Literacy

The Lower School literacy program believes the “how” of teaching is as important as the “what,” and central to the “how” is the idea of community.

 

In our classrooms, teachers build communities based on high expectations, trusting relationships and the willingness to honor and celebrate the needs of a full range of learners.

 

Grounded in the work of Teacher’s College at Columbia University, our literacy program is organized around a reading and writing workshop structure. We believe that foundational skills and understandings taught inside of the workshop are essential for a Lower School literacy program.

 

In the workshop, students work alongside their teachers and each other developing and sharing ideas, asking questions, listening and learning that reading and writing are meaning-making activities in which we can all participate.

 

In addition to the whole class workshop, teachers work with small groups throughout the day. Purposeful assessment means teachers can provide instruction targeted to more specific needs in phonemic awareness and phonics, vocabulary, conventions and comprehension and expression of ideas.

 

As students move through the Lower School and experience high-quality, differentiated instruction, a range of texts and diversity of ideas, they develop an appreciation for and love of the printed word, as well as confidence in themselves and the willingness to embrace new and challenging work.