Crestwood Intermediate School offers a wide-variety of program of study for all students in grades 4-6. Strong academic development and instruction has long been a highlight and focus of the Crestwood Intermediate School staff and administration. Crestwood Intermediate School's educators work to delve more deeply into the core areas of reading comprehension and math problem-solving skills, as well as a more focused emphasis on reading to learn in science and social studies. In addition, students who are identified as gifted will receive subject acceleration services in reading and math. Students in all grades also receive weekly instruction in art, music, physical education, and technology.
In meeting the challenges of educating each Crestwood Intermediate student in the most meaningful, appropriate manner, we have established a classroom curriculum to meet the individual needs of all students that create a personalized learning experience for every student. In order to accomplish this, CIS teams of teachers developed courses of study in core academic areas that incorporate the new State of Ohio Content Standards and National Standards from each respective field. Each one is fully aligned with the state and national standards; yet, also exceeds the minimum requirements set forth by the Ohio Department of Education. At Crestwood Local Schools, we have a history of a commitment to excellence. The district is driven by a single, primary focus
Every Kid Every Day! This is #theCrestwoodWay at the Intermediate School!
Following this guiding principle, we have established high expectations for our students and hold ourselves accountable by setting benchmarks and other indicators for each course that are correlated to the State of Ohio Content Standards. Beyond the core courses of math, science, language arts and social studies, students are provided a balanced curriculum that includes courses in art, music, technical education, health and physical education with talented specialists.
Crestwood Intermediate School offers a variety of programs and differentiated instructional strategies to successfully meet the individual needs of each child, ranging from special education services for students with various handicaps to enrichment and accelerated classes for gifted and talented students. Our students also benefit from a wealth of experience offered by district psychologists, school counselor, speech pathologists, nurses, and academic intervention specialists. Intervention programs conducted after school, in the classroom and in the summer assist struggling students with academic needs in various subject areas, especially reading and math.
Our excellence is maintained through a focus on quality approaches enabling us to use the latest research methods in a systematic way. Teachers are provided with professional development opportunities which increase their understanding and provide strategies to reach the unique needs of each child, differentiating the learning experiences for all. Teachers are encouraged to give students opportunities to express their knowledge, their understanding and their questions in many different forums. Our new teachers are provided year-long mentors while veteran teachers continue to be engaged in meaningful work that allows them to research, reflect and continue to deepen their understanding of student learning and the various content areas.
Using these quality strategies supports the district's goal of developing appropriate methods of assessment to ensure continuous progress and promote lifelong learning. We keep our class sizes small to allow teachers to meet the needs of the individual learner consistently by personalizing instruction and developing positive relationships with students.
In this global society, we will integrate technology education into our daily lesson plans. Crestwood Intermediate School will use technology to explore content and build expertise and mastery. Our students learn in an environment that fosters academic excellence, self-discipline, physical and mental fitness and parent/community involvement.
Mathematics
Mathematical literacy is essential to becoming an informed and competent citizen. This literacy involves understanding mathematical principles, developing mathematical ways of thinking, and developing fluency with numbers. Students will develop this literacy by actively doing mathematics - using their skills and knowledge to explore and solve problems, investigating mathematical ideas, and explaining what they see.
Our mathematics framework and curriculum will focus on the meaningful development that emphasizes the following:
-
Conceptual understanding - less rote learning and memorization of procedures and a greater emphasis on spatial reasoning and conceptually-based learning
-
Mathematical connections - the understanding of underlying mathematical concepts and the importance of learning to make connections within mathematics and between mathematics and the world
-
Mathematical thinking and communication - students convey their mathematical ideas in written and verbal form and are encouraged to articulate their thinking and justify it to others
-
Problem solving and mathematical reasoning - students learn to develop and apply differentiation strategies for investigating mathematical content and solving problems motivated by situations and applications that give them meaning
-
Exploration - learning occurs through exploration and discussion of mathematical ideas rather than memorizing a teacher-directed set of procedures to follow. Students make conjectures and investigate them, explain their reasoning, and work individually and in groups to solve problems
We want mathematics to become "the power of thought" rather than "the power of facts.”.
