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Fostering Literacy in the Early Years as a Tool for Life-Long Learning

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To kick off Read Across America Month this March, Head of the Lower School Ms. Rose Miller-Sims reflects on how teachers at BASIS Independent Brooklyn nurture a love of reading in our youngest learners.

At BASIS Independent Brooklyn, our team of educators are united in their drive to foster a love of learning from PreK all the way through high school. In the Early Learning Program, we find incredible joy in seeing those meaningful “lightbulb” moments and balancing a child’s natural tendencies and intentional academic learning. One of the most critical foundational skills students must master in their educational journey is literacy. In the youngest years, this means learning the foundational skills to be an excellent reader. This is why our BASIS Curriculum for the early years includes a robust mastery of phonics with built in spiral review rooted in the science of reading.

As students progress through the grades and curriculum, they begin with the building blocks of literacy and quickly expand to encompass processing information, expressing thoughts and ideas clearly, and engaging in dialogue with peers and the larger community on a variety of topics using both oral and written language. What makes excellent literacy skills extraordinary is that you can explore the world through texts, evaluate information with a critical eye, and synthesize information and experiences to form a unique opinion. We strive to nurture in our students global citizens who can contribute to the betterment of their communities and exceptional literacy skills are at the heart of this goal.

Our exceptional Subject Expert Teachers use the science of reading to teach the fundamentals of literacy in our Early Learning and Primary Programs. Instead of focusing on rote memorization of spelling words, our teachers focus on supporting students to learn the spelling rules and specific sounds that make up the English language. Although these rules may be complex, when broken down into a systematic framework of the language, students are more than capable of grasping, remembering, and applying these rules— what’s more they have so much fun doing it! Not only is reading itself fun in the hands of our amazing teachers, but the games, activities, and hands-on learning in use to master these foundational literacy skills bring so much joy into the classroom.

We have big dreams for our young learners and our utmost goal as educators is to provide our students with the tools to lead the life they choose when they exit our doors and enter the world as adults. Without a doubt, fostering true literacy skills in our students is of paramount importance to their future success.

“The ability to read, write, and analyze; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications and connections to get your foot in that door and take your seat at that table – all of that starts with education.” ~Michelle Obama

Learn more about BASIS Independent Schools by inquiring with our Admissions Team today!

Head of School Spotlight: Nurturing Independence in Early Learning Years

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Reflecting on what makes the “secret sauce” of a BASIS Independent School, one of the consistent themes that stands out is a fundamental belief in students and their capability to be independent learners. This belief drives our mission to develop students into critical thinkers who can analyze and shape the world around them for the better. But if this is the end goal, how does one set the foundation to build these skills? To find out, let’s dive into the practices we find in place with our youngest students and how our Expert Teachers work to nurture independence daily in their classrooms.

In Pre-K Xenon, our students are encouraged to take risks in a supportive environment. “Many students are discouraged when facing a challenge,” noted Ms. Rivera, the Early Education Teacher, “whether it be academic–exploring a new academic concept–or even opening a snack box that their grownup often does for them. I encourage a positive mindset and frame the conversation, so they feel comfortable knowing that they may not be successful the first time, but they will be soon enough!”

To support student success, modeling is a major component in the Xenon classroom. Whether that involves showing students step by step how to zip up a puffy jacket in the winter or how to break down a tricky word into parts to sound it out, encouraging the students to complete the task on their own fosters autonomy.

“Nurturing focuses on fostering a child’s growth by providing a supportive environment where they feel safe to take age-appropriate risks. Nurturing caregivers offer guidance while encouraging children to face challenges, building their confidence and resilience. Children who learn to self-regulate and handle difficulties are better equipped to solve problems and view failure as a natural part of learning, rather than something to avoid,” Ms. Reilly shared. Ms. Reilly brings a wealth of knowledge about childhood development to her Pre-K Platinum classroom each day and supports all BASIS Independent Pre-K teachers in our network as a Subject Advisor. “On the other hand, frequent adult intervention and overprotection can lead to dependency in children. When adults constantly step in to solve every problem or discomfort, children miss opportunities to develop independent problem-solving skills,” Ms. Reilly explained.

Ms. Moses shared that in Pre-K Gold she uses a counting strategy to help motivate students to complete tasks independently. She tells students, “Let me see you try for 10” then stands nearby and counts to ten while a student gives the task their best effort. Pro tip: “Counting backward sometimes incentivizes kids to try even harder!” After about ten seconds, we offer some guidance verbally or physically depending on the task and needs of the child. To continue building stamina and frustration tolerance, as students become more independent you can gradually increase the amount of time a child tries on their own before asking for assistance.

