Students at Sonoran Science Academy (SSA) will continue to become confident users of language as a necessary tool for communication in our ever-changing world. They will develop the reading, writing, speaking, and the listening skills needed to become successful in their future educational endeavors.
Elementary School
Students will progress through a standards based reading and writing curriculum that emphasizes balanced literacy practices. The reading curriculum will progress from basic phonics skills, such as phonemic awareness, rhyming, blending and decoding words to sounding out unfamiliar words discovering words and meaning from context, and recognition of irregularly spelled words. Fluent reading and strong comprehension skills will be emphasized.
The writing curriculum will emphasize the 6-traits of writing: voice, sentence fluency, organization, ideas, word choice, and conventions. Students will practice various forms of writing, including personal narrative, exposition, letters, newspaper articles, plays, poetry, short stories, biographies, directions, realistic and fantasy stories. The principles and applications of correct grammar will be incorporated into writing exercises. Students will learn basic keyboarding skills and program operations for word processing as a prerequisite for Middle School Computer classes.
Students will read fluently and critically, as well as examine and analyze increasingly challenging literature in a wide range of genre. They will explore literature, folklore, mythology, and poetry from a variety of historical and cultural perspectives. Vocabulary acquisition will be stressed, as well as strategies to comprehend all forms of text.
Students will learn to write and speak correctly, using conventions of standard written and spoken English. They will demonstrate the ability to use the skills and strategies of the writing process in creative writing, poetry writing, narrative writing, expository writing, and persuasive writing. Students will learn all aspects of writing a research paper, including organization and note taking strategies, proper acknowledgment of sources, and forming a bibliography. They will learn to read and write functional text (i.e. instructions, directions, manuals, maps, and keys.)
Students will be given the opportunity to prepare and develop oral presentations, participate in group discussions, and present formal readings. They will be taught to hone their listening skills as they become active listeners. Multiple assessment methods will be used to evaluate student knowledge.
Students will read fluently and critically, as well as appreciate and critique a broad range of literary works representing a wide range of genres, styles, historical periods, and cultures. They will be given the opportunity to examine noteworthy writers of the past and the present. The ninth grade will contain an overview of literature from many countries and cultures and will include poetry, memoir, drama, short stories, and novels. The tenth grade literature selections will contain readings from modern cultures around the world. Eleventh grade will undertake an in-depth study of American writers and literary trends, and the twelfth grade will concentrate on world literature throughout the ages. Electives will be offered to enhance the interests of our students. Vocabulary acquisition will be stressed at all grade levels.
Students will hone the skills of writing and speaking correctly, using conventions of standard written and spoken English. They will demonstrate the ability to use the skills and strategies of the writing process in creative writing, poetry writing, narrative writing, expository writing, and persuasive writing. They will respond to reading in a myriad of ways, both written and oral. Students will be given the opportunity to prepare and develop oral presentations, participate in group discussions, and present formal readings. They will be taught to hone their listening skills as they become active listeners.
Multiple assessment methods will be used to evaluate student knowledge.