Studio Course for Grades 6–10

The Studio Course is:

A comprehensive literacy course that targets student apathy and compliance;
A carefully sequenced and scaffolded genre-driven curriculum shaped by a “thinking about” and “doing things with” notion of language studies; and
A course of study tied to a larger social vision that sees each student as a current and future participant in a variety of communities that require both celebration and critique.

The Studio Course features a double-block period for literacy instruction divided into two parts: Writing Studio and Reading Studio; a classroom library composed of 1000–1200 texts, including books, graphic novels, magazines, writing resource texts, and picture books; and classroom materials, including chart paper and writer’s notebooks.

The course of study in Reading and Writing Studio Course follows investigations and units of study. Units are sites of integration, the places where the learning of the Reading and Writing Studios during the investigations merge to meet the demands of a particular unit. Time in the Studio Course is broken down into a focus lesson, a work period, and a closing meeting. Teaching and learning in the Studio Course consists of rituals and routines, essential tools, direct instruction, guided and independent practice, talk, self-assessment and reflection, and emphasis on formative assessment.

The goals of the Studio Course include meeting state and national grade-level standards; reading, writing, and speaking for a variety of purposes; being curious and self-directed; working hard at reading and writing; using reading, writing, and speaking to describe, understand, and solve problems; being apprentices to experts; and being active members of a learning community.

Secondary Studio Course Literacy Block Schedule
English (PDF)
Español (PDF)