•     Our reading and writing program follows the Balanced Literacy Approach. In Reading we have broken the year up into four units of study. In these units, the students will delve into complex texts and see significance in details.

    Interpretation Book Clubs: Analyzing Themes   
    Tackling Complexity: Moving Up Levels of Nonfiction   
    Argument and Advocacy: Researching Debatable Issues  
    Fantasy Book Clubs: The Magic of Themes and Symbols  

        In writing, we have again broken the year up into four units of study. The writing goal for the year is to familiarize students with the genres they will regularly encounter throughout school—thesis-driven persuasive essays, literary essays, and research reports. There are also four units.

    Narrative Craft
    Research-Based Argument Essays
    The Lens of History: Research Reports
    Shaping Texts: From Essay and Narrative to Memoirs