Student MenuMalcolm Munroe Literacy Plan
Literacy Plan
Supporting and promoting literacy is certainly not something new for Malcolm Munroe Memorial Junior High School. Our English Language Arts Department has accepted a leadership role in fully implementing all aspects of the Junior High English Language Arts curriculum over the past number of years. We have long encouraged all subject area teachers to emphasize the development of student literacy across the board so that it is not perceived as being limited to the English Language Arts classrooms. We have been committed to the purchase of texts, novels, short stories and other resources, which enliven the program and support literacy. We have been actively engaged in acquiring literacy related resources and have placed them in our professional development library where they are readily accessible to staff. In addition, we have been developing teaching strategies to be implemented in all our classrooms to promote the development of specific skills related to the improvement of literacy levels.
We have been very active in promoting the technological aspect of literacy in our school by making available computer lab time for each teacher and each class, in all subject areas. We have been working hard to ensure that the Technological Outcomes for all subjects are being met. Each classroom is equipped with a pod of four computers to facilitate the integration of these outcomes into daily practice. We have developed a significant supply of audio-visual equipment, including televisions, VCRs, DVD players, overhead projectors, wall-mount screens in classrooms, video and digital cameras, and LCD projectors. These extensive resources allow us to support media literacy.We have also initiated programs here at Malcolm Munroe in the recent past, which have proven very effective in helping to develop literacy skills. One of these is the Newspapers in Education program, which has proven to be very effective in attracting student attention and interest. Many of our teachers have grasped this program and have been very innovative in how they use the newspapers in their classrooms.
We have placed a selection of books from the Active Readers program, as well as others which we have accessed, in all classrooms. We have instituted a borrowing program for each class so that students may enjoy the books outside the classroom setting as well as within. It is our intention to continue to add titles to this valuable resource.Each of our 5 Department Heads has researched and developed a series of literacy strategies for use in our building. They were asked to provide one strategy each, which would be suitable for use in all subject areas. Use of these 5 strategies will be mandatory in all subject areas and in all classrooms in our school. The Department Heads were also asked to provide the teachers in their departments with an additional 3 to 5 literacy strategies, which would be suitable and valuable for use in their subject area. We believe that this initiative will move us in the right direction.
A Sustained Silent Reading Program here at Malcolm Munroe Memorial is solidly in place. This is a daily activity, 15 minutes in length, wherein everyone in the building, from the janitor to the principal, is reading for enjoyment. Students may make use of books, magazines and newspapers which are available in each classroom, or they may bring something from home. Our staff has taken ownership of the initiative and we are witnessing very positive results.
We are continuing to provide our staff with the information and resources, which they require in supporting and promoting literacy. We are also constantly seeking and purchasing resources for our staff on this topic and placing them in our Teacher Resource area. We now have and use the Writer's Companion software for our school and continue to look for suitable technology in the area of student literacy. We will be having a book drive to augment our supply of books, both for the Library and for our classroom bookshelves. By increasing the volume and variety we are hopeful that we will be able to promote even greater interest.
I hope that this provides some insight into what we are attempting to accomplish in improving student literacy here at Malcolm Munroe Memorial Junior High School. We are very fortunate to have an interested and dedicated staff who are constantly willing to go the extra mile, so I certainly feel that this initiative will provide the results we are all hoping for. We are also in the process of developing a "Wish List" of literacy resources, which we will be submitting in the form of a funding request. It is our belief that these materials will greatly enhance our ability to do justice to this critical endeavour. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
