Language Arts - The Year at a Glance

Many great thinkers have spoken about the importance of ideas, education, and words, and it is through language arts we enter that rich and exciting place.

Philosopher, Mortimer J. Adler (1902-2001) wrote: “We often think of ourselves as living in a world which no longer has any unexplored frontiers. We speak of pioneering as a thing of the past. But in doing so we forget that the greatest adventure of all still challenges us – what Mr. Justice Holmes called ‘the adventure of the human mind.’ [WE] may be hemmed in geographically, but every generation stands on the frontiers of the mind. In the world of ideas, there is always pioneering to be done, and it can be done by anyone who will use the equipment with which he is endowed. The great ideas belong to everyone.”

But just having ideas and thinking them are not enough. American poet, Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) concluded his book, “A Light in the Attic” with the following poem that speaks to the necessity of individual action:

This Bridge
This bridge will only take you halfway there
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I’ve known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there –
The last few steps you’ll have to take alone.

Learning and refining reading strategies are built into the study of a multitude of selections including poetry, literature, expository texts, primary sources, and more. The implementation of reading strategies focuses on questioning, connecting, predicting, clarifying, inferring, drawing conclusions, and evaluating. Vocabulary development is individualized and includes the study of Latin stems.

Speaking and listening opportunities are a regular part of the program and measured against published rubrics.

  Read aloud times are also part of the students' day.