language arts classroom.  Daily journaling and reflection are practiced as well as drafting formal assignments in persuasive, expository, and narrative forms.  Students participate in writer’s workshops that allow them to work collaboratively with peers to give and receive feedback on writing projects.  Technology is integrated into our classroom process of writing with students composing in word processing,  powerpoint, and excel documents. The multiage classroom allows divergent applications of writing skills and challenges students at all levels to engage in rhetorical problem-solving.

            Spelling, vocabulary, and grammar, the building block s of language, are given a strong emphasis as well.  Weekly spelling and vocabulary lists are a staple in all classrooms through the 8^th grade, starting with sight word identification and culminating in Latin and Greek word root study.  Applications of prescriptive grammar rules become increasingly important through the middle school grades in order to prepare students for foreign language learning in high school.