The heart of literacy learning at ISP involves children developing skills through social interactions, enjoyment, understanding and expression. Children to listen, speak, read, write, spell, build vocabulary, use language daily and in varied contexts.
The Language Arts program at ISP aims for learners to:
- Engage thoughtfully with a wide variety of literary and informational media;
- Use language in authentic contexts for a variety of purposes and audiences;
- Use a variety of literacy skills and strategies to make meaning, ask questions, and express ideas; and
- Use literacy in different contexts to make connections, enlarge experience, and broaden worldview.
ISP English Language Arts Standards reflect the key skills and understandings to:
- Make meaning while listening, reading, and viewing; and
- Communicate through speaking, writing, and representing.
ECF 3/4 Literacy: Throughout the day ECF 3/4, children have opportunities to listen during social activities, music, stories and play. One-to-one conversations and group discussions with children during Circle Time bring in new vocabulary and encourage children to extend their phrases and sentences. Children develop an enthusiasm for reading and books by hearing stories and rhymes on a daily basis, by retelling familiar stories and by browsing through books together. To help children experience and understand the purpose of writing, there are many opportunities for them to experiment with their own drawing, mark-making and written communication.
ECF 5 Literacy: In ECF 5 children are learning how to read and express their own ideas in writing. There are structured times during which children practice and discuss their reading and writing with partners, in small groups or with the whole class.
The following are key components of our balanced literacy program:
- Writing Routines & Goals
- Personal Narrative
- How-to and Story Writing
- Informational Writing
- Concepts of Print
- Effective Reading Behaviours and Strategies
- Blending, Sight words and Consonant-Vowel-Consonant words
- Self-to-Text and Text-to-Text Connections
Word Study involves learning about words, their structures, and their meanings and is a regular component of a balanced literacy program. Word study incorporates vocabulary instruction, phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding.
Speaking & Listening: Students are involved in a dynamic and interactive model of speaking and listening to develop skills that allow them to listen actively in a variety of contexts and speak effectively using the different forms of spoken language.