Grade Level Expectations 6-8

The New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) for English Language Arts (ELA) define literacy expectations per grade level. In grades 6-8, students will read literature and informational text. Students will explore writing opinions, informative, and narrative texts. The standards engage students in expectations surrounding vocabulary acquisition, speaking, listening, and conventions of Standard English. 

As our foundation, the NJ SLS for ELA are the basis of our curriculum. The curriculum includes Units of Study for both reading and writing. Teachers utilize the resources from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Units of Study series published by Heinemann to prepare lessons. Throughout the year, our literacy consultant from Gravity Goldberg, LLC provides instructional coaching to reinforce instructional practices. 

Daily classroom practices utilize the components of balanced literacy model of instruction that allows teachers to instruct students in a range of skills across reading, writing, listening and speaking, and word study. Teachers use data to make instructional decisions to meet student needs via direct and indirect instruction. Students engage in reading/ writing workshops, small group work, individual conferences, shared writing, guided reading, among other components.