Curriculum

"Now that I have learned what STEM can look like in my social studies classroom, I am looking forward to adding more into my curriculum. Gone are the days of endless lectures and boring worksheets. It is really neat to see the students interact with each other to build a product from scratch while learning about a topic. With the topics I cover every year, I can definitely see several more STEM projects taking place in my classroom."

Brandon Barrett, US History Teacher

Curriculum integration of STEM is encouraged and implemented daily at North Posey Junior High School. 100 percent of students are participating in Code.org, which is an evidence-based STEM curriculum that has been integrated into the school day. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is another evidence-based STEM curriculum that all 7th grade students (50% of the school) participate in during the school year. Some 8th grade students also have the option to take an advanced PLTW course. Both Code.org and PLTW are on the Indiana Department of Education approved curriculum list.

Computer Science courses are of utmost importance to North Posey Junior High School. Standards-based computer science content is incorporated into the school curriculum for 100 percent of students through our enrichment period where all students are enrolled in and working through the Code.org curriculum. Code.org is on the Indiana Department of Education approved curriculum list.

Employability Skills Standards, based upon the appropriate grade band, are integrated into the school curriculum for 100 percent of students at North Posey Junior High School. Examples of the Employability Skills Standards can be found through many different examples of lesson plans and photos. Teachers understand how important these skills are and actively incorporate these skills into daily lessons. Students also participate in Job Spark and Junior Achievement, where students interact with members of our community to learn about different careers and what is needed to succeed in those career paths.

General education teachers are connected with appropriate special education teachers and support services teachers for necessary material development and refinement for diverse learners based upon their understanding of students' academic needs. At our school, STEM is considered an essential part of our curriculum for all students. As such, general and special education supports are available during all STEM instruction. General education teachers are connected with appropriate special education teachers and teacher aides for necessary material development and refinement for diverse learners based upon their understanding of students’ academic needs. All teachers are provided with Teacher of Record lists and copies of accommodations for all students with IEPs and 504 Accommodation Plans. Special Education teachers and aides share all responsibilities with general education teachers in those classrooms. For example, they collaborate on lesson plans, team teach lessons, and evaluate and assess students collectively. To meet the needs of our moderate learners, we have a dedicated teacher who has two aides, and they intentionally integrate STEM instruction into their classroom.

At North Posey Junior High School, at least 75 percent of teachers use a variety of assessment methods for students to demonstrate STEM learning. We have included rubrics, pictures, formative assessment tools, summative assessment tools, projects, lesson plans, etc. to show that we actively seek different ways to access STEM learning.

2.1 Curriculum Integration

At North Posey Junior High School, we offer multiple, evidence-based STEM programs to our students. A summary of our curriculum for Code.org and PLTW is included to the right.

2.2 Computer Science

At North Posey Junior High School, we have adopted Code.org as our main computer science curriculum. Code.org was selected because of its ease of use and its inclusion on IDOE's evidence-based approved curriculum list. We have included our implementation plan for enrichment period, along with an explanation for how the plan is implemented to ensure that 100% of our students have access to computer science experiences. Additionally, our 7th grade students have the opportunity to earn high school credit by enrolling in our Intro to Computer Science course.

2.3 Employability Skills

At North Posey Junior High School, we seek to empower all of our students with the skills they will need for future careers. All classes use and emphasize the Employability Skills Standards based upon grade level. This is shown through lesson plans that have been submitted by 100% of teachers showing they use the Employability Skills Standards and is included in at least 50% of their planned curriculum. All students participate in Junior Achievement through social studies classes where students learn first hand from volunteers from the workforce what is needed to succeed in particular pathways. All 8th-grade students are enrolled in a Careers class first semester where they research and explore career options, and utilize employability skills daily. Also, all 8th-grade students participate in JobSpark where students interact with different STEM-based careers and employees. We have included examples of lesson plans that show how students are learning employability skills in the classrooms to prepare them for the future, information on the JobSpark field trip, information and curriculum on Junior Achievement, and pictures.

2.4 Equity

At North Posey Junior High School, STEM is considered an essential part of our curriculum for all students. As such, general and special education supports are available during all STEM instruction. General education teachers are connected with appropriate special education teachers and teacher aides for necessary material development and refinement for diverse learners based upon their understanding of students’ academic needs. All teachers are provided with Teacher of Record lists and copies of accommodations for all students with IEP’s and 504 Accommodation Plans. These teachers must sign a form acknowledging they have read the accommodations. Copies of the accommodations as well as the teacher form are available in the folder. Our master schedule is also included in this folder, and we have highlighted where supports are placed. The highlighted teachers are our special education teachers. These teachers share all responsibilities with general education teachers in those classrooms. For example, they collaborate on lesson plans, team-teach lessons, and evaluate and assess students collectively. The folder also contains a teacher aide schedule that lists where our aides are each period. These aides are placed based on percentages of students in those classes who need accommodations. To meet the needs of our moderate learners, we have a dedicated teacher who has two aides that we share with the high school, and they intentionally integrate STEM instruction into their classroom. This teacher is also highlighted on the master schedule in this folder.

2.5 Assessments

At North Posey Junior High School, we use a variety of assessment methods for students to demonstrate STEM learning. In order to see samples of this from our teaching staff, click on the folder, Example Assessments. Click on each teacher’s folder to see rubrics, pictures, formative assessment tools, summative assessment tools, projects, lesson plans, etc.

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