English Language Arts
Brendan McGowan
District Director of English Language Arts and Reading, K-12
brendan_mcgowan@manhassetschools.org
Manhasset Public Schools
200 Memorial Place
Manhasset, NY 11030
(516) 267-7582
Mission
The English Language Arts and Reading Departments in the Manhasset Public Schools are dedicated to mastery of all literacy skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking, and appreciation for the art of communication. Mastery of these skills comprises the learning framework of the language arts program in Manhasset. Using the New York State Common Core Learning Standards as a guide, we teach students to read, achieve fluency, comprehend and appreciate literature in all genres and non-fiction texts from related subject areas. We teach various forms of writing: narration, description, memoir, expository literary analysis, argument, and research among them. We emphasize the value of close textual analysis, using text-based evidence and higher-order thinking skills to master the written word. The mission of the reading, language arts and English departments is to foster literacy skills development across the grades, mindful of the specific needs of each student. With this in mind, we offer advanced and honors level courses, grade-level curricula, and academic intervention support services for those in need of remediation. The ultimate learning goal of the language arts, reading and English program in Manhasset is to bring students to college and career readiness, specifically focusing on appreciation for reading and mastery of forms of writing, essential components of the art of communication.
K-6 English Language Arts is taught using the following programs:
The Reading Street Program is utilized in Kindergarten through Grade Three. The program is designed to build strong readers by using authentic literature organized around unit concepts. Students practice higher-order thinking skills and complete tasks that develop reading and writing skills.
Grades Four through Six utilize and implement teacher-designed, literature-based reading programs incorporating interdisciplinary skills and concepts where appropriate. (Select teachers are piloting the Reading Fundamentals Program.)
The district's writing program, Writing Fundamentals: Units of Study, provides explicit instruction that focuses on demonstrating why writers write and how writers can communicate their ideas most effectively. In order for students to write with power and purpose, Writing Fundamentals: Units of Study strategically employs quality literature and informational texts to provide authentic examples of different genres and text types. Writing Fundamentals' lessons are developmental and follow the writing workshop model.
The Secondary School English and Reading curricula have as their goal mastery of reading and writing skills for all students. Middle school English classes in grades 7 and 8 emphasize reading literature within an overarching themes of “Who am I” in 7th grade and “Where am I going”? in 8th grade. Students learn to read selected works closely, gaining the ability to analyze text and understand the use of rhetorical devices to inform meaning. Literature selections are course-specific, selected by grade-level teams with departmental approval. Writing emphasizes the development of multi-paragraph, expository, literature-based essays. Students conduct research to further explore given topics growing from literature selections, culminating in a research paper. Students are also prepared for the New York State English Language Arts exam, administered each spring. Middle School English courses are aligned to Common Core Learning Standards.
The high school English department offers both required and elective courses. In the required program, students are enrolled in regents or honors level courses by virtue of recommendation or override to selected course levels. All high school courses continue to hone the skills of close-reading and text-based writing; as students progress, they read increasingly sophisticated works of literature, selected by grade-level teams with departmental approval. Each course includes a research project or paper; students are asked to conduct research to develop an authoritative perspective, supported by evidence, which is based on literature read in the course. The high school program includes two Advanced Placement courses, A.P. Language and A.P. Literature, and several electives, such as Journalism, Creative Writing, Film Study and Speech and Debate. Students are also prepared for the New York State English Language Arts Common Core Regents exam, administered each spring. All high school courses are aligned to Common Core Learning Standards.
For both middle and high school English courses, academic intervention support services are offered. These include reading and writing workshop classes in grades 7 through 10, and a regents preparation course for selected students in 11th grade. AIS classes are taught by certified department members, with emphasis on skills remediation and support for English class reading and writing assignments.