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THIS IS...
PS 971 School of Math, Science and Healthy Living ACADEMICS................................ |
K - 5 Academics
Literacy
Our K-5 literacy program is lead by Houghton Mifflin's "Into Reading" Curriculum. All students experience a balance of literature and informational texts. Teachers create opportunities for children to engage and talk about a variety of topics and texts, to support language development and knowledge building. This learning includes read-alouds, shared readings, paired readings, learning activities that incorporate literacy materials, talking, writing and other literacy activities. Our focus is on using grade level texts, printed and visuals, to develop readers’ phonemic awareness, phonics, concepts and understanding of complex text through reading and writing. Much of this work is done through decoding words, and understanding phonemic awareness to comprehend reading. We also understand the importance of exposing our students to loving reading and writing well into adulthood. It is through exposing students to a variety of text that are meaningful and connected to who they are as people, our students will always want to read and write for their lifetime! |
MATHEMATICS
As a learning community, we use Investigations 3 from TERC (Technical Education Research Center) as a focused, coherent, and rigorous K-5 mathematics curriculum. Our K-5 mathematics instruction encompasses careful attention to mathematical content and student thinking and understanding. With a focus on a constructivist approach, making sense of mathematics is the heart of the work, for students and teachers. A supplemental component to our mathematics curriculum is the implementation of the Math in the City's "Context for Learning" Investigations. Contexts for Learning Mathematics provides carefully crafted units designed to foster deep understanding in a math workshop environment. By setting each unit in the context of students' lives, teaching and learning immediately becomes engaging and meaningful in your classroom. |
K - 2 Phonics
Fundations Word Study
Fundations word study program comprehensively provides instruction on concepts and skills that are key to students learning foundational reading skills. Fundations teaches the underlying structure of the English language and utilizes an efficient, effective approach that teaches decoding and spelling concurrently that result in all students learning how to put words together to ultimately read.
Fundations prepares our English language learners (ELLs) to successfully decode words that result in learning to read and to meet grade-level standards for college- and career-readiness, readying them for success in subsequent grades.
As our teachers model instruction, they ensure that students understand the skills being taught, learn the procedures, and are able to use the skills and procedures on their own. Teachers build students’ metacognitive skills by having them think about the learning tools they have acquired and decide which tools they should draw on if they need help. They also connect current learning to previous skills taught and explain how the new skills will help them achieve future goals. By having an integrated assessment component, teachers are able to assess students’ areas of strength and weakness and can differentiate instruction as appropriate.
Fundations word study program comprehensively provides instruction on concepts and skills that are key to students learning foundational reading skills. Fundations teaches the underlying structure of the English language and utilizes an efficient, effective approach that teaches decoding and spelling concurrently that result in all students learning how to put words together to ultimately read.
Fundations prepares our English language learners (ELLs) to successfully decode words that result in learning to read and to meet grade-level standards for college- and career-readiness, readying them for success in subsequent grades.
As our teachers model instruction, they ensure that students understand the skills being taught, learn the procedures, and are able to use the skills and procedures on their own. Teachers build students’ metacognitive skills by having them think about the learning tools they have acquired and decide which tools they should draw on if they need help. They also connect current learning to previous skills taught and explain how the new skills will help them achieve future goals. By having an integrated assessment component, teachers are able to assess students’ areas of strength and weakness and can differentiate instruction as appropriate.
K-1 Heggerty Word Study
Each level of the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum provides up to 35 weeks of daily lessons, focusing on eight phonemic awareness skills, along with two additional activities to develop letter and sound recognition, and language awareness. Lessons are designed for a classroom setting, and only take 8-12 minutes.
Each level of the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum provides up to 35 weeks of daily lessons, focusing on eight phonemic awareness skills, along with two additional activities to develop letter and sound recognition, and language awareness. Lessons are designed for a classroom setting, and only take 8-12 minutes.
K-5 SOCIAL STUDIES
The NYCDOE K-8: Passport to Social Studies program is a comprehensive instructional resource that integrates the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) and the New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework to support strong social studies teaching and learning.
At 971, an effective social studies program allows our students to make sense of the world in which they live, make connections between major ideas and their own lives, and see themselves as active members of a global community. While knowledge of content is very important, it is equally important to engage our students in historical thinking. This program challenges students to think like historians and encourages them to raise questions, think critically, consider many perspectives, and gather evidence in support of their interpretations through the practice of chronological processing, decision-making, and historical research and analysis. These real-world skills will serve students well as participating citizens of a democracy |
The DOE believes civics education is an essential part of every student’s core academic experience. We launched the Civics for All initiative to strengthen opportunities for students to develop skills and knowledge related to democracy. The goal is for all our students to be engaged community members who can think critically and are empowered to chart the course that our city and country take. Civics for All helps schools support students in making connections between history, current events, and democratic structures.
Annual Civics Week is a time for schools across the city to celebrate youth voice, civic empowerment, and the importance of registering to vote. Civics Week includes efforts to get every young person to understand that their voice matters and that they can create change as active participants of their community. New York City students in grades K through 12 are invited each year during Civics Week to showcase their civic engagement and artistic talent by participating in the annual NYCDOE Civics for All Poster Contest. The annual poster contest encourages students to:
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K-5 SCIENCE
Amplify Science at 971, is a K–5 science curriculum that blends hands-on investigations, literacy-rich activities, and interactive digital tools to empower students to think, read, write, and argue like real scientists and engineers. Each unit of Amplify Science engages our students in a relevant, real-world problem where they investigate scientific phenomena, engage in collaboration and discussion, and develop models or explanations in order to arrive at solutions. Amplify Science is rooted in the Lawrence Hall of Science’s Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize model of learning. This research-based approach presents students with multiple modalities through which to explore the NGSS curriculum. Amplify Science includes hands-on activities, print materials, and powerful digital tools to support online and offline teaching and learning. Highly adaptable and user-friendly, the program gives schools and individual teachers flexibility based on their technology resources and preferences.