2013-2014 Board of Education Proposed Budget Book

LITERACY – GRADES K-12
MAJOR GOALS
• All students will read, analyze and interpret increasingly sophisticated texts from a variety of cultures, time periods and genres.
• Students will internalize strategic comprehension strategies that support the increasingly complex literacy demands of our society.
• All students will demonstrate reading comprehension at or above grade level by the end of third grade.
• All students will master the process of writing including composing, revising and editing using conventions of written English.
• Students will demonstrate 21 st century literacy skills.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The South Windsor literacy program adheres to the beliefs articulated by National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and International
Reading Association (IRA): “All students must have the opportunities and resources to develop the language skills they need to pursue life's goals
and to participate fully as informed, productive members of society [. ..] Literacy growth begins before children enter school as they experience
and experiment with literacy activities—reading, writing and associating spoken words with their graphic representations. Curriculum and
instruction must make productive use of the emerging literacy abilities that children bring to school. Furthermore, [we must provide] ample room
for the innovation and creativity essential to teaching and learning.”
Elementary School: A range and variety of appropriately complex, high-quality texts create the foundation of a balanced literacy classroom. All
elements of reading and writing are integrated to support and enhance student learning. This model includes explicit instruction, guided practice
and independent practice in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Mentor texts are used to provide students with models for authentic use of a
variety of written forms including narrative (story), expository (non-fiction explanations), persuasive, poetic and dramatic forms. There is a focus
on students constructing and sharing meaning derived from texts through approaches that promote student discourse. A guided reading approach
pairs students with a text at his or her instructional level. The teacher uses a variety of research based instructional strategies to support the
development of the reader and continually scaffold the reader into more complex and demanding texts. A core belief is that writing is a recursive
process, including composing, conferring, revising, editing and publishing. Students learn about the elements of fiction and non-fiction as well as
key characteristics of poetic and dramatic writing in order to both analyze literature and produce their own written communication.
A balance of the components of reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, word study (vocabulary), fluency and comprehension, is the core of the
reading instruction for students in grades K-2. In grades 3-5 the balance shifts to a focus on word study (vocabulary), fluency and comprehension.
Students requiring literacy intervention are provided the opportunity to develop and hone their reading and writing skills through research-based
interventions designed to address individual literacy needs. Intervention is provided in the child’s classroom as needed (Tier 1) and supplemental
intervention may be provided as well (Tier 2 and Tier 3).
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