Literacy At HKIS, we believe literacy – reading, writing, speaking, and listening, is a keystone to all learning. We value questions as much as answers, process as much as product, and connections as much as content. Literacy is a transdisciplinary skill that enables us to reflect, transform and innovate to better understand the world around us. Our Upper Primary literacy-curriculum is based on best practices from the United States. Resources and research that inform literacy teaching and learning include literacy workshop practices and Common Core State Standards to ensure consistency across grades and divisions, and provide a challenging and developmentally appropriate curriculum for our students.
R2-12: Common Core State Standards’ Capacities of a Literate Individual The Common Core Standards offer a larger picture as the capacities of a literate individual. As students grow and advance through the grades, they are able to exhibit these capacities in more sophisticated, consistent, and full ways. • Literate Individuals demonstrate independence in their thinking, seeking of resources and pursuing their interests. • Literate Individuals build strong content knowledge when they learn to read purposely and listen attentively to peers and experts. • Literate Individuals respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose and discipline by adapting their written and spoken messages. • Literate Individuals comprehend as well as critique when they are engaged and maintain open-mindedness. • Literate Individuals value evidence when supporting their own viewpoints in writing and speaking. • Literate Individuals use technology and digital media strategically and capably to best communicate their ideas. • Literate Individuals come to understand other perspectives, cultures and have the opportunity to vicariously inhabit worlds different from their own.
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Hong Kong International School
R2-12: Common Core Literacy Standards The Reading Literature and Informational Texts Standards focus on the need to expose our students to a variety of genres in our world. They also emphasize making connections across and comparing texts, being able to define and describe setting, characters and major events, using illustrations to deepen understanding of stories or content, and understanding an author’s message. The Reading Foundational Skills Standards focus on phonetic awareness and phonics, which are essential to the decoding process of reading. In addition, the Foundational Skills highlight the need for word recognition and define expectations for reading fluency in order to support comprehension. The Writing Standards focus on exposing students to three different genres: narrative, opinion and informational. In addition, the standards emphasize the need for a writing process where revision and editing take place regularly as students take their writing pieces through the complete process. Students should also participate in research and share their learning in a variety of ways. The Speaking and Listening Standards focus on providing ample opportunities for students to take part in a variety of rich and structured conversations – as part of a whole class, in small groups, or with a partner. These standards highlight the importance of learning to be productive speakers by contributing to conversations and responding to partners’ ideas. The Language Standards focus on conventions, mechanics and syntax of standard English. They also highlight the importance of expanding a student’s vocabulary and exploring “shades of meaning.”
