English is a signature academic program at St. Matthew’s that fosters life-long readers and develops strong communication skills.
Reading is taught using a diverse selection of written text, such as novels, short stories and poetry. Graphic organizers, reading projects and book talks support comprehension and help students make personal connections to what they are reading. Students are taught to be active readers by connecting, predicting, summarizing, visualizing, inferring and inquiry.
Students learn and practice writing techniques - sentence and paragraph structure, grammar and essay types - in English class and across the curriculum. A multi-step writing process and Writer’s Workshop are key instructional components that help students refine their written communication skills.