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Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

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Literacy Curriculum

Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is committed to meeting the needs of every child, every day. A structured and balanced literacy approach, rooted in research-based best practices, allows teachers to differentiate instruction based on the needs of each student. Teachers use a variety of literacy assessments to determine a student's strengths and areas of need. Teachers combine a systematic approach to phonics instruction with effective tier 1 and 2 supports for literacy standards to help all students reach grade-level proficiency.

In order to ensure all children we serve receive the high-quality literacy instruction they deserve, we embrace the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy and the fact that there are many wide-ranging conditions that enable children to thrive in literacy (MAISA/GELN, 2023). For this reason, we strive to enact the following enabling conditions within every K-5 Classroom:

  • An asset orientation toward children and their families and communities

  • Positive relationships between and among teachers, children, and families

  • Opportunities for children to develop healthy identities 

  • Culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining pedagogical approaches throughout the day

  • Sufficient time for physical activity, meals, and play (MAISA/GELN, 2023)

Our district is committed to providing all students with a culturally responsive literacy curriculum aligned to the science of reading. We believe the science of reading to be a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing (The Reading League, 2021). We are committed to ensuring our curricular resources include each of the following components, as outlined in the Simple View of Reading (Hoover & Tunmer, 2020) and within both Scarborough’s Rope (Scarborough, 2001) and the Active View of Reading (Duke & Cartwright, 2021). Those components include the following:

Language Comprehension

  • Background Knowledge: This includes both the information necessary to understand a specific text or activity, but also appropriate content knowledge developed through exposure to high-quality science and social studies curricula. Such experiences significantly enhance background knowledge by fostering critical thinking, curiosity, and an understanding of the natural world, which supports academic success and lifelong learning.

  • Explicit Vocabulary Instruction: This instruction should occur throughout the school day and plays a crucial role in improving comprehension, communication, and critical thinking, thereby supporting academic achievement (Beck & McKeown, 2007).

  • Opportunities to Explore Language Structures: This is crucial because it provides the foundation for constructing meaningful sentences and assists in developing an understanding of the meaning of words and phrases.

  • Instruction and Practice related to Verbal Reasoning: emphasizes higher-level thinking skills like inference-making and understanding figurative language, crucial for deep comprehension and critical engagement with texts.

  • Bolstering Students' Literacy Knowledge: Attention must be paid to developing an understanding of the concepts of print in order to lay the foundation for other early literacy skills.

Abundant Reading Materials

  • Diverse Classroom Libraries: A large body of research reveals that equitable access to books promotes reading achievement and motivation (MAISA/GELN, 2023). Additionally, our Units of Study curriculum, recommend the inclusion of independent reading time within our literacy block.  For this reason, each of our K-5 classrooms has a robust classroom library containing a variety of culturally relevant, high-interest texts that students have access to on a daily basis.

Word Recognition

  • Phonological Awareness: Readers must have an awareness of the speech sounds that letters and letter combinations represent in order to move from a printed word to a spoken word (reading), or a spoken word to a written word (spelling) (Moats, 2010). Additionally, although phonological awareness as a construct does not involve letters, phonological awareness instruction is best provided primarily in connection to letters (MAISA/GELN, 2023).

  • Decoding: Explicit instruction in letter-sound and sound-letter relationships is a pivotal component of early literacy (MAISA/GELN, 2023). For this reason, we have implemented Units of Study in Phonics and ensure the scope and sequence of that curricular resource is adhered to in each of our classrooms.

  • Sight Recognition of Familiar Words is acknowledged and appreciated in our young readers, but should not be confused with High-frequency words, which we believe must be taught with full analysis of letter-sound relationships within the words (MAISA/GELN, 2023).

  • Encoding: Students must also be given opportunities to practice transferring spoken sounds into letters and writing opportunities should be given throughout the school day.

Active View of Reading

Our standards-aligned curriculum, coupled with small group literacy instruction, targets all areas of literacy. Teachers use the Literacy Essentials as a guide to best instructional practices. Each day students will experience:

Systematic Phonics Instruction (PK-2)/Word Study (3-5)-30 min

  • (Units of Study in Phonics, Words Their Way)

  • Includes phonological awareness, decoding, sight words, encoding

Reading Workshop-90 min (K-5)

  • (Units of Study in Reading, Let’s Gather Read Aloud/Shared Reading)

  • Read aloud/shared reading with a focus on comprehension, schema and explicit vocabulary instruction

  • Abundant reading from diverse classroom libraries

  • Small group strategy instruction using decodables, leveled text and word work materials

  • Reading conferences to improve the reader

Writing Workshop-60 min (K-5)

  • (Units of Study in Writing)

  • Use of mentor texts to build background knowledge and skills 

  • Abundant opportunities to encode and compose writing in a variety of genre

  • Small group strategy instruction and conferring opportunities to improve the writer

Read By Grade Three Law

Being a good reader is critical for children to be successful in school. In 2016, the Michigan Legislature passed the Third Grade Reading Law to ensure that students exit third-grade reading at or above grade level.

The impact of this law began with the kindergarten class of 2017-2018. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools' educators immediately began a documented plan to assist these students and all of our early learners. This plan ensures that our current third-grade students are prepared for the state literacy assessment in the spring.

In accordance with this law, and as a means of better informing classroom instruction, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools has been providing K-3 reading assessments. These assessments identify students who need intensive reading instruction and intervention, and will also provide useful information to help teachers tailor instruction to meet individual student needs.