Ms. Cathy Cannon, Director of Teaching & Learning

 

District 95 Curriculum Overview

For Parents & Community

This section of our district's website has been prepared by the district's curriculum committees and the Director of Teaching & Learning. It's purpose is to share an overview of what we do here in each subject area and at each grade level. This overview is not meant to be all-inclusive. Instead, its purpose is to provide basic information about our district's curriculum and encourage parents to participate more fully in their child's educational experience. In the coming year we will be continually adding more resource links that you can access from home to help supplement our curriculum at school and/or just enrich your child's educational experience.

As you browse through our Curriculum Maps, there are several important points to keep in mind. First, these are working drafts that might be revised with additions mid-year when we tweak the sequence of material or add a mini-unit to better address the changing world around us. For example, this year the Social Studies classes may integrate a mini-election unit or an Olympic unit to help broaden our national and global awareness. A reading class may switch up when they do a novel or provide alternatives to better fit the needs of their students. The Illinois State Standards and overall objectives will always stay constant but the when and how may change as needed.

Second, the instructional technology is a big piece in each subject and we strive to integrate it as much as we can to stay current. Students will enjoy multiple opportunities to create and innovate their lessons with technology either in the classroom with roaming ibook carts or in our new computer labs.

Third, this year will be the third year we will have all 3rd-8th graders writing research papers. These skills will be taught in both library and English classes. Some of these may be interdisciplinary so at the Middle School level multiple teachers may be involved in the process.

Lastly, keep in mind our key district initiatives currently:

  • Differentiation in every subject area to best fit the needs of each individual's strengths and weaknesses. We will have Institute Days dedicated to this initiative with expert speakers as well as staff meetings covering specific instructional or planning strategies that can be implemented by all teachers in all disciplines such as differentiated assessment, hands-on learning, writer's workshop, boy learners, essential questioning, gifted learners, or inclusion.
  • Writing across the curriculum using our 6+1 Traits method as well as a form of Writer's Workshop. 6+1 uses picture books to break apart the essential traits for writing quality essays, poems, stories. Writer's Workshop helps students understand the process of writing (brainstorming, pre-writing, drafting, conferencing, editing, revising, presenting). Our heightened expectations for quality writing includes emphasis on mechanics that includes spelling, punctuation, capitalization and proper grammar. Our new Language Arts core series in each building will do a nice job of helping integrate writing, grammar and reading into our block style of teaching.
  • Assessment across the board will be re-evaluated to make sure we are not over assessing and that we have the proper tools for placement into different levels of support. Along with the state required assessments (ISATs in March) we will continue to use a nationally- normed standardized test, M.A.P. (measured assessed progress) debuting this winter to help guide our instructional needs. In 2011-2012 the students will begin to take a M.A.P. test in the Spring and Fall to show their progress within that given year. Our writing portfolios will continue this year and the teachers, students and parents will be able to use this tool to watch the student's progress in writing from grades K-5 and then 6-8. Starting this year, the students will also include a copy of their research paper and a poem to their portfolio. Math teachers will continue to give a benchmark assessment at the end of January and May to assess the long-term retention of the semester's curriculum. A basic math fact assessment (8 minute timed) will be given to all 1st - 5th graders to assess if their basic math fact knowledge is progressing and to ensure they are ready for the middle school curriculum.

Finally, we recognize that our students will live their lives in this new and ever changing and demanding century. We are committed to providing an educational program that prepares them for the challenges and opportunities that await them.