The
Focus of our 6th and 7th grade Reading class is to help students to
find success in a system where they have usually felt failure. We want
to help students level the playing field by not only plugging gaps in
reading skills or knowledge but also to accelerate students to find
success in their ELA courses. All students are talented and have
potential. It is our goal to unlock this potential and use it to help
guide students on their educational path.
Students
will often think that they are "dumb" or "stupid" because they are
placed in a Reading class and this is just not the case. Students that
are in a Reading class are simply students that struggle with the basic
skills required in order to access the texts they are being required to
read. We are here to make content accessible to students. Fairness
does not mean that everyone gets the same, it means that everyone gets
what they need. It is our goal to make learning fair by making the
confusing clear through carefully designed instruction.
Reading
Classes are expected to read their 30 minutes a night (this is not in
addition to ELA but in support of ELA). The sure fire way to increase
your reading skills is to read independently and sometimes to read with a
partner.
In
class students will be graded on their performance in our Read 180 program and our Engage New York Program. Read 180 is a multifaceted program which includes a Real Book (integrated social studies and ELA curriculum), computer program and independent reading system. Engage New York is structured around novels and the learning of skills associated with our school Power Standards. Students will be learning how to draw conclusions, compare and contrast, find the main idea, summarize and how to support each of these with text evidence. Student will work at their levels and progress through the programs as they are meeting goals. We will also be working on vocabulary. Vocabulary is one of the number one issues
associated with students under performance on tests. If they can't
access the vocabulary they can't comprehend what they are being asked to
do. Students will also be working on reading skills both with partners and whole
groups skill instruction as the year progresses.
KEEP READING!!!!!!!
