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In alignment with the Science of Reading research, we use a structured literacy approach to the development of reading and writing skills over the course of students’ K-5 learning experiences. This graphic demonstrates how these skills develop over time and which curricular resources we have in place to support each stage of development.

K-5 Digital Resources for Families

These resources are connected directly to classroom instruction for ELA and Math. Families access these programs via student’s My.½ûÂþÌìÌà (Classlink).

K-3 Learning A-Z is a parent-oriented educational platform offering a variety of resources to improve children's learning in reading, writing, and comprehension. It provides leveled reading materials and interactive worksheets. ½ûÂþÌìÌà uses this resource to focus on specific foundational skills a student is working on. 

3-12 CommonLit is a platform for parents that offers a wide range of free reading and language arts resources for students in grades 3-12. It provides a collection of high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts, along with accompanying assessments and guided reading questions to improve comprehension and critical thinking skills. Parents can use CommonLit to support their child's reading progress and monitor their development in various literary areas. ½ûÂþÌìÌà uses this resource to add various levels of texts to the topics that is being studied in the classroom. 

K-5 Learning Ally is a valuable platform for parents that focuses on helping students with reading difficulties or visual impairments. It provides a vast library of audiobooks and other accessible learning materials. Parents can use Learning Ally to assist their child's reading journey, enhancing their literacy skills and fostering a love for learning through audio-based resources. ½ûÂþÌìÌà uses this resource to provide the scaffold of audio books for students who need this support for Wit & Wisdom core texts and various other texts that align to the topics that are being learned in the classroom. 

SeeSaw is a platform enables parents to stay involved in their child's education by providing a secure digital portfolio of their academic work. Parents can view and interact with their child's assignments, projects, and progress, fostering better communication and engagement in the learning process. ½ûÂþÌìÌà also uses this resource to provide specific lessons aligned to core curriculum that students can do during What I Need (WIN) block of instruction. 

Reading is a Civil Right

½ûÂþÌìÌà K-5 Language Arts Department is focused on Educational Equity for our students and staff. We insist on maximizing the integrity of transformative equity practices. Here are the basic principles that help us ensure we keep our commitment to equity at the center of our work. 

1. The Direct Confrontation Principle - our work requires us to directly confront inequity in all its forms, ie. interpersonal, institutional, cultural and structural racism, etc. 
2. The Equity Ideology Principle - our work is more than a list of practical strategies that we do but it is a lens through which we do all our work and an ideological commitment.
3. The Prioritization Principle - we will prioritize the interests of the students and families whose interests historically have not been prioritized. 
4. The Redistribution Principle - we will redistribute materials, cultural and social access and opportunity by changing inequitable policies, eliminating oppressive aspects of institutional culture and examining how practices and programs might advantage some students over others.
5. The “Fix Injustice, Not Kids” Principle - educational outcome disparities are not the result of deficiencies in students and families. We must transform the educational system.
6. The Evidence-Informed Equity Principle - our educational equity approaches need to be based on evidence for what works for our students. 

Reference: Basic Principles for Equity Literacy, Paul Gorski, June 5, 2020