1. Van Buren School District
K-5 Elementary Schools
“Every Child. Whatever It Takes.”
Meeting the needs of 21st Century children
2. Why is school so different from
when you were in school?
3. BECAUSE...
We must prepare students to
meet the demands of the ever
changing, high-tech world of the
21st Century.
4. 21st Century skills require:
• Solving problems flexibly
• Thinking critically
• Using knowledge and skills in new situations
• Working collaboratively with others
• Communicating effectively
6. The K-5 Elementary School
Environment
is
Caring Small
Warm
Safe Learning
Nurturing
Communities
7. Kindergarten – Fourth Grade
Self Contained Classrooms where
students have one teacher for instruction for
Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies
Class Size
Kindergarten = 20 children
First – Third Grade = 25 children
Fourth Grade = 28 children
8. Fifth Grade
Two -Teacher Teams
Students have one teacher for Literacy and
Social Studies for one half a day
THEN
Students have another teacher for Math and
Science for the other half of the day
Class Size
Fifth Grade = 28 children
9. Highly Qualified Teachers
Means
Teachers are Learners Too!
Teachers participate in weekly team
meetings
for
Job-embedded Professional Development.
10. Instruction
is
• Child-centered
• Personalized
• Standards-
based
11. Instruction
is
Child-Centered
•Developmentally
Appropriate
•Active and engaging
•Social
12. Personalized Instruction
is
Workshop
Goals of Workshop
•Teach students to develop independence .
•Teach students to develop understanding
•Teach students to extend and apply knowledge.
•Teach students to be aware of how they learn.
•Teach students to monitor and reflect on their learning.
•Teach students to work collaboratively with peers and
adults.
•Teach students to set and reach their own learning goals.
13. Standards-Based Instruction
is
Common Core
The Van Buren District K-5 Curriculum is:
• Comprehensive Literacy
• Math Investigations
• Science & Social Studies
Many people tend to think school still looks and should look like it did when they were in school. This is the question we must answer in our vision.
How the world is differentInformation is growing faster than anyone can keep up Technology use is not an option and it is part of a child’s world now so they are wired different We are preparing children for a world we can’t even imagine, jobs that have not been created We compete in a global economy not local. Skills required for this new world are very different.
Research has identified these specific skills for success in 21st Century.
Our mission is to educate all children. We understand to do this we first have to transition children from home to school. Our goal is to make the transition from home to school as seamless and smooth as possible
This means our elementary school environment is extremely important. We strive to make school an extension of family. This is the child’s first step into the larger community. Classrooms are warm, caring and nurturing environments. Children must learn how to care about themselves and others Respect is necessary in order to work in the community of school
What do the classrooms look like? K-4 what we call self-contained. One teacher with a group of students all day. All core subjects . Art, Music, PE, Library, Technology students have different teachers. Max Class size varies: K- 20, 1-3 is 25, 4-5 is 28
5th grade students will have two teachers for core subjects.One teacher for Literacy and Social Studies, and a different teacher for Math and Science. 5th grade students will also have art, music PE , library and technologywith different teachers. Max class size is 28
We understand that the teacher is a critical part of the school environment. Classrooms are nurturing because teachers design and set the tone for the environment. The school is a learning community and our elementary schools have led the way in establishing the expectation that teachers are learners too. Teachers meet weekly in team meetings to collaborate with their peers and participate in job-embedded PD.
At the heart of school and learning is instruction. Instruction in our K-5 schools is child-centered, personalized and standards based Child centered means it is research –based and developmentally appropriate Personalized means that teachers diagnosis student needs through assessments then design instruction to meet individual student needs Standards-Based means that everything students do and learn is based on standards established by the Arkansas Department of Education Currently we are transitioning to the Common Core Standards adopted by 47 states.
Research tells us that instruction which is child centered is the most powerful and produces the best results. This means that all programs, activities and experiences the children have each day are age appropriate. Children are not asked to do work which is beyond their ability. The learning experiences are crafted to be “just right” not too easy and not too hard. It means Learning work is active not “sit and get” (like many of us experienced) It means it is engaging It means it is social. Research tells us that learning from others is the most efficient way to learn. All of us need individual thinking work when we learn but we also need knowledgeable others like a teacher and sometimes a peer to help us learn.
This means the instruction fits students needs each day. The Goldilocks Theory, not too easy and not too hard, is our goal of instruction. Workshop is a structure for organizing the classroom and the time in the classroom so that teachers can personalize the instruction for students. The teacher does not stand up in front of the class and tell students all day what to learn.3 Basic types of activities, 10 minute mini-lesson, 40 to 45 minutes of individual work time, (real reading and writing or math problem solving) 5 minutes of sharing our work Inside the work time students may work with others either in partnerships, or small groups with the teacher or individual conferences with the teacher
The Van Buren Curriculum is standard-based. The State of Arkansas has adopted the Common Core Standards. Learning expectations for each grade level are defined in these standards for both Literacy and Math. These standards are written to ensure that all students are College and Career Ready when they graduate from High School. These skills are rigorous and set high expectations for our children. We have and are aligning all programs and activities to these Common Core Standards
Reading Workshop Whole Group Mini-Lesson 10 minutes Individual Work Time 40 – 45 minute Partnership work Small Group work with Teacher Individual Conferences with Teacher Share time 5 minutes
Writing Workshop 10 Minute Mini-Lesson Whole Group 40 to 45 minute Work time Partnership Work Small Group work with teacher Individual Conference with teacher Share Time 5 minutes
Standards-Base math is based on 3 research based How Students Learn Math principles. 1. Engaging Prior Understanding2. Essential role of Factual Knowledge and Conceptual Frameworks in Understanding. Learning with Understanding supports knowledge use in new Situations3. The importance of Self-Monitoring. Learners must take control of their own learning and develop independence Math instruction is also based on the Child centered principles of developmentally appropriate, active and engaging and social.
Instructional focus is on these research based practicesAsking questions and defining problemsDeveloping and using modelsPlanning and carrying out investigationsAnalyzing and interpreting dataUsing mathematics and computational thinkingConstructing explanations and designing solutions Engaging in argument from evidenceObtaining, evaluating and communicating information
Instructional focus is not only on use of technology but on the safe use
Vision For Instruction includes the Whole Child Children need to experiment with all forms of expressions The Arts are foundations for all learning.
Vision for Whole Child includes our bodies and our health. Students have experiences which help develop their bodies and develop health related information.
