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Literacy

The Ambitious Instruction: Accelerating Learning plan brings the district back to the basics of quality learning and teaching. It unites all content areas around (1) formative practices, (2) explicit instruction, and (3) meaningful student engagement. Each grade level and content area will embrace specific instructional practices around these areas.

The following equity-oriented practices provide the framework for Ambitious Instruction: Accelerating Learning.

  • Using high-quality, standards-aligned, district-adopted instructional materials
  • Focusing on culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices that promote learning
  • Leveraging technology to empower students to create, collaborate, communicate, and think critically

MPS Reads

In support of our Ambitious Instruction Plan for reading, each month we will feature below suggested titles for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students. The goal is to

  • assist teachers, librarians, parents, and others in finding interesting books that will encourage and excite students to read more literature and informational text;
  • suggest titles that allow students to see themselves, explore other cultures, and discover more about the world in which they live;
  • increase the volume of books that students are reading independently to ignite a passion for reading.
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October 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for October 2021. Titles include Milo Imagines the World, Root Magic, My Secret Bully/Mi enemiga secreta, Wolf Mark, and Thunder Boy Jr.

September 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for September 2021. Titles include Outside, Inside; Maybe: A Story about the Endless Potential in All of Us; Home Is Not a Country; and The Ants' Secret/El secreto de las hormigas.

August 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for August 2021. Titles include Strictly No Elephants/No se permiten elefantes, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer (A Legendary Alston Boys Adventure), Los chicos sí que lloran, and The Contender.

July 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for July 2021. Titles include The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel), The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story, and Daniel's Good Day.

June 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for June 2021. Titles include Boy, Everywhere; ¡Calla, Cándida, calla!; Marcus Makes a Movie; and Grown.

May 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for May 2021. Titles include Waiting for the Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia; Who Got Game? Baseball: Amazing but True Stories!; Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon; and I Am Enough.

April 2021 Selections

April is National Poetry Month! Learn about the selections for April 2021. Titles include Señorita Mariposa, Chlorine Sky, and Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton.

March 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for March 2021. Titles include One of These is Not Like the Others, Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math, and Amal Unbound.

February 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for February 2021. Titles include The ABCs of Black History, No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, and It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime – Stories from a South African Childhood.

January 2021 Selections

Learn about the book selections for January 2021. Titles include Becoming Muhammad Ali, Miss Meteor, and Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando.

December 2020 Selections

Learn about the book selections for December 2020. Titles include Strange the Dreamer/Strange el soñador, The Musician (Lofty Mountains and Flowing Water), and I Promise.

November 2020 Selections

Learn about the book selections for November 2020. Titles include Say Her Name (Poems to Empower), My Name is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles: The Amazing True Story of One Boy's Journey from Refugee to Chess Champion, and Little Owl Lost/Un poco perdido.

Wisconsin Literacy StandardsMission

The mission of the Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Curriculum and Instruction is to develop students’ understanding and thinking through the integration of reading and writing, which will prepare all students to become critical consumers of information as well as to convey sophisticated and complex ideas. The district will achieve this by implementing the following practices:

  • Creating a culture for learning that engages all communities of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals
  • Using culturally and linguistically responsive dispositions that honor our students’ native languages to build bridges to standardized English
  • Building socially and emotionally safe environments that promote risk taking and a diversity of perspective
  • Designing and engaging students in rigorous and relevant lessons that are aligned to the curriculum
  • Implementing research-based instructional practices and instructional frameworks grounded in a high-quality, balanced assessment system that offers a tiered system of support for all students

Vision

The vision of the Milwaukee Public Schools literacy department is to educate all students to proficiency and beyond in order to prepare them for success in higher education, careers, and responsible citizenship. The ultimate goal of literacy education is to celebrate and utilize the language and literacy practices of our culturally and linguistically diverse learners as a tool to bridge, foster, and add academic literacy to students’ repertories.

 

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  What is the Ambitious Instruction Plan?

The Ambitious Instruction Plan outlines the goals, vision, essential skills, strategies, and professional development in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. All classrooms will ensure that student learning experiences are aligned with high-quality instruction that prepares all learners for proficiency.  

  Should all teachers be implementing the Ambitious Instruction Plan?

It is recommended that all teachers follow the best-practice frameworks that are outlined in the plan. The plan fits nicely with many different approaches, is flexible to accommodate a variety of teaching and learning styles, and ensures a high standard of care for every learner.  

  What does the Ambitious Instruction Plan mean for my child?

The Ambitious Instruction Plan ensures that all students are receiving high-quality instruction to support their academic growth in literacy. The plan guarantees that teachers plan for multi-layers of support based on individual student need.

  Where can I find out more information about the Ambitious Instruction Plan?

There is detailed information by grade level on the MPS website, including a copy of the plan. Additional resources can be accessed on the MPS website, in district offices (contact information is listed on this page), or by contacting your child's teacher. The school principal or classroom teacher is able to provide further information and resources if requested. 

© Milwaukee Public Schools 2021
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