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In this class your child will explore, practice, and master skills in listening, speaking, composition, grammar, word study, literature, and reading strategies. The middle school program has combined traditional language arts with reading because listening, speaking, writing and reading are all components of communication. Our goal as classroom teachers is to identify and implement the most appropriate learning opportunities for you based on research, the data we collect and best practices. As your child's teacher, my goal is to lead students in becoming deeper thinkers, more analytical readers, better communicators and thoughtful citizens.

Literature and the arts are dynamic tools that can lead us to learn more about ourselves and the world, if we let it!

Balanced Literacy

The goal of all reading instruction is to become proficient and strategic with any text we 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 balances of these four components will evolve as one gains 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 making presentations.