Curriculum

       In my district we have a curriculum coordinator. She supports the school in deciding which programs to adopt to use as curriculum for each subject.

     In math we use Everyday Math. The program is a spiral broken into units where new concepts are introduced and then supported with more challenging problems. The programs comes with text books, student journals, and all the resources which go with the program.

     In literacy and science we use Scott Foresman. In literacy the program comes with a story for each week with supporting skills, grammar lessons, and spelling words. There are leveled readers which support the stories.

     In science there are chapters organized into units. The program comes with worksheets, quick labs, and leveled readers.

     For social studies we use a program called, Alive. The fourth grade program brings the students on a tour across the United States. There is an interactive workbook, text book, and audio CD which goes with the program.

     Writing is interesting in that we do not have a specific program which the school has adopted. We use the 6-traits of writing model school-wide. We have units of study which the grade level teams collaborate to agree on. We set objectives for the students to meet then plan to make sure all students meet them.  My first year was challenging where I did not have as much support to go by as the other subjects. However, I liked that I had more freedom and could be more creative in adapting my instruction to be engaging and fun!