Curriculum
Introduction
Students who enroll at the REACH! school will become part of a school that believes that its teaching, curriculum materials, and programs must be designed to meet each individual child’s needs, while also preparing all students to meet the Maryland state standards in every content area. Curriculum materials are relevant to students’ lives and take a hands-on, active approach. In every core course, students will be assessed regularly and re-taught as needed. Interventions in the important areas of mathematics and English language arts will be in place for any student who is performing below grade level, with extra time and targeted small-group instruction provided until the student is caught up
Program for 6th graders
The grade 6 program is designed to give students a smooth transition from elementary school, while also preparing them for the challenges of high school. All curriculum listed below are fully aligned with Maryland’s Voluntary State Curriculum.
Mathematics
Connected Mathematics 2 (CMP2) is the core grade 6 math program, and has a national track record of helping students in urban areas meet with success in mathematics. At the same time, it is a rigorous program, developed to make sure that students develop the content and skills they need to have a solid foundation in math. Students in grade 6 math will be introduced to important concepts in geometry, measurement, algebra, probability and statistics. CMP2 will also help students develop problem-solving skills that will help them succeed in other content areas.
Math will be brought to life for students through manipulatives, so that students can have hands-on experiences with the math problems they are working on. Students will also have access to additional skills workbooks for any time they need extra practice. Additional materials for students performing above level will also be available.
For many students in Baltimore City Public Schools, math is a challenge. Any student who is behind in math will be enrolled in a math intervention called Do the math. This program will help students develop their basic skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and in using fractions and decimals. Students who need this extra time and support will receive it during the after-school program, with the help of trained AmeriCorps members. Giving students this extra time – instead of re-teaching them these basic skills during their regular math class – will ensure that students have a chance to catch up, rather than falling further behind their classmates.
English/Language Arts
Students’ core English program will be determined by their reading and writing levels, so that the instruction they receive is at their “just right” level. In English, students will engage in reading, writing, speaking, listening and thinking activities. They will be required to read whole novels, instead of just parts of books, and to develop the reading and vocabulary skills that will help them read more and more challenging books as the year goes on. In English, students will also have many opportunities to write, and to re-write, as well as to give presentations to their classmates. Students will receive regular written feedback from teachers, to help them improve their writing throughout the year. Assessments will be given throughout the year to ensure that students are making steady progress in their English language arts skills.
For students reading significantly below level, additional intervention programs will be available. Wilson Language will be provided to any students who experience a great deal of reading trouble, and who are at least three years below level. This intervention will be offered to students who need it during the school day, in addition to their core English class. Students who are one or two years below level will also receive extra help in reading in a small group setting.
Science
In Issues and Earth Science, the grade 6 science program, students will actually become scientists. The course is a hands-on, activity-based course that will engage students in labs on a daily basis, with students making predictions, recording their findings, and discussing their new learning with other students. Issues and Earth Science uses societal issues and problems as the themes for the study of earth science. During the course, students will learn how the earth’s features help determine where people live. They will ask questions about the types of policies that should guide our use of earth’s resources, and explore how we should dispose of nuclear wastes.
This course will require students to apply their math and literacy skills to their work, as they learn new science material.
Social Studies
Geography Alive! is a social studies program built to help students use the tools of geography to learn about the world around them. Throughout the course, students will study different regions of the world, learning first the geography of the region, and then finding out about the people, culture, and economy of the area. In the Africa unit, for example, students will discover how people have adapted to living along the Nile River and to the environments of a desert region. They will also learn about three women micro-entrepreneurs to see how they are impacting their African communities.
In this course, students will also learn and apply skills from other content areas. For example, every student will be given an interactive student notebook to help them develop their writing skills, and the program was carefully designed to build students’ content area reading skills.
Program for 9th graders:
The content in every grade 9 course below has been developed to fully prepare every student to pass the four Maryland High School Assessments, and to fully align to the Maryland Core Learning Goals and Voluntary State Curriculum.
Algebra I
Every 9th grade student will be enrolled in Algebra I, unless he or she has taken and passed Algebra I in middle school. Cognitive Tutor is an Algebra I program that will have students working with a classroom teacher about 60% of the time and on the computer about 40% of the time. During this course, students will learn key Algebra I skills and content, including how to solve liner equations, quadratic equations, probability and statistical analysis, and systems of equations and inequalities, among other topics. Unlike most other Algebra I programs, Cognitive Tutor is designed to give students the benefits of individualized instruction, lots of practice, and immediate feedback. The software assesses the prior math knowledge of students on a step-by-step basis and presents material tailored to their individual skill levels. The goal at all times is to present material that is engaging and effective. This course will prepare students who enter high school with on-level math skills to successfully pass the Algebra I High School Assessment.
For students who come to 9th grade below level in mathematics, they will receive additional, after-school help in a program called Bridge to Algebra. This program, which is computer-based, helps students catch up in key math concepts, including number sense, geometry, measurement, probability and statistics, and algebra. The program and emphasizes problem solving and mathematical literacy.
English I
In English I, students will continue to develop their reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking skills. During this course, students will be required to read a number of novels with their entire class, and will also read many non-fiction essays and articles. They will also be required to read 15 books that they choose, that are at their “just right” level, and that are of interest to them. Their non-fiction study has been developed to help them understand their textbooks in other classes, as well as to become critical thinkers and readers. In English I, students will engage in regular writing in a number of genres, including writing essays and short fiction pieces. They will also be asked to react frequently to what they are reading in their reader response journal. There is a heavy emphasis on discussion and presentations in English I. Assessments will be given regularly to make sure that students are making consistent improvement in their reading and vocabulary skills. This course is designed to prepare students for the English High School Assessment, which will be given at the end of English 2.
For students reading significantly below level, additional intervention programs will be available. Wilson Language will be provided to any students who experience a great deal of reading trouble, and who are at least six years below level. This intervention will be offered to students who need it during the school day, in addition to their core English class. Students who are two to three years below level will also receive extra help in reading, comprehension, and vocabulary development in a small group setting.
Science
In their 9th grade science course, Science and Sustainability, students will work as scientists as they learn material that includes physics, chemistry, biology and earth science. This course is hands-on and lab-based, with students regularly analyzing, assessing, and making decisions using scientific data. For example, in one of the units, called “Feeding the world,” students will study how food is made and distributed to populations across the world. They will discuss some of the down-sides of food production, and how what we choose to eat impacts the earth.
Throughout Science and Sustainability, students will rely on what they learn in mathematics and English, as they develop charts and graphs and explain their findings in a science journal. This course will help to prepare students to successfully pass the Biology High School Assessment.
Social Studies
In grade 9, students study United States history. History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals, the core materials for grade 9 social studies, uses hands-on, discussion-based materials to bring history alive for students. Instead of relying on the traditional memorization of facts and worksheets, History Alive! gives students the chance to learn about the US’ history from multiple perspectives, and to engage in tasks with other students to debate and engage in discussions. In the unit on World War 2, for example, students are asked to think about whether World War 2 could have been prevented. They read to learn about the kinds of opportunities and hardships the war created for Americans at home, and find out about the military strategies the US used to defeat the Axis powers. Finally, the unit asks whether America learned from past mistakes at the end of World War 2.
This curriculum centers on the five founding ideals from the Declaration of Independence: equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy. Through these materials, students understand that every generation has struggled with these ideals, with some generations making little progress, and some making great progress. History Alive! invites students to become engaged in this struggle, from establishing an American republic to the making of modern America.
