Language Arts Philosophy Statement:
Students will be prepared for success in college, career, and literacy activities beyond the
classroom through participating in a broad range of culturally responsive reading and writing
experiences, demonstrating their learning through a variety of responses, engaging in deep
reading of complex texts, developing critical thinking skills, and learning how to make meaning
of texts independently.
Instruction and materials will:
 Increase in complexity at each grade level and build upon skills and content previously
mastered while supporting students with a variety of options to demonstrate what they
have learned
 Facilitate students' ability to make meaning from texts and produce, not just consume,
knowledge
 Provide activities to ensure that all students are able to access materials and successfully
meet standards
 Integrate explicit instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills
with curricular content and learning activities
 Include a balance of informational and literary text
 Incorporate works by diverse authors and that represent diverse perspectives (ethnicity,
gender, class, etc.)
 Foster opportunities for students to engage in discussion around complex and enduring
issues, perspectives, and themes
 Utilize elements of high quality writing instruction (Idea Generation, Organization,
Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions)
 Develop students' ability to conduct research and plan, revise, edit and publish work in
three formats: writing to persuade, to explain, and to convey real or imagined experience