Students develop their language skills and abilities as they explore varied and meaningful topics, materials, and resources. Central to the Lower School Literacy philosophy is the belief that children must be immersed in a language-rich environment. Our program offers a variety of opportunities to explore many forms of literature and writing over the course of a year. Students develop listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing skills; and growth and development in one strand supports and extends growth and development in the others. We believe that students develop language skills, attitudes, and understandings at individual rates and that they continue to refine and extend these throughout their elementary years.
Balanced literacy units have been developed according to the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and we follow a Workshop approach to teaching reading and writing. This model allows students to read and write in real contexts, and gives them the opportunity to develop their volume and stamina when reading and writing.
Through a balanced reading program; enriched with a variety of quality texts, students develop as thoughtful, fluent, engaged and independent readers. Teachers foster a love of reading in their students, guiding them to find “just right” books that support their literacy growth and development.
Students also learn to be both skilled and creative writers, following a process that allows them to see themselves as writers and encourages development of both writing confidence and craft. Throughout their Lower School experience, students practice various styles of narrative, information and opinion writing and have the opportunity to publish and celebrate their writing.
Integral to our reading and writing practice is the explicit teaching of grammar, spelling, phonics, and word study. Handwriting, with a focus on correct letter formation, is taught up through Grade 2. From Kindergarten to Grade 2, teachers follow the Fountas & Pinnell Phonics and Word Study programme and from Grades 3–5 we use Words Their Way to teach spelling and word study.
Literacy and the Science and Social Studies units within the homeroom are integrated, as appropriate, in a natural and meaningful way. Students are further supported in their development as readers and writers through the opportunity to visit and use the library regularly.