SC has released a document providing educators with their priority instructional content this year for ELA.  Please click the link below to access this important information.

South Carolina Department of Education English Language Arts Priority and Support Learning Standards 2020 

"All students become proficient through deliberate practice. Practice means doing lots and lots of reading (on- and off-grade-level), combined with well-thought out instruction, to assist in understanding grade-level complex texts, while learning to express their meaning and import through speaking and writing along the way. A text-centered approach builds to students learning a lot about a lot and becoming confident, joyful readers."

"Not all content in a given grade should be emphasized equally. Some standards require greater emphasis than others based on the literacy research about what matters most and the time and practice that they take to develop. These two literacy components of a text-centered, rich ELA/literacy classroom experience lead the way to identifying the Major Work of ELA/literacy instruction across the grades: .

• Students should spend lots of time actively reading content-rich, complex text. Close reading of complex text is concentrated, demanding work that helps students discover how to learn from reading (and grow their knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding of syntax).

• Students should have a volume of reading to build knowledge and be exposed to academic language in the content areas. That volume of reading needs to be at a range of complexity levels so every student can read with minimal or no teacher support. Much of this volume should be with information-rich text, either either full-length books or conceptually connected shorter texts (groups of texts that cohere together to create a picture of a topic)."

For research-based strategies for implementing active learning in your classroom, please click this link to visit Vanderbilt University's Center for Teaching's website on active learning. 

"As we narrow the focus and recommit to what matters most academically, research also tells us that four learning mindsets are particularly important in supporting students’ academic development. They focus on students’ sense of 1) belonging and safety, 2) efficacy, 3) value for effort and growth, and 4) engagement in work that is relevant and culturally responsive (Aspen Institute, 2019). Within classrooms, within schools, attention must be given to restoring relationships and a sense of community, so students feel safe, fully engage and work hard. We need to help students know that we believe they can succeed and that their ability and competence will grow with their effort. And more than ever, students need to see value and relevance in what they are learning to their lives and their very beings. Investing in students' social-emotional development is done by the entire system of adults in schools. This investment is key to promoting engagement in—not a substitute for—teaching academic content; it represents a change in how academic content is taught. There is a stunning opportunity to curate high-quality instructional materials aligned to healing and resilience for next year. Efforts should be made to facilitate SEAD even in remote learning environments, using synchronous and asynchronous approaches and the capabilities afforded by remote learning technologies."

"Grasping where students are vis a vis accessing grade-level texts and content is of great importance both as students return to school and move through the school year. Understanding where students are will allow teachers to provide students with targeted, meaningful supports... 

Assessment will:

1. Be used to determine how to bring students into grade-level instruction, not whether to bring them into it.

2. Center formative practices (FAST SCASS, 2018). Leverage such sources of information as exit tickets, student work, and student discussions. Use these sources of information to inform instructional choices in connection with high-quality instructional materials.

3. Employ targeted checks for very specific subject and grade-level instructional purposes.

To view the National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) Position Paper on Literacy Assessment: Definitions, Principles, and Practices click this link.

To view the International Literacy Association (ILA)'s Literacy Leadership Brief titled, "Literacy Assessment: What Everyone Needs to Know" click this link.