Philosophy Statement

The Pennsbury School District Reading/English/Language Arts (RELA) Curriculum is founded on the premise that all students can learn. We encourage Pennsbury's students to see themselves as readers, writers, and responsible, creative communicators through language. Always responsive to the individual's developmental level and readiness for learning, the curriculum is a fluid, flexible, and adaptable program of instruction. We, at Pennsbury, have made a conscious decision to design a Reading/English/Language Arts curriculum that is academically rigorous. Based on Pennsylvania and national standards for reading, writing, speaking, and listening, the Pennsbury RELA curriculum adheres to the notion that all language-learning activity involves the processes of constructing meaning.

This means:

• reading is viewed as a transaction with text. Students make meaning through reading as they interact with a single text, the work of an author, or in the larger context of a literary discussion.
• writing is viewed as a composing process. Students make meaning through writing as they consider the purpose, the intended audience, and their own rhetorical approach.
• language-learning in all its forms -- vocabulary development, speaking, listening, -- is viewed as an investigation. Students are researchers of language as they seek to use it for personal expression and communication. In a rapidly changing world, our students' learning needs are increasingly varied and complex. Therefore, we are committed to helping our students become strategic learners.

This means that students:

• become reflective about their own learning processes.
• understand the role of technology in their lives.
• develop a repertoire of research processes using a variety of sources learned through sequential library experiences.