Language Arts:

Language Arts is presented through a highly structured systematic approach to decoding and encoding. Using a defined lesson plan protocol, a rule-based phonetic system is presented allowing for the development of a controlled text. This text is broadened with daily lessons. The use of controlled text allows for the independent development of decoding skills, fluency skills and encoding skills. Overall, this enables access to printed content material, broadening the student’s ability to handle graded material. Further use of these skills allows for the student to develop encoding (writing) skills.

Reading Comprehension:

Following the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Reading Comprehension, appropriate grade level content is presented through modified lessons which allow the students to access the material. Various genres are utilized including short stories, chapter books, poetry and plays. Short stories also allow for the presentation of myths, folk tales and non-fiction. Biographies and autobiographies are presented through chapter books.

Overall, the content is presented in a structured lesson format directed toward linguistic processing of the content, retrieval of the factual information, organization of the facts and ‘mapping’ the content to assist memory and comprehension. Content is also used to enhance written language skills through use of paragraph templates, ultimately formatting a composition.

Written Language

This is a major area of need. Students struggle to express in writing what they have learned. This complicated and integrative task requires a highly structured step by step instructional process. This includes brainstorming a topic, producing a rough draft, just getting ideas down on paper, reviewing and editing the first draft, making changes to produce the final or best copy. Developing writing at the sentence to paragraph level in a structured manner is stressed. Staff provide sentence and paragraph models and use consistent, prescribed templates or formats to support this comprehensive skill. Step by step guidance is required until students have internalized the steps and can generate written language with greater independence.

In addition to addressing the students' language skills, math content focuses on developing basic computational skills and the application of these skills to daily needs. Students follow prescribed step by step processes to problem solve and are asked to explain verbally and in written form how they arrived at a solution. These skills are a challenge to the students' abstract thinking and reasoning ability and demand daily drill and reinforcement.

Curriculum Content

The curriculum content covered in Social Studies, Science and Math classes is a vehicle for instruction in verbal, written and pragmatic language skill areas. Goals include the development of vocabulary (meaning and use), grammar and syntax, written expression and pragmatic or social language. Pragmatic Language is a major area of emphasis focusing on identifying and using the rules of conversation establishing eye contact, listening to the speaker, asking questions or responding to information while remaining on topic. Staff teach content information and then use the content to highlight well structured sentences, correct grammar, syntax and, punctuation as well as question formatting.