ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 7

THE ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE K-8 PUBLIC EDUCATION BASED ON E.D. HIRSCH'S CORE KNOWLEDGE SEQUENCE, A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED CURRICULUM BASED ON THE CONCEPT THAT EVERY CHILD SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH A CORE FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS SO THAT THEY ARE ARMED WITH THE COMMON KNOWLEDGE BASE NECESSARY TO COMPETE IN ANY SETTING. THE CORE KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION BELIEVES THAT WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE CORE KNOWLEDGE SEQUENCE FROM OTHER CURRICULUM GUIDES IS THAT THE SEQUENCE EMBODIES THREE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OVERLOOKED BY OTHER GUIDES. THE CORE KNOWLEDGE SEQUENCE IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS IS (1) CONTENT-SPECIFIC, (2) CUMULATIVE, AND (3) COHERENT. THE SCHOOL'S CURRICULUM IN ELA & MATH IS COMPRISED OF THE FOLLOWING:- THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM USES DIRECT, EXPLICIT, SYSTEMATIC AND SEQUENTIAL PHONICS INSTRUCTION AND DECODABLE LITERATURE TO PROMOTE EARLY READING SUCCESS THAT TAKES OUR STUDENTS FROM LEARNING TO READ, TO READING TO LEARN EXPERIENCES. STUDENTS ENGAGE IN INTERACTIVE READ ALOUDS, SCAFFOLDED CLOSE READING WITH COMPLEX TEXT THAT LEADS THEM TO INDEPENDENCE, LITERATURE CIRCLES AND HAVE A PLETHORA OF OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO READ AWARD-WINNING FICTION AND NON-FICTION LITERATURE.- THE MATHEMATICS PROGRAM SEQUENCE PROVIDES A RIGOROUS CURRICULUM THAT COVERS UNITS BEYOND THE CONVENTIONAL CURRICULUM AND IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM. A VARIETY OF APPROACHES ARE USED SUCH AS MATH WORKSHOP, NUMBER SENSE, CONTEXTS FOR LEARNING AND COGNITIVELY GUIDED INSTRUCTION. THE APPROACHES ARE ENHANCED WITH THE USE OF COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED MATH PROGRAMS: ILLUSTRATIVE MATH, MCLASS (K-2), AND I-READY. MATH IS ADDITIONALLY SUPPORTED BY A SUBJECT SPECIALIST AND/OR MATH CONSULTANT. DEMONSTRATION LESSONS, INTER & INTRA VISITATION AND AS STAND-ALONE MODELING, PEER COACHING, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ENSURE THAT TEACHERS BENEFIT FROM THE LATEST RESEARCH ON THE TEACHING OF NOT JUST MATH BUT ALL SUBJECT MATTER.STUDENTS IN ELA & MATHEMATICS NEEDING TO STRENGTHEN THEIR SKILLS, AS DETERMINED BY BASELINE TESTING AND TEACHER JUDGMENT ARE AFFORDED SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION FORTY MINUTES EACH DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION THROUGH AFTER-SCHOOL TUTORING AND SATURDAY ACADEMY.THE LEARNING AND INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, THE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS IN OUR STEAM PROGRAM IS USED AS ACCESS POINTS FOR GUIDING STUDENT INQUIRY, DIALOGUE, AND CRITICAL THINKING AROUND CONTENT KNOWLEDGE. THE ICAHN STEAM PROGRAM PROVIDES A STRONG FOUNDATION OF INTEGRATION AT ITS CORE, WHICH MEANS THAT EACH OF THE AFOREMENTIONED CURRICULAR AREAS IS BOTH TAUGHT IN ITS' OWN RIGHT, AS WELL AS CONNECTED THROUGH COMMON CORE STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENTS.SOCIAL STUDIES & SCIENCE ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E.D. HIRSH'S CORE KNOWLEDGE CURRICULUM. THE ICAHN STUDENTS, THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS, LEARN THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES & SCIENCE IN THEIR DAILY LIVES AND IN THEIR FUTURE. WITH ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTING IN PLACE IT CAN BE SAID THAT TECHNOLOGY, CODING, AND ROBOTICS ARE WEAVED THROUGH ALL ASPECTS OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING STUDENT EXPERIENCE AT ICAHN.IN A CORE KNOWLEDGE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS STUDENTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD BEGIN TO LEARN, DISCUSS, AND EXPLORE TOPICS ABOUT THE EARTH'S CONTINENTS & OCEANS, ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME, EXPLORATION, COLONIALISM, AND SLAVERY. AN EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON MULTICULTURALISM THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM. THE SOCIAL STUDIES SUBJECT MATTER AS IS ALL SUBJECT CONTENT TO VARYING DEGREES IS ENHANCED BY THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY, GUIDED VIRTUAL TRIPS, PROJECT-BASED LEARNING, DEBATES, GUEST SPEAKERS, TRIPS TO MUSEUMS AND HISTORICAL SITES IN NEW YORK AND OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK.CLASSICAL AND CONTEMPORARY ART AND MUSIC ARE STUDIED AND ENHANCED THROUGH THE CORE KNOWLEDGE AND IS SEEN AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE KNOWLEDGE ALL CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN. INSTRUCTION IN THE ARTS TAKES ON MANY FORMS AS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CLASSROOM TO SING, DANCE, LISTEN TO MUSIC, PLAY ACT, READ & WRITE POETRY, DRAW, AND PAINT. STUDENTS ARE EXPOSED TO FINE ART, GREAT MUSIC, THEATER, CONCERTS, AND OTHER INSPIRING EXAMPLES OF ART.