ELA Newsletter
Elementary - September 2016
In Love with Fall
This year, I hope to "fall" into the habit of writing a monthly newsletter. In the newsletters, I plan to give you updates and/or reminders of things in ELA and share resources with you.
ELA Information - Reminders for the Year
Rationale for Curriculum
It is critical for students today to engage in learning that is relevant, rigorous, and rewarding. In addition to engaging in learning that is cognitively demanding and challenging, students need to be able to apply their knowledge and skills across contents and contexts within the school environment, and more importantly in the “real world.” For it is when this application extends outside the boundaries of the school, that interest, relevance, and value are maximized. While the curriculum is designed to support the transference of knowledge and skills, district staff working together must learn and work to provide authentic and engaging learning opportunities for students. As they engage in such learning within the English Language Arts curricula across our school district, an emphasis will be placed on critical thinking, careful reading of a variety of texts, writing with purpose and evidence, relevant and meaningful communication of ideas, and problem-solving in real-world contexts.
Reading Rationale
Teachers in grades K-5 daily implement a balanced, comprehensive literacy program that meets the individual needs of every student. Within a reading workshop model, students experience whole group, small group, and individualized instruction regularly.
Reminder: All students need to receive instruction from their classroom teacher, unless a replacement curriculum is in place. Reading specialists and SSD are another layer of support.
In grades K-2, reading instruction includes phonemic awareness, phonics, sight word recognition, vocabulary development, comprehension strategy instruction, teacher read-aloud, and self-selected, silent reading on a daily basis.
In grades 3-5, our balanced intermediate reading program incorporates responding to reading, word work, vocabulary, fluency development, and comprehension strategy instruction with an equal emphasis on fiction and informative text, as well as self-selected reading on a daily basis.
All students practice and apply appropriate strategies in a wide variety of genres including poetry, fiction, and informative text for a variety of purposes as a result of instruction and modeling, not through fragmented study of isolated skills.
Teachers are adept at using diagnostic and assessment tools to re-mediate and/or enrich reading instruction for every child. Running records with miscue analysis, checklists, standardized tests, benchmark assessments, and anecdotal records provide ongoing information that leads to more individualized instruction.
Digital Resources for Writing Units of Study
Kindergarten: WUOS_K
Grade 1: WUOS_GR1
Grade 2: WUOS_GR2
Grade 3: WUOS_GR3
Grade 4: WUOS_GR4
Grade 5: WUOS_GR5
When are the Fountas and Pinnell Assessment Windows?
Middle of the Year - January 9 - February 16 DUE: February 17th
End of the Year - April 17 - May 18 DUE: May 19th
Entering GRLs into SIS
District Writing Assessment
With the new ELA curriculum, writing needs to have an emphasis in our classrooms. Students are expected to write narrative, expository/informational and opinion/argumentative pieces at every grade. Writing is not limited to just these three types of writing, so there is still the opportunity to add in other units.
At the end of the three main types of writing (narrative, information, and opinion), students will complete an on-demand piece. These prompts, available for all three genres, direct students to compose the best piece of writing they can-narrative, information, or argument-in a fixed period of time. The prompts for each type of writing are linked (see below). At the end of the year, each on-demand piece from each type of writing will be placed inside the Fountas and Pinnell Student Folder.
For teachers using the Units of Study for Writing, you will continue to pre-assess and post-assess your students.
Writing Checklists
Checklists most definitely cannot be a substitute for instruction! Students will need instruction for each item on the checklist.
Links to the checklists are embedded below this information (You will need to scroll through the document to find your grade level). Students can use the checklists to assess their own writing, set goals for themselves, and with your help, work to make progress toward those goals.
In addition to students using the checklists, teachers can use the same checklist to score on-demand pieces and report student progress.
Recording Form for Writing Prompt
Please submit scores to your building principal for each post assessment.
Julie Paur
English Language Arts Coordinator, K-8
Webster Groves School District
Email: paur.julie@wgmail.org
Website: http://www.webster.k12.mo.us/pages/WGSD/Departments/Curriculum/English_Language_Arts
Location: 9825 Hudson Ave, St. Louis, MO, United States
Phone: (314) 918-4314
Twitter: @wgsdela
I am currently reading:
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Conferring with Readers: Supporting Each Student's Growth and Independence by Jennifer Serravallo
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley