• Balanced Literacy Approach
     
     
    Students in grades K-5 follow a Balanced Literacy Approach.  Balanced Literacy allows teachers to have flexibility when choosing the best resources for their students.

     

    Some of the components of Balanced Literacy are:

    • Shared Reading - students read from a shared text. Often this is a big book, a book on screen, or a student reader. Teacher and students read aloud and share their thinking about the text.
    • Small Group Reading - small group activity where more of the responsibility belongs to the student. Students read from texts on their individual level. They use the skills directly taught during mini lessons, modeled reading, and shared reading to increase their comprehension and fluency.
    • Word Study - consists of exposure to and practice with phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, spelling, and reading.
    • Guided Writing - small-group activities through which the teacher supports students during writing.

     

    K-5 Wonders Balanced Literacy Program

     

    Students in Kindergarten through Fifth grade will be using the English Language Arts program, Wonders Balanced Literacy.

    The Wonders Balanced Literacy program offers options to create a unique instructional path to build strong readers and writers in grades K-5. With flexible pathways, this program helps to meet a variety of student needs, including students with IEPs, EL students, and gifted learners.  Wonders Balanced Literacy includes a wealth of resources to support units of study, and includes complex, authentic texts and a focus on close reading and text evidence.

    Unit Structure

    First Grade through Fifth Grade have six units of study.  Each unit is made up of six weeks of instruction.  Kindergarten has ten units of study.  The instructional week will no longer be based on a Monday to Friday schedule.  Instead, it is based on a daily schedule (Day 1, Day 2, etc.).

    Assessments

    Based on your child’s grade level, they will be taking two, or three, assessments per unit.  Your child’s teacher will provide more information on upcoming assessments.

    Technology

    The Wonders Balanced Literacy program comes with interactive stories and educational games that can be found online.  Your teacher will provide more information about how to access this online content at home.