Longmeadow Public Schools uses CKLA as our core literacy curriculum!
Literacy instruction in Longmeadow Public Schools will provide engaging and developmentally appropriate lessons that develop foundational reading skills (phonemic awareness and phonics), fluency, vocabulary, morphology, comprehension, to instill a love of reading and writing.
Grades K-2 Literacy Coach: Brenda Mazza
LPS coaches support teachers and their students at all three of our elementary schools through professional development, training, lesson planning, teaching together, modeling and observing lessons and so much more. Your student may see a coach in our classroom this year!
Grades 3-5 Literacy Coach: Julia Manna
LPS coaches support teachers and their students at all three of our elementary schools through professional development, training, lesson planning, teaching together, modeling and observing lessons and so much more. Your student may see a coach in our classroom this year!
CKLA- What is it?
CKLA stands for Core Knowledge Language Arts.
It is complete literacy program that includes foundational skills, grammar and morphology, vocabulary instruction, reading, and writing.
CKLA follows a structured literacy model. This means that the program focuses on explicit and systematic literacy instruction to support student learning.
What to Expect with CKLA:
Writing begins with explicit instruction in building complex and grammatically correct sentences, building toward strong paragraphs, and eventually full essays. Writing practice and instruction is embedded into each unit, with students working in multiple genres. Students also practice responding to text-dependent questions through writing.
Grades K-2: 120 minutes of instruction each day
Grades 3-5: 90-120 minutes of instruction each day
Kindergarten:
Skills: 60 minutes each day
Knowledge: 60 minutes each day
1st Grade:
Skills: 60 minutes each day
Knowledge: 60 minutes each day
2nd Grade:
Skills: 60 minutes each day
Knowledge: 60 minutes each day
3rd Grade:
Integrated skills + knowledge: 120 minutes
(Emphasis on vocabulary, content knowledge building, reading skills, writing skills, grammar, morphology)
4th Grade:
Integrated skills + knowledge: 90 minutes
(Emphasis on vocabulary, content knowledge building, reading skills, writing skills, grammar, morphology)
5th Grade:
Integrated skills + knowledge: 90 minutes
(Emphasis on vocabulary, content knowledge building, reading skills, writing skills, grammar, morphology)
Assessments
Benchmark Assessments:
DIBELs 8th Edition will be used for Beginning of Year, Middle of Year, and End of Year assessment data.
The test assesses age-appropriate skills by grade level. Some skills being assessed are letter naming, word reading, fluency, and comprehension.
Unit Assessments/ Mid-Unit Assessments:
Other Assessment Opportunities:
mCLASS and DIBELS 8th Edition
Our elementary schools are using DIBELS 8th Edition as our benchmark literacy assessment and universal literacy screener.
Students will be assessed using a series of one-minute measures each fall, winter, and spring by their classroom teacher and/or other educational professionals.
The measures assess students on grade level skills in the following areas:
In ______ grade, students will be assessed on the highlighted skills.
Good to Know:
Is DIBELS aligned with the CKLA Scope and Sequence?
Home/School Connections
Caregiver Letters
Amplify Digital Experience
Other optional resources
Teachers may send home a caregiver letter at the beginning of each unit with information about what to expect.
Students have access to learning resources through the Amplify Digital Experience platform.
This includes an adaptive component called Boost!
(More information will be coming soon!)