Our English language arts teachers meet the spectrum of learners’ needs by differentiating instruction. Students are regularly offered choice, the heart of differentiation. Flexible groupings are arranged for specific instructional purposes while ongoing formative and summative assessments inform instruction. When literacy instruction is tailored to match students’ individual strengths and needs, students learn to effectively communicate their thoughts and demonstrate their understanding through a variety of media. Our students are engaged in the reading and writing processes to develop lifelong reading habits and writing skills.

Our language arts curriculum is designed to guide students through a sequenced program of study that is relevant, focused, challenging, supportive, and measurable. We offer students opportunities to reinforce the skills and processes learned in elementary school while exploring their individual interests. Students refine specific essential and fundamental strategies in reading, writing, and speaking — strategies used widely as tools for learning and reflection across the curriculum. Our students are taught to apply comprehension strategies and appreciate a variety of literature including poetry, drama, and various genres of fiction in addition to informational texts. Students use writing process elements to communicate with different audiences for various purposes. Use of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, video, word processing programs, assistive and adaptive technologies) provides students with opportunities to gather, synthesize, and communicate information.

Students at OMS work to develop, refine, and apply their reading, writing, and speaking skills while our grade level expectations, aligned to the Common Core standards, prepare students for the challenges of high school. The best interests of our students are embedded in the lessons we teach as we endeavor to foster literate, thoughtful communicators, capable of commanding the English language.