How the Role of a Balanced Literacy Program and Workshop Approach Can be Extended in This Geneseo Classroom
After researching Geneseo School District, we both were very surprised with how developed their literacy curriculum was. We felt that both the administrators and teachers spent a considerable amount of time working together to create a balanced program for the students that meets the Common Core Learning Standards of New York State. It was easy to see their efforts and passion for their school.
With this being said, we both also feel that every great program can always improve in some way. One way we believe this literacy program can improve would be through an expansion of texts available to the students. Many of the options for students were leveled books based on the Fountas & Pinnell instruction. Giving students a variety of books geared toward interests would motivate students to spend more time reading in and out of the classroom. By doing this, the gap between home and school literacies would be highly diminished. Students would have the ability to bring in books that are being read at home to use for classroom reading time.
Agreeing with the Geneseo Elementary Principal, Mark Linton, and Director of Learning, Kelly Sattora, we feel the home-to-school connection could be improved upon. More programs could be offered to provide literacy support for parents and guardians. This would give parents or guardians the tools to effectively aid the students literacy education at home.
The third aspect we would consider for this literacy program would be extracurricular activities for the students at a primary level. These could include writing and performing a play, book clubs, spelling bees, and creating and publishing family/community books. These would enhance the students literacy instruction in fun and exciting activities that families could be apart of. Knowing the time restraints on the primary level, these activities could even be done in the classroom, rather than by grade level or school.
How the Role of a Balanced Literacy Program and Workshop Approach Can be Extended in This Geneseo Classroom
After researching Geneseo School District, we both were very surprised with how developed their literacy curriculum was. We felt that both the administrators and teachers spent a considerable amount of time working together to create a balanced program for the students that meets the Common Core Learning Standards of New York State. It was easy to see their efforts and passion for their school.
With this being said, we both also feel that every great program can always improve in some way. One way we believe this literacy program can improve would be through an expansion of texts available to the students. Many of the options for students were leveled books based on the Fountas & Pinnell instruction. Giving students a variety of books geared toward interests would motivate students to spend more time reading in and out of the classroom. By doing this, the gap between home and school literacies would be highly diminished. Students would have the ability to bring in books that are being read at home to use for classroom reading time.
Agreeing with the Geneseo Elementary Principal, Mark Linton, and Director of Learning, Kelly Sattora, we feel the home-to-school connection could be improved upon. More programs could be offered to provide literacy support for parents and guardians. This would give parents or guardians the tools to effectively aid the students literacy education at home.
The third aspect we would consider for this literacy program would be extracurricular activities for the students at a primary level. These could include writing and performing a play, book clubs, spelling bees, and creating and publishing family/community books. These would enhance the students literacy instruction in fun and exciting activities that families could be apart of. Knowing the time restraints on the primary level, these activities could even be done in the classroom, rather than by grade level or school.