Expanding Teaching and Learning with Curriculum Innovation Grants

Kindergarten teachers Lee Bogaert and Anne Canada enhanced the sensory table and dramatic play areas in their classrooms with curricular “boxes” that enable students to make relevant connections to their work in writing, reading, math, social studies, and science while engaged in play. The boxes connect to curricular topics and can be swapped out easily to keep students engaged and challenge them to apply their learning in fresh and meaningful ways.

 

Upper School English teachers Rich Roberts and Abriana Mayer worked with English Department Chair Dr. Joseph Mendes and Modern World Cultures (MWC) teachers Emily McCauley and Tony Bator to more closely align the eighth grade English curriculum with the cultures and perspectives students encounter in MWC. Faculty created a comprehensive reader to accompany student coursework that includes primary and secondary sources, note-taking organizers, and handouts.

 

Creativity and Design faculty Andrew Shirley, Deborah Morrone-Bianco, and Lisa Sanderson partnered with Primary and Lower School faculty Grace Crowell, Kara Mertz, and Lee Bogaert to create a curriculum around Maker’s Empire, a 3D modeling program for younger students. The goal is to integrate this program into the curriculum with intentional projects that build CAD experience and expertise in students at younger ages. Andrew and Deborah also reworked the Creators curriculum in Upper School so that students who are new to Creativity and Design are grouped by experience rather than grade level. This ensures that students learn the foundational skills to create and make in the Center for Creativity and Design. Deborah and Lisa also formalized a creators curriculum in grades three and four so that students enter the later grades with solid skills and a strong knowledge of the design process.

 

Reading Specialist Leslie Overbye, second grade teacher Jessica Nichols, and Primary School Librarian Courtney Lauriat worked together to design a cohesive reading curriculum for grade two. The curriculum identifies specific reading goals for students throughout the year and books that expose readers to a range of texts, genres, authors, diverse characters, and vocabulary that will enhance their reading repertoire.

 

Upper School English and History Teacher Rich Roberts and Director of Equity and Inclusion Jill Anthony created a workbook for students focused on giving voice to people and perspectives often overlooked by traditional history texts. Their goal is for students to complete each year having encountered a plethora of voices while developing core skills necessary for critical reading and historical thinking.