Teaching of the English Language includes the following elements:

• Decoding written language (phonics)

• Fluency in reading and reading comprehension

• Grammar

• Writing (spelling; sentence and paragraph structure; proper use of vocabulary; expressing ideas clearly, creative writing)

• Penmanship (proper handwriting)

These language skills are foundational in education. They are the skills that children will need to engage with any academic subject they study (at primary school and beyond). It is critically important that they acquire these skills properly. An excellent basis in language arts at primary school is the toolkit that will allow children to apply themselves to their other learning. It will make the rest of their schooling easier and more productive.

At Saint Andrew’s Orthodox Church School we use a Classical language arts programme produced by Memoria Press. We have chosen to follow their curriculum because it is very thorough. It is careful to drill every student in these basic skills until they have mastered them. The programme is also very much literature based. Throughout the course children engage with a multitude of storybooks of the highest quality. The curriculum is diligent about choosing the great books that meet a Classical School’s requirement of teaching the true, the good and the beautiful.

The methodology used to teach Language Arts is different from the way we teach the other subjects. As you read through the Introduction to Our Curriculum and the documents detailing the other subjects, you will notice that Saint Andrew’s Orthodox Church School is a lively environment with a lot of emphasis on interactive group activities. The Language Arts classes are the time in our day when we teach our students to sit calmly and focus quietly.

Our students learn English, and at the same time they practice the dedicated concentrated work that is required for scholarly excellence. Children learn to apply themselves to developing their skills in reading and writing, experiencing something of the peacefulness and quiet joy of hard work at their books.

We take this approach in the Language Arts class for two reasons. The first is that it is an opportunity for a few hours in the day when students can practice this necessary style of study. Our students find it easy to apply themselves during these times because they are only expected to show such restraint for a limited amount of time in the day. Secondly, we have chosen Language arts as the time for more individual quiet work because this approach befits the subject matter. Penmanship, grammar, spelling and phonics require careful repetitive work to master. Listening to books being read is its own sort of exciting, and writing requires you to focus inwards and order your own thoughts.

The benchmarks covered in each year are as follows:

Primary 1

Phonics

Students will:

• Recognize each letter of the alphabet and assign its correct sound

• Have working knowledge, both oral and written, of 35 essential English phonograms

• Understand and demonstrate ability to rhyme

Reading

Students will:

• Understand left to right progression

• Master short vowel (CVC) words through decoding (reading)

• Be able to read 67 common sight words, basic number words, and color words

• Demonstrate individual progression with speed, fluency, and expression when reading

• Have the ability to answer simple questions about a text they have read

• Follow a storyline in a book above their personal reading level

• Correctly use vocabulary above their individual reading level

• Have the ability to correctly predict events within a story

• Be able to orally retell a story in narrative format

• Recognize main characters, setting, and basic plot of a narrative

• Recall facts from a nonfiction story and be able to verbalize how they relate to subject matter

Writing

Students will:

• Understand that what is said orally can be written by the encoding of sounds

• Neatly write all letters and numbers using correct formation

• Accurately and neatly copy text from the line above to the line below

Spelling

Students will:

• Write correct letter to sound correspondence for all letters of the alphabet

• Encode CVC words dictated to them

Grammar

Students will:

• Understand the basic attributes of sentence structure

• Recognize three sentence end marks (period, question mark, exclamation point) and know when to use them

• Use and understand capitalization at the beginning of a sentence, for the pronoun "I," and for the name of a person

• Understand the basic attributes of sentence structure including capitalization and punctuation

• Identify plurals and possessives

Primary 2:

Phonics

Students will:

• Master CVC, CVCC words, silent e and long vowel teams, schwa, and rhyming

• Have working knowledge, both oral and written, of all 44 English phonograms

• Demonstrate mastery of letter sounds, short vowels, long vowels with silent e, long vowel teams, consonant blends, consonant digraphs, r-controlled vowels

• Have working knowledge of diphthongs, homonyms, contractions, and compound words

• Answer oral questions in complete sentences

Reading

Students will:

