Curriculum
Literacy:
At Laney, we utilize the MPS chosen and approved Benchmark Learn more here: https://www.benchmarkeducation.com/
Groves curriculum: 1st-Third Grade are implementing Groves our Phonics Curriculum for the 23-24 school year. Whole group lessons follow the same general format. This makes instruction easier for the teacher and helps struggling learners, because the content is what changes from day to day, not the basic activities. This allows them to focus more on the material being presented, not the rules of new activities, games, or worksheets.
Phonemic Awareness: Each lesson begins with a phonemic drill (oral only with no presentation of letters). In 1-2, this comes from the Heggerty manual, and in third grade, the David Kilpatrick manual is used. These activities should be fast-paced with choral responses. This section should only take 3-5 minutes. Phonemic awareness is a foundational skill, and automaticity is required to develop reading fluency. For more information, click here.
Daily Warm Up Review: A spiral review is incorporated into each daily lesson. It provides maintenance of skills for students who have mastered specific content and repeated exposure and practice for those who have not. It should be tailored to a teacher’s specific students, targeting areas that they know some students still struggle with. This may include a daily review of short vowel sounds. This portion should be 1-3 minutes.
Concept Introduction: This is the meat of the lesson- the teacher directly explains a specific concept and provides guided practice. Depending on the grade level, this may be with flashcards, writing words on the board, or using student magnet boards. Concept questions are used to deepen learning or target review concepts. This portion should be 7-11 minutes.
Sight Words: Groves Method lessons do not teach students to memorize sight words. Instead, words are presented in a way to promote orthographic mapping, a technique grounded in research. Depending on the day, a teacher may introduce a new sight word or practice recently learned sight words in a sentence, reviewing sentence conventions at the same time. For more information, click here. This portion should be 3-5 minutes.
In second grade, homophone study will replace sight words later in the year.
Third graders do not study sight words. Instead, they focus on academic vocabulary words and homophones, supporting their transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.
Workbook Practice: After practicing as a whole group, students can apply the new skills they learned in their workbooks. In K-2, each daily lesson includes two pages:
Guided Practice- the teacher guides students through the first page, eliciting answers from the group so students self-correct as they go. This may include choral reading, dictation, or a phonemic activity.
Independent Practice- the second page is designed to be completed independently. It offers a review of skills. No new activities are presented on this page, so students should be familiar with the tasks presented. This is not an optional activity, but may be completed at a different time of the day (morning seatwork, center rotations). Third grade has two additional independent pages so teachers can pull small groups while students work independently.
The daily lesson follows the gradual release model, where the activities move from direct instruction to independence. It can be summed up by the phrase “I do, we do, you do” (I do- teacher models, we do- whole group practice, you do- independent practice with feedback).
- Our teachers also create curriculum and supplemental materials to provide culturally sustaining materials and to reflect students' needs and interests.
- The Black History Experience was created by two Laney teachers and can be accessed here: https://sites.google.com/view/laneyblackhistory/community-voices?authuser=0
Math:
At Laney, we follow the MPS scope and sequence found here: https://math.mpls.k12.mn.us/elementary_math_2
All K-5 classrooms here at Laney are teaching Bridges curriculum. Bridges in Mathematics is a comprehensive PK–5 curriculum that equips teachers to fully address state standards in a rigorous, engaging, and accessible manner. Students gain a deep understanding of concepts, proficiency with key skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. The curriculum is composed of three distinct but integrated components: Problems & Investigations, Work Places and Number Corner.
Our teachers also create curriculum and supplemental materials to provide culturally sustaining materials and to reflect students' needs and interests. Math is often incorporated into other parts of the day, outside of the math block.
Assessment Schedule:
School Improvement Plan (Family Friendly)
