A Comprehensive Approach to Literacy
Our ELA curriculum and instructional practices are broken down into four main components: Foundational Literacy, Reading Workshop, Writing Workshop and Small Group Instruction.

• Foundational Literacy- Our curriculum follows a structured literacy approach for teaching students how to read. This includes beginning with specific skills in the areas of phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, alphabetic principles and concepts of print, phonics, and high frequency words. Our emphasis is on teaching students both concepts and strategies that can be used to effectively and fluently read text.

• Reading Workshop- During reading workshop, students learn and apply skills and strategies while reading anchor texts as well as books they have self-selected. Our curriculum is aligned with the NGLS for ELA and addresses managing routines, literary analysis, strategies & skills, and writing about reading.

• Writing Workshop- During writing workshop, students study craft moves made by authors through authentic mentor texts, and have an opportunity to become authors themselves. Our curriculum addresses the three main text types of the NGLS: narrative, informational and opinion/argument, as we delve into various genres and work through the writing process.

• Small Group Instruction- We understand that students who are developing strong literacy skills are often working at different levels. Our classroom teachers utilize small group instruction daily to address the individual needs of specific groups of learners. Through routines such as strategy groups, guided reading and book clubs, teachers can target specific skills that are most appropriate for the students in their class.