Reading to, with and by the children

Read-alouds help teachers assess the depth and connections of literature on children, and conversely, children to literature.  She reads the hidden meanings behind their questions and comments.   made from a relaxed but focused discussion.  She notes their reactions to dialogues, characters, plot, and theme, even to time and place.

Talk-and-Turn allows children to pause and think, giving them space and time to connect literature to their experience, clarify and examine personal and cultural biases that ultimately,  leads to divergent thinking.

 Book and child are matched based on a child’s reading level and interest.  The children choose books that appeal to their experience and interest. They have me-time where they read independently.   Readers’  workshop is where they discover many a strategy they could use for different book genres.  and apply reading strategies in working with a variety of genres as modeled by the teacher.  Scaffoldings vary based on whole class, small groups, or teacher-student conferences.

Lower School students read a common book, poem, or song for fluency in  language.  Shared reading, at the upper grades, happens during reader’s theater, poetry reading, or book-club reading.

Writing to, with and by the children

Children explore the many ways writers express their ideas:  letters, short stories, poems, news, essays, journals.

Write and re-write.  The writing process remains the same for all types of writing. narratives, short stories, essays, poetry to name but a few.    Teachers’ feedback help push children’s drafts to published work.  . Teachers give feedback in mini-groups or teacher-student conferences.

Word Study

Word study is word-encounter that can only deepen every child’s appreciation for reading and writing.  Letters make a word. Words make a sentence. Ideas in a string of sentences build a paragraph.

Children study word-patterns to become better spellers.  Grammar too has its rules and patterns, that are great writing tools to master.

 Writing, like art,  is a process where one learns by doing.  At Keys, students always discover that there are many contexts and reasons to write.   Social Studies and Science need non-fiction writers.  Entrepreneurship is business writing.  CLE is reflective and theological.  PE is sporty and athletic.