Reading - the reading program is designed to improve student's reading ability through a variety of large group, small group, and individual instructions. Placement into this class is determined by a student's individual CSAP reading score as well as by the use of District Assessment. Students are then grouped into classes of approximately 15 by their reading level. Specially trained reading teachers work with students to overcome potential challenges in reading. Once a student can demonstrate proficient reading ability, the student may transfer out of Extension Reading into another of Century's excellent electives.
Strategies we use include the following:
Interactive Read Aloud
- Expands background knowledge and builds vocabulary
- Immerses students in quality literature from a variety of genre
- Supports development of comprehension strategies
Shared Reading
- Facilitates demonstration and discussion of reading comprehension strategies
- Provides access to additional content knowledge
- Provides model for fluency and expression
- Builds a sense of classroom community
Literature Circles/Book Clubs Guided Reading Groups Reciprocal Teaching Groups
- Provides explicit skills and comprehension instruction for readers at various ability levels.
- Promotes the development of individual student’s competence in using reading strategies
- Provides opportunity to observe and support individual student’s strategic reading
- Facilitates discussion surrounding text
Independent Reading
- Provides opportunity for students to gain confidence and increase their ability to read and interpret text independently
- Allows time to confer with individual students to assess knowledge and use of reading strategies
- Promotes fluency through reading of high success text
- Engages and motivates readers by encouraging reading of self-selected texts
WRITING WORKSHOP
Interactive Writing
- Engages students in direct teaching of writing skills and strategies
- Supports the accurate construction of text
- Serves as a model and resource for students’ independent writing
Interactive Editing
- Engages students in collaboratively revising error-free text
- Serves as a model for determining importance and paraphrasing text to write new products
Independent Writing
- Provides opportunity for students to practice what they are learning
- Promotes writing in a variety of genre and for different purposes and audiences
- Allows time to confer with individual students to assess knowledge and skill with writer’s craft.
Word Learning
- Engages students in direct study affixes
- Promotes automaticity with high frequency words through word wall activities
- Provides opportunity to develop and apply word analysis skill