English/Language Arts

Gantry View School’s English/Language Arts program is designed to strengthen communication skills and an understanding of the world and our place within it.

By reading literature we learn how others experience the world, and reflect on how we experience it. We are introduced to communities, places, and lives different from our own, yet we also discern the commonalities that unite all of us. Through informational texts, we learn about how the world operates, how the opinions of others differ from our own, and new skills and knowledge. Through writing, we learn to share our stories and knowledge and to communicate our thoughts. Given Gantry View School’s goal of preparing students for high school and beyond, we expose them to and engage them in literacy experiences that extend beyond the standard school-type assignments. All of this starts from the moment a student starts at Gantry View School, regardless of age.

Pre-Independent Literacy
(approx. ages 5-7)

Pre-Reading/Reading

At this level, students receive standard phonics instruction in short vowels, consonant blends, long vowel patterns, and standard digraphs, and they learn and practice sight words. They begin to read for pleasure on their own, often mimicking what they observe in our older students, and they read to each other. They frequently hear stories read aloud and discuss the information in them.

Pre-Writing/Writing

Students develop solid fine-motor skills and hand strength needed for forming individual letters correctly. As students develop their handwriting skills, they practice writing words and sentences and move toward keeping a daily journal.

When students are able to read and follow directions, read short books, and write sentences in response to questions, they move to the next stage, which involves being part of a mixed-age group and taking on independent work.

Emerging Literacy
(approx. ages 7-9)

Students gain the reading and writing skills necessary to complete research projects in the various content areas. They read literary works, alone and with others, and do simple literary analysis (e.g., identifying character traits, setting, conflict, plot, etc.). Students write short stories, how-to instructions, informational reports, and opinion pieces.

Students form good reading habits while improving their comprehension and interpretation skills. They are introduced to novels, poems, and nonfiction texts like directions, instructions, and fact-based articles and books. They learn the basic structure of texts and how to make use of elements like subheads, glossaries, indices, and table of contents. In social studies and science, there is a particular focus on strategies for extracting and recording information—highlighting, note-taking, and using graphic organizers.

Writing

Students write short paragraphs as well as longer narratives. They write diary entries from the perspective of literary characters and historical figures, instructions, reports, summaries, friendly letters, and responses to literature, and they maintain a personal journal. They practice how to select a topic, generate ideas, and revise a written work, with attention to basic grammar and punctuation.

Intermediate Literacy
(approx. ages 9-10)

Students learn higher-level reading and writing strategies that enable them to complete more advanced projects in all subject areas. They read literary works together and generate interpretations that they then defend against other views. They shift more toward writing expository texts like letters, instructions, reports, and persuasive essays.

Reading

By this stage, most students have developed solid reading habits and are effective at choosing books to read. To meet them where they are, we assign varied reading assignments appropriate for their skill and interest level. Students learn to consider and examine the author’s perspective, motivations, influences, and stylistic choices.

Writing

By writing expository texts for different purposes and audiences, students learn to organize and elaborate ideas; and they begin to consider their audience, including a reader’s background knowledge, interest, and reading level. Students become more proficient in their use of grammar and style, including parts of speech, word parts (e.g., prefixes, suffixes), advanced use of punctuation, different sentence types, and vocabulary.