Instructional Model
In Frisco ISD, our goal is to provide a literacy-rich classroom environment that:
is student-centered,
provides explicit skill and strategy instruction,
supports students as they move toward independence,
provides students with opportunities to embrace challenges and collaborate with peers,
allows students to communicate through reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking,
provides opportunities for students to engage with a variety of genres and texts,
integrates authentic reading and writing experiences to respond to the needs of others and solve real-world challenges,
fosters engagement by encouraging student choice.
Reading Instructional Philosophy
The workshop model provides opportunities for direct instruction and student application of learning, in addition to differentiated instruction to meet individual student needs. The information below represents the approximate time devoted to each component within the reading block. These components can occur in any sequence depending on the needs of the students.
| Component | Purpose of Component | Time | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | Minilesson | Reading workshop begins with direct instruction in a whole-class minilesson. The minilesson follows a predictable sequence: Connection, Teaching, Active Engagement, Link. | 10 minutes | ||||||
| Independent Reading/ Partner Reading | Following the minilesson, students draw upon a growing repertoire of reading skills, strategies, and habits while reading independently and with peers. Students respond to reading orally and/or in writing. | 35-40 minutes | |||||||
| Small Group Instruction & Conferring | Teachers provide targeted instruction and feedback to students in conferences and small groups. Small group instruction may focus on phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to meet the individual needs of each student. | ||||||||
| Share | Students reflect and share their learning with others. | 5 minutes | |||||||
| Additional Components | Interactive Read Aloud | Students are read to daily using a variety of genres. During interactive read-aloud, the teacher models specific reading strategies while students engage in analysis of text. Students think and talk about the text as a whole group and in pairs. The teacher and students actively process language, ideas, and meaning of the text. | 10-15 minutes | ||||||
| K-1 Shared Reading | Shared Reading is an instructional context in which students participate in the reading of a common, enlarged text. Through shared reading, children have the opportunity to engage in the reading process. The instruction supports concepts about print, phonological awareness, phonics, letter-sound relationships, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. | 10 minutes | |||||||
Writing Instructional Philosophy
The workshop model provides opportunities for direct instruction and student application of learning, in addition to differentiated instruction to meet individual student needs. The information below represents the approximate time devoted to each component within the writing block. These components can occur in any sequence depending on the needs of the students.
| Component | Purpose of Component | Time | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | Minilesson | Writing workshop begins with direct instruction in a whole-class minilesson. The minilesson follows a predictable sequence: Connection, Teaching, Active Engagement, Link. | 10 minutes | ||||||
| Independent Writing | Following the minilesson, students draw upon a growing repertoire of writing skills, strategies, and habits while writing on self-selected topics within each genre. Students apply strategies learned while writing independently or conferring with peers. | 20 minutes (K-2) 30 minutes (3-5) | |||||||
| Small Group Instruction & Conferring | Teachers provide targeted instruction and feedback to students in conferences and small groups. Small group instruction may focus on phonological awareness, phonics, encoding, vocabulary, written composition, conventions, and handwriting to meet the individual needs of each student. | ||||||||
| Share | Students reflect and share their learning with others. | 5 minutes | |||||||
| Additional Component | Grammar Talks | Students explore the connection between reading and writing by learning the conventions. Students apply these skills as they draft, revise, and edit writing. | 5-10 minutes | ||||||
Other Literacy Components (OLC)
Transfer and application of phonological awareness, phonics, and handwriting is reinforced during Reading and Writing.
| Component | Purpose of Component | Time | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K-1 Phonological Awareness | Students participate in daily phonological awareness instruction and application of learning. | 5-10 minutes | ||||||
| Word Study/Phonics | K-5 students participate in daily word study instruction to support phonics and vocabulary acquisition. K-2 Phonics Workshop: -Minilesson- direct instruction -Rug Time- student application of learning with feedback -Share- reflect and share learning | 20-25 minutes | ||||||
| K-3 Handwriting | Students participate in daily explicit handwriting instruction following the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. | 5-10 minutes | ||||||