The Community Schools of Frankfort adopted a balanced literacy approach in 2008 for all elementary buildings. A balanced literacy approach to learning allows students to have authentic reading and writing experiences. Students work in texts that are at grade level expectations as well as texts that are appropriate for their personal instructional level. Writing instruction is based around genre study for narrative, informational, and persuasive texts. All curriculum is designed around the Indiana Academic Standards.

It is our goal to know our students as readers and writers. Students are asked to share their reading and writing interests, book and authors they enjoy, and the ways they best work as readers and writers. These are completed through interest inventories. Just like adult readers, students are more likely to read books of their interest than simply those assigned to them. Research is clear. Students who spend time reading are more likely to have a higher success rate in their education. This is why we place a high emphasis on independent reading at the Community Schools of Frankfort.

District Literacy Goals

1. Every student will continually grow as a fluent reader who thinks critically about texts for deep understanding, at or above grade level, as measured by district literacy assessments and state standardized tests.
2. Every student will continually grow as a writer of persuasive, narrative, and informational texts as assessed by district writing rubrics and state standardized tests.

District Literacy Expectations

1. All teachers are teachers of literacy.
   
2. A balanced literacy approach is the framework for instruction. Reading and writing workshops enable students to practice the skills and strategies they are learning while teachers confer and support them in the work along the way.
3. Lessons and units are designed utilizing the district curricular pacing guides and resources which correspond to the Indiana Academic College and Career Readiness Standards.
4. Teachers design their units of study utilizing the district-created curriculum maps with the end goals in mind for each month which correspond to the state standards and common formative assessments.

Below are resources to support your readers and writers at home.

Why You Can't Skip Time Reading

Indiana Academic Standards: English/Language Arts