Language Arts
Ultimately, academic success is determined by a student’s command of language arts. Because of its importance, language arts and related topics are integrated throughout the curriculum.
In the early grades, children are encouraged to write and “publish” short stories. Beginning in kindergarten, they present or perform original and published plays and keep daily journals. First and third graders host an “Authors Tea”, reading for the visiting parents the “published” books that they have written and illustrated.
Second graders read original compositions and poetry at their annual Teddy Bear Tea. Along with reading texts, the students learn spelling, phonics and handwriting.
The intermediate and middle school Language Arts curriculum includes sophisticated anaylsis, synthesis, and evaluation of written works. Classic works of literature, such as The Pearl, Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Huckleberry Finn and selected short stories, are introduced in seventh and eighth grades. The curriculum is often integrated with other disciplines. Writing skills are stressed in all the grades with emphasis
on creative expression and descriptive form.
Located at the very center of the school, the Hebrew Academy library serves as the school’s “hub”, with children passing through throughout the day. Many opportunities allow for interaction among the different grades. For example, each first grader is paired with a fifth grade “book Buddy” for the purpose of reading and discussing special library books.