• Demonstrate individual reading progression with speed, fluency, and expression

• Answer simple questions about a text independently read

• Follow a storyline in a book above their personal reading level

• Use vocabulary above their individual reading level

• Know how to correctly predict events within a story

• Compare and contrast aspects of a story

• Orally retell a story in narrative format

• Recall facts from a nonfiction story and be able to verbalize how they relate to subject matter

• Decode words within real literature

• Use a Table of Contents

• Recognize plot, setting, characters, author, and illustrator of a story

• Sequence events from a story

Writing

Students will:

• Be able to legibly write all letters in cursive using correct formation

• Form letter connections in cursive correctly

• Accurately and neatly copy text from the page above to the page below

• Correctly copy from the board to paper

• Write in complete sentences

• Read something written in cursive

• Maintain correct manuscript

Spelling

Students will:

• Encode level-appropriate spelling words

• Spell these words correctly in writing

Grammar

Students will:

• Introduce verbs and their tenses

• Introduce adjectives and articles

• Introduce common and proper nouns

• Use possession and abbreviations

• Identify the four types of sentences

• Recognize and use correct punctuation and capitalization

Primary 3:

Phonics

Students will:

• Demonstrate mastery of hard and soft c and g, long vowel teams, consonant digraphs, consonant blends, vowels with "y," plurals (both regular and irregular), root (base) words, and diphthongs

• Have working knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and homonyms

• Know basic syllabication rules

• Locate phonetic chunks within both single syllable and multisyllabic words

• Recognize incomplete sentences

• Master formulating and writing complete sentences

Reading

Students will:

• Understand complex poems in teacher-led discussions

• Compare and contrast ideas

• Sequence events within a reading

• Distinguish between fact and fiction

• Gain exposure to a variety of literary genres

• Understand the attributes of folk tales

• Use context clues to attain meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary

• Continue oral reading improvement with regard to decoding, speed, fluency, and expression

• Gain exposure to lengthy poems

• Determine meaning of advanced English vocabulary (derivatives) by recognition of Latin root

Writing

Students will:

• Know formation of cursive letters with correct connections and display fluency in writing

• Implement the 3 P's and 3 S's in writing

• Complete conversion to all cursive in all subjects by end of the year

• Be introduced to a friendly letter

• Be introduced to poetry composition

• Be exposed to paragraph writing and descriptive paragraphs

Spelling

Students will:

• Demonstrate mastery of phonograms introduced through encoding of weekly word lists

Grammar

Students will:

• Display mastery of introduction to the eight parts of speech by recitation

• Give examples for the eight parts of speech

Primary 4

Reading

Students will:

• Consistently use a variety of word attack skills to decipher unknown words and their meanings

• Demonstrate continued improvement in speed, fluency, and expression when reading orally

• Display reading comprehension on grade-level text

• Display aural comprehension of material above grade level

• Analyze illustrations within a story

• Compare and contrast ideas within literature

• Recognize dialogue within a story

• Adjust expression when reading dialogue orally

• Understand common idioms

• Ascertain characters, plot, and setting of a story

• Sequence events within a story

• Understand complete and complex sentences

• Determine meaning of advanced English vocabulary (derivatives) by recognition of Latin root

• Recognize rhyming structure

• Gain exposure to characterization

Writing

Students will:

• Create and compose from an outline

• Form a good topic sentence

• Be exposed to figures of speech (alliteration, simile, etc.)

• Be introduced to finding the moral or primary theme of a story

• Paraphrase and narrate a piece of writing

• Copy Scripture selection, poem, or other document

• Break text down into an outline

• Summarize a text

• Create multiparagraph compositions as a class under teacher direction

Spelling

Students will:

• Demonstrate mastery of phonograms introduced through encoding of weekly word lists

• Correctly use prefixes and suffixes

Grammar

Students will:

• Memorize basic grammar rules

• Memorize plurals, possessives, and compound words

• Understand synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms

• Master basic capitalization rules

• Master basic punctuation rules

• Recognize four types of sentences

• Recognize sentence parts

• Understand two types of pronouns (subjective and objective)

Penmanship

Students will:

• Exclusively use cursive when writing

• Write legibly with correct grip, spacing, slant, and size

Primary 5

Reading

Students will:

