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EDITOR'S NOTE: Tennessee schools are ranked near the bottom of the nation in academic performance on national assessments. The United States has also experienced a slip in its international student assessment rankings. State officials have implemented new graduation requirements, curriculum standards and assessments in an attempt to get education back on track. This is part of an ongoing series focusing on schools as they adjust to the changes.

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Elementary schools provide the foundation for a child's education and, in turn, their future.

Foothills Elementary School's staff has wholeheartedly accepted this charge and strives to make even the simplest activity into an engaging and worthwhile lesson.

After walking into class, Kim Newman's third-graders sat on a rug in front of an interactive whiteboard and intently listened to a grammar lesson about subject and predicate. Newman later asked for volunteers to underline the subject -- who or what a sentence is about — and predicate — which tells something about the subject -- in each sentence.

Students wriggled around on the floor with their hands outstretched and vied for a chance to use the whiteboard's wireless stylus. Many students giggled with glee when Newman selected them. Students then became elated when she allowed them to select any color in the program's template to underline their parts of speech.

Students later got into the day's "heavy lifting." They worked on a subject and predicate assignment and took a test on the material. Some students also took computer-based assessments on books they'd recently finished reading.

Newman's next lesson was on money. She placed coins on an overhead projector and had students write the amount on their dry erase boards.

Students went to 30-minute physical education and music classes after finishing their math lesson. They attend the classes twice a week.

The third-graders played a game of floor hockey in Terrie Reilly's gym class. Students later played the melody of Hoyt Axton's "Joy to the World" -- popularly known by its opening line, "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog" -- on recorders, kazoos, xylophones, metallophones and tuned percussion tubes in Julia Lawson's music class.

Students also spend one hour each week in Lynn Hawkins' art class and in a technology class taught by Carol Humphrey or Melissa LaFollette. They similarly visit the library for an hour each week to hear books read aloud and hone their library skills.

Students returned to Newman's classroom after their lunch break. She did a quick spelling lesson and then read a chapter from Betty MacDonald's "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle." Newman later moved into the day's science lesson on plants.

Instruction sparks student interest

Students said they love Newman's teaching style. "Ms. Newman makes everything really fun. She does a good job and explains everything real well," said Lindsey Kizer.

"I've learned a ton about maps and Hawaii this year. I still remember the (USS) Arizona," said Jack Cone referring to a social studies unit.

Newman's lesson plans have also sparked interests that students have decided to pursue outside the classroom. "I'd never have been interested in paleontology if it wasn't for Ms. Newman and this school. It's a really good school," said Mark Foley. His family recently visited the Natural History Museum at the Gray Fossil Site in Jonesborough and the University of Tennessee's Frank H. McClung Museum.

As Foley recounted his travels, his face lit up when he talked about how he'd acquired prehistoric horse and woolly mammoth teeth. He hopes to one day become a paleontologist.

Technology driving progress

A lot of hard work went into the school's seamless transition from the old state standards to the new state standards. "Over the last couple years, we've revamped the curriculum to meet individual needs. We've spent a lot of time going through the standards, looking at textbooks, tweaking lessons and pulling in new resources," Newman said.

Last year she received an interactive whiteboard from the Maryville City Schools Foundation, and Newman said it's been a blessing for her class. She's already made interactive flip charts for class lessons and is collaborating with her colleagues on future presentations.

"Technology is huge. It's changed the way we teach," said Principal Amy Vagnier. "Obviously it's a tool, but it's a very effective tool. Teachers can create an effective, engaging interactive lesson with decreased time. I recently saw a teacher put together a game, video and PowerPoint presentation in 35 minutes. The same lesson would have taken three to four hours in the old days."

Technology-based programs are also being used to identify students who need supplemental instruction. "We've become so analytical at the elementary level. We can determine specifically how a student is struggling. It's really become the science of teaching," Vagnier said.

Foothills Elementary School's teachers have a variety of intervention and accelerated materials at their disposal including AIMSweb, Destination Reading, Destination Math, SuccessMaker and the Wilson Reading System, Vagnier said.

Three years ago administrators started a Response to Intervention (RTI) reading program, and the school's RTI math program is in its pilot year, Vagnier said. RTI programs are designed to give assistance to children who are having difficulty learning, and they also function as a data-based process of diagnosing learning disabilities.

New standards, same mission

Elementary teachers say they are unfazed by the Tennessee Diploma Project's revision of curriculum standards. "The rigor piece has to be in elementary school. We lay the groundwork for high school," Vagnier said. "We need readers, and there's not a one-size-fits-all program. Our charge is to try everything we can for our students.

"However, we can never underestimate the value of teachers. They're unwilling to give up on children. As a community, I think we should never stop applauding our teachers," she said.

Educators stand behind the state's standards. "This is a necessary and essential curriculum. So, it's really just about allocating time," Vagnier said. "Math and reading will get more instruction than science and social studies, because the data is more concentrated on reading and math."

Educators currently present lessons on science and social studies in topical instructional units, Vagnier said. Teachers also integrate nonfiction into their reading plans, she said. Students start to perform hands-on science labs when they enter the third and fourth grades, Vagnier said.

Calculators are gradually becoming more important for elementary students since new math standards emphasize real-world problem solving, Vagnier said. Teachers, however, will still use a lot of manipulatives to teach the material, she said.