Mitchell Elementary School

Staff Directory

Literature and Writing

Writing is Thinking...on paper!

Mitchell School is proud to be a Literature and Writing Magnet Cluster School. We have a dedication to embedding literacy into all of our studies across the curriculum. This program, through the Office of Academic Enhancement, provides our bobcats with many additional experiences that enhance their education, from PreK all the way through eighth grade.

Some of the programs we have participated include Writer's Theater, Child's Play, Adventure Stage, Reading Fair, Battle of the Books, Essay and Speech Competitions (Area 4), and Young Authors. We have proudly placed and fared well at most of these events. Last year, we even had students selected to present at special events (see description and photo album on Ms. Strom's MCLT page). This year, in addition to these wonderful programs, we are working with Writer's Theater in Ms. William's 5th grade class to develop a Novel Series Study Plan to enhance their novel literature circles. This new program incorporates a "community partner" corner that adds a whole new dimension to their studies, a critical component that was previously missing. Also, it is a terrific way to involve the community to form lasting partnerships with the school.

As previously mentioned, teachers and staff are extremely dedicated to promoting literacy and writing at every opportunity for our students. We are still developing our school's Writing Philosophy, but currently it reads:

We believe writing enables our students to communicate and develop deepened understandings of themselves, others, and society. Writing serves to reveal our students' grasp of concepts learned throughout our rigorous teaching and learning within all content areas. Writing is celebrated within our school community and beyond. To this end, our writing curriculum:

Provides students with experiences to interact with language as they develop the mechanics and grammar necessary for competent writing
Embeds the necessary skills within a framework of genre and trait studies that enables students to critically evaluate writing
Facilitates multiple opportunities to write, for a variety of purposes, and utilizes available multimedia to publish authentic pieces
Fosters creativity and inspires students to find their voice to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions through an on-going process.

We will continue to update you on all the exciting things that are happening within the Literature and Writing Program here at Mitchell School!