Language Arts

We place a strong emphasis on Language Arts and deliver a balanced literacy program at every grade level. 

In the early grades, students are taught phonics and decoding skills while learning to read, write and speak in an integrated curriculum. Multisensory techniques are employed to teach decoding and comprehension and students are encouraged to read for meaning. The faculty chooses material that reflects both the students’ reading levels and early childhood issues. Kindergarten-third grade classes also use Guided Reading (leveled readers) as well as phonemic awareness and whole language strategies.  Literature discussions, dramatic presentations and composition reading promote the development of public speaking skills.

Kindergarten - sixth grade classes follow the Lucy Calkins’ Writing Workshop program in which students use the writing process to put their thoughts down on paper, edit and then publish their stories. This child-centered format encourages a lifelong enjoyment of reading and writing, as well as gives students daily opportunities to share their original written work. Grammar and spelling are taught in a logical and relevant manner using the Great Source materials which complement the writing workshop program.

Preschool

• Language development
• Vocabulary building
• Phonemic awareness
• Literature (Books)
• Nursery Rhymes
• Folk Tales
• Poems
• Alphabet Sounds
• Library

Prekindergarten

• Letter recognition
• Printing the letters (capital and lower case)
• Sequencing the alphabet
• Sequencing parts of a story
• Beginning sound recognition
• Sight word recognition
• Learning new vocabulary words
• Comprehension skills/recall
• Comparing/contrasting stories

Kindergarten

• Letter/sound correspondence
• Phonemic awareness and whole language studies
• Listening skills, through read-aloud activities
• Sequential ordering of stories and ideas
• Recognizing and using print in classroom environment
• Guided Reading and flexible grouping
• Balanced literacy strategies
• Introduction to the writing process using Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop
• Regular publishing of student writing
• Formation of upper and lower case letters
• Development of oral language skills

Grade 1 

• Phonemic awareness, decoding
• Guided Reading strategies and flexible grouping
• Phonics: consonants, short vowels, long vowels, blends
• Sight words, spelling patterns, word families
• Read-alouds and sustained silent reading
• Balanced literacy strategies
• Literary concepts: author and genre
• Practicing the writing process using Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop
• Regular publishing of student writing
• Print letter formation - upper and lower case
• Writing conventions of sentences
• Spelling patterns and frequently used words

Grade 2

• Phonemic awareness, decoding, and guided reading strategies
• Comprehension and whole language vocabulary development
• Guided Reading and flexible grouping
• Balanced literacy strategies
• Sight words, spelling patterns, word families
• Read-alouds and sustained silent reading
• The writing process, emphasis on prewriting/writer’s notebook using Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop
• Cursive letter formation
• The sentence: structure, avoiding run-ons; punctuation, simple subject-verb agreement
• Nouns and verbs
• Spelling patterns and frequently used words

Grade 3 

• Literary concepts: author, illustrator, genre, purpose
• Improving fluency, listening and speaking skills, and vocabulary
• Guided Reading strategies and sustained silent reading; leveled readers
• Balanced literacy strategies and flexible grouping
• Critical thinking and comprehension skills
• Reading informational and narrative text
• Literary concepts: plot, character, theme
• Continuing using Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop
• Nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives
• Oral presentation skills
• Spelling and vocabulary development

Grade 4

• Reading and responding to a variety of literary works
• Reading informational text
• Developing vocabulary, fluency and speaking skills
• Summarizing and retelling information
• Read-alouds and sustained silent reading
• Organizing and structuring fiction and nonfiction using Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop
• Multiparagraph expository essays
• Research short reports and articles using notecards
• Nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions
• Mechanics and usage
• Spelling and vocabulary development
• Reading list: My Side of the Mountain, Because of Winn Dixie, The Last Safe House, A Year Down Yonder, Walk Two Moons, Love that Dog, Orphan of Ellis Island, Paint the Wind, Sign of the Beaver, Shiloh, Dear Levi, Letters from the Overland Trail, Red Dog

Grade 5

• Literary concepts: conflict and resolution
• Improving fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
• Understanding informational text
• Reading and responding to a variety of literary works and genres
• Giving effective oral presentations
• Read-alouds and sustained silent reading
• Literary concepts: simile, metaphor, personification
• Using appropriate and effective research and organizational strategies in writing
• Peer review strategies
• Researched reports of information
• The eight parts of speech
• Mechanics and usage
• Spelling and vocabulary development
• Reading List: Maniac McGee, Number the Stars, Fever 1793, Nothing but the Truth, Joey Pigza Loses Control, Bridge to Terabithia

Grade 6

• Developing critical thinking skills through written and oral literary analysis
• Reading and analyzing a variety of literary workings, including myths and legends
• Connecting literature and history
• Understanding the structure and organization of different rhetorical strategies
• Strategies for specialized vocabulary development
• Literary devices: symbolism, imagery, metaphor
• Writing a variety of narrative and expository pieces
• Conventions and usage of standard English
• Using the rules of grammar to improve writing
• Using a variety of organizational structures in writing, according to purpose
• Development of a thesis using multiple authoritative sources
• Reading List: The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Stargirl ,The Lightning Thief, The Cay, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Breadwinner, Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices of a Medieval Village

Grade 7

• Reading and responding to historically significant works of literature, contemporary adolescent literature and poetry
• The forms of prose
• Understanding the structure and organization of narration, exposition, and description
• Idioms and analogies
• Literary devices: metaphor, similes, and recurring themes
• Writing a variety of narrative, expository, and descriptive pieces
• Conventions and usage of standard English
• Using the rules of grammar to improve writing
• Tools for researched writing
• Reading List: The Thief Lord, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Outsiders, The Light in the Forest, The Diary of Anne Frank, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Red Moon at Sharpsburg

Grade 8

• Developing reading comprehension and critical thinking through the study of literature including drama, novels, biographies, essays, short stories, and poetry
• Evaluation of literature read outside the classroom
• Developing competency in writing essays, including literary analysis, personal and creative
• Sentence structure, including phrases and clauses; advanced punctuation and grammar usage
• Cumulative vocabulary development through weekly quizzes
• Listening and speaking: practice and improvement of oral presentation through formal persuasive speeches and informal extemporaneous speeches; formal student evaluations of peer presentations
• Reading List: The House of the Scorpion, To Kill a Mockingbird, Witness, The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Animal Farm, The Giver