Reading
Teachers use a variety of research-based best practices to actively engage students in the reading process. They also use thematic units of study, teacher read-aloud, featured authors, Readers Theater, summer reading awards, Accelerated Reader Program, and Sunshine State books to motivate students to want to read.
Teachers in kindergarten through fifth grade instruct whole group lessons using the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys series. This is a comprehensive reading basal series that includes spelling patterns, phonics, vocabulary strategies, comprehension, and grammar.
Kindergarten thru Second Grade
Teachers in kindergarten and first grade use a tool called Running Records to assess reading levels and chart individual and group progress throughout the year. Rigby PM Readers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys Leveled Readers, as well as other leveled books, are used for small group instruction. These books allow each child to be matched with a text that is on the proper instructional level for their reading development.
Additional small group reading instruction is also provided for struggling students through the Pinellas County Schools Title One Office. Mrs. Spoor, a parish member, has been the Title One teacher at St. Paul Catholic School for twenty-five years. She has a special room upstairs that provides a quiet environment for young children to receive additional help in reading strategies several times a week.
In addition to Mrs. Spoor, we have a part-time reading coach, Mrs. Mary Lou Wells. Mrs. Wells is a former principal and has many years of experience working with children. Her primary focus as a reading coach is to work with small groups of children, 3-4 times per week, reinforcing fundamental reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, sight words, rhyming, spelling patterns, and writing skills.
Third thru Fifth Grade
Teachers in third through fifth grade assess reading levels through the use of Accelerated Reader. This program helps teachers to identify chapter books that are on the proper instructional level for each child. Teachers use chapter books to meet in small groups and develop strategies to improve reading skills, vocabulary development, and comprehension.
Sixth thru Eight Grade
St. Paul Catholic School Middle School Language Arts is taught by a teacher with 35 years of teaching experience and a Master’s degree in Reading. A Prentice Hall textbook is used in sixth grade to enrich reading and literature skills. Glencoe textbooks are used in seventh and eighth grade classes. Middle school students have two language arts classes per day. One class focuses on reading, poetry, vocabulary development, and literature appreciation. The other class focuses on the proper use of grammar and the writing process. Students serve as strong representatives for our school each year as they participate in speech, writing, and spelling competitions.