'Balanced Literacy' Improves Early Grades Reading Skills

WOODSTOCK, GA -- Learning to read is the very foundation of a child's education and without a solid grasp of reading and writing, students can struggle in other subjects and become discouraged, thus losing an enthusiasm for learning.

With this in mind, the Cherokee County School District's Curriculum and Instruction Division over the last year has analyzed student achievement data and targeted kindergarten through fifth-grade literacy as an area of improvement.

To support this priority, the district's 2017-18 budget included funding for new English-Language Arts resources, including materials that emphasize a more phonics-based approach for early grades and support a classroom focus on guided reading.

"While our students are doing very well and achieving at high levels on most indicators, we know that there is always room for improvement," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower. "We put our curriculum under the microscope and identified some weaknesses in our early grades reading program. That's such a fundamental building block, and we know this new approach will give our struggling readers the boost they need to become successful and confident in their reading and writing skills."

The process started with a redesign of the district's reading curriculum, with added rigor and an emphasis on differentiated instruction that supports the reading and writing skill development of all students. The new approach -- dubbed balanced literacy -- incorporates fundamental concepts such as word study and literacy assessment, as well as reading and writing workshops (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"Reading is critical to success in any content area," said CCSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Nicole Holmes. "Not only will these skills pay off in other subjects areas for the student, its benefits will also extend into middle and high school."

The curriculum redesign includes a framework for teaching kindergarten through fifth-grade reading and writing, with new standards-based units for teachers (six units per grade level), a weekly planner and specific performance tasks for each unit. Instructional lead strategists at each elementary school are working with teachers to help them adopt the new teaching strategies, as well as incorporate the new ELA resources arriving in classrooms across the county.

These new resources include classroom libraries, guided reading assessment kits, phonics programs and "read aloud" book sets. Parents can expect to see new resources in their elementary child's classrooms this fall, as well as increased time spent on reading and writing, especially in small groups.

The Curriculum and Instruction Division will be sharing resources for parents on the division's webpage throughout the year, and if parents are looking for additional ways to work with their child on reading and writing skills, they can contact their child's teacher for more suggestions.

Note: Reading aloud with your child at home remains an excellent way to work on reading skill development. To see balanced literacy in action, watch this short video http://bit.ly/CCSD_reading.

Photo 1: Student Dawson Howell points to the letter "O" in a group activity focused on letter sounds in Patricia Weathers' first-grade class at Knox Elementary School.

Photo 2: Instructional Lead Strategist Amy Walker reads aloud to Patricia Weathers' first grade class at Knox Elementary.

Photo credits: Cherokee County School District