The English program concentrates on the development of writing and speaking skills. Children are encouraged to speak and write in complete sentences, focusing on proper capitalization and punctuation. The process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing is taught. Simple poetry, plays, letters and stories are undertaken at this level. Students also are required to present speeches and reports in various circumstances.
Parents attend a special day set aside for poetry presentations.
In addition to our reading textbooks, the children also read one to two books independently each month and write a book report in their reading class. Plot, setting, character development and summarizing skills are emphasized. The phonics and spelling programs reinforce short and long vowels, decoding skills, word endings, prefixes, suffixes, consonant digraphs and careful analysis of words. A strong emphasis is placed on word and sentence dictation. Legible manuscript writing taught during the first semester precedes the introductory cursive writing program in the second semester.