Curriculum

Leader in Me is a school-wide framework that helps students develop leadership, responsibility, and strong character while building the skills they need for success in school and in life. Based on the principles of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, Leader in Me teaches students how to set goals, take initiative, work collaboratively, and make positive choices.

Through daily learning experiences, students practice leadership habits such as being proactive, working well with others, and thinking about solutions that benefit everyone. Classrooms focus on goal-setting, teamwork, and reflection so students learn to take ownership of their learning and behavior.

Leader in Me is implemented districtwide, meaning every ISD elementary student has opportunities to develop leadership skills, build confidence, and discover how they can make a positive impact in their classroom, school, and community.

What is the Science of Reading?

The science of reading refers to the study of how the brain learns to read and to research-based teaching methods. The National Reading Panel (2000) identified five fundamental components of reading that can be found in instruction. These are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

To support student literacy, over 150 Independence staff members are participating in LETRS training based on Missouri's priority to build knowledge and skills to deliver systematic reading instruction.

Learn more about Missouri's literacy trainings.

Download a printable version of the Science of Reading in English or Spanish.

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What is Word Study?

Word study is a foundational reading skill. It involves studying the relationship between sounds and written language.

Word study focuses not on memorization, but on helping students see the regularities, patterns, word origin, and meaning of words.

Word study teaches students how to use word knowledge strategically to:

• Support their writing

• Help them decode unknown words

• Understand word parts

Students work with weekly patterns during their word study block.

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What are Heart Words?

Heart Words are words that do not seem to fit a regular pattern.

Examples of heart words are said, are, and where.

Some part of the word will have to be learned by heart. When we teach this way, readers are no longer asked to memorize the whole word but rather to pay attention to the parts that make sense and the parts that do not make sense.

See Heart Words in action with this video.

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What is Morphology?

Morphemes are the smallest meaningful parts of words. Morphology is the study of those meaningful parts.

When we focus on morphemes, we learn prefixes, root words, and suffixes. We also learn Greek and Latin roots to explain the way words are spelled and how roots affect their meaning.

For example, the word intersection:

• The prefix inter means between.

• The Latin root sect means to cut.

• The suffix tion makes the word an action word.

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How do Students Learn Vocabulary?

Vocabulary is vital to the development of reading comprehension. Vocabulary refers to understanding words in the context of reading.

Students learn new words through:

• Reading

• Listening to read-alouds

• Having conversations

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How do Students Develop Fluency?

Fluency includes accuracy, rate, and expression when reading.

Students need to be able to decode words automatically and with expression. Fluency is the bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

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How is Comprehension Developed?

Comprehension is how readers understand what they read. This is the ultimate goal for all readers.

Oral language and background knowledge and experiences help younger students grow as they work on word recognition at the same time.

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Reading Assessments by Grade

Grade	Time Frame	Assessments
Kindergarten	Fall, Winter, Spring	STAR Early Literacy, Letter Sounds, Phoneme Segmentation, LETRS Spelling Screener
1st Grade	Fall, Winter, Spring	STAR Early Literacy, Phoneme Segmentation, Fluency, LETRS Spelling Screener
2nd-5th Grades	Fall, Winter, Spring	STAR Reading, Fluency, LETRS Spelling Screener

 

Literacy

• UFLI
• Phonics and Spelling Through Phoneme Grapheme Mapping
• Units of Study - Writing

Mathematics

• McGraw Hill Reveal Math

Science

• Generation Genius
• Missouri Conservation Department - Discover Nature Schools

Social Studies

• Integrated into literacy

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Assessments

Grading, Progress Reports, Credit

Student Support Services

Proficiency scores are not and cannot be related to a traditional grade. When a parent sees proficiency scores on a report, they should consider that the goal of that report is to provide them with information on their student's performance measured against content standards, not against other students. 

 

Meets (M)
Meets grade-level priority standard:

• Consistently meets requirements of proficient work.
• Independently demonstrates an acceptable level of knowledge and understanding.

 

Approaching (A)
Approaching grade-level priority standard:

• Meets some requirements for proficient work.
• Demonstrates some knowledge and understanding.

 

Emerging (E)
Emerging grade-level priority standard:

• With support, beginning to meet some of the requirements for proficient work.
• Demonstrates little knowledge and understanding.

 

Below Expectation (B)
Below grade-level priority standard:

• Unable to meet requirements for proficient work, even with support.
• Demonstrates little or no knowledge and understanding.

Grading Philosophy and Learning Beliefs

ISD is committed to ensuring that every student learns and succeeds.

• Learning is our core purpose.
• Trusting relationships and commitment to our core values will foster learning at all levels.
• Effective teaching is the most essential factor in student learning.
• Effective leaders support continuous learner growth at all levels.

 

Non-Academic Grades

Non-academic factors such as effort, attitude, participation, and behavior will be reported separately from your child's academic grade. You can find grades reported for these skills in the "Behaviors that Promote Learning" section of your child's progress report.

 

Final Progress Report Assessments

Teachers use a variety of formative and summative assessments that play into your child's grade. Students who are not meeting proficiency on the intended standard or learning goal will have the opportunity to relearn and reassess until they gain a solid understanding of the grade-level standard.

Kindergarten Progress Report

First Grade Progress Report

Second Grade Progress Report

Third Grade Progress Report

Fourth Grade Progress Report

Fifth Grade  Progress Report