• Define vocabulary using context clues

• Have level-appropriate comprehension of material read

• Compare and contrast

• Orally read with level-appropriate speed, fluency, and expression

• Memorize and recite selected poems

• Understand allegory

• Understand idioms

• Understand characterization

• Have aural understanding of texts above their personal reading level

• Accurately analyze illustrations

• Gain attention to detail

• Accurately identify character, setting, and plot of a story

• Recognize literary devices (puns, foreshadowing, conflict)

Composition

Students will:

• Master how narrative elements work together to communicate a thought

• Expand vocabulary

• Expand precision in speech

• Further develop ability to format a paragraph

• Master identification of plot components

• Orally present an essay

• Properly apply grammar concepts learned to this point

Spelling

Students will:

• Demonstrate mastery of level-appropriate word lists

• Correctly use prefixes and suffixes

• Correctly use possessives and contractions

• Master vowel pairs and digraphs

Grammar

Students will:

• Master basic grammar rules pertaining to sentences

• Understand verbs (tenses, phrases, physical, mental, and "to be")

• Master types of questions

• Correctly encode dictated sentences

Penmanship

Students will:

• Exclusively use cursive when writing

• Write legibly with correct grip, spacing, slant, and size

Primary 6

Reading

Students will:

• Read orally with level-appropriate speed, fluency, and expression

• Display level-appropriate comprehension

• Determine meaning of unknown vocabulary using context clues

• Memorize selected poem

• Deliver good oral recitations

• Understand literary devices: aphorism, rhyming structure

• Accurately identify the primary theme, moral, or Central One Idea of a story

• Aurally understand texts above their personal reading level

• Answer abstract questions

• Improve critical reading analysis

• Display growth in narration skills

• Be introduced to logic-level questions

Composition

Students will:

• Master the ability to retell a story

• Master paraphrasing a text

• Master identification of characters, setting, plot, action, time, place, manner, cause, suffering, reversal, and recognition within a narrative

• Expand their vocabularies

• Expand their precision in speech

• Display proficiency in developing a topic sentence

• Properly format an essay

• Display proficiency in sentence and paragraph formation

Spelling

Students will:

• Demonstrate mastery of level-appropriate word lists

• Correctly use prefixes and suffixes

• Correctly use homonyms and abbreviations

• Master digraphs

• Understand syllabication

Grammar

Students will:

• Master basic grammar rules for verbs, pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, direct objects, and indirect objects

• Master basic grammar rules pertaining to types and parts of sentences

• Master verb phrases and six verb tenses

• Continue working with principal parts of verbs

• Master infinitives and participles

• Correctly encode dictated sentences

Penmanship

Students will:

• Continue perfection of legibility and beauty in handwritten material

Primary 7

Reading

Students will:

• Orally read with level-appropriate speed, fluency, and expression

• Display level-appropriate comprehension

• Determine meaning of unknown vocabulary using context clues

• Memorize selected poems

• Give good oral delivery of recitations

• Understand literary devices: simile

• Accurately identify the Central One Idea of a story

• Aurally understand texts above their personal reading level

• Answer abstract questions

• Improve critical reading analysis

• Grow in narration skills

Composition

Students will:

• Be introduced to invention

• Produce expositional writing

• Master identification of basic plot components (i.e., setting, plot, characters)

• Improve mechanics of writing

• Display a more developed and consistent writing style

• Improve in usage of syntax

• Advance in usage of figures of description and speech

• Show coherence in presentation and flow of ideas

Spelling

Students will:

• Master level-appropriate word lists

• Correctly spell compound and hyphenated words

• Correctly spell Latin and Greek roots

• Master prefixes and suffixes

• Understand syllabication

Grammar

Students will:

• Master basic grammar rules for verbs, pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, direct objects, and indirect objects

• Master application of the above mentioned rules

• Identify the subject of a sentence

• Master eight pronoun types

• Master adverb usage

• Master transitive and intransitive verbs

• Correctly encode dictated sentences

Penmanship

Students will:

• Continue perfection of legibility and beauty in handwritten material