The Language Arts curriculum in Upper Elementary emphasizes language as an art of communication. Over the three-­year cycle, students become proficient readers, writers, speakers, editors, authors, critics, and poets. They learn and practice essential skills in note-­taking and organization, grammar, punctuation, and expression in a range of contexts including small and large group lessons, independent work, writing workshops, journal writing, Friday letters home, research projects, oral presentations, and literature circles.

 

In the Upper Elementary classroom, students discover that their use of language, whether written or spoken, communicates valuable information about who they are as people and offers insight into how they think. Through a variety of literary forms including biographies, short stories, novels, poems, essays, editorials, news articles, and theatrical plays, students observe and analyze models of effective communication. As they begin to define their own identities, they develop an appreciation for the rewards of effective communication.