Pre-K Calcium students are similarly nurtured to be independent. Ms. Moon shared that she believes it is “always best to teach a child to do it themselves rather than to do it for them.” She offers up these suggestions for building and fostering autonomy in our young beings:

  1. Teach children routines in manageable steps for daily activities.
  2. Set expectations and make sure children are held accountable to them (within reason!)
  3. Narrow down choices and have children decide their activity, snack, or outfit.
  4. Give children small responsibilities and/or chores.
  5. Offer specific praise when they do well. (i.e. “You put your toys away so carefully- that way they don’t get broken!” vs. “Good job putting away your toys.”)

Parenting in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world can be overwhelming and stressful. Indeed, a recent report from the Surgeon General brought attention to the unique stressors of raising children. We encourage you to take a breath, take a step back, and observe what your child is capable of when given the opportunity to engage in activities and decisions with autonomy. While your guidance and steadying hand when they falter will always be an invaluable support, you may just be surprised to discover how nurturing independence in your children can help shift your family dynamic to everyone’s benefit.

One quote that nicely sums up the benefits of nurturing as opposed to coddling young students comes from the author Roald Dahl: “The more risks you allow your children to make, the better they learn to look after themselves.”

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK– Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bears community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here. 

Why Mandarin?

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When families begin learning about our Early Learning and Primary programs, they often ask us the same question: “Why do you teach Mandarin to all your students?”

Mandarin is a required part of our curriculum from Transitional Kindergarten to Grade 4 because Mandarin provides our early learners with the opportunity to engage both sides of their brains, provides students with visual and artistic stimulation, and promotes the development of interdisciplinary thought and analysis.

Mandarin is a tonal language. This means that the same word can have multiple different meanings depending on the tone. Students of the language must attend to both the basic sound as well as the tone in order to understand a word.

The difference in brain activity between Mandarin and English speakers is well documented in scientific research. Most recently, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America published a study that outlined the specific differences in brain activity between speakers of tonal and non-tonal languages.

The results demonstrated that while speech processing is largely carried out in the “common left hemisphere,” Mandarin speakers activate an additional sector of their brain called the “right anterior temporal cortex,” which is crucial in recognizing differences in tone. Learning to speak a tonal language means that one must exercise this connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain in order to improve their tonal comprehension abilities.

Additionally, Mandarin’s use of written characters for each word rather than an alphabet provides students with visual and artistic stimulation. Introducing Mandarin at an early age promotes the development of interdisciplinary thought and analysis, enabling the students to draw connections between their lessons from different subjects. 

We have two tracts for our Mandarin program: heritage and non-heritage. This is the only subject in which the class is split into two. The heritage class is for students who may speak Mandarin at home and is taught entirely in Mandarin. The non-heritage class is for students who have had little to no exposure to Mandarin and begins each year with beginner Mandarin, slowly becoming more advanced over the course of the year.

Mandarin instruction at BASIS Curriculum Schools employs a variety of teaching techniques for accessing different styles of learning. For example, because tone is so important when speaking Mandarin, students often use music and song to practice their speaking skills. Through a variety of teaching methods and instructional media, students rapidly improve their conversational Mandarin abilities.

Though Mandarin is the required World Language from TK – Grade 4, a student’s exposure to another language doesn’t end there. Beginning in Grade 5, students will study Latin as their World Language. Then, from Grade 7 and onwards, students will choose between French, Latin, Mandarin, or Spanish as their World Language.

BASIS Independent Fremont is a TK – Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the BASIS Independent Fremont community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here. 

The SET/LET Relationship: The Symbiotic Classroom Experience

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One of the defining elements of our Primary Program is our Symbiotic Classroom, a teaching model that pairs a Subject Expert Teacher with a Learning Expert Teacher for every core discipline. 

Imagine that you are back at school, sitting in class. Maybe it’s a class you excel at, and sometimes you feel distracted or bored because you’ve read ahead and you already know the material. Or maybe you’re in a class you don’t like very much because you struggle with the material. Why is the teacher going so fast? You barely understood the last lesson!

Now imagine there was a second teacher in that classroom, one who knew your strengths and areas for improvement, who could work with you to make sure you were achieving your potential in the best way for you. This is the approach that best describes the SET/LET model at BASIS Independent Fremont.

