Academics: English Language Arts
"WHEN STUDENTS ARE GIVEN A VOICE AND CHOICE IN THEIR LEARNING, THEY WILL YEARN TO LEAD AND MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE."
We believe that reading and writing are foundational skills for successfully accessing all other academic areas. We place priority on providing our students with strong literacy experiences within English Language Arts and across curricular areas, and we believe that these experiences will open a world of possibilities for them now and later in life.
Our ELA program is grounded in reading and writing workshop and is supported by other literacy instruction, outside of workshop time, focused on reading, writing, speaking, and listening:
What is workshop? Workshops provide time for students to read and write with independence and choice, Please read more about Reading and Writing Workshop (PDF).
What do students learn during Reading and Writing Workshop? During workshop, students read, write and discuss narrative, opinion/argument, and informational texts. Instruction is organized into units of study, and the main resource is Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Reading and Writing Units of Study (K-8)
The following charts provide brief overviews of some units of study implemented in our elementary and middle school classrooms.
Systematic phonemic awareness and phonics/spelling instruction is provided to our primary level students. Our goal is to support their understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds and to learn how words work when we speak and write. Currently, were are in the process of adopting a program called Wilson Fundations.
Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Fundations pilot project presentation.