Purpose
Our purpose is to design and implement a guaranteed and viable curriculum in grades 7-12, built upon the Wyoming Content and Performance Standards for English Language Arts. We are committed to fostering literacy through reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language study, while ensuring high-quality, data-driven instruction and assessment practices that keep student learning and growth at the center of our work.
Rationale
The adoption of the current Wyoming Content and Performance Standards for English Language Arts required a shift to a more focused and coherent approach to literacy instruction in grades 7–12. These standards emphasize the development of essential reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills while consistently revisiting enduring understandings that span the secondary English continuum.
The Wyoming Content and Performance Standards for English Language Arts outline the knowledge and skills students must develop to become ready for college, career, and life. The standards are organized around four interconnected domains: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. This organization increases rigor and coherence throughout middle and high school English. For example, students begin analyzing increasingly complex literary and informational texts in middle school, strengthen their ability to cite and evaluate evidence in high school, and refine these skills across genres and contexts to prepare for postsecondary literacy demands.
Historically, English language arts standards have been centered around content knowledge and discrete skills. The current standards require attention not only to content but also to skills that define what it means to be literate in the 21st century. The Wyoming Standards for English Language Arts emphasize the abilities that proficient readers, writers, and communicators demonstrate. Proficient students can:
Read closely and critically to determine meaning and evaluate ideas.
Write clearly and effectively for varied purposes and audiences.
Use evidence to support analysis, reflection, and argument.
Engage in collaborative discussions.
Conduct research and synthesize information across sources.
Adapt communication to context, task, and audience.
Apply language conventions to enhance clarity and precision.
Develop and apply a rich academic vocabulary to comprehend complex texts and communicate effectively.
Instructional and assessment practices have shifted to provide students with authentic opportunities to demonstrate these proficiencies. In every secondary English classroom, the practices of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language are integrated to reflect the ways literacy operates in academic, civic, and workplace settings.
With a curriculum grounded in deep, coherent literacy development and authentic practices, students will be better prepared to think critically, communicate effectively, and navigate the complex literacy demands of college, career, and citizenship.