Language Arts Curriculum

The Language Arts program includes skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. During the intermediate grades, the focus of the writing program shifts from an emphasis on personal narrative to an emphasis on content area writing. Children will be taught to write simple research reports and to keep reading response journals. They will also be asked to experiment with the different forms of writing that they are exploring in reading (such as poetry, science fiction, and historical fiction).

Spelling

In Spelling, children in the intermediate grades are expected to apply the spelling strategies that they have been taught with more independence. Proofreading of daily work is emphasized at this level. The formal spelling program has a different focus at each grade level.

Grade 3: Vowel patterns, closed and open two-syllable words

Grade 4: Irregular vowel patterns, silent letters, two-syllable words, prefixes and suffixes

Grade 5: Prefixes and suffixes, Latin roots, multi-syllable words.

Handwriting

In Handwriting, the goal of the intermediate program is to create a student who is fluent in cursive writing by the end of grade 5.

Grade 3: The third-grade program reviews the manuscript form and teaches children the cursive form for each letter.

Grade 4: The fourth-grade program emphasizes connecting cursive letters. Each term, more daily assignments are expected to be completed in cursive writing.

Grade 5: In fifth grade, daily use of cursive writing is expected.