Language Arts

We aim for a balanced approach to Language Arts, which includes speaking and listening, phonetic awareness and immersion in a literature-rich environment.

Our reading program helps to build vocabulary and further comprehension. Despite different skills and interest levels in reading, all children will read, or will have read to them, an appropriate and challenging group of classic, multicultural and non-fiction books. By responding to questions based on a shared story, recognizing letters, knowing word meanings and predicting and sequencing information, students are working towards building a solid language foundation for themselves. Teachers use activities such as paired reading, silent reading, making booklets and role playing to interrelate reading with other skill areas.

Students spend more classroom time listening than any other language skill. At AIS, we emphasize its importance. Our listening activities are geared towards making students active listeners who will in turn develop into better speakers, as well as learn to think critically.

Speaking activities build up students’ self esteem. Regular sessions of activities such as Show and Tell, News of the Day and Circle Time are timetabled into the various classroom schedules, thus allowing students to speak before an audience. This helps them overcome shyness and makes them feel special.

By providing students with an optimum environment and time, our teachers help their students become better writers. Journal entry, creative writing, drawing and bookmaking are some of the ways in which teachers monitor students’ growth and progress. Students’ work is regularly displayed around the school. At AIS, we believe that the language environment strongly influences the quality of a child's linguistic development.