Instructional Framework
West Maple Charter School will provide academically integrated, project-based learning experiences, aligned with the EL Education frameworks. To learn more about EL Education, click below.
What Learning Looks Like in an EL School:
Sample Learning Module: Birds, Habitats, and Helping Our World (Grade 1)
In this integrated learning module, first-grade students explore the fascinating world of birds while learning how they can care for living things and the environment. Grounded in the Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science, students investigate how birds use their physical features to survive, what they need from their habitats, and how changes in the environment affect their ability to live and migrate successfully.
Students begin by observing birds closely—studying their body parts, behaviors, and needs. Through hands-on investigations, reading informational texts, drawing scientific models, and participating in discussions, students learn how birds use their beaks, wings, and feathers to find food, stay safe, and travel long distances. They also examine how light, buildings, and human activity can impact birds, especially during migration.
This module integrates science, literacy, and social studies by encouraging students to ask questions, gather information from multiple sources, and communicate their learning clearly. As they build knowledge, students are guided to think about their role in protecting animals and habitats.
The module culminates in a meaningful final product: public advocacy for the Lights Out Georgia initiative. Students apply what they’ve learned to create age-appropriate advocacy pieces—such as posters, letters, or short presentations—educating others about how turning off unnecessary lights at night helps keep migrating birds safe. By sharing their work with families and the broader community, students see how their learning can make a real-world impact.
Through this experience, first graders grow as scientists, readers, and citizens. They not only learn about birds—they learn that even young learners can use knowledge to help care for the world around them.
What Character Education Looks Like in an EL School:
From EL Education’s website:
Crew is EL Education’s signature program for building character, fostering leadership, and supporting academic growth. In Crew, students develop the habits of ethical people and effective learners so they can make meaningful contributions to a better world. Crew goes beyond traditional advisory models by combining community-building with rigorous academic support, preparing students to succeed as active citizens who strengthen their classrooms, their schools, and their communities. That’s the power of Crew.
At West Maple Charter School, instructional time is intentionally allocated at the beginning of each day for teachers to lead an Opening Circle and set the day’s expectations with students. Crew lessons and activities are grounded in modeling and learning the characteristics of Ethical People and Effective Learners. Learning targets from Crew time are present and referred to throughout the day, so that students connect those characteristics to academic subjects, as well as environments outside of the classroom.
