The Language Arts, which encompass reading, writing, speaking and listening, are an integral part of the school day. Children acquire and develop language through authentic experiences, from listening to stories to engaging in discussions with their peers.

Our Preschool language arts curriculum promotes vocabulary development and pre-reading skills.  Children are exposed to literature through read-alouds, picture books, and dramatic play. They develop concept of print and strengthen their phonological awareness, paving the way to becoming successful readers!

Harbor's language arts curriculum provides students with explicit, systematic, and developmentally appropriate instruction in the foundational skills necessary for lifelong literacy.

In Junior Kindergarten through 3rd Grade, students receive structured, multisensory phonics instruction through the Orton-Gillingham approach. Through explicit teaching of phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, encoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, students build a strong foundation for confident reading and writing.

In Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten, literacy instruction is intentionally designed to foster a love of language while developing essential early reading skills. Students engage in rich language experiences, interactive read-alouds, oral language development, and writing opportunities as they build phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, and a growing bank of high-frequency words.

From Kindergarten through 3rd Grade, students participate in a workshop model and small group, differentiated instruction that immerses them in high-quality literature while providing differentiated instruction in reading and writing. Through authentic reading and writing experiences, students develop comprehension, critical thinking, effective communication, and a lifelong appreciation for literacy. Teachers integrate evidence-based instructional practices to meet the needs of each learner while nurturing confident, capable readers and writers.