In the past, when educators talked about literacy, they were referring to the ability to read and write. Today, literacy has a much broader meaning. It includes reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and understanding material. It also includes the ability to think critically in order to solve problems, manage information, become an active learner, and have the ability to express personal thoughts and ideas in a creative manner.

The National Reading panel found that there were five key components of reading development that, when taught systematically and explicitly, would provide a solid approach to reading success. These five components include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. For more information click here http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/PRF-teachers-k-3.cfm

In order to meet the goals of “No Child Left Behind,” we have incorporated these five components into our literacy program. At Alice King Community School we have adopted the Comprehensive Balanced Literacy Model. This framework focuses on reading comprehension, critical thinking, vocabulary, and writing skills. Comprehensive Balanced Literacy also incorporates guided reading; a process that uses leveled books to build a bridge from small group instruction to independent reading.  In addition to the use of guided reading across all grades, teachers in grades K-3 use an explicit program designed to develop phonemic awareness, phonological development, and fluency. Teachers in grades 4-6 also use literature circles, reader’s theater, and other tools to explicitly teach strategies for decoding, vocabulary development, and evaluative and interpretive levels of comprehension.

Writing is integrated across the curriculum. In-depth writing instruction provides students with opportunities to engage in writing activities through the use of instructional tools such as modeled writing, shared writing, and interactive writing. Teachers highlight the components of various genre writing, while including direct instruction of the effective elements of writing (aka, 6-Traits) and the writing process to expose students to quality writing opportunities throughout the day.