Academics - Curriculum
Literacy Core Curricular Resource - Benchmark Workshop
Quality literacy instruction builds a student's comprehension of text, writing skills, and overall skills in communication. This serves as the foundation to build a broader education and prepare students for the 21st century. Benchmark Workshop is our core curricular resource for literacy. It is standards-aligned and informed by the latest research in the science of reading. Benchmark features vertically aligned units that empower students to engage deeply with a topic to build skills within and across grades. Topics are knowledge-based, expanding both general and academic vocabulary in support of reading, writing, and constructive conversation.
Teachers provide comprehensive literacy instruction utilizing a flexible workshop model and the curricular resource Benchmark Workshop. Reader's Workshop provides opportunities for whole-group skill-based mini-lessons and leveled texts are utilized to support small group and individualized instruction. Writer's Workshop is used to provide mini-lessons on the writing process, the craft of writing, and responses to reading with support for small-group introduction, independent writing, and conferring. These learning opportunities support students in developing critical thinking skills. Phonics and Word Study Workshop provides sequential, systematic and explicit direct phonics instruction and differentiated practice through authentic reading and writing experiences and multisensory activities. The instruction components of Benchmark Workshop reflect a balanced best-practice pedagogy that emphasizes differentiated instruction to support all students.
Math Resource - enVision 2020
enVision Mathematics combines Problem-Based Learning and Visual Learning to deepen students' conceptual understanding. enVision is used by classrooms across the country and around the world. Lessons start with Problem-Based Learning, where students must think cortically about the real-world math problem, evaluate options, collaborate, and present solutions. This is followed by Visual Learning the solidify the underlying math concepts helping students better understand math ideas.
Science and Social Studies
The Colorado Academic Standards serve as a starting point for content areas of study for each grade. Students explore science and social studies through the process of inquiry in integrated Project Based units of study. Inquiry allows students' questions to drive the exploration. Students generate questions (need to knows) about the world around them as they engage in hand-on experiments and investigations. Students develop knowledge of scientific concepts in the areas of Earth, life and physical science. In Social Studies, students develop skills in the areas of global awareness, financial literacy, civic responsibility, and systems thinking. Each grade level builds upon one another as students develop knowledge and understanding.
Balanced Assessment
At Northeast we use a variety of assessments to guide our instruction and ensure student progress. Among those assessments ar teacher created classroom assessments, iReady, CMAS, and performance tasks and inquiry based projects.
iReady
iReady is one component of our balanced assessment system at Northeast. It is a single K-12 adaptive Diagnostic for reading and mathematics that pinpoints student needs down to the sub-skill level, and ongoing progress monitoring shows whether students are on track to achieve end-of-year targets.
The iReady Diagnostic helps teachers understand the root causes behind student challenges. This is especially beneficial for providing differentiated instruction and for identifying gaps spanning back multiple years, or for determining where students are ready for further challenge.