SETs, or Subject Expert Teachers, lead classes in the subjects they are the most passionate about (as reflected in their degrees and hobbies). Their area of expertise is their sole focus, allowing them to concentrate on creating interesting, in-depth lessons for all the grade levels they teach. Students in Grade 1 and above have one SET for each discipline rather than one teacher who teaches multiple subjects. 

LETs, or Learning Expert Teachers, are responsible for a class of students who are all in the same grade. An LET for a second grade class, for example, will stay with that second grade class all day and be with them in all their subject classes led by SETs. Because LETs are with their students all day, they know how they are doing in each subject, and can provide extra, customized support in class as needed when an SET is teaching. They are able to build trust and understanding with their students to better guide them through their academic challenges.

Together, these experts focus on building a classroom culture of social-emotional support and academic excellence, and work to craft lessons that are both advanced and accessible to all students. They not only help students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn at an advanced pace, but also determine the best ways to deliver material and promote student engagement. The symbiosis between these two expert teachers in the classroom lends itself to provide the flexibility necessary to do one-on-one work with students, small group work, and optimize classroom learning in real time.

This two teacher model minimizes distractions and maximizes learning. Students get the benefit of teachers who love their subjects and can pass that passion on, and a teacher who can keep a close eye on their progress and happiness. At BASIS Independent Fremont, this SET/LET relationship is at the heart of our goal to instill a lifelong passion for learning in our students.

In addition to co teaching with SETs, our LETs lead a weekly class called Connections. Connections, is an interdisciplinary course designed to challenge students to utilize their knowledge in a creative way. This class presents students with project based scenarios that require the use of mental agility, creativity, and problem-solving skills as they establish links across subjects, showing how each subject related to the other and gain a deeper understanding of the material they are learning.

One of our most exciting Connections projects happens in 3rd grade, when students are tasked with creating their very own culture. Students spend several weeks creating different components of their fictional culture, including designing a flag, creating currency, and developing an alphabet. The culminating project was to create a poster (some examples below) to display all of the components they had created for their culture. 

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Lower School: Embracing Growth

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Spring brings with it clear markers of growth of our students. Returning from Spring Break, we notice students springing up physically and reflect on the great progress seen in the school year. As Ms. Miller-Sims rounds out her first year as Head of School at BASIS Independent Brooklyn’s Lower School campus, she wanted to share some of her thoughts with our community.

“This time of year is really exciting because students do really physically grow a lot and that growth is really noticeable – whether they are sprouting out of their trousers, their scooters need to be adjusted,” commented Ms. Miller-Sims. “One parent actually shared that they grew out of their helmet. There’s lot of actual physical growth happening and hand-in-hand with that we tend to see a lot of social-emotional growth and academic growth, of course. It is a really exciting time of the year here.”

Embracing a Growth Mindset

Ms. Miller-Sims has spoken extensively about embracing a growth mindset. This focus stemmed from her years as a Learning Expert Teacher and then as a Dean and Director of Student Affairs. Having a growth mindset means that you are open to feedback and to being really reflective on what you need to change and grow as a person. We think of a fixed mindset as somebody who is very set in their ways and just doesn’t want to change what to do. They think that everything they are doing works the way it is.

“A growth mindset – especially with children – is very important,” said Ms. Miller-Sims. “It helps manage tendencies toward perfectionism. We want children to feel comfortable with that sense of failure in a safe way so they can acclimate to it and take in the feedback to grow and change rather than developing more of a fixed mindset thinking that they have to be perfect all the time.”

Pulling Through at Home
Ms. Miller-Sims suggests parents and guardians start to pull through embracing a growth mindset at home, too. Whenever families have the time to do so, really allow students to experience struggle whether it is really something they are physically trying to do for the first time, such as a student learning to tie their shoes for the first time. Of course, guide them, but let them do it themselves and experience what it feels like to not be able to do it and then reach that success when they finally can.

Supporting Growth in Our School

This time of year is also one for growth with our teachers. Ms. Miller-Sims starts first rounds of performance reviews with teacher observations in the first Trimester. “Now is the time I am starting the second round, and that will lead into exciting conversations about the next school year,” said Ms. Miller-Sims.

Next year a really exciting change coming down the pike is having all of PreK to Gr. 2 classes together at our Lower School campus. “It has been really exciting to look at ways to continue supporting our students, review applications of new students who will be joining our community, and think of what families need from us to be a supportive environment that bonds together to create a cohesive community.”