Elementary Curriculum & Instruction

 

Our seven elementary schools serve grade levels kindergarten through fifth grade. Two of our school sites Clayton A. Record Jr. Elementary and also Park Hill Elementary serve transitional kindergarten as well as kindergarten through fifth grade. Currently, our SJUSD elementary sites serve approximately 4,500 students grades transitional kindergarten through fifth grade. 

 

 

As an elementary team our focus is to strive to ensure all students are proficient readers by grade three. Also, there is always a continued emphasis on providing rigorous standards based instruction daily utilizing the Common Core State Standards in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. Our core adopted curriculum for English Language Arts is McGraw Hill-Wonders/Maravillas and iReady Magnetic Reading Foundations and Eureka in Mathematics. We understand that learning to read is a complicated process. Kids don’t just learn one skill at a time; they develop many skills all at once. They practice decoding words, reading smoothly, building vocabulary, understanding what they read, and discovering that reading is fun and helps them learn about the world. Skilled reading  is made up of two main strands: word recognition and language comprehension.Word recognition includes the following strands:

• Phonological Awareness: The ability to recognize and work with sounds in spoken language.
• Decoding: The skill of sounding out words and understanding how letters combine to form sounds.
• Sight Recognition: The ability to recognize familiar words instantly without sounding them out.

Language comprehension consists of:

• Vocabulary: Understanding and using a wide range of words.
• Sentence Structure: Grasping how sentences are formed and how meaning is conveyed through grammar.
• Text Comprehension: The ability to understand and interpret the meaning of what is read.

As children develop these skills, they become stronger readers. The strands are interdependent—if one strand is weak, it can affect overall reading ability. For instance, if a child struggles with decoding, it may hinder their comprehension, even if they have a strong vocabulary. By understanding how skilled reading works, you can support your child’s reading development more effectively. You can help them strengthen each strand by providing engaging reading experiences, encouraging discussions about books, and introducing new vocabulary in everyday conversations.