• Accountable Talk-Students actively participate in theme based classroom talk, listening to each other and building on each other's ideas.
• Book Bag-A bag that students keep in the classroom for independent reading, holding carefully selected books that will support reading fluency and understanding.
• Comprehension-The ability of students to understand what he is reading and is able to talk about it.
• Independent Reading-Students spend time reading on their own. Beginner readers can read out loud.
• Million Words-Every child will be encouraged to read one million words during the school year.
• Reading Log-A record of books a student has read independently.
• Reading Response Notebook-Students write down their thoughts about what they have read.
• Writer’s Notebook-Students collect ideas they may write about using the writing process. Students write everyday.

• Mathematics means more when it is rooted in the real-life problems and situations-children’s mathematical knowledge should grow from their experiences.
• Children can learn more than is usually expected because they know more than they are give credit for Experience gives children a rich store of information from which they can develop mathematical insight, reasoning, and creativity.
• Instructors should take advantage of the teaching tools technology presents.
• Teachers are the single most important source of advancing and sustaining reform in mathematics education.

Everyday Mathematics was developed with the belief that children rarely learn a new concept or skill the first time they experience it. Concepts are more fully understood after repeated exposures. With this in mind, topics or strands are taught progressively throughout the grade levels. These strands are:

• Numeration
• Operations and Computation
• Patterns, Functions and Algebra
• Geometry
• Measurement and Reference Frames
• Data and Chance

Everyday Mathematics curriculum inspires both teachers and students to break through traditional math barriers and explore math concepts. Children learn probability, geometry, patterns, algebra, and data gathering and analysis. Everyday Mathematics ensures a strong school/home connection. Information is sent home on a regular basis to parents regarding skills and concepts taught. Reinforcement sheets are provided for home practice.

• Focuses on principles (big ideas) in earth, life, and physical sciences;
• Incorporates a research-based, constructivist approach to learning;
• Includes embedded formative assessments;
• Teaches science as inquiry;
• Provides literacy strategies;
• Aligns with Colorado science standards and CSAP science assessment frameworks; and
• Includes kits for hands-on learning.

• Understanding by design: Planning backward—first determining the big ideas students are to learn, then working backward to identify methods to reach those goals and ways to assess the effectiveness of teaching.
• Nonlinguistic Representation: graphic organizers, mental images, and movement
• Multiple Intelligences: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, body-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.
• Cooperative Interaction: cooperative behaviors and group work, placement in mixed-ability groups, and assignment of roles to complete during a multiple-ability task.
• Spiral Curriculum: Students learn progressively more difficult concepts through a process of step-by-step discovery.

• Special Education is a planning process, not a program
• Identification of needs and characteristics of services to meet those needs is the focus of all decisions (instruction, related services, and placement).
• Student needs are similar by virtue of their intensity or by functioning area rather than by disability.
• Students are grouped and regrouped as their educational needs dictate