English

Kindergarten 
Big Ideas: A multisensory approach is used to accommodate different learning styles, and children engage in reading, writing, speaking and listening activities daily. Working in small group learning stations, students engage in phonetic activities that target specific letters and sounds, learning to blend sounds to develop reading and comprehension skills. Students practice holding pencils with a tripod grasp and learn appropriate upper and lowercase letter formations. Incorporating Reading Power strategies of connecting and visualizing, they develop a deeper understanding of literature and respond to stories in meaningful ways. Technology is used to reinforce teaching strategies and lessons. Highlights include letter-sound correspondence, letter formations, rhyming, predictions, digraphs (sh, ch, th), sentence structure, and story elements.Grade 1
Big Ideas: With increasing confidence, students develop their ability to read, write, comprehend and express ideas. Our multisensory spelling program is based on learning patterns and grammar rules. Highlights include journal writing, guided reading, use of technology to practice reading, comprehension and writing, author and fairytale studies, and learning to write stories and identify story elements.

Grade 2
Big Ideas: Students' critical thinking, creativity and confidence are nurtured through continual opportunities for speaking, reading, writing and presenting using various media and learning tools. Students read fiction and nonfiction texts, demonstrate comprehension through written and verbal discussions, and create meaningful content. Highlights include story writing, guided reading and book clubs, spelling and grammar study, and a novel study. 

Grade 3 
Big Ideas: Using Reading Power strategies, students further develop literacy comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students write paragraphs, using a structured format to convey information and apply spelling, grammar and syntax rules. In exploring the writing process, they learn to express better clarity, detail and creativity in their writing. Highlights include paragraph writing, book club, literature circles, cursive writing, spelling and grammar, and oral presentations.