Language Arts

 

The Language Arts program treats reading and writing as processes, with an emphasis on the student's own ideas and interests. At the same time, we pay attention to the development of basic skills in comprehension and mechanics. In addition to a student's choice of reading material, the curriculum includes a wide variety of short stories, novels, essays, plays, myths, poems and biographies. These works introduce students to a range of literary traditions from around the world.

Students are assigned many writing projects, both in response to, and also independent of, the readings. Short stories, poetry and essays are typical homework assignments. Students learn grammar, spelling and style in large part by editing their own work in pairs and with the help of their teacher.

Discussions and workshops are valuable parts of these processes, and students are always encouraged to seek out their own ideas and to find better ways to express them.