Washington County Public Schools

WCPS Literacy Philosophy

Belief ​and Action Statements Evidence:

Reading/listening and writing/speaking are critical interrelated components of

literacy.
Therefore, we will provide access to high quality texts and multimedia presentations with
opportunities to engage in conversations about an author’s thoughts and ideas, as well as
provide authentic audiences for communicating personal thoughts and ideas orally and in
writing.

Assessment of disciplinary literacy should be ongoing.

Therefore, we will assess, analyze, act, and adjust instruction to personalize learning.

Literate students use strategic behaviors.

Therefore, we will explicitly teach strategic behaviors, not for strategy’s sake, but to
empower each learner to think in ways that enhance learning and understanding and result
in the fluent application of skills and strategies.

Text structure prepares literate students to understand, analyze, and create texts.
Therefore, we will explicitly teach students to recognize and apply text structure and
provide appropriate tools for students to use during their reading and writing.

Phonics and vocabulary are stepping stones to independent reading

comprehension and written expression.
Therefore, we will provide students with the skills to attack unfamiliar words through
explicit instruction in vocabulary and phonics (not in isolation), while also providing learning
experiences that continually expand vocabulary knowledge.

An essential component to reading instruction is to read daily with a variety of texts.

Therefore, we will provide students with access to a variety of texts, including grade level,
instructional level, and independent level in all disciplines.

Standards define expectations and outcomes of grade level literacy instruction for
all students.
Therefore, we will utilize instructional objectives, personalized learning goals, and success
criteria to facilitate achievement of the standards.

A coherent curriculum is mapped backwards from desired performance outcomes

within a disciplinary literacy approach.
Therefore, we will use transfer goals, enduring understandings, and essential questions
within and across disciplines to provide a coherent and results-focused approach to
learning.

Students demonstrate understanding when they transfer knowledge and skills to

new and novel situations.
Therefore, we will provide a variety of opportunities for application across content areas.

The teacher is the critical decision maker in terms of instructional strategies most
appropriate for each child.
Therefore, we will utilize programmatic resources and interventions as tools to support
personalized learning based on an analysis of collected evidence and a vision for desired
results.