The English curriculum at Sea Crest School includes the instruction of reading and writing with the supporting skills of grammar, punctuation, spelling, handwriting and speaking. It emphasizes the development of skills necessary for clear communication while discovering the joy of fine literature and satisfaction of creatively expressing one's thoughts in writing and speech.
The reading program features award-winning literature and organized, explicit skills programs that include phonics, decoding skills and comprehension. Every day the teacher reads aloud to the class. In addition, students have self-selected independent reading time.
Sea Crest introduces writing in Kindergarten through a variety of daily activities. Students learn the structure of our language through experimentation with the parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation and capitalization. As students progress through the primary grades, different types of writing are introduced and emphasized.
Students engage in non-structured writing activities in journals as well as structured activities which include the exposure to and use of standard editing marks. In upper elementary school, students learn how to write a structured paragraph and are given the opportunity to publish individual books and poems. As their writing progresses, students learn how to write a research paper with a formal bibliography.
Students and teachers at all grade levels use six traits to evaluate their writing—ideas, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions and organization. Students also receive grammar and mechanics instruction in the context of their original writing and through a systematic instructional program.
The primary belief of the spelling program, Rebecca Sitton Spelling Sourcebook Series, is that "every child is a speller". It focuses on three strong practice elements to help students become confident, strategic spellers in their everyday writing—basic skills and concepts, word study, and application of spelling skills in writing.