Mattole Valley Charter School English Language Arts Expectations
Mattole Valley Charter School holds the expectation that all of our
students will become highly proficient readers, speakers, and writers.
Beyond high level comprehension, usage, and interaction with the
English language, we hope that our students learn to find enjoyment and
personal fulfillment in the realm of language arts.
MVCS realizes that literacy is key to personal fulfillment and success.
In our standards based program, our goal is that all students will
learn how to read fluently with proficiency and understanding. Students
will be able to understand and interact with all types of text based
information from the classics to media based. Students will read
critically and analytically in all genres, and they will communicate
their ideas, both orally and in writing, thoughtfully, creatively and
correctly.
Facility in the language arts
is the enabling skill that weaves together all academic disciplines and
translates into meaningful personal, social, and economic outcomes for
individuals. Literacy is the key to becoming an independent learner in
all the other disciplines.
Our goal of developing lifelong readers and writers is dependent upon a
balance of endowing students with competence, motivation,
accessibility, and experiences with print. When students develop
competence in the fundamentals of reading and writing, they increase
their motivation to achieve.
Mattole
Valley Charter School provides the five components that a balanced,
comprehensive approach to reading must contain: (1) a strong
literature, language, and comprehension program that includes a balance
of oral and written language; (2) an organized, explicit skills program
that includes phonemic awareness (sounds in words), phonics, and
decoding skills to address the needs of the emergent reader; (3)
ongoing diagnosis that informs teaching and assessment that ensures
accountability; (4) a powerful early intervention program that
provides individual tutoring for students at risk of failure in
reading; and (5) development of a childs fluency in reading connected
text.
Characteristics of the instruction component in an effective language arts program are as follows:
The curriculum for reading and the language arts in kindergarten
through grade three provides explicit and systematic instruction and
diagnostic support in:
Phonemic awareness
Phonics
Decoding
Word-attack skills
Spelling
Vocabulary
Fluency in reading connected text
Comprehension skills
Writing skills and strategies and their application
Listening and speaking skills and strategies
The curriculum for reading and the language arts in grades four through
twelve provides explicit and systematic instruction and diagnostic
support in:
Word-attack skills (e.g., decoding and structural as applied to multisyllabic words)
Spelling
Vocabulary
Fluency in reading connected text
Comprehension skills, including contextual skills
Text-handling and strategic reading skills
Writing skills and strategies and their application
Listening and speaking skills and their application
For students in grades four through twelve who do not demonstrate
competence in the skills and knowledge required in kindergarten through
grade three, assessments are conducted and systematic instruction is
provided in the necessary prerequisite skills, such as:
Phonemic awareness
Specific instruction in decoding and phonics
Fluency in reading connected text
Vocabulary and language development
Comprehension strategies
Teachers
adapt learning contexts to challenge and extend the skills of advanced
learners. Opportunities for acceleration and enrichment are provided.
Even
with the highest-quality classroom instruction, some students have
difficulty progressing according to grade-level expectations. For those
students assessment tools to diagnose specific instructional needs,
together with instructional support and age-appropriate materials
delivered explicitly, systematically, and with urgency, are essential
to address foundational skill deficits and accelerate student learning.
Cathlyn Wright
Language Arts Coordinator
Email Here
Phone: 707.445.2660 ext 13
Links to Language Arts Resources
