💭 Literacy Philosophy

Our literacy vision at Prisma is to inspire every learner to become a curious, confident, and capable reader and writer who can communicate creatively across genres and mediums. We believe that these skills are essential for our learners to fully explore and engage in the world around them as they pursue their interests in life. Because of these beliefs, literacy – or our focus on reading and writing – appears throughout our Prisma curriculum.

Prisma’s Values in Relation to Literacy

• Learning should be “hard fun”: We dig into challenging texts and writing projects that are interest-driven and engaging.
• Learning should have a purpose in the real world: We read and write in real-world contexts and use these skills to communicate with other people.
• Learning is not one size fits all: Each learner has individualized goals and supports for literacy.
• Learning happens in community: We’re building storytellers and connections, not essay robots.
• Learning happens through making & doing: Becoming a better reader and writer means practicing those skills all the time; literacy is ingrained in all parts of our curriculum.
• The deepest learning is driven by intrinsic motivation, not external rewards: Learners will always have choices when it comes to what they write.

🚀 How We Do It

• Literacy Journal: This year, we are excited to have a redesigned Literacy Journal for every cycle that will place more focus on reading and writing skills throughout the year. This is a place for learners to practice these skills daily in a low-stakes environment.
• Literacy Lab: Learners have the opportunity to dive deeper into their literacy skills in a community context.
• Badges: Learners earn badges each cycle to demonstrate mastery of grade-level literacy competencies. Some examples will include Foundations, Craft & Structure, Analysis, and Implications.
• Integrated Curriculum: Learners have opportunities to practice their literacy skills in other parts of their curriculum as well! You will see these skills in their projects and co-lab workshops.
• Curated Book Lists: Independent reading reinforces literacy skills (and a love of reading and writing) more than anything else. To support this, we curate a list of theme-related books each cycle at various reading levels to give learners engaging options to pursue.
• Personalized Coach Feedback: Coaches dedicate time in journal comments and 1-1s with learners to push them to grow in their literacy skills. Each learner will develop individualized goals in literacy and their coach will challenge them and give them feedback along the way.
• Supplemental Practice: Assigned on an as-needed basis for extra practice for individual learners.

📖 Supporting your Prismarian

• By far the best way to support your Prismarian to grow their literacy skills is to encourage them to read! We curate a book list (under curriculum materials here) to connect to each cycle, but anything that interests your learner is also great. The more widely they read, the more exposure they will have to the craft and structure of writing.
• While we choose to prioritize the joy of literacy through a curriculum where grammar is embedded into rich reading contexts with inspiring prompts for writing, we know that some families may want to supplement this curriculum with stand-alone practice. If you are looking for a grammar-focused tool, we recommend Quill or No Red Ink.