English Language Arts Background

The Winnetka Language Arts curriculum is aligned to the Illinois Common Core State Standards and utilizes the Understanding by Design unit model (Wiggins and McTighe). The District Literacy Instructional Framework is the foundation of the Language Arts Curriculum and provides District-wide instructional guidelines for literacy (reading, writing, and language) instruction. The Literacy Instructional Framework mirrors the strands articulated in the Common Core ELA Standards. These strands include reading, writing, oral language (listening and speaking), as well as foundational skills and language knowledge.