Throughout the elementary curriculum, language beliefs and practices are guided by a shared philosophy. AIS/D believes that a balanced literacy program provides the best opportunity for students to learn effective language skills. A classroom demonstrating a balanced approach to literacy values the following approach:
• Skill and strategy instruction embedded in the context of meaningful text
• The use of authentic literature- both text and illustration
• Phonemic awareness instruction
• Strategy instruction in monitoring reading instruction
• Ongoing assessment and evaluation to monitor student progress
Shared teaching strategies are used across grade levels and in developmentally appropriate contexts; reading aloud, shared reading, guided reading, writing workshop, shared writing, independent reading and writing, listening and speaking activities and viewing and presentation activities all support children’s language development. The Elementary School has a range of reading resources to meet the diverse needs of students.
We believe that spelling is best taught within the context of reading and writing. It should be taught functionally through experiences with writing that are authentic and meaningful, and it should also be taught systematically through word lists of useful, patterned and developmentally appropriate words derived from familiar text. Our goal is to promote neat and legible Handwriting and while we teach the D’Nealian approach, we accept previously learned styles.