Supporting Learners in Grades 6-12
The Wyoming Comprehensive Language and Literacy Plan (WCLLP) recognizes the pressing need to address the evolving literacy challenges students face as they transition into and through secondary education. This grade span is a pivotal stage in academic development, requiring a framework that ensures continuity through evidence-aligned instruction and targeted interventions. With over a third of fourth-grade students and a quarter of eighth-grade students reading below basic proficiency levels, the urgency to close these gaps is clear. As students progress into middle and high school, the increasing complexity of academic demands highlights the importance of fostering advanced reading, writing, and comprehension skills to ensure immediate academic success and positive long-term outcomes (Roberts et al., 2008; Kamil et al., 2008).
The WCLLP emphasizes evidence-based practices as a cornerstone for addressing adolescent literacy, recognizing it as a critical component of academic success. Aligned with IES What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) recommendations, the WCLLP integrates a multi-faceted approach. Drawing from Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4–9, this includes building decoding skills for reading multisyllabic words, providing purposeful fluency-building activities, employing comprehension-building practices, and introducing stretch texts to expose students to complex ideas (WWC, 2022). Additionally, informed by Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School, the plan emphasizes teaching academic vocabulary intensively, integrating oral and written language instruction, and providing structured opportunities for developing written language skills (WWC, 2014). Furthermore, incorporating guidance from Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers, the plan highlights the importance of explicitly teaching writing strategies, integrating writing and reading tasks, and regularly assessing student writing to provide targeted feedback and monitor progress (WWC, 2012). These strategies ensure systematic instruction, differentiated support, and access to high-quality instructional materials, fostering literacy achievement and lifelong learning for students in grades 4–9. By fostering collaborative efforts across disciplines, educators can equip students with the skills to navigate challenging academic texts, articulate their ideas effectively, and build confidence as independent learners.
This framework is grounded in the Wyoming Literacy Framework, which emphasizes evidence-based structured literacy practices, reading brain research, and using evidence-based, high-quality instructional materials and strategies. Building on this foundation, the WCLLP is firmly rooted in language development, integrates the five pillars of literacy noted in the National Reading Panel (2000), and emphasizes writing through evidence-based recommendations, curricular resources, and instructional practices. Additionally, it incorporates the implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework and provides job-embedded professional development for literacy system leaders and educators. These combined efforts ensure that students transition successfully through middle school into high school and graduate equipped with the literacy skills, knowledge, and habits necessary to thrive in various post-secondary opportunities.
