Our teachers have been trained in the Rice Literacy Project and use the program as an important touchstone for our students’ literacy development. This unique storytelling literacy curriculum, developed by the Rice University Center for Education, is based on the work of Vivian Paley, MacArthur Fellow and kindergarten teacher. The program aims to pave the way for high literacy standards with rigorous oral language and print-related activities.

On a student’s parent helper day, they dictate a story or their own choosing to their teacher. The story is read by the teacher during closing circle and acted out by fellow students. At the end of the year, each student gets a compilation of their own stories, as well as the stories of their classmates. Also, throughout each day, published stories and poems are read, discussed, and sometimes acted out.

The program helps:
Listening comprehension
Speech production and discrimination
Vocabulary
Verbal expression
Phonological awareness
Functions and conventions of print
Letter knowledge and early word recognition
Motivation to read
Development of knowledge of literacy forms
Written expression