The Literacy Studio Model
All reading and writing instruction is delivered using a Literacy Studio model. Based on individual needs, students receive direct instruction on the use of specific skills and strategies. They are then offered a range of authentic learning experiences aimed at helping them acquire and become proficient with skills and strategies. Understanding that motivation is tied to performance, students self-select texts for use during practice sessions (with guidance), choose when to read and write during a class period, and help to determine some of the goals that they will work to meet. 
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Discussion: Small and Large-Group
Literacy is a social practice. People read and write in order to communicate with one another. Discussion, whether in whole-group settings, in small groups, or in 

Wide Reading
It is important that students learn to read and understand a broad range of text structures, text features, and genres. By reading widely in a range of genres and for many different reasons, students learn to engage with texts in different ways. 

Connected Writing
Reading and writing share a reciprocal relationship. Reading informs the way we write and writing helps us to understand what we read. In the Literacy Studio model, students learn to read and write at the same time, allowing each one to inform the other. 

Word Study
We use the Words Their Way program as a guide for word study. Rather than learning to spell individual words, students learn spelling patterns and their applications. Some emphasis is also placed on the meanings of words and word parts (morphemes). To help your child with spelling at home, try the following cues (we use them all of the time in class):