Kyrene Instructional Minutes for Kindergarten – Fifth Grade (Updated April 2015)

Purpose  provide teachers with information about the revised weekly instructional minutes for kindergarten through fifth grade students.

Key Characteristics to support student achievement  strategic use of instructional time  integration of content areas

Model  promotes growth in developing teachers’ abilities to integrate multiple content areas into ELA and Math  creates flexibility in the overall schedule

Content AreaM/T/TH/FWednesdayWeekly Developmental Reading *50% informational text,integration of Social Studies/Science/Health *50% literary text 90 minutes 450 minutes Developmental Reading IFG 30 minutes 120 minutes Language Arts * writing instruction *integration of literary and informational text 30 minutes 190 minutes Mathematics60 minutes 300 minutes Math IFG30 minutes 120 minutes Extended Learning Experiences *Science Labs * S.S *Health 30 minutes * Project Based Learning * Extended math instruction *S.T.E.M Recess (optional)15 minutes Music45 minutes Art 45 minutes Physical Education 45 minutes Library 45 minutes PRIMARY GRADES (K-3)

Content Area M/T/TH/F WednesdayWeekly Developmental Reading *50% informational text,integration of Social Studies/Science/Health *50% literary text 60 minutes 300 minutes Developmental Reading IFG 30 minutes 120 minutes Language Arts * writing instruction *integration of literary and informational text 60 minutes50 minutes290 minutes Mathematics60 minutes 300 minutes Math IFG30 minutes 120 minutes Extended Learning Experiences * Project Based Learning * Extended math instruction *S.T.E.M 30 minutes * Science Labs * S.S and Health Recess (optional)15 Music45 minutes Art 45 minutes Physical Education 45 minutes Library 45 minutes INTERMEDIATE GRADES (4-5)

K-5 Recommendations to instructional minutes  All students are engaged in core instruction.  Planning for instruction should happen as a collaborative team.

K-3 only  Reading instruction for grades K-3 should be a minimum of 90 minutes.  60 minutes must be an uninterrupted block of time.  The additional 30 minutes of core reading instruction can be scheduled at another time during the day.  Flexibility will be given to kindergarten scheduling.  Kindergarten uninterrupted blocks can be shorter in length while still maintaining the number of instructional minutes identified for core areas.

K-5 ELA  Speaking and listening standards should be embedded into all content standards  50% of reading instruction should be split between literary and informational text. The informational & literary text component is a source for writing during the writing block.  Writing instruction should be planned and explicit based on grade-level standards.  Social Studies, Science and Health standards can be integrated with the ELA standards and taught during core reading and writing minutes.  This can be done through a year long integration map or stand alone as separate units of instruction.

K-5 Social Studies, Science, and Health  Social Studies, Science, and Health cannot be solely integrated into the Reading and Language Arts blocks and will require stand alone time to meet all grade level standards.

K-5 Extended Learning Experiences  Extended Learning Experiences consist of learning experiences that:  incorporate science, social studies, and health standards through Project Based Learning, STEM, and STEAM as well as providing Extended math instruction.  Teachers may exercise flexibility into the schedule based on:  data driven student needs or based on concepts that would benefit from further exploration, deepening student understanding.

K-5 IFG  IFG will support the implementation of structured levels of intervention and support for students (RTI).  IFG is not additional minutes of core content instruction.  A master schedule that includes time for differentiated instructional groups is essential.  Instructional Focus Groups (IFG) are developed to support instruction of students at all levels – at risk, progressing, on grade level, above grade level, and gifted.  IFG grouping is data driven and supported through:  the collaborative PLC model, drawing on expertise of all team members (gen ed, resource, gifted resource teachers, coaches, SEI coach).  Teachers can implement IFG within the classroom OR with a group of teachers.  The best practice and recommendation is that certified teachers:  utilize their high level of content knowledge and skill to close achievement gap by providing direct intervention during IFG time to students most at-risk.

K-5 Special Areas  For scheduling special areas, please reference special area scheduling considerations.