Reading

All the Reading courses explore the act of reading as a process that evolves through the teaching of reading strategies and the application of those strategies to self-selected thematic books of high interest. Students write in response to literature and explore conventions of texts to improve their own reading and writing. Classes work together thematically with the English classes to meet the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English (NJSLS) through rich informational, literary and multimedia texts by exploring units designed around central themes and scaffolded texts to allow ample models and practice reading toward achieving goals. The students approach a variety of texts from literature, social studies and science to examine issues and draw conclusions about the world around them through the interdisciplinary themes.

READING WORKSHOP 6: Uses the Reading Workshop model to allow students to continue growing as readers through independent reading and modeled classroom reading. The course is aligned thematically and with the standards to allow for students to make connections between texts and through interdisciplinary connections. Each unit is designed around text sets that allow students to gather evidence on overarching questions allowing students to complete performance task guided by what has been read. Using both digital and print texts, the students will explore various types of texts from short story, essay and poetry to video, audio and paintings to develop the critical literacies for success.

READING WORKSHOP 7: Approaches reading thematically to meet the NJSLS for English through rich informational, literary and multimedia texts. The units are designed around central themes such as Bold Actions, Risk and Exploration and Nature at Work and scaffolded texts to allow ample models and practice toward achieving goals. Students will use both digital and print resources including video, audio and authentic websites. In addition, students will approach a variety of texts from literature, social studies and science to examine issues and draw conclusions about the world around them through interdisciplinary themes. Each unit culminates in a Performance Task to highlight student learning. All this is done within the Reading Workshop format.

READING WORKSHOP 8: Students are continuing to hone the skills of literary analysis and reading for research. With a focus on understanding their place and the world around them, students read and view a variety of texts focusing on themes of culture and belonging, approaching adulthood and freedom in society. Students are also critically reading a wide variety of genres and texts. Independent reading, class novels, book clubs, informational texts and multimedia texts are used to support the thematic units. Students write the texts as argument, analysis or synthesis of the author’s ideas demonstrating increased critical understanding through the use of textual evidence. In this course, students will examine the relationships of the past to the present, identify interdisciplinary connections, and utilize technology to express ideas and share conclusions as to how themes impact themselves and the world around them. All this is done within the Reading Workshop format.