Academics
Structured Literacy
At P.S. 304 Early Childhood Lab School, we believe the heart of learning lies within literacy instruction. Aligning our learning to the pillars of reading, our students are supported to be real-life readers through the areas of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Oral Fluency, Vocabulary Development, and Comprehension. Through a strong structured literacy approach, our students learn the building blocks of reading as they decode text and build meaning for a literate life that unlocks a world of endless possibilities. This includes units of study that focus on thematic ideas across genres and text types that readers can apply to texts that are on readability level and based on the interests of those readers.
The HMH Into Reading curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based literacy program designed to support elementary students in developing strong reading, writing, and language skills. It provides a structured, systematic approach to reading instruction, incorporating explicit phonics lessons, vocabulary development, and comprehension strategies. The curriculum emphasizes a balance of whole-group, small-group, and independent learning experiences, allowing for differentiated instruction that meets the needs of all learners. Through interactive read-alouds, guided reading, and independent practice, students engage with a wide range of authentic texts that build knowledge and foster a love of reading. The program also integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) and culturally relevant content, encouraging students to connect their personal experiences with the texts they read.
One of the standout features of HMH Into Reading is its use of formative and summative assessments to drive instruction. Teachers can track student progress in real time and adjust instruction based on individual needs. The program offers digital resources and interactive tools that support personalized learning, making it adaptable for in-class, remote, or hybrid learning environments. Additionally, HMH Into Reading emphasizes writing as an essential part of literacy development, encouraging students to respond to texts through various writing tasks. This integrated approach to reading, writing, speaking, and listening equips students with the critical thinking skills they need for academic success. Overall, HMH Into Reading provides a rich, supportive environment for young learners to become confident, skilled readers.
Learning and accomplishment flourish when both students and instructors are engaged in work that is difficult, adventurous, and important to them.
Our method is based on the principle of respecting teachers and other school leaders in their capacities as creative agents in their own classrooms. We strengthen their capacity to spark each student's drive, tenacity, and compassion in order to propel growth and success in school, college, a job, and in life. A student is considered successful according to our standards when they demonstrate academic performance, character, and high-quality work. We are of the opinion that scholastic achievement is predicated on robust character characteristics such as cooperation, persistence, responsibility, and compassion, and that such qualities are developed via the completion of academic work that is both interesting and difficult.
The Science of Reading
Small Group Instruction
Mathematics
Mathematics is all around us! As a language all its own, the concepts of mathematics can be applied to all areas of learning through application and conceptual understanding.
With a shift in mathematical understanding from traditional to constructivist, our students are taught conceptual mathematics so they can begin their shift from rote memorization to deep understanding. By allowing students a variety of ways to achieve problem-solving, students are able to apply the mathematics from their workshops to their real lives. This is possible as students are well versed in procedural fluency, conceptual understanding, and mathematics reasoning.
Using the Common Core Mathematical Practices, students are able to:
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically
- Attend precision
- Look for and make use of structure
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
The 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions, developed by Margaret Schwan Smith and Mary Kay Stein, provide a framework for teachers to facilitate rich, student-centered math discussions. These practices aim to deepen students’ conceptual understanding of math concepts and promote critical thinking. Here is a description of each practice and how we at PS 304 implement them:
1. Anticipate: Before the lesson, teachers predict the strategies and solutions students might use to solve a given math task. This practice allows teachers to prepare questions, identify potential misconceptions, and plan how to address them. In elementary schools, teachers analyze student work samples or use past student responses to inform their planning. They also prepare multiple solution paths to ensure they are ready to support diverse student thinking.
2. Monitor: While students are engaged in solving the task, teachers observe and listen to their thinking. Teachers document the strategies students use and note which students are using specific approaches. In elementary classrooms, this might involve circulating the room, asking probing questions, and encouraging students to explain their reasoning. Teachers may use checklists or note-taking templates to track student progress.
