Critical to the 21st Century learner is the ability to read, write, speak, listen and think analytically. These cornerstones of literacy enable communication in all of its expressions. The National Council of Teachers of English defines language arts literacy as “enabling one to think logically and creatively; express ideas; understand and participate meaningfully in spoken, written, and non-verbal communication; formulate and answer questions; and search for, organize, evaluate, and apply information. The language arts are integrative, interactive ways of critical thinking; and are essential for student learners to construct meaning and employ communication habits which allow them to effectively and ethically navigate a variety of real-world contexts.
Westfield Intermediate English Language Arts seeks to empower students as life-long learners so they appreciate and respect the rich diversity of voices and experiences, and are equipped to become global citizens. Students read from a wide range of texts to build an understanding of themselves and others. This focus places students in a position to learn, explore, and grow to be empathetic members of society.
The content of the language arts curriculum is built on a balanced literacy foundation; it encourages students to investigate questions, scenarios and problems. The balanced literacy approach integrates various modalities of literacy instruction. These modalities incorporate explicit skill development through multi-genre units of study. Students read a wide range of literature and informational text to become well-rounded informed individuals; teachers concurrently reinforce the reading process to develop students’ capacity for applying familiar active reading strategies to richer, more complex texts. The development of these active reading strategies supports students’ progression through each language arts course, and serves as the foundation for the increasingly complex texts they will encounter as they engage in the production of more sophisticated writing forms. Students use various strategies to compose thesis-driven essays, crafting clear, logical arguments while developing a wider range of vocabulary usage and experimenting with figurative language in narrative forms. Building from previously acquired research skills, students continue to strengthen their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the research process.
In addition to growing students’ content knowledge and skills in the five major areas of literacy learning - reading, writing, speaking, listening, and conventions, we endeavor to develop in our students a lifelong appreciation for the complexity, beauty and power of language. To this end, the New Jersey Competencies for Social and Emotional Learning are intentionally integrated into the learning objectives and essential questions; the expectation is for students to concurrently develop these competencies as habits of mind, and allow these competencies to color the lens through which they consume content, process information, and produce representations of their thinking.