1. Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School Lakeland Central School District Shrub Oak, NY Ellen McNally Janice Reichert The I-Core Curriculum

3. Interdisciplinary Core I-Core is a unique curriculum that focuses on higher order thinking and engages students in analyzing and evaluating information across the disciplines.

4. Students are actively engaged in both reading and writing skills that accompany the non-fictional curriculum which is made up of four units taught in grades 6, 7 and 8, spiraling in difficulty.

5. Throughout these units, the students are asked to read, identify and analyze non- fictional material and produce their own critiques to demonstrate their understanding.

6. Enhance literacy and writing skills Encourage critical thinking Produce written works using multimedia

7. Positives Flexibility Teaching multiple grades Viewing academic growth Crossing disciplines Multimedia Collaboration with teachers Working with current topics & issues in the media Presenting non-fictional material in an engaging way

8. Foundation for Writing in I-Core  Format - brief response/paragraph  Supporting details  Transitional words  Thesis statement  Topic & closing sentences

10. Increase in New York State English Language Arts scores Skills developed and topics studied are transferred over to other disciplines and built upon in high school Authentic lessons, real-life examples and fresh content to teach traditional skills are used

11. English Language Arts Middle Level General Education/Special Education