At The GreenMount School, we develop readers who can think critically and thinkers who can read fluently. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are integrated throughout the curriculum to produce active listeners and engaging speakers who choose their words with confidence and care.

At all grade levels, we use story as an important teaching tool. Our focus on narrative involves questioning who is telling the story, the environment in which the story is being told, and the larger context of any written piece. Students begin answering the question, “How can you tell whose story is being told?” as early as kindergarten when they are asked to empathize with different characters in a simple story.

As they listen to and discuss a multitude of stories told by diverse authors from home and around the world, students develop a love of reading and an appreciation of different perspectives. The kindergarten classroom is in a literacy-rich environment, filled with books, artwork, and manipulatives that provide opportunities to engage with language. An emphasis on the alphabet and sound-symbol correlation provides a solid foundation for first grade and beyond.