English Language Arts 

D97 K-5 ELA Mission Statement: Elementary students in D97 will engage in hands-on, student-centered learning experiences that are authentic, meaningful, and extend beyond the classroom. Our students will become reflective communicators, readers, and writers through standards-aligned curriculum and instruction that includes phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, grammar, fluency, oracy, comprehension, and writing. Students will be immersed in diverse texts that allow them to see themselves as well as the perspectives of others.

Curricular Resources - Reading

  • Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts & Amplify Caminos (Primary Resource)
  • Heggerty Phonemic Awareness (Supplemental Resource)

  • University of Florida Literacy Institute Foundations Toolbox (Supplemental Resource)

Curricular Resources - Writing

  • Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts & Amplify Caminos

Curricular Resources - Word Study

  • Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts & Amplify Caminos

English Language Arts (6-8)

Mission Statement:

District 97 Middle School graduates will be able to read increasingly challenging texts and to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes, in a variety of mediums, in order to think critically about complex concepts that arise in our diverse and changing society. District 97 English Language Arts Middle School teachers will embrace student curiosity and work to develop reflective lifelong learners who understand that listening to different perspectives can add value to their own.

ELA 6-8 Learning:

The skills and knowledge captured in the Illinois Learning Standards for ELA are embedded in the middle school ELA units creating a supportive and engaging learning environment while also implementing the three key shifts in the focus of ELA standards and literacy instruction:

  • Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts
  • Reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from literary and informational text
  • Regular practice with complex text and its academic language

The units focus on tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs of learners, incorporating student text choice and voice and preparing students for life outside the classroom.