Language Arts

“Franklin D. Roosevelt, while President, called on Justice Holmes one evening. Mrs. Holmes told the President that the Justice would be glad to see him, although it was interfering with the Justice’s reading program. Roosevelt, when ushered into the room, said to Holmes, who was then past ninety, “Mr. Justice, why do you work so hard at this reading business?” Holmes replied, “I know of no other way to improve my mind!”

Holmes had recognized several things in that sage remark. One is that education is a continuous process. You don’t “become educated” at college. You are merely prepared for an education. To be an educated person you must study continuously as long as you live, and Holmes knew that.” (Fee.org)

Reading is the active and cognitive process of making meaning from print. The goal of reading is to comprehend and apply what is read to real-world experiences. The acquisition of reading skills and strategies is developmental and influenced by students’ individual experiences and their motivation.

Acquiring knowledge through reading is essential as it engages your mind, broadens your vocabulary, sharpens critical thinking, deepens your understanding of the world, and promotes empathy by introducing you to diverse viewpoints, ultimately shaping you into a more well-rounded and informed person. 

Reading instruction is multi-dimensional and must include the five pillars of reading: Phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.  A good reading program incorporates a variety of instructional approaches: 

• Modeling strategies through thinking or reading aloud, 
• shared reading,
•  guided reading, 
• independent reading, 
• and listening to stories read aloud. 
• Effective reading instruction in all five pillars is sequential, systematic, and explicit. We explicitly teach phonemic awareness and decoding skills.  Comprehending the text is essential, and we teach skills and strategies in context so students are actively and cognitively engaged in the process.

Reading is thought of in two distinct realms:  learning to read and reading to learn.  Traditionally, children are learning to read until around grade 3, and the focus then changes to reading to learn.  Centreville Layton School is dedicated to educating students who have learning difficulties and language-based learning differences.  Our mission statement states, “Centreville Layton School offers a robust educational and cultural experience for students who learn differently. The program identifies the academic and social needs of the individual and provides a curriculum that focuses on problem-solving and critical thinking. Through intervention and strengthening learning strategies, the school empowers each student to reach his or her potential.”  We know that not all students learn the same way, and not all children can make the switch from learning to read to reading to learn at the same time, so we adjust, monitor, reflect, and implement strategies as needed.  

Reading at CLS is not isolated to just reading class, language arts, or English classes.  It is necessary for every content area.  All students have different background knowledge and life experiences, which impact reading and comprehension.  We must also teach our students to read content area text, as it is often presented in a different format and includes unknown vocabulary and text features that are not usually found in novels.  

“Independent reading is not merely the ability to decode a text with minimal errors. Nor is it simply the ability to answer the teacher’s questions correctly. Independent reading is the ability to read a text on one’s own with deep engagement, with attention to what might sway the reader’s judgment or acceptance one way or the other. Independent readers are not only able to read without depending on the teacher to help them make sense of the text but also are able to stand independent of the text itself, choosing on their own, with evidence from the text to justify the decision, to agree or disagree, to accept the author’s vision and thinking or reject it” (Beers & Probst, 6)