Learning about the natural world, their place in it, and their responsibility to it is an engaging focus for study that captivates our students’ interests in their surroundings. In addition to a strong content-driven curriculum, it is vital that students be given the opportunity to look critically at environmental issues and to take personal responsibility for finding solutions by asking the right questions. At Green Woods we provide opportunities for students to engage in experiential investigations with real questions and real answers.

Green Woods’ students continually apply what they learn in their classrooms to the 340 acres of fields, forest, ponds and streams we call our learning laboratory.  Each day our students work collaboratively as they gain important knowledge and skills necessary to take an active role in solving issues that affect them, their homes, their schools, their communities, and our environment.

Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for learning (EIC) defines a framework for interdisciplinary, collaborative, student-centered, hands-on, and engaged learning.  The foundation for our EIC Curriculum is the PA Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology. We use the environment as a comprehensive focus and framework for learning in all areas: general and disciplinary knowledge, thinking and problem-solving skills, and basic life skills, such as cooperation and interpersonal communications.

EIC-based learning is not primarily focused on learning about the environment, nor is it limited to developing environmental awareness.  It is about using a school’s surroundings and community as a framework within which students can construct their own learning, guided by teachers and administrators using proven educational practices. 

Systems Thinking and Green Woods Charter School’s EIC Model

Green Woods students learn about the environment by being in the environment. The foundation for Green Woods EIC Curriculum is the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology, which focus on the real world and how it works. Since fifty percent of these standards directly relate to Social Studies Standards, integrating concepts relating to economics, civics and government, and geography through the EIC approach allows for a relatively seamless connection between science and social studies. Throughout the school year, concepts relating to history, social studies, language arts, science, and sustainable projects are incorporated into all areas of study. For all Green Woods students, projects are not done for the mere sake of doing projects; rather, they are one step in a process with clearly established learning goals which happen all along the way.

Language Arts skills are reinforced throughout our middle school curriculum as our students read and write across all disciplines. In Language Arts class our students read novels and write research papers and newspaper articles based on topics covered in Science and Social Studies. Special subjects such as Art and Technology also support our EIC curriculum framework.  Teamwork amongst our teachers ensures that our students are making connections across all of the disciplines.

At Green Woods Charter School our students are immersed in non-fiction books. This focus on non-fiction not only helps build important vocabulary and process skills, but also enhances our children’s understanding of key concepts which they are learning in their outdoor classroom. Our teachers are trained in the Children’s Literacy Initiative program which provides a toolkit of effective teaching practices including the use of multi-sensory learning centers and the Message-Time Plus modeled writing program. Each day we use a balanced approach to teaching literacy across the grade levels. The components of this effective program include: Read Alouds, Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Independent Reading, Modeled/Shared Writing, Interactive Writing, and Independent Writing.

Hiking and learning outdoors begins in Kindergarten when even our youngest naturalists pull on splash boots and explore our streams and trails. While our first graders study the pond as an ecosystem, second grade focuses on the field as a habitat.  Our 3rd grade students explore the forest from the ground up beginning with soil and ending their journey with a study of birds and migration. In preparing to take a more global perspective when they reach middle school, our fourth grade students expand their exploration of our local environment through an interdisciplinary and in-depth study of the Delaware River Watershed.

Green Woods’ middle school teachers meet regularly, team teach, and work collaboratively to support the social, emotional and academic growth of our students. 

As with the K-4 curriculum, the PA Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology provide the foundation for Green Woods middle school curriculum. Fifty percent of the Environment and Ecology standards focus on Social Studies concepts. This allows for a relatively seamless integration of Science and Social Studies.

Language Arts skills are reinforced throughout our middle school curriculum as our students read and write across all disciplines. In Language Arts class our students read novels and write research papers and poetry based on topics covered in Science and Social Studies.

Special subjects such as Art, Music, Spanish, and Technology also support our EIC curriculum framework.  Teamwork is essential to integrated learning as it ensures that our students are making connections across all of the disciplines.

At Green Woods the creative arts play an important role in our integrated curriculum. In first grade our students spend the entire year learning about the pond as a habitat. Hiking to the various ponds located within our site, our students learn to become keen observers of the many creatures that depend on the pond as a source of food, water, shelter or space. In second grade, our students spend the month of October learning about bats: the perfect time of year to study these fascinating flying mammals.

The richness of our creative arts program provides still another way for students to make connections between their classroom work and the many explorations they enjoy while hiking and learning outdoors. In art class, books such as Stellaluna and In the Small, Small Pond are read aloud by Art Teacher, Barbara Mail reinforcing our integrated approach to learning.

Green Woods K-6 mathematics program is Everyday Math published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill.  Everyday Math is used by millions of students in hundreds of thousands of classrooms throughout the country. This research-based curriculum was developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP), Everyday Mathematics is the result of collaborative efforts by researchers, mathematics educators, administrators and classroom teachers. The instructional design is carefully crafted to capitalize on student interest and maximize student learning.

Everyday Mathematics is organized into six mathematical content strands that cover a number of skills and concepts. This provides a rich yet balanced curriculum. Every strand is addressed throughout all grade levels of the program. Each grade level builds on and extends concept understanding, so children approach each new challenge from a firmly established foundation.

Key Facts of the Everyday Mathematics Program
• Everyday Mathematics teaches higher order thinking and critical problem solving.
• Everyday Mathematics integrates mathematics into other subject areas.
• Everyday Mathematics places a high priority on children developing automatic recall of the basic number facts. Students can quickly recall simple multiplication such as 2 x 2 = 4.
• Everyday Mathematics goes beyond basic facts and computation skills so students know when, how and why to use them.
• Everyday Mathematics recognizes that computation is an important and practical part of mathematics and has been designed to ensure all students can compute accurately in a variety of ways.
• In Everyday Mathematics, both the answer and the steps taken to reach the answer are important.
• Everyday Mathematics uses calculators as a tool for learning mathematics, not simply for computation.

For additional information on skills assessed, parent tips for helping your child with homework, math games you can play at home, the research behind this program and more, click on the link below:

http://www.swsd.k12.pa.us/baresvle/MathMaterials/index.htm