Language Arts

September 13, 2023

Throughout the lower grades, students build literacy skills that will grant them access to the world around them. A combination of multi-sensory teaching, games, targeted instruction, and independent practice ensures the mastery of skills while simultaneously helping students fall in love with reading and writing. Teachers pair whole-group instruction with small-group and one-on-one instruction to ensure each child receives the foundational instruction they need for success. Our students become autonomous readers and writers as they use their own interests and background knowledge to apply what they are learning at school. Lower School teachers use the Open Court curriculum for foundational skills. This program is based on the Science of Reading and provides research-driven, research-validated instruction that is engaging and developmentally sound. Our literacy instruction is solidly rooted in phonics and helps students make sense of the many ways the English language works. Targeted phonological awareness instruction helps students become strong decoders and great spellers, boosting their confidence as they tackle new reading and writing challenges. Lower School teachers believe in the power of stories, ensuring students are reading and are read to every day across the curriculum. Students learn to discuss what they are reading and writing through daily structured conversations. These discussions deepen comprehension and understanding while helping students access and respect different viewpoints and opinions. Students engage in peer editing and regularly collaborate, deepening their connections and appreciation for diverse ways of thinking.