Reading

English Language Arts Vision Statement
Aligning with the Indiana Academic Standards, our school will provide all students with a strong foundation in language arts which builds on itself to achieve mastery at each grade level.

Instructional Core Values

• Instructional continuity
• Consistent expectations
• Common terminology and practices
• Evident student-to-learning connections
• Independent reading and writing preparedness

Resource Overview
The Resource Department at St. Peters Lutheran School develops educational plans for the purpose of meeting the needs of the exceptional students. We provide on-going assessment and evaluation using such programs as Dibles, Star, and Leveled Literacy Intervention Benchmark Assessment System, to ensure each student is working toward their personal goals and objectives. We use a wide variety of programs such as Explode the Code, Great Leaps, Leveled Literacy Intervention, Orton-Gillingham and other multi-sensory approaches to meet the needs of our resource students. The Resource Department also coordinates with the classroom teacher to help each student move successfully through the classroom core curriculum content. We strive to help each student understand that they are a special and important child of God!

Kindergarten Reading Overview
Students in kindergarten will learn beginning reading skills such as letter and sound recognition, phonemic awareness, C-V-C words, and word families. Beginning reading skills are introduced and students are given the opportunities to practice these skills through small reading groups, word family activities, and manipulatives.

Grade 1 Reading Overview
Students in first grade will spend a substantial amount of time each day in developing their English/Language Art skills. Students will build on skills learned in Kindergarten by blending letter sounds to form words, including vowels, consonant blends, digraphs, and vowel patterns. Word endings and word families will also be emphasized. Students will develop fluency and build comprehension skills through guided instruction, independent reading time, and small group activities. Students will experience a variety of genres and use leveled text according to individual reading ability. Writing is integrated daily with our Language Arts time focusing on capitalization, punctuation, and writing complete thoughts.

Grade 2 Reading Overview
Grade 2 students will develop the ability to comprehend texts of varied genres with increasing complexity. The focus of the genres is mainly fiction and informational text. Students will learn to support their ideas using text evidence from the reading and will be able to apply this to their oral and written assignments Daily phonics, vocabulary, spelling and grammar lessons will be presented through daily instruction and students will be able to use these skills in all areas of language arts.

Grade 3 Reading Overview
Grade 3 students discover many reading genres, mainly focusing on fictional and informational texts. Students learn how to read for meaning, and also how to use the text to prove their answers and opinions. Students learn that text evidence is crucial to their oral and written responses to text. Students' vocabulary continues to grow through their reading, allowing them to be challenged in their reading text choices. Students' spelling continues to improve as they're becoming more aware of frequently used words and also new words in the texts they're reading.

Grade 4 Reading Overview
In grade 4, language arts will be taught so that students can see the importance of reading. Students will make connections to our reading selections by discussions, journaling and various projects completed throughout the school year. We will focus on theme, point of view, story structure, plot, character, and setting of our stories. Through these activities, students will be prepared for 5th grade.

Grade 5 Reading Overview
Grade 5 students read many reading genres, focusing on fictional and informational texts. Students read for meaning, using text evidence to support and prove answers and opinions. Students continue to make connections to the reading texts through discussions and writing. Students' vocabulary continues to grow through their reading, allowing them to be challenged in their reading text choices. Students begin to develop higher level cognitive skills, which will be needed in sixth grade and beyond.

Grade 6 Reading Overview
This course of Reading allows the 6th grade student to reinforce the basic reading skills while developing higher level cognitive skills. Emphasis will also be placed on vocabulary within the reading curriculum. The course lays the foundation for the challenges and expectation set forth in their 7th and 8th grade years.

Grade 7 Reading Overview
In this course of study, students read a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works, to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They read a wide range of literature in many genres from a variety of time periods and cultures from around the world to build an understanding of the many dimensions of human experience. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, and reading skills that they have developed and refined. In Reading 7, there are three key areas: Key Ideas and Textual Support, Structural Elements and Organization, and Synthesis and Connection of Ideas. By demonstrating the skills listed in each section, and reading a variety of literature within a range of complexity, students should be able to meet the Learning Outcome for Reading 7 and interact with texts proficiently and independently at the middle of the range and with scaffolding as needed for texts at the high end of the range.

Grade 8 Reading Overview
In this unit of study, students read a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works, to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They read a wide range of literature in many genres from a variety of time periods and cultures from around the world to build an understanding of the many dimensions of human experience. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, and reading skills that they have developed and refined. Three key areas found in Reading 8: Key Ideas and Textual Support, Structural Elements and Organization, and Synthesis and Connection of Ideas. By demonstrating the skills listed in each section, and reading a variety of literature within a range of complexity, students should be able to meet the learning outcomes, as well as interact with texts proficiently and independently.