Language Arts Program

Dear Parents:

The previous newsletter submissions have focused on the English language arts curriculum in the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District. These explanations are a road map to instruction and learning, and teachers and students travel together to arrive at the expected learning outcomes for each grade. It has been my great privilege to be present in many classrooms to participate in and observe their journey.

As the 2007-2008 school year races to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to report to the school community about an accomplishment in literacy learning that our teachers and students experienced this school year.

Our student writers continued to grow in the area of topic development, and our spring writing assessment confirmed this. Teachers and students across the district celebrated writing by submitting student samples to the Massachusetts Department of Education for consideration as grade level examples of writing that meets or exceeds the state standards. Teachers held authors' teas and created class books, student work was accepted for publication, and teachers continued their professional development in the teaching of writing.

Reprinted below, with the author's permission, is an example of a third grader's writing that demonstrates all of the characteristics of effective writing: topic development, organization, effective word choice, sentence fluency, voice, and conventions.

 

Squirrel Trouble

 It was late spring and we had just found out we had squirrels living in our attic. It all started when we saw scratches on the side of our house and that's when we found out we had a family of five squirrels that had made a nest in some rafters by the small window at the end of our attic. Thank goodness my Dad had an idea of how to get rid of the squirrels. I would stand on the deck, with cell phones, with my Mom and Amelia and tell my Dad how many squirrels came out of the window. The squirrels had built their nest in a part of the attic that was all insulation so if my Dad stepped there he would fall through! My dad had to inch along the rafters. Soon I saw a small gray foot stick through the attic window and was stuck. "He's stuck!," I yelled, so Amelia and I helped my Mom get the squirrel  out with a shovel. The squirrel leaped onto the shovel and off as my Mom dropped it. The next squirrel skidded down the house and was gone. The tired squirrel leaped a few feet off the roof and onto the ground. Later we saw them  in the woods and hoped they were happy.

              I congratulate the teachers and students in Groton-Dunstable for their continued accomplishments in literacy learning. It is my hope that you find authentic opportunities for your children to read, write, speak, and learn throughout the summer vacation.

Sincerely,

Kathy McCarthy