Language Arts

In Primary Units A, B, and C, our goal is for each student to become proficient in the receptive modes of reading and listening and the expressive modes of writing and speaking.  Our language arts program is informed by the work of Lucy Calkins, Ellin Keene, Debbie Miller, Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell, and Patricia Cunningham, as well as by current research in the field of literacy and brain development.

Our goal is to help first and second graders adopt the "social mores" of a reader/writer, reading and writing habitually.  We provide many opportunities throughout the day for children to read and write. We offer a balance of meaning-based opportunities and teacher-directed lessons in which specific decoding and comprehension strategies are taught in context. Comprehension and appreciation of all types of literature and reading material are the main goals of the language arts curriculum.

We endeavor to foster a love of literature and reading. Beyond their own personal fulfillment, our students read to build understanding of texts, of themselves, of world cultures, and of the many dimensions of human experience.  Through reading, they acquire new information and wrestle with a variety of points of view, thereby becoming better informed citizens.

Writing is a significant part of our curriculum. It is taught through a process approach in a workshop setting where students brainstorm, draft, conference, edit, revise, publish, and share. It provides a creative outlet to students and is a means of synthesizing newly acquired information.  Writing integrates academic disciplines and occurs across the curriculum.

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