We will use the text (Reading Street — Pearson) as the basis for our reading program. Students will come across new vocabulary and work towards using the words orally and in written sentences. We will review and discuss the story and focus on comprehension skills. Language arts concepts are incorporated into the text and include figurative language, prefixes, suffixes, inference, story mapping, and dictionary skills. Students will learn to keep their work organized in their binder, copybooks, folders, and notebooks. These will be checked on a regular basis.
Book reports will be part of the curriculum, and students should always have a book to read for pleasure, at school, and at home. There will be a variety of reports required during the year and will reflect different forms of literature as well as the current curriculum.
Writing focuses on sentence structure, grammar, word usage, and mechanics. Each morning students will complete a daily oral language review that reinforces sentence structure and reading comprehension. As we write, students will sharpen their writing skills by pre-writing, editing, and producing a final draft. Step Up to Writing is also used to organize and strengthen writing skills. Speaking and listening are part of the language experience as students share their written work with various audiences.
For language arts/spelling, we utilize a comprehensive curriculum that contains phonics, vocabulary, word usage, literature, and writing. It is an integrated communication approach. Students will learn to enhance their overall language skills.
Language arts is taught in two parts each day and is also integrated throughout the curriculum in religion, social studies, science, and math.
