English Language Arts

In the English-Language Arts Department, we believe in learning environments that foster students becoming avid readers, prolific writers, and eloquent communicators. Throughout the K-8 journey, students in District 109 will be challenged to:

read, comprehend, analyze, and critique text,
clearly communicate ideas through crafting writing aligned with purpose and audience,
and collaborate with others to learn new perspectives, articulate ideas, and challenge preconceived thinking.

As educators, we are committed to helping each student develop and strengthen these skills while cultivating a love for literacy, ensuring that our approach is inclusive, acknowledging and celebrating the diverse backgrounds and abilities within our school community.

Meet the Team

Megan Christiansen
English Language Arts Curriculum Specialist

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Elementary (K-5)

District 109 uses a workshop model to nurture engagement and motivation by integrating choice, collaboration, and targeted scaffolding into literacy tasks. This practice provides students with opportunities to engage with grade level texts across a wide range of genres; balances teacher and student-led discussions; and promotes independence by providing time for strategic support and differentiated instruction. Teachers explicitly identify and model the skills and strategies they use as readers, writers, and communicators then support students in practicing and developing these skills independently. This instructional model allows teachers to develop students through naturally occurring and intentionally designed, responsive instruction that systematically address the strengths and needs to each learner.

Three 5th grade students sitting at a table writing in front of a window

Students also engage in explicit and systematic foundational skills instruction. This supports students in becoming active word solvers that are able to recognize words and patterns, take apart or put together words, know what words mean and to connect words to other words. Word study supports students through a developmental progression of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The progression includes phonological awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of words; phonemic awareness the ability to identify and manipulate isolated sounds in spoken words; and phonics, the relationship between letters and sounds. As students develop, they move to study word parts and associate them with meaning, and in turn develop vocabulary. Language study develops students in understanding and utilizing appropriate grammar and conventions when reading, writing, and speaking.

Key tenants of literacy development in the elementary grades:

Foundational Skills: Phonemic Awareness, Phonological Awareness, Decoding, Spelling, Fluency, Concepts of Print (K-1), Handwriting (Manuscript K-1 and Cursive 2nd).
Vocabulary Development: Generative Vocabulary (word parts and what they mean), Word Solving Strategies (ways to solve new or unknown words), Content Vocabulary (building knowledge about specific content) and Academic Vocabulary (the language of learning).
Communication: Developing specific skills to listen effectively and speak clearly and strategically.
Knowledge Building: Increasing knowledge around specific content, ideas, topics and concepts in order to understand new and more complex information in the future.
Comprehension Strategies: Developing intentional and strategic ways to make meaning of complex texts (i.e. making inferences, identifying main idea, etc.).
Genre Knowledge: Utilizing knowledge of unique genre characteristics to locate information and make meaning (i.e. structures, features, organizational patterns, etc).
Writing Process: Approaching writing tasks with intentional moves that are specific to where they are in the progression of developing written communication (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and publishing).

Middle School (6-8)

In District 109 a focus is placed on disciplinary literacy. This practice highlights the specific reading, writing and communicating skills in a discipline (i.e. ELA, Science, Social Studies, etc.), with a focus on how experts in that discipline think and the skills and tools they use. In the discipline of ELA, students build knowledge around a topic, idea or content to critique and analyze literature. As part of the literature critique, students discuss and debate their thinking and interpretations, resulting in the formation of an opinion. They eventually form a final impression or opinion and argue their position through writing and debate.

Students begin by setting a purpose for reading and writing, which allows them to focus on specific skills and strategies that contribute to being successful thinkers and communicators. Additionally, all students are afforded the opportunity to independently interact with high quality, complex, grade level anchor texts in order to maintain equitable access to rigorous content and instruction. Students are supported through strategic scaffolding of texts, activities and lessons when working to build knowledge and study genre. These scaffolds ensure students are successful when working with anchor texts. After developing a deep understanding of anchor texts, students employ the writing process to articulate their thoughts and opinions to others.

Classroom of students stand around proudly holding the books they have read

Instructional flow of ELA Units:

Introduction of Writing Prompts: Supporting students in establishing a purpose for reading and identifying the task they will focus on.
Reading for Comprehension (1): A grade-level anchor text is provided for students to independently read and develop an initial understanding.
Building Knowledge: Scaffolded instruction and varied texts allow students to develop schema connected to the content of the anchor text.
Reading for Comprehension (2): Students revisit the anchor text with new knowledge and re-read to deepen understanding.
Genre Study: Scaffolded instruction and varied texts allow students to develop an understanding of genre characteristics connected to the content of the anchor text.
Reading for Comprehension (3): Students revisit the anchor text with understanding of genre and re-read to deepen understanding.
Synthesis: Students engage in a seminar connected to the anchor text to further deepen understanding and discuss/debate the understandings of others.
Writing Process: Students take their new learning, develop an idea or opinion and utilize the writing process to communicate their thinking about the anchor text, based on the posed prompt introduced at the beginning of the unit.

Students also engage in novel studies and books clubs throughout the year. These opportunities allow students to apply what they have learned during previous instruction in an authentic way. This also affords students the opportunity to have a common experience around a specific text, topic or theme. Novels and book clubs are also an opportunity to increase engagement, motivation and independence, as students are able to choose the text they are reading and lead the conversations about those texts.

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In This Section

English Language Arts

Meet the Team

Explore More

Elementary (K-5)

Middle School (6-8)

ELA Curriculum Maps by Grade

Elementary School (K-5)

Middle School (6-8)

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