Spelling

Center for the Collaborative Classroom is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to providing continuous professional learning for teachers and curricula that support the academic, ethical, and social development of children.

Being a Writer: The Being a Writer program provides a writing-process approach to teaching writing that interweaves academic and social-emotional learning for K–5 students.

Using authentic children’s literature, the program provides support for creating a Collaborative Classroom environment where teachers facilitate student discussion, provide a model for the respectful exchange of ideas, and help students develop their own voice.

Intentional Blending of Social and Academic Learning: Research has proven that when students feel connected to their school and peers, they perform better academically, are more motivated to achieve, and exhibit helpful behaviors toward others. Being a Writer’s daily routines are based on cooperative work and caring, respectful relationships. The program helps teachers take deliberate steps to create a classroom writing community where students feel empowered, supported in taking risks, and responsible to themselves and to the group.

Guided Spelling: The Guided Spelling program is a yearlong curriculum for grades 1–5 that is based on recognized research in spelling and expands on what our students learn in Mondo’s Phonics. During a Guided Spelling session, the teacher guides students before and as they spell words, which helps develop proficient, metacognizant spellers who are deliberate in anticipating the pitfalls of the English language and who know which spelling approaches to use when writing.

Information is taken from: "Being a Writer." Center for the Collaborative Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2017. 

Writing Resources for Parents:

• How to Help Your Child Become a Better Writer: Suggestions for Parents from the National Council of Teachers of English, 1980.
• Children's Literacy Initiative
• OWL: Purdue Online Writing Lab