English Language Arts
Our school philosophy is to teach language arts through a balanced literacy approach. In this comprehensive literacy vision, teachers scaffold students' reading, writing, and thinking through demonstration, shared demonstration, guided practice, independent practice, response and feedback, and ongoing assessment. In creating this vision teachers work to:
-
Establish a safe, caring, risk-taking, collaborative classroom
-
Demonstrate reading, writing and thinking processes
-
Teach explicitly
-
Gradually release the responsibility of skills and strategies to the students
-
Discuss quality text in many genres
-
Extend text through oral and written response as well as through the arts
-
Use resources - books, technology, peers, etc.
-
Provide useful feedback and response to students
-
Promote and inspire inquiry across the curriculum
-
Provide for choice and plentiful reading and writing opportunities
-
Guide and support students in becoming independent, lifelong learner
We rely on critical instructional components. These components are the foundation for what is taught as learners gradually move from dependence to independence. The degree and intensity of support the learner requires to be successful determines how instruction is structured. The components are:
-
Reading Aloud
-
Shared Reading
-
Guided Reading
-
Literature Study
-
Independent Reading
-
Modeled Writing
-
Shared Writing
-
Interactive Writing
-
Guided Writing
-
Independent Writing
-
Word Study
Social Studies
Effective social studies integrate history, geography, economics, political science, humanities and social sciences enabling each young person to experience the connected nature of land and people, and the human experience in a developmentally appropriate way. Our program is aligned with the Ohio Social Studies Standard.
Crestwood Intermediate School has an emphasis on helping students develop the skills necessary to make informed and reasoned decisions and to actively participate as a responsible citizen in our community, state and world. By learning about significant people, places, events and issues in the past, it better helps us to understand the present. We will focus on reading non-fiction and historical fiction texts that give students an appreciation of how people lived, why they made the decisions they did and the challenges they faced.
Science
Science is one of many ways people explore and understand the natural world. The target of scientific activity is the development of operational understandings of how the world works. We have developed a philosophy that articulates a comprehensive set of engaging and challenging science activities which will consistently and incrementally develop powerful scientific literacy in the following six standards: Earth and Space, Life, Physical, Science and Technology, Scientific Inquiry, and Scientific Ways of Knowing.
In the classroom, students are provided many opportunities to develop and maintain the essential skills that form the basis for scientific lifelong learning and investigation of the natural world. Students will build investigative skills with a wide variety of hands-on experiences, critical thinking exercises, and problem-solving opportunities.
Physical Education
An active body produces an active mind. We want to inspire, nurture, and empower ALL students to love the Movement for Wellness. We truly believe physical education is the most relevant subject. From birth throughout life we were designed to move. Physical activity and fitness improves the quality of life as well as increases self esteem. Through a variety of movement practices and eating habits we prevent diseases such as obesity, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, reduce stress, heart disease, depression and anxiety. Our vision is to build relationships with students, parents and our community.
Visual Art
Crestwood Intermediate School wants to inspire and empower students in the pursuit of excellence through the development of visual literacy, creativity, and self expression by providing diverse media processes which emphasize the mastery of hands-on artistic experiences. The visual arts represent the most telling imprints of any civilization, serving as records of history, and expressions of our humanity. Concepts taught in art are integral to all other areas of learning. Crestwood Intermediate School will provide unique forms of thinking and ways of knowing and participating with the world through cognitive and sensory experiences. We want to empower students through their artistic skill and vision. This empowerment enriches and enhances their academic, personal, and social relationships.
Music
We want to develop students that possess a lifelong love, participation, and appreciation of music. We do this by providing each student with high-quality instruction that has a varied musical experiences and courses, and a strong foundation in musical literacy, skills, and concepts. Through involvement in music, students develop their creative capacity, providing a source of lifelong satisfaction.
Curriculum and Instruction Links: