Current research and practice point to four component concepts that, when mastered in kindergarten, insure successful reading in Grade One. Growth in one leads to growth in the others. Hence, the term Integrated Language Arts. Oral language proficiency is related to growth in reading and writing. Therefore, children need frequent opportunities for verbal expression.
Children learn from the language they hear.
Therefore, the richer the language environment, the richer the language learning. Children imitate the language they hear and read and use it as part of their own. Writing opportunities have been proven to facilitate word analysis and word recognition in young children. Children are encouraged to write words the way they sound. Major emphasis is placed upon the teaching of print awareness, knowledge of the alphabet, phonemic awareness, and sight word acquisition.