English Language Arts Education

We Believe

• Excellent literacy instruction provides opportunities for all students to learn, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or any other part of their identity;
• A clear, required sequence of foundational skills is important and necessary to developing proficient readers who have the capacity to comprehend a variety of texts across disciplines;
• Every Nebraska student deserves access to high-quality, culturally responsive instructional materials that are aligned to state standards and instructional shifts;
• Deep engagement with rich, worthwhile texts and tasks builds students’ knowledge of the world;
• Providing frequent and meaningful opportunities to write about text is an effective practice that helps students develop the ability to think critically about the content and ideas presented in all disciplines;
• Content-area and disciplinary literacy are essential components of college, career, and civic readiness; and systematic vocabulary instruction in all content areas, across all grade levels, plays a critical role in successful reading comprehension.

Foundational Literacy

The Nebraska State Board of Education supports and encourages systemic efforts to improve foundational literacy, working to ensure that all students become successful readers and writers. The Nebraska State Board of Education believes that all schools should establish policies that promote high-quality early literacy instruction that is grounded in evidence-based practices and that highlights the importance of grade- level reading. Foundational literacy instruction is essential to ensure all children become successful readers and writers. All students, including students with disabilities, English learners, and high-ability learners should have access to high-quality instructional materials and instruction.