Literacy
Concord Road cultivates success for all students in literacy using a multi-text approach to English Language Arts (ELA). This approach supports a developmental progression of student learning, moving students from where they are in their individual reading and writing abilities towards greater levels of success and independence. There are many components to this instructional approach, including interactive read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading, writing and word study. We utilize the best instructional approach to meet the needs of the individual student, a small group of students or the whole class in the areas of word recognition (phonological awareness, decoding, sight word recognition) and language comprehension (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, literary knowledge.)
Our reading curriculum is guided by the New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards (2017). A successful reading program relies on ongoing formal and informal assessment of the reader. Anecdotal notes and running records inform teachers’ instruction throughout the year. The information obtained through these assessments, help to guide students and teachers in choosing independent reading books as well as small group instruction texts. Those texts include both decodable readers as well as leveled texts. Our teachers use the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment to formally assess each student’s reading ability twice a year. In addition, our teachers use NWEA MAP and the CORE Phonics Survey three times a year to identify students who may need more support in specific areas of literacy.
In writing, grades 3-4 utilize Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt’s Explorations in Non-Fiction Writing, while grades K-2 have begun to use Fountas and Pinnell's Writing Minilessons. Our writing program is designed to help students see themselves as writers. These instructional resources help to familiarize and engage students in the writing processes of planning, drafting, editing, revising and publishing. Over the course of the school year, students work collaboratively as authentic researchers, consider strategies for strengthening their voice and work to enhance their ability to communicate clearly with their audience. Our students write in narrative, informative/explanatory and argumentative/opinion forms. These are the areas addressed in the NYS Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards.
In Word Study, we will begin utilizing Wilson Fundations in the fall of 2024 in grades K-2. In the fall of 2025, we will implement Fundations in grade 3. As stated on the Wilson Language website, Fundations® utilizes a structured literacy approach grounded in the science of reading to make learning to read fun while laying the groundwork for lifelong literacy. The program’s research-based approach and extensive materials allow K–3 teachers to confidently present a carefully structured reading, spelling, and handwriting curriculum using engaging, multisensory techniques. Fundations® is aligned with the science of reading and guides teachers to provide effective instructional practices. Grade 4 will continue to focus on the NYS Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards to guide our students' development in word study and vocabulary.
Concord Road utilizes the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness to help build a strong foundation for reading and writing. Our K-1 classrooms utilize Heggerty daily to develop phonemic awareness skills (isolating, segmenting, blending, manipulating) as well as phoneme-grapheme mapping skills. Grades 2-4 have access to the curriculum to use with the whole class or as an intervention depending on the profile of the classroom to provide more advanced phonemic awareness instruction.
Literacy Team
