Our Lady of Victory Catholic School
Language Arts
Strong critical analysis skills, along with verbal and written communication skills, are important for long-term success. Consequently, OLVCS teachers and administration provide OLVCS students with a wide range of opportunities to develop and improve upon their skills in language arts. OLVCS teachers use a combination of direct instruction and guided reading approaches to help each OLVCS student to mature in his/her reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking abilities. The OLVCS Language Arts curriculum meets the standards set by the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown Office of Education, which models its learning outcomes after the standards set by the PA Department of Education.
At the elementary level, OLVCS utilizes the comprehensive Reading Street (Pearson) Reading and Language Arts Series. The strengths of this curriculum include focus on improving grade-level readability, a balance of fiction and informational texts which build content-area knowledge, attention to creative and informative writing, and standardized performance assessments. This curriculum is supplemented with engaging online resources.
The OLVCS Middle School Language Arts program uses IXL and the Wordly Wise series to enhance vocabulary and grammar skill development. In addition, OLVCS Middle School students read and evaluate classic and contemporary literature as a means to deepen their understanding and appreciation of literary concepts. Students also gain experience reading, analyzing, and discussing nonfiction texts. Throughout the course of the year, OLVCS students maintain a literature log, as well as compose and submit poems, essays, and short stories for both peer review and assessment by their teacher. Students also write research papers and complete Language Arts-based projects.
