Education Gate International School 2
English Curriculum
The school adopted the Common Core State Standards the year it was established – these standards are designed to prepare all students for success in higher education, in the workplace, and in life.
The full Common Core standards can be viewed at www.corestandards.org
In our literacy program, students are given a chance to read authentic texts.
Authentic reading materials include published works that are typically encountered by students in daily life, such as in magazines, books or newspapers.
That may mean that some material is emotionally charged or may use language outside of a student's particular cultural experience.
Classroom activities include teacher read-alouds, class discussion, vocabulary work, and extension activities to engage students. Students have 11 English periods per week.
From Grades 1 through 6, the school implements the Scott Foresman Reading Street and Reader’s and Writer’s books for reading and spelling and Harcourt Language for grammar.
In addition to these, the school has created its own booklet that explores selections/topics more deeply in order to support students and scaffold learning.
From Grades 7 through 9, it uses the Prentice Hall Literature Penguin Edition books, Writing Coach for grammar, and Vocabulary Workshop to help build a strong vocabulary.
Students maintain a writing folder in their portfolio. Students are encouraged to use cogent reasoning and evidence-collection skills as they read, write, speak, listen, and use language effectively in a variety of content areas.
In the lower grades (grades 1-3), the curriculum focuses on providing a foundation for students in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Our students are given opportunities to see how reading and writing are useful, before they are instructed in letters, colors, shapes, numbers, names, sounds and word recognition.
This is done through different experiences, singing nursery rhymes, reading stories, listening to fairy tales, taking field trips.
Children practice blending (reading) and segmenting (spelling) using the sound spellings they learn in their early years at school.
The school also has a library period which is additional literacy time within the school day where teachers can work with students in developmentally appropriate groupings to meet their individual needs.
This is an opportunity for the favorite traditional read aloud work, literacy based centers, and immersion in text, where teachers can facilitate student choice from existing leveled libraries based on interest, availability, and readability.
The purpose of this time is to build independent, interested, and capable readers.