Crafting Learning: A Curriculum Design Podcast

We were joined by our Middle and Upper School Counselor who also leads our Life Skills curriculum for Human Growth and Development.

We chatted with members of the 5th grade team and learned about how they redesigned some of the topics in their curriculum to better align with the entire Beg-9 scope and sequence.

We sit down and chat with Danielle Service, Upper School English Teacher and G5-9 English Program Coordinator about her explorations into the connections of history and literature.

Joined by Learning Resources teachers Cindy Thom, Lacey Ramsey, and Shannon Faella. We are adopting a new phonics program (UFLI) from Kindergarten through 2nd grade. As a result, materials needed to be set up, scope and sequences created to bridge the gap from FUNdations, and instructional decisions needed to be made. Additionally, 4th grade is adopting a new morphology program (IMSE) and logistics for when to teach, how to teach, and what to teach needed to be determined for the first year of implementation.

Liz Unger and Kristin Keneally return to the podcast to share their design work to create more opportunities to teach and learn in our outdoor spaces for our youngest learners. Their intentions for outdoor learning include building a strong sense of connection to our natural environment, additional sensory experiences, gross motor skill development, creative and curious exploration, growth in social emotional skills including empathy, gratitude, and collaboration. 

A conversation with World Language teachers Catherine Mendoza, Sean Robb, Abby Cali, and Loren Chavez who are all currently teaching Spanish from Beginners through Grade 9 at NCCS. The entire WL team had attended a conference recently and we got to learn about those experiences as well as other elements that are experienced by students throughout our program.

Two of our Upper School World Languages teachers collaborated over the summer to make sure the Latin 2 program at NCCS allows a student to move to any Latin 3 program and be successful in any Latin 3 classroom. This can be challenging considering Latin programs can really vary school to school. Since students are now getting farther in Latin curriculum, we can cover more topics with students that should prepare them for Latin 3 including Participles, Comparatives, Superlatives, and the Subjunctive while also experiencing updated topics around culture.

In this episode we hear from NCCS' Physical Education and Athletics team as they share recent curricular design work in two areas: beginners (preschool) motor and coaching. Our guests are: Kendall Cornine, Cherie Corchard, Jay Thornhill, Keri Kern, Byron Reding, and Steve Willson.
On the Beginners Motor curriculum design work: This curriculum promotes physical, motor, and emotional development for ¾ the early childhood program through weekly structured activities. Each week focuses on a specific skill set;  with guidance from Shape America guidelines. Skills such as locomotor skills, object control, balance, and spatial awareness. These skills can be used in engaging games and activities like obstacle course tag games and creative movements. Students will also enhance their social skills, cooperation, and self-confidence through fun, interactive exercises that progressively prepare them for advanced tasks.
On the Coaching curriculum design work: This will serve as a reference or seasonal plan for coaches, as they can follow along day to day, week by week for practice goals, drills, skill milestones we would like to hit. This curriculum is easily accessible and can be given to a new coach with little experience as a guide for the season, or it can be referenced as needed by experienced coaches, ensuring coaches are covering in practice what is outlined in the full curriculum.

Madeleine Ker, Claire DeLaurentis, and Daley Avery shared about their summer work. The focus of their work was to review the Beginners Social and Emotional Learning curriculum by looking closely at the history of what they have included.They took a closer look at “The Color Monster” unit and differentiated lessons to provide students with a more scaffolded experience.

Beginners 3/4 Teachers Liz Unger and Kristin Keneally share about their work documenting early childhood curriculum