Curriculum & Instruction

Entrepreneur Collaboration classroom with 5 students sitting around a table with a large monitor sharing a presentation with Teacher standing at the end of the table.

K - 8 Curriculum:

REAL Journey Academies teachers use a variety of curricula for their daily instruction, including Math in Focus: Singapore Math (grades K - 5), Illustrative Math (grades 6 - 8), Standards Plus Common Core, California Journeys (grades K – 5), Fountas & Pinnell, California STEMscopes, History Alive, and Social Studies Weekly. All grades also use teacher-selected core literature and nonfiction texts in their English language arts instruction.

K - 8 Instruction:

For the past five years, core instruction has been based on the research and strategies presented in three foundational texts:

· Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

· Teaching Reading in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who?

· Vocabulary for the Common Core

In addition, teachers employ the specific instructional strategies learned throughout the year during curriculum-based professional development.

K - 8 Academic Support:

REAL Journey Academies provides comprehensive academic support and intervention:

· All students in grades K – 8 are assessed at the beginning of school year using NWEA's MAP assessments (grades 2 - 8) and/or Fountas & Pinnell benchmark assessments.

· After all students are assessed and their instructional levels in reading and math are identified, students are grouped for intervention.

· Our Response to Intervention Program consists of the following components of tiered instruction at each school site:

o Tier I: Core Instruction – All students receive evidence-based effective instruction in all subject areas. All students are assessed at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year, and the end of the year using NWEA or Fountas & Pinnell benchmarks.

o Tier II: Group Interventions – During designated times throughout the school day, students are pulled for small group instruction based on their assessment results. Students receiving Tier II interventions have their progress monitored using the appropriate tools at frequent instructional intervals (a progress monitoring assessment is usually given after the student has received the specific intervention three or four times).

o Tier III: Intensive Individual Interventions – Students who do not make sufficient progress with Tier II interventions or who require unique instructional strategies are identified and monitored through the SST and/or IEP processes and receive additional services or interventions. All students receiving Tier III interventions also receive Tier II and Tier I interventions.

K - 8 Intervention Curricular Resources:

· Reading A – Z

· ABC Mouse

· Achieve3000

· SmartyAnts

· IXL

· Journeys: HMH California Decoding Power: Intensive Reading Instruction

· Florida Center for Reading Research

· Singapore Math Fluency

K - 8 English Learner Programs:

· Integrated ELD K – 8 in all classes

· Designated ELD for K – 6 during language arts block (vocabulary and language instruction) and science block (STEMscopes Explain and Picture Vocabulary and Explain: Communicate tools)

· Designated ELD for 6 – 8 during STEP periods

K - 8 English Learner Curricular Resources:

· Academic Vocabulary for English Learners by Voyager Sopris Learning, Grades 6 – 8

· Journeys, California Language Workshop Resources and ELL Readers, K – 5