Grade 6-8 English/Language Arts courses are designed to meet the needs of a variety of learners by utilizing the research-based readers/writers workshop approach to instruction aimed at providing all students the opportunity to authentically develop literacy skills as well as to become critical thinkers. “Workshop” is both a structure for organizing classroom instruction and a vehicle to get students more engaged and invested in content. The structure provides more time during the school day for students to read, write, talk, use effective learning strategies and explore and respond to the topics and ideas they are studying. As well, it provides more time for teachers to work with individual students and for students to work with one another.
At the heart of the workshop model is explicit strategy instruction, followed by guided practice that leads to the transfer to independence. Students are assessed both formally and informally on a regular basis to both measure progress as well as to inform instruction. Our workshop classrooms seek to create a balance between the primary components of reading, writing, and word study as well as between whole group, small group and independent instruction. All classrooms are filled with a variety of texts at all levels so that students have, at their fingertips, reading materials that are just right for them. Student notebooks and google files are filled with ideas, drafts, and finished pieces that represent a focus on craft and celebrate ownership.
In all ELA classrooms students will be expected to: