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Mrs. Green * Language and Literacy * Grade 8 508-647-6670 x1286, 2:00 - 3:15 pm egreen@natickps.org Team Independence Welcome! Language and Literacy In Language and Literacy class your child will explore, practice, and master skills in listening, speaking, media, composition, grammar, word study, literature, and reading strategies. These skills encompass what used to be taught in traditional language arts and reading classes. The middle school program has combined these two modules because listening, speaking, writing, and reading are all components of our communication. Our goal as classroom teachers is to identify and implement the most appropriate learning opportunities for your child based on research, the data we collect, and best practices. Balanced Literacy The goal of all reading instruction is to help each reader become proficient and strategic with any text he or she may encounter. Proficient readers use strategies including: previewing/predicting, connecting the new to the known, drawing inferences, questioning, creating visual images, and summarizing. A strategic reader is one who monitors his/her understanding before, during, and after reading and adjusts his skills and strategies when the text “doesn’t make sense.” A balanced literacy program includes four parts: read aloud (modeling), shared reading (instruction), guided reading (practice), and independent reading (individual pursuit of knowledge). The balance of these four components will evolve as students gain control over the use of the skills and strategies required for proficient and strategic reading. Massachusetts Frameworks The Framework identifies standards for discussion, listening, presenting, vocabulary development, reading, comprehension, making connections, identifying genre, understanding theme, analyzing fiction, nonfiction, myth, drama, poetry, understanding an author’s use of style and language, writing, organizing ideas, gathering research, considering audience, revising, applying standard English conventions, and evaluating writing and presentations. Sources: Natick Public Schools Language and Literacy Department, September 2003 Balanced Literacy Program, 1999, Gretchen Courtney & Associates, Ltd. Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, March 2004