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English Language Arts
About OWN Reading Workshop
Children learn reading through targeted instruction that includes: mini-lesson instruction, guided practice and independent reading time with focused small group and individual teaching.
- Students learn reading through a balanced literacy form of reading instruction. Each classroom has a library to support the students in the class. The libraries are continually supplemented and refined. Students read authentic literature and nonfiction books (instead of reading textbooks).
- Reading instruction is individualized and tailored to each student's reading strengths and deficits. Reading abilities are assessed regularly throughout the year and students are matched to books that are appropriate to their skill levels. All students participate in daily reading workshops where reading skills are taught through targeted lessons and students are then given time to read independently. During independent reading time, teachers focus on individual needs through small group strategy lessons and individual reading conferences.
- Through targeted instruction, students progress through levels of reading difficulty. Lessons are taught in "Units of Study" which generally focus on a specific reading genre (realistic fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, non-fiction, etc).
- Instruction is informed and guided by the principles of balanced literacy instruction (using trade books rather than text books) and the research-based precepts of the Columbia Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. This instruction is increasingly combined with curriculum that is uniquely OWN's (e.g. Pillars curriculum, cross-curricular teaching with social studies and science). OWN reading curriculum directly addresses New York State standards.
- Students who require remedial reading instruction receive services from reading intervention specialists in addition to specialized attention from their classroom teachers.
About OWN Writing Workshops
Children learn writing in writer's workshops which include: targeted mini-lesson instruction, guided practice and independent writing time with focused small group and individual teaching.
- Writing is taught in writing workshop, with students receiving writing instruction and having time to write independently each day.
- Students learn to view themselves seriously as writers and write pieces that are often intended for a particular audience: their teachers, classmates, the school community and, at times, a larger audience. Students publish their work in various forms and share it with classmates and the greater school community.
- Each day, students are taught a focused short writing lesson and then they are coached (with small group or individual instruction) through a period of writing. Upper Elementary and Middle School students write at home as well. The students learn a process of writing beginning with collecting ideas, planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.
- OWN is affiliated with the Columbia Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and collaborates with staff developers from the Project. The OWN curriculum directly addresses New York State Standards.
- Classes work through Units of Study, which encompass various forms of writing (e.g. personal narrative stories, how-to books, fantasy stories, historical fiction, personal essays, literary essays, memoir) depending upon the grade.
Spelling, Grammar and Conventions
- The school uses "Words Their Way" a research-based program of spelling and vocabulary assessment and instruction in First through Eighth grades. Students' spelling is assessed and they are given targeted instruction based upon need.
- Grammar and conventions of writing are taught within the writing workshops. Students are given targeted instruction of the conventions of grammar and syntax on an as-needed basis with whole class, targeted small group, and individual instruction.
