Literacy at Honolulu Waldorf School

• • Honolulu Waldorf teachers deliver literacy instruction following the Waldorf standards and scope & sequence outlined in the book Roadmap to Literacy, co-authored by Waldorf teachers Janet Langley and Jennifer Militzer-Kopperl. 
  • To enhance reading and writing skills, our teachers integrate the following supplemental literacy programs into the broader English language arts curriculum:  Heggerty, Reading Horizons (Orton-Gillingham-based), and Handwriting Without Tears. These programs offer structured and effective approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, and handwriting skills. 
  • The school’s Learning Specialist administers benchmark reading assessments at the beginning and end of the year to assess students’ literacy skills and track their progress over time.  Students who need additional support participate in small intervention groups with the school’s Reading Specialist.

Heggerty

• • • Phonemic Awareness: Heggerty focuses on phonemic awareness, which is crucial for early literacy development. It helps students understand and manipulate individual sounds in words.
    • Structured Lessons: Teachers implement well-structured lessons that move from simple to complex.
    • Engaging Activities: The program includes interactive activities that make learning phonemic awareness fun for students.

Reading Horizons (OG-based)

• • • Structured Phonics Instruction: Reading Horizons offers a systematic and structured approach to phonics instruction, which is effective for decoding and encoding.
    • Multisensory Approach: It incorporates multisensory techniques, engaging students through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods.
    • Explicit Instruction: Reading Horizons provides direct and explicit instruction, making it suitable for students with various learning styles.
    • Foundational: Reading Horizons is beneficial in the early grades, where building a solid foundation in literacy is crucial.

Handwriting Without Tears

• • Developmentally Appropriate: Handwriting Without Tears emphasizes a developmentally appropriate approach to handwriting instruction, starting with pre-writing skills.
  • Multisensory Techniques: It incorporates multisensory activities, which help reinforce handwriting skills through hands-on experiences.
  • Cursive and Print: It covers cursive and print handwriting in an intentional sequence.
  • Consistency: Handwriting Without Tears promotes consistency in letter formation, legible handwriting, and writing automaticity.