Reading, writing and language development remain central to our work across Highline.
Students who read with confidence can learn new ideas faster, participate more fully in class, and express themselves with greater ease. This year’s work across Highline centers on helping every student in every grade build strong reading, writing and language skills.
Here’s an update on how schools are helping students become stronger readers, writers and communicators this year.
Elementary Literacy: Building Strong Foundations
Elementary educators are focusing on the skills students need to read with confidence and understand what they read. Students practice sounding out words, reading smoothly and making meaning from text. Educators use clear routines so students can build accuracy and fluency over time.
Students talk about their learning, set goals, work with small groups, and are learning to check their own progress and drive their own learning. These habits encourage students to stay motivated and grow as readers.
Students also engage in daily writing. They do this in journals, during science lessons, literacy blocks and more. Students learn what good writing looks like and use strategies to express their thinking.
Secondary Literacy: Strong Reading in All Classes
Middle and high school teachers are supporting students to build reading skills that support success in every subject.
Teachers focus on three priorities:
Engaged Reading
Students read with purpose. They annotate text, look for clues that help them understand meaning, and use reading to think like scientists, historians, artists and mathematicians. These routines teach students how to approach complex material with confidence.
Explicit Vocabulary Instruction
Teachers teach and reinforce the key words students need to understand each subject. Visual tools, such as vocabulary charts and walls with posted terms, help students remember and use new terms in meaningful ways.
Accountable Talk for Reading
Students talk through ideas every day. They explain what the text says, use evidence to support their thinking and build on classmates’ ideas. Sentence frames and structured conversations help students participate, even when the topic is challenging.
Students also use a digital tool called Formative so teachers can see how they’re doing in real time and adjust lessons to meet their needs.
Supporting Multilingual Learners
Elementary schools are strengthening language development for students who are learning English.
Teachers are using visual tools, such as picture cards and charts, to build vocabulary and support understanding. These strategies help students make sense of new ideas and practice using academic language.
This work continues throughout the year, with teachers adding more lessons tied to language goals from state standards.
Staff Learning: Growing Expertise
On December 5, elementary educators took part in districtwide training to build their skills in reading, writing and language development. Secondary job-alike professional development focused on developing accountable talk routines to strengthen students' engagement and thinking in reading. Sessions included topics such as:
- Helping students write about what they read
- Supporting reading in math class
- Building reading fluency
- Making read-alouds more engaging for multilingual learners
- Using digital tools to support literacy
This shared learning helps ensure that students experience strong literacy instruction in every classroom.