August 1, 2011
Dear Parents,
The Oak Hills Local School District has selected a new English Language Arts Program for middle school students called Expert 21. Expert 21 is a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum that prepares students for the literacy demands of the 21st century through a combination of explicit instruction, inquiry based learning, relevant literature and informational texts, real world writing and projects as well as supportive technology.
More information about Expert 21 can be found by visiting this link .
Once enrolled in Expert 21, your student will begin by taking the Scholastic Reading Inventory, or SRI assessment. This quick test will determine a lexile score. Your student will know his/her Lexile score following the completion of this brief assessment. A lexile is “a valuable piece of information about either an individual’s reading ability or the difficulty of a text, such as a book or magazine article” (www.lexile.com). Parents, teachers, and students can use lexiles to make informed decisions about in-classroom and at-home reading. An appropriate range for successful independent reading is 100 points below and 50 points above the Lexile score.
At Lexile, a parent or student can quickly determine the lexile of various books as well as obtain a list of books appropriate for your student based on his/her interests and lexile level. Please use the suggestions attached to this letter to access Lexile and learn more about the Lexile Framework and ways to support reading in your home.
In addition to the SRI Assessment, each student will also have access to Expert Space. Expert Space is an online learning environment that features reading scaffolds to make texts accessible to all students, plus leveled articles, web links, and additional support to help students extend learning and make cross-curricular connections. Students have 24/7 access to Expert Space to support their reading, research, and writing at school or at home.
Your child will be given a login and password to access Expert Space; if you have home internet access you are encouraged to talk to your student about the online area. Ask them to:
- Show you how to access and login to Expert Space
- Share with you the online tutorials
- Search the environment for articles on a topic of interest to you both
- Explore the 21Spaces to preview what your child will be reading this year
Expert Space can be accessed with your student’s login and password at Expert 21 . You will need to enter your school zip code to access Expert Space from this site.
The Oak Hills’ staff is excited to implement this engaging English Language Arts Program with our middle school students. If you have any questions regarding Expert 21, please contact your student’s language arts teacher.
Thank you for your support and interest in your student’s literacy development!
Sincerely,
Jeff Langdon
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Geoff Harold
Assistant Principal
Judy Weberding
Instructional Coach
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