LANGUAGE ARTS
Overview The First Program’s Language Arts curriculum helps students develop the necessary skills for effectively communicating their ideas, opinions, and experiences in oral and written form and for appreciating the oral and written expression of others. The development of literacy is a primary goal. Dalton’s Language Arts program ensures that children will use language to gain information and develop critical thinking and comprehension skills. The curriculum supports all other content areas and includes instruction in speaking and listening, reading and writing, spelling, and handwriting. Through ongoing observation and assessment, appropriate instructional strategies are developed that match and support students’ learning styles. Children are taught to develop techniques using both phonemic awareness and syntactic cues. The program’s aim is to maximize each child’s potential. Students give expression to their ideas,
thoughts, and feelings through different formats: handmade books that contain detailed stories and poems, social studies and science research reports, written representations of mathematical concepts, and technology-based projects.
Common Goals for Grades K-3 Speaking and Listening Developing students’ understanding of the spoken word and expanding their oral vocabularies are fundamental goals of our language arts program. Children learn to express themselves effectively in a variety of speaking and listening situations, with particular attention given to matching style to audience and purpose. Listening and inquiry-based learning sensitize children to a variety of points of view.
TheDaltonSchool – First Program Curriculum Guide – Page 6