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Strait|1 Marquetta Strait November 14, 2013 Elementary Curriculum and Assessment Intended Curriculum

Marshall Elementary Schools Intended Curriculum

Although educators are adjusting to Common Cores paradigm shift, the educators still have to manage to align their standards to meet their learning targets. While engaging in conversation with Ms. Waymyers, she has mentioned that their school requires the teachers to present their assessments data every week into a sheet. The school uses this data to assess the students and teachers instruction. After doing research on the Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5s website, I noticed that the district still provides pacing guides for the educators. This is excellent because it allows educators to stay on track with teaching students and allows a gateway to the next topic in their subject. The curriculum focuses on adhering to the Blooms Taxonomy which allows for students to engage in their higher cognitive processes. The pacing guides provide indicators, suggested time intervals for instruction, proposed instructional strategies, and resources that can aid the instruction to better assist the students. For example, while the students are learning about the Reconstruction, the teacher can have the students compare and contrast the attitudes of the North and South. Also through their website, they provide ample resources for educators. Underneath the Office of Teaching and Learnings links, District 5 provides instructional strategies, writing resources, and Common Core Standards information. Since Common Core Standards is a newer concept, educators are adjusting to Common Cores paradigm shift and the effect that it has on their instruction. To increase the effectiveness of its educators instruction, District 5 provides resources that encourage educators to unpack the standards and use a myriad of instructional strategies to reach more students. Overall, I believe the school district is implementing a great curriculum to close the achievement gap in education. Through their initiative to increase the effectiveness of their educators, the Common Core State Standards provides that rigor that will also increase the capabilities and exemplification of students skills. As a future educator, I believe that I would truly benefit by using their districts pacing guides. It allows for me to become more organized in the learning targets that I will be placing upon my students.

M. Strait|2 Character Education: o Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum. With prevention as its primary objective, the program is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. The program encourages positive relationships among the community, parents, schools, and law enforcement officers. http://www.orangeburgcounty.org/ocso/csujudicial.asp o Operation Get Smart (OGS) is a crime prevention/public awareness program sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Corrections. It was implemented in 1976 and for more than past 35 years OGS has been a model program used by other states interested in implementing effective crime prevention programs. The program is aimed primarily at youth in an effort to deter them from making poor decisions resulting in criminal behavior and prison sentences. Operation Get Smart consists of a carefully screened team of inmates that travel the state speaking to youth and adults about actions which led to their involvement in crime and the consequences of criminal behavior. While conducting Operation Get Smart programs, inmates are in uniform and are supervised by a supervisory level uniformed correctional officer. The inmates reinforce the same positive values and life skills that parents and educators encourage, i.e., making good decisions based on right and wrong, the consequences of making poor choices, being responsible for their own actions, the consequences of carrying weapons, staying away from alcohol and drugs, choosing friends carefully, the difference between positive and negative peer pressure, getting a good education, talking to parents and other responsible adults if they have problems, setting positive goals and striving to reach them, etc. http://www.doc.sc.gov/programs/getsmart.jsp