The term language arts encompasses all our uses of language including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. At Windrush, we believe that optimum learning takes place when instruction integrates these four language processes. Our program is influenced by the work of Lucy Culkins and Fountas and Pinnell, among others, and incorporates Units of Study for Writing, Handwriting Without Tears and Rebecca Sitton Spelling.

A literature-based reading program exposes children to the finest examples of written expression and encourages a life-long love of reading. Children read silently and aloud, to each other and the teacher, or listen as the teacher reads to them on a daily basis. Discussions—about various interpretations of passages, character analyses and complexities of plot—lead children to develop critical thinking skills in addition to improving their reading comprehension. Phonemic awareness and vocabulary development are integral to this work, with the children’s own reading often serving as the source of key lessons.

Writing is taught as a process, from brainstorming and writing an initial draft, to student and peer editing and revision, to publishing the final copy. The sources of children’s writing are as rich as their imaginations and include ideas from literature, math and science, as well as their own life experiences. Students are encouraged to develop the habits of authors as they express themselves through various genres: factual accounts, descriptions, opinions, stories, scripts, and poems. Best guess spelling, based on young children’s sounding out of words, leads to stretching words—i.e., adding vowels, dipthongs, etc.—and then to the application of conventional spelling, as children learn words that most often appear in their writing and reading.

Listening and speaking are significant components of integrated instruction in language arts. Children learn from listening to the teacher and to each other as they share items from home, ideas, or recent experiences. Opportunities for communication abound. Children gain confidence by speaking in class, responding to questions, and expressing their ideas. Drama also plays a part in language development as students role-play characters and situations from books they enjoy or perform in a dramatic production.

Our language arts program at school is enhanced when parents and children talk at home about shared experiences or memories. Children benefit when adults listen to them talk about the world, encourage them to share favorite books, or sit down to read with them. Children who see adults enthusiastically engaging in reading, writing, and communicating will come to value and emulate these activities.

Children’s language and thought processes develop dramatically when their expression of ideas is respected by listeners. Oral language blossoms with rich life experiences, and writing grows from carefully articulated oral expression.