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Students in grades kindergarten through fourth are engaged in an assessment-driven balanced literacy program. Components of the program include guided reading using Houghton Mifflin’s research-based leveled books, word work and phonics, literacy centers for independent practice of acquired skills, shared reading, and writing. Currently, the literacy department is developing a leveled book library in order to use trade books as well as the Houghton Mifflin program to support guided reading. Children’s progress in reading comprehension and fluency is monitored through regular administration of the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the Phonological Assessment of Language Skills (PALS). Data from these assessment tools are used to inform instruction and provide our students with a prescriptive approach to addressing each individual’s needs in the literacy areas.
Our school presents students with multiple and varied opportunities to develop as writers. Students practice the many functions that writing serves, both formal and informal, and for different purposes. Students learn the structures that are expected in various types of writing. Skill building in grammar and conventions is addressed in the context of authentic writing activities as opposed to disconnected written language tasks. Each student’s work is collected in a portfolio which represents examples of his or her writing throughout the school year. These written pieces are products derived from instruction focused on specific writing purposes. As in reading comprehension and phonics skills, assessment is an essential part of the learning process and informs instruction for individualized attention.
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