3. Select: After monitoring, teachers strategically choose specific student work or strategies to share with the class. The goal is to highlight a range of approaches, especially those that will drive key mathematical concepts forward. In elementary classrooms, teachers may select students who used creative methods, identified errors, or applied efficient strategies. This selection is intentional, ensuring all students see a variety of approaches to problem-solving.
4. Sequence: Teachers carefully determine the order in which student strategies are shared during the discussion. By sequencing from simpler to more complex strategies, teachers build conceptual understanding step-by-step. In elementary schools, teachers might start with concrete, visual approaches (like drawings) before moving to more abstract, symbolic representations. This progression helps students connect different representations of the same concept.
5. Connect: Teachers guide students to see the relationships between different strategies, promoting a deeper understanding of mathematical ideas. This practice emphasizes that multiple methods can lead to the same result. Elementary teachers use this opportunity to ask reflective questions like, “How is this strategy similar to the one we just saw?” or “What do all these approaches have in common?” Visual models, anchor charts, and whole-class discussions support these connections.
By implementing these 5 practices, elementary schools foster a collaborative learning environment where students are encouraged to think deeply, share their reasoning, and engage in meaningful mathematical discourse. Teachers shift from being the source of knowledge to facilitators of student-driven learning, allowing students to develop a more robust understanding of math concepts.
Science is Alive!
Science Lab
Science class today requires our students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and engineers–not memorizers of facts (that could potentially change in their lifetime), not passive watchers of science, and certainly not capable of reasoning about the world they inhabit and how it works. As our students explore various content areas, they are
• Asking Questions and Defining Problems
• Developing and Using Models
• Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
• Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
• Engaging in Argument from Evidence
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Our Science instruction begins with the active investigation and tapping into prior knowledge followed by a question to be answered or a problem to be solved. Students then plan an investigation (or are guided on how to do one) to gather some evidence that will help them answer the question or solve the problem. After obtaining some evidence, students evaluate the data and determine the next steps— they need to revisit their model and make changes, or perhaps they need some additional trials. Finally, after evaluation and revision, students make a claim that they back up with the evidence gathered from the investigation and the reason why the evidence fits the claim.
Humanities
Humanities studies the history and development of human thought and culture. By focusing on literature, history, philosophy, art, and film, humanities courses seek a broad and interconnected understanding of the human experience.
Through the integration of political activism, cultural exploration, and the study of people, our Humanities program supports critical thinking skills, social justice, and the interpretation of arts and self-expression through the exploration of various forms such as visual, theater, audio and film.
Arts Integration (Humanities)
S.T.E.A.M Lab
Full STEAM Ahead!
We are so excited about the integration of STEAM instruction into P.S. 304 Early Childhood Lab School. As we know, STEAM is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. Using STEAM education results in students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. These are the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century! This includes integration such as:
- Pod Casting
- Movie Making
- 3D Printing
- Robotics
- Stop Motion Animation
- Science Experiments
- Coding
- Lego Construction
Pre-Kindergarten Leaders in Learning
Our Pre-kindergarten program is inspired by a constructivist approach to early childhood education. The structure and design of lessons and units of study are created from the interest of children and have a project-based element, which incorporates skills through work with natural materials.
Before, after, and throughout instruction, the important process of documentation captures the learning of students. We document the children’s daily experiences and display them so it is easily accessible to teachers, children, and families. Through the process of documentation, we make learning visible to children and families and this allows us to plan future curriculum experiences.
We work on long-term investigative projects where children contribute to their educational experiences with questions on what to study, what to tackle in a topic and how to study it as part of a group. Through these explorations, the children are exposed to concepts of mathematics, science, and literacy and they further develop their social-emotional, language reasoning, and physical skills aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards.
We value children’s play as an important way of learning and provide selective pretend and imaginative play materials offered to children. The environment is filled with a wealth of open-ended materials, which allows for creativity for students in selecting appropriate materials to support their own learning. In addition, professional writing tools allow children to produce high-quality work within a supportive environment. The children use a variety of materials to convey their thoughts, theories, and hypotheses such as real clay, paints, recycled materials, homemade play dough, good quality professional papers, and more.