Elementary School Curriculum

If you have elementary curriculum questions, send an email.

K-5 Subject Areas:

English Language Arts and Reading

The core of the Dalton Public School' Elementary Literacy Program is the Literacy Collaborative Framework. The Framework, designed for primary and intermediate grades around Georgia Performance Standards, is implemented in all of the elementary classrooms and allows teachers to customize learning for each individual student. The primary model is composed of the following elements:

                                    Primary Model (K—2)

Definitions of Key Elements:

Interactive Read Aloud: The teacher reads aloud to the whole class or small groups. At certain key points, as the teacher reads the book, the children are drawn into a conversation about the book. A carefully selected body of children’s literature is used; the collection contains a variety of genre and represents our diverse society. Favorite texts, selected for special features, are reread many times.

Shared Reading: Using an enlarged text that all children can see, the teacher involves children in reading together following a pointer. The process includes: re-reading big books, retellings, alternative texts, and products of the interactive writing.

Guided Reading: The teacher works with small, temporary groups of students who are at about the same reading ability. The teacher selects and introduces new books and supports children reading the whole text to themselves making teaching points during and after the reading.

Independent Reading: Children read on their own or with partners from a special collection at their reading level.

Shared Writing: Teacher and children work together to compose messages and stories; the teacher supports the writing by being the scribe.

Interactive Writing: As in shared writing, teacher and children compose messages and stories which are written using a “shared pen” technique that involves christen in the writing of the message or story.

Guided Writing/Writing Workshop: The children engage in the writing a variety of texts. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through mini-lessons.

Independent Writing: Children write on their own, including stories, informational pieces, retellings, labeling, speech balloons, lists, etc. The teacher monitors the work and provides individual assistance.

Word Work: Woven through the activities in the framework teachers have opportunities to help children notice and use letters and words; knowledge is further fostered through the use of alphabet centers and word walls. The work includes: phonemic awareness, phonics/decoding, fast words, etc.

                                    Intermediate Model (3—6)

Definitions of Key Elements:

Independent Reading: Students engage in independent reading of a variety of texts and engage in periodic written response. The teacher provides daily mini-lessons and confers with individuals to support and assess reading as well as teach to the individual’s needs. The reading is usually followed by a form of sharing and evaluation. Accelerated Reader** is a component of the independent reading program.

Guided Reading: The teacher works with small, temporary groups of students with similar reading ability. The teacher provides explicit teaching of effective reading strategies for processing a variety of fiction and information texts. The teacher introduces the text and the students process (read) it independently. The teacher selects teaching points based on readers’ needs and assigns oral and/or written response tasks.

Literature Study: The teacher and students set up assigned reading/writing tasks and agreed upon meeting times. Students engage in in-depth discussion about a text they have read or heard. The teacher is generally with the group for discussion, though the students take turns facilitating the discussion. The teacher, in consultation with the group, structures written responses.

Independent Writing: The teacher begins with a “writer talk,” and then provides a daily mini-lesson based on the needs of writers. Students engage in the writing process, sometimes using a writer’s notebook and other times drafting, revising, editing, or publishing a piece of work. Topics are self-selected or at times assigned by the teacher. The teacher confers with individuals to support and address needs. Students may have conferences with peers. The session is usually followed by group sharing and evaluation.

Guided Writing: The teacher pulls together small, temporary groups of writers to provide explicit teaching based on the writers’ needs at a particular point in time. The teacher explicitly and efficiently works with students to teach writer’s craft, strategies and skills.

Investigations: Using reading, writing, and various media resources (including technology), students explore topics in-depth. They use research skills to examine works of literature, study authors, or work in a content area. The result can be a presentation, performance, display or written report related to the research. The teacher provides guidelines, a structure and a timeline for the projects as well as explicit instruction as appropriate.

Literacy In Grades K-6

Literacy Collaborative is a comprehensive school reform project designed to improve the reading, writing, and language skills of elementary and middle school children. The cornerstone of this project is dynamic, long-term professional development. School-based literacy coordinators are trained in research-based methods; provided with ongoing professional development as they continually implement research-based approaches in their own classrooms; and supported as they provide on-site training for the teachers in their schools. The goal of this comprehensive effort is to significantly raise the level of literacy achievement for all students.

