Introducing the OVSD Writing Continuum

The OVSD Writing Continuum (TK through Grade 8):

In the Ocean View School District, we wish to partner with families in the education of all children. To this end, we have introduced the OVSD Writing Continuum and I would like to share it with the entire community here. As part of the 2017-2018 school year, the Ocean View School District officially launched its Writing Continuum across all of its elementary and middle schools, from Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through Grade 8. We believe that just as phonics, decoding and fluency are essential to reading comprehension, so are printing, cursive writing and typing to students’ written abilities to effectively communicate thoughts, ideas and concepts. Students are better able to focus their attention on successfully composing written materials in all subject areas and across all grade levels when they possess the confidence to read and write fluently.

In line with California State Standards, our Writing Continuum provides direct instruction for students in grades TK-2 in printing and grade 3 in cursive writing. Explicit instruction in cursive begins in grade 3 and is reinforced in grades 4-8. In both printing and cursive, students learn proper grip, posture, paper placement, and correct letter formation.

With the increased use of electronic personal devices, typing has become a critical skill in the 21st Century; therefore in Ocean View, our earliest learners are introduced to the keyboard and then progress into learning proper hand and finger placement, developing home row typing skills, and then practicing increased speed and accuracy. The benefit of our instruction is that each typing program is accessible from any device connected to the Internet. With this feature, students are able to continue practicing and developing skills at home, while we are able to provide students, parents and teachers with personalized reports on student progress.