Introduction

Developmental Subject:  Our local standards are based on Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards for English Language Arts and have been written specifically to follow our curriculum.  Much of what we expect students to be able to do at the end of their formal education is introduced as early as kindergarten.  Students listen, read, speak, write, use language, and enjoy literature at all levels and grades.  The difficulty of the materials, the complexity of what students do with them, and the sophistication of their skills change as they grow older.  In practice, teachers build on what students have already achieved at one level to help them meet higher standards at the next level.

Great Authors and Literary Works:  Human beings have produced a rich treasury of great writing.  The language arts standards do not specify a list of authors or works that must be read by all students.  What is most important is students learn to read well and read enough to meet their various needs and interests, they have opportunities to read quality literature, and they love to read.

Connectedness:  Finally, although the domain of language arts is divided into six sets of standards for focus and clarity, these divisions, in the classroom and in practical use of the language, are artificial.  To use media, one must read or listen.  To write, one must acquire knowledge by reading, listening, and viewing.  To do research, one must read.  To communicate in any form, one must know how the language works.  Most performance standards expect students to achieve a level of proficiency in more than one content standard.  Moreover, since all communication has content, the language arts standards are closely connected to Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards in other subjects.

Middle School:

The reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, strategies and habits established in elementary school have prepared the students for their middle school course of study.  The expectations of readers and writers in grades 6-8 are constant; the level of sophistication in text will increase as the students' skills improve.

• In 6th grade, students take one Reading class and one Language Arts class.
• In 7th grade, students an English class.
• In 7th grade, students take a Reading class called LinK, and acronym for Learning through INtegrated Knowledge.

 Balanced Literacy Framework