English Language Arts

SMMUSD Beliefs About Reading & Language Arts - DRAFT

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, in alignment with the California Department of Education, the National Council for Teachers of English, and the findings from the National Reading Panel, holds the following core beliefs about reading and English language arts instruction:

  • All students have the capacity to read, write, and discuss text. Reading, writing and literary analysis can be taught to every student through carefully designed instruction.  For younger students, this includes a foundation in concepts of print, phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge, phonics and word attack skills.  For all students, this includes vocabulary development, reading comprehension strategies, literary analysis, process writing, genre writing, and traits of writing, along with opportunities to build fluency and stamina when reading and writing a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction texts.
  • Students in grades K-8 need to read and write every single day.  Students improve in reading and writing through daily practice. For younger students this can include listening and responding to oral text and picture books, along with sketching, labeling or creating word lists.  For older students this should involve reading and writing across the curriculum (language arts, science, math, social studies, etc.), reading independently, and listening to others read.  In secondary schools, it is not solely the responsibility of the English teacher to provide instruction and practice in reading and writing.
  • Reading, writing and literary analysis need to be explicitly taught and modeled for students.   Students require targeted instruction in reading, writing, analysis skills and strategies, along with the use of language conventions.  They also need multiple opportunities to see teachers and classmates model good reading, writing, conventions and analysis in action.  Reading and writing instruction should be drawn from research-based best practices.
  • Teachers must have opportunities to build their own content knowledge in reading and writing.  Teachers need to meet regularly (through site-determined banked time or other designated times) to examine and assess student challenges in reading, writing, and literary analysis and to dialogue about research-proven practices in order to improve student reading and writing achievement.
  • Writing is an essential tool for thinking and communication.  Students “must be able to…communicate effectively and creatively in oral and written form” (Reading/Language Arts Framework for California Public Schools, 1999, p. viii) .   Writing is an essential part of adult life; students must learn to write so they can become productive, creative and informed members of society.  Writing is an opportunity to exercise voice in our world.
  • "Literacy is the key to becoming an independent learner in all the other disciplines...High school graduates must be able to read all forms of text fluently and independently…and comprehend and deliver complex forms of discourse" (Reading/Language Arts Framework for California Public Schools, 1999, p. 3, viii) .  Reading is an essential part of adult life; students must learn to read so they can become productive, creative and informed members of society.
  • "The role of California educators is to instill in students (1) a lifelong love of reading; (2) a facility and joy of communicating through language; and (3) a deep appreciation of literary and informational text and the ways in which print expands our universe and our understanding of history and humanity" (Reading/Language Arts Framework for California Public Schools, 1999, p. viii).

The components of a quality reading and language arts program include:

  • The use of the California English-language arts content standards to align curriculum, assessment, instruction and organization for a comprehensive, coherent language arts structure. 
  • A balance of direct instruction in reading and thinking processes, along with opportunities to apply those processes and strategies while immersed in high-quality literature and expository text.
  • A balance of instruction between process writing (prewriting, drafting, revising, publishing), writer’s craft (how writers write, examples of student and professional text, living a “writerly” life, etc.), and correct use of language conventions (i.e., grammar, usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling).
  • The acquisition of core "learning to read" skills by the end of third grade, demonstrated in fluent oral reading and comprehension of grade-level text.
  • The application of core writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation skills by the end of third grade, demonstrated in the ability to write and correctly punctuate sentences and paragraphs.
  • The application of reading skills and strategies to comprehend and analyze expository and literary text with multiple experiences reading across genres and for a variety of purposes.
  • Multiple experiences writing across genres for different audiences and a variety of purposes.
  • Explicit, clear instruction and practice in what good readers do, along with opportunities to demonstrate strategy application and text understanding through formal and informal evaluation.
  • Explicit, clear criteria for the qualities of good writing, writing assignments, and the evaluation of writing projects.
  • Regular formative and summative assessments to determine what students know and what teachers need to teach next.
  • Opportunities for students to dialogue about writing, or what they are reading, with teachers and peers (e.g., conferences with teachers and peers, read-around groups).
  • Consistent language across grade levels about writing content, reading strategies and analysis skills.
  • A powerful early intervention program that provides assistance to students at risk of failure in reading, writing and oral language.
  • A minimum of 2 1/2 hours of reading/language arts instruction and practice each day in grades 1-3.  A minimum of 2 hours of reading/language arts instruction and practice each day in kindergarten and grades 4-8.

Programs and resources for quality reading/language arts instruction include:

  • Houghton Mifflin Reading
  • Holt Literature & Language Arts
  • The 6 Traits of Writing (e.g., WriteTraits, 6+1 Traits)
  • Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (Lucy Calkins)
  • Lessons for Young Writers (Nancy Atwell)
  • District-adopted core literature texts
  • Student Onramp Strategies®
  • SMMUSD Formative and Summative Assessments, including
    • Revised Emerging Literacy Survey
    • Leveled Reading Passages Assessment Kit (LRPAK) & Running Records
    • Houghton Mifflin California Summative Tests
    • Holt Diagnostic and Summative Assessments
    • English Common Assessments
    • District Writing Assessment (DWA)