Curriculum

Everyday Mathematics is a K–6 curriculum intended to enrich the mathematical experiences of teachers and children. It builds on fundamental mathematical strands such as numeration and order, measures and measurement, reference frames, operations, patterns, functions, and sequences. It uses more of the mathematical spectrum by exploring data and chance, geometry and spatial sense, and algebra and the uses of variables.
 * What is Everyday Math? **

The Everyday Mathematics curriculum incorporates the belief that people rarely learn new concepts or skills the first time they experience them, but fully understand them only after repeated exposures. Students in the program study important concepts over consecutive years; each grade level builds on and extends conceptual understanding.

The instructional model blends exposition and discussion, individual and group work, projects, explorations, and investigations. In each grade level of the program, students experience hands-on, student-centered, small-group activities which introduce them to various mathematics concepts. Children also learn and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">practice basic facts throughout the curriculum, in the context of problem solving, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">choral drills, and a variety of games.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Reader’s workshop gives students tools for selecting and comprehending literature. Over the course of the year, students read many books and are encouraged to do as good readers do in exploring different genres, authors, and texts. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The program emphasizes the interaction between readers and text. Students learn to ask questions, make connections with prior knowledge and previously read texts, and ask questions to clarify faulty comprehension they recognize has occurred. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The program includes peer conferences and teacher conferences with students but emphasizes students' independence and allows them to become successful readers outside of the classroom.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is Readers Workshop? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are several consistent components but there is much variation on how it is implemented in different classrooms.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mini-lessons on some aspect of literature or a reading strategy.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Independent Reading Time, where students respond to the literature in terms of what they think or how they feel about what they are reading.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sharing Time where students share with another person their journal entries and the other person gives feedback.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">During Independent Reading Time, the teacher engages in student conferences on an individual or group basis. Teachers can also engage in guided reading with groups of students who need additional support.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Writers workshop is a framework for writing instructions and practice in the classroom.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What is Writers Workshop? **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Writers workshop follows a predictable pattern of: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Mini-lessons** (5-10 min) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A mini-lesson is explicit instruction in a specific writing technique taught in a short 5-10 minute period at the start of the workshop <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Independent Writing** (20-30 min) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Involves students writing daily, determening the topics they will write about and being at different stages of writing. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Conferencing** (during independent writing) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">During conferencing students seeks responses from their peers and teachers confere with individual students. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Sharing** (5-10 min) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'comic sans ms'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students are given oppertunities to share their writing pieces and practice speaking infront of their peers. They learn from each other and see and hear good examples of writing.