Wissahickon Charter School Curriculum

We believe that learning can, and should, be both academically rigorous and truly exciting; both guided by the judgments of adults who have gone further and seen more, and driven by the curiosity of the children whose unbridled sense of wonder we as adults can only marvel at.

Central topics and "terrains"

The heart of our curriculum is inquiry into the outside world by students and teachers, and active engagement to leave the world better than we found it. Over the course of the year, each classroom studies a few carefully chosen "central topics," (see "Central Topics Overview") picked both for their irresistibility to students and the inevitability with which they lead to big ideas and important skills in reading, math, science and social studies.

Often, the central topics we choose are "terrains"-whole environments where social studies and science and math and literacy are still connected. Many of these studies are related to the nearby Wissahickon Valley and its watershed, but others are connected to the urban environment. So, for example, in one such study, a second grade does a comparative study of a supermarket and the local food co-op. Students go to both of these locales to buy lunch and then trace the origin of all the food that made up their lunches. It is a study that draws on the science related to nutrition; the environmental studies related to the pollution created in making and transporting the food; the social studies of production and the organization of work; the geography of local trip to the stores and the global path of the food; the mathematics and economics of pricing; and the literacy skills necessary for researching all of the above.

Central challenges:

We have found that a great investigation needs something to make it go-something purposeful for students to work on and focus their inquiry. For this reason, our studies of the world are often focused on a "central challenge"-a multi-stage project designed to focus students' energies and challenge them to use and integrate their knowledge and skills. So, for example, in our 7th and 8th graders study our school building's history as a turn of the century radio factory as a "way in" to learning about the industrial revolution, the central challenge for the end of the year is to create a time capsule that will tell future generations about the building's past, present and (predicted) future. This project involves authentic primary source historical research in social studies; the analysis of census data in mathematics; reading historical fiction and writing memoir in language arts; and the study of radios, sound and electricity in science.

A critical stance and active engagement in the world:

Our interest is not just to study what is. We also ask students imagine what should be and what could be while actively working on making it so. For this reason, students are asked to use a critical lens when studying a topic and to engage in service learning—the use of academic skills to analyze real-world problems and take action to address the root causes. One example of this was the fourth grade's service-learning project that was part of their study of Fern Hill Park—a 50-some acre park across the street from the school. In this case the students worked with staff of the Fairmount Park Commission to write a survey and collect data on human use of the park and people's ideas for improving both usage for humans and protection and restoration of the natural eco-system. This study involved work on grammar and punctuation in connection with letter writing, and the analysis of basic statistics from the students survey.

Standards & research based instructional tools

The interdisciplinary inquiry driven projects described dovetail with the daily use of educational programs adopted because they are well supported by educational research, based on educational standards, and congruent with an inquiry approach to teaching. Throughout all subject areas we strive for student ownership of their learning and differentiation to meet a diversity of learners.

Reading: In Reading, we have adopted the Rigby program. This is a balanced literacy program, allowing for each children’s needs to be met. We assess each child using the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) in grades K-2, and the Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI) in grades 3-8, a minimum of three times a year. The students reading levels are then used to create guided reading groups. While the rest of the class is working on centers or independent work with the classroom aide, the teacher works with a small group of students to meet their individual needs. This practice also provides an opportunity to accelerate the academic skill development and learning strategies of students performing below standard. Additionally, we have a Reading Specialist and a a team of learning specialists who meet with small groups of students on a daily basis for additional acceleration. To supplement the Rigby curriculum, we have adopted the Month by Month Phonics curriculum in the lower grades. This allows for students to actively engage in learning phonics using the making words approach. This is a hands-on approach using manipulatives and focusing on word families.

Math: In Math, we have adopted Everyday Mathematics by Harcourt/MCGraw Hill. Everyday Mathematics is a research and standards based, hands on approach which provides repeated exposures to all content. It allows children's mathematical knowledge to grow from real life experiences. Everyday Mathematics includes individual/small-group and partner activities. The instructional aide in each classroom can work with small groups of students who need more practice. Additionally, the Resource Room teacher helps accelerate the growth of students performing below level. The students also participate in many math games which allow for fact practice. At the end of each unit of learning, students are given an opportunity to do inquiry-based explorations and projects.

Science: Some teachers choose to supplement the "terrain based" science and social studies unit with Science and Technology Curriculum (STC) from Carolina Biological. STC is also a standards and research based program. In each unit of study the students address what they already know about the topic, explore the scientific topic, reflect on their findings, and finally apply their new learning to real-life problems. The entire approach is discovery-based. STC helps children foster the development of scientific attitudes, such as curiosity, problem-solving skills, respect for evidence, flexibility, and sensitivity to living things. The students focus on four content areas throughout the year, allowing for in-depth exploration of each topic.

Writing: WCS has adopted the Fountas and Pinnell Writing Workshop approach to writing. The state standards and student needs are used to determine what mini- lessons will be taught. The students are then given choice to determine what genre and topic they would like to explore. The workshop approach to writing actively engages students in the writing process because it makes the writing relevant to their own lives.

Together these elements make up an instructional program that is both exciting and challenging, achieving the school's mission to foster “student empowerment and ownership of learning through learner-directed projects and recognition of diverse learning styles.”