The Literacy Collaborative incorporates all of the elements of effective schools to support improved literacy instruction and student achievement through:

• Providing a research-based instructional model that is language-based, student-centered, process-oriented, and outcome-based;
• Creating in-school and in-district leadership through the training and support of school-based literacy leadership teams, administrators, and literacy coordinators;
• Establishing long-term site-based development for every member of the school’s literacy faculty; and
• Helping schools monitor the progress of every student through systematized assessment, data collection, and analysis.

Literacy Collaborative is a comprehensive model designed to provide a school-wide approach for improving the reading and writing achievement of children. Literacy Collaborative includes ten essential characteristics, which define a Literacy Collaborative school. The curriculum is based on a comprehensive language and literacy framework that includes a wide range of individual, small-group, and large-group reading and writing activities guided by ongoing assessment consistent with recommended national standards for K-6 literacy education. The language and literacy framework, the instructional core of the Literacy Collaborative model, includes components which address the five essential elements of reading instruction — phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension — as identified by the National Reading Panel. Literacy Collaborative schools have Reading Recovery as a safety net for first grade children experiencing difficulty with reading and writing.

Literacy Collaborative has been a service mark of The Ohio State University since 1998. Lesley University was granted use of the service mark in 1999 for the development of the intermediate model, and in 2004 for the development of the middle-school model. Schools that meet the Literacy Collaborative Standards are granted royalty-free use of the service mark on a yearly basis. National governance is provided by the Literacy Collaborative Trademark Committee. Current members are Jill Eurich, Irene Fountas, Andrea McCarrier, Gay Su Pinnell, Diane Powell, and Patricia Scharer (chair).

http://www.literacycollaborative.org/

http://www.gadoe.org/ci_services.aspx?PageReq=CIServEnglish

Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition

Thank you to students and teachers who participated in this year’s Young Georgia Authors’ Writing Competition. We had many engaging and well-written entries. The State-Level Winners will be recognized at the October State Board of Education Meeting.

Math

Kindergarten:

By the end of kindergarten, students will understand small numbers, quantities, and simple shapes in their everyday environment. They will also count, compare, describe and sort objects, and develop a sense of properties and patterns. Students will begin to understand measurement through the direct comparison of objects, money by making fair trades with coins and the concept of time by experiencing a daily schedule.

First Grade:

By the end of grade one, students will understand and use the concept of ones and tens in the place value number system. The students will add and subtract small numbers with ease. They will represent quantity with numbers, models, diagrams, and number sentences. They will begin to use tools for measuring and observe, create, and decompose geometric shapes and solve simple problems including those involving spatial relationships. The students will pose questions, record data, and interpret simple charts and picture graphs.

Second Grade:

By the end of grade two, students will understand place value and number relationships in addition and subtraction and use simple concepts of multiplication. They will measure length with appropriate units and determine perimeter. Students will classify shapes and see relationships among them by recognizing their geometric attributes. They will know the relationships of time and count back change. The students will collect, analyze, and interpret data using bar graphs and Venn diagrams.

Third Grade:

By the end of grade three, students will understand place value. They will further develop their understanding and their skills with addition and subtraction of whole numbers and decimals. They will also expand their knowledge base of multiplication and division of whole numbers. Students will understand the concepts of length, perimeter, area, and time. Students will broaden their understanding of characteristics of previously studied geometric figures. They will solve problems by collecting, organizing, displaying and interpreting data.

Fourth Grade:

By the end of grade four, students will add and subtract decimal fractions and common fractions with common denominators. They will also understand how and when it is appropriate to use rounding. Students will use common measurement units to determine weight. Students will develop their understanding of measuring angles with appropriate units and tools. Students will understand the characteristics of geometric plane and solid figures. They will also use tables, graphs, and charts to record and analyze data.

 Fifth Grade:

Link to Georgia Performance Standards:

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Georgia%20Performance%20Standards/Grades-K-2-Mathematics-Standards.pdf

http://www.gadoe.org/ci_services.aspx?PageReq=CIServMath

Science

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Pages/BrowseStandards/ScienceStandards.aspx

Social Studies

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Standards/Pages/BrowseStandards/SocialStudiesStandards.aspx

By the end of grade five, students will further develop their understanding of multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimal fractions. They will also understand and investigate algebraic mathematical expressions. Students will also expand their understanding of computing area and volume of simple geometric figures. Students will understand the meaning of congruent geometric shapes and the relationship of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. They will also use percentages and circle graphs to interpret statistical data.