Reading
NPS strongly believes in fostering a love of reading that is built to last and to enrich for a lifetime. This belief is the foundation of our curriculum and drives our structured literacy approach, intentionally designed around the latest science of reading research to build the knowledge and foundational skills that create successful, confident readers and writers.
Our instructional program is organized around two essential strands: a foundational skills block and a language comprehension block. Together, these strands address the five essential components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Beginning with our youngest learners, children develop awareness of the sounds and letters around them, listening for rhyming words and identifying sounds within speech. Direct instruction in phonics and basic morphology begins in Kindergarten and continues through Third Grade. As students become more proficient readers, Third through Sixth Grade students study morphology more deeply, exploring the origins of the English language and the structure of meaning in words.
Our foundational skills instruction draws on the Orton-Gillingham approach, which is multisensory, systematic, and diagnostic, meeting each learner where they are. Our language comprehension block uses a knowledge-rich literature and comprehension curriculum to build vocabulary, background knowledge, and deep engagement with texts.
At all levels, students learn that reading is an active process. Children have many opportunities to discuss and evaluate what they read and are read to. Students in all grades enjoy read-aloud books and participate in a weekly Library class to select books for personal enjoyment.
NPS students excel at:
- Sharing their thinking about literature through discussion, writing, art, and drama
- Building knowledge and vocabulary through rich, engaging literature
- Literary analysis and critical thinking
