Teachers will provide learning experiences where student will read, write, communicate, and think critically in every classroom, in every school, everyday - no exceptions.
Active Reading & Annotation
Students must read with purpose, applying specific strategies while reading. These thought processes include asking questions, visualizing, making connections and inferences, and summarizing.
High school students purposefully read in order to evaluate how authors use key elements to contribute to meaning and interpret how themes are connected across texts
Students are challenged to read more complex texts to continually improve comprehension and analysis skills; however, students must also have opportunities to write in response to what they have read. Frequent writing helps students become more confident, capable writers, and such frequency reinforces mastery of content .
Daily formative assessment checks allow teachers and students to closely monitor relative mastery of specific skills. Unit tests and essays also provide teachers with meaningful insights into student performance. Armed with this information, teachers deliver customized instruction to those who need it.
Teachers provide timely, targeted feedback on student writing. This allows students to better evaluate their performance and progress across several writing samples. Meaningful feedback allows students to determine their relative strengths and growth opportunities in the areas of composing, written expression, and mechanics.
NPS Components of the 9-12 Literacy Block
Reading
A variety of reading material to build background knowledge and experience with different genres and text types
Classroom libraries
14.2 initiative: 14.2 minutes of additional time in text beyond the classroom
Explicit modeling of comprehension skills and annotation strategies including opportunities for students to practice
Explicit vocabulary instruction to allow students to overcome potential obstacles to comprehension
A balanced approach to reading where students are provided texts on both reading level and grade level (if not aligned) to increase engagement, build confidence, and strengthen skills.
Resources for teaching and learning
Savvas myPerspectives online and consumable textbooks
