Language and Literacy Framework for the Intermediate Grades (3-8)

The language and literacy framework for the intermediate grades is an organizational tool for classroom instruction based upon a theoretical foundation that celebrates the varied experiences and diversity of students in grades three through eight. Intermediate students are moving through a period of great change in every aspect of their lives: intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially. While this can be quite challenging for any teacher, the language and literacy framework provides a structure within which to help students construct meaning in their lives through reading and writing.

Figure 2 shows the language and literacy framework for literature and the content areas. The three blocks within the structure surround, and interconnect with oral, visual, and technological communication. This is because the ultimate purpose of language and literacy is communication. Communication is the means by which students will construct meaning in their lives through the interconnectedness of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking in literate ways.

The activities in the framework provide students collaborative learning opportunities in small groups and large groups, as well as opportunities for individual learning time. It also provides a structure within which students are taught at their instructional levels. Teachers use multiple tools to analyze student achievement so that teaching can be tailored to meet each student's instructional needs.

Each of the three blocks in the framework has a distinct purpose and goal. The first block, language and word study, is a 30 - 60 minute instructional time that can be placed at various points in the day. The goal of this block is for students to explore the intricacies of language across multiple genres including literature, informational texts, and poetry. They investigate the meaning and structure of words and the conventions and forms of written language. The second block, reading workshop, is a 60-minute instructional time period. The goal of this block is for students to read for extended periods a variety of self-selected and teacher-selected texts at their instructional level. They construct meaning through personal and textual connections demonstrated in weekly reading journal letters between students and teachers, regular meetings in homogeneous guided reading groups, and heterogeneous literature study groups. Students internalize effective comprehension strategies that they apply to fiction and nonfiction texts. The third block, writing workshop, is also a 60-minute instructional time period. The goal of this block is for students to develop writing strategies and skills, learn about the writer's craft, and use writing as a tool for learning and communication. Writing for sustained periods, they explore different genres and formats for a wide range of purposes and for a variety of audiences.

At the center of the framework is a fourth block, oral, visual, and technological communication. The goal of this block is for students to develop sophisticated communication skills with which to express their own meanings and understanding and to comprehend the meanings and understandings of others. Students present, converse, perform, and draw their understandings and listen, observe, and respond to the understandings of others as part of all blocks.