Kindergarten – First Grade Program

 

Because Learning Should Be As Easy As ABC

For over 35 years, Riverside School provided children in grades 1-8 with dyslexia the opportunity to achieve the language skills necessary to achieve their highest potential.  In 2010, responding to the latest research favoring a preventative model of intervention over a remedial model, Riverside School has expanded its program to include pre-readers at the Kindergarten level.

Our K-1 Program is designed especially for young students who have either been diagnosed with dyslexia or have been determined to be at-risk for  having a language-based learning difficulty that could benefit from the multi-sensory instruction provided by the Riverside School curriculum.  Early learners will gain basic skills that help build a strong foundation for later learning.  Using the Orton-Gillingham Approach, teachers give children who might otherwise be frustrated or overwhelmed in a traditional setting a chance to love school and believe in their abilities.

 

Program Benefits

Research increasingly shows that children who struggle with language and writing become discouraged about their abilities and lose self-confidence.  The longer they experience difficulty and frustration, the longer it takes to become successful.  Riverside’s K-1 Program builds foundational skills in a supportive, emotionally-sound environment.   Students receive a program that addresses the whole child:

  • Nurturing and family-like environment
  • Class size limited to 10 students with two Orton-Gillingham trained teachers
  • Addresses social, physical, and educational needs
  • Personalized, individualized, multisensory, systematic, sequential, cumulative instruction that follows  the Orton-Gillingham Approach
  • Positive social interaction through play, group activities, and social skills instruction
  • Support for speech, language, sensory integration, and motor skills
  • Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
  • One-on-One Language Fundamentals instruction 30 minutes a day, four times a week

 

Curriculum Overview

While focusing on language skills and learning how to learn, Riverside School’s curriculum covers all of the core academic subjects and offers dynamic resource classes.

  • Language Arts: Instruction in literature, vocabulary, oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, reading, handwriting, and writing.
  • Mathematics: Introduces concepts related to numeracy,  basic addition and subtraction, time, calendar, geometry, and money.
  • Science/Social Studies: Follows and extends the Virginia SOLs for K-1 students.  Emphasis is put on the language and critical thinking skills needed for these core subjects.
  • Movement: Physical Education provides skill instruction for both traditional and nontraditional games and movements.  Movement is also actively integrated into the educational content of the day.
  • Learning Centers: Allow students to manipulate concepts and practice skills across the curriculum.
  • Resource Classes: Weekly Expressive Art and Library are provided.  Speech Therapy is also available if needed.

 

Curriculum Design

Curriculum for Riverside’s K-1 Classroom is specifically designed to remediate and teach skills that are problematic for students who are at risk for language-based difficulties.

  • Spoken Language
    • Vocabulary
    • Following directions
    • Asking and answering questions
    • Summarizing ideas
    • Retelling stories
  • Thinking Skills
    • Patterning
    • Sequencing
    • Categorizing
    • Comparing
    • Problem Solving
  • Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
    • Rhyming
    • Syllables
    • Blending and segmenting sounds
    • Adding and deleting sounds
  • Letter and Sound-Symbol Awareness
    • Letter identification
    • Sound-symbol relationships
    • Blending and segmenting for initial reading and writing
  • Concepts of Print
    • Concept of letters, words, and story
    • One-to-one voice-print match for words
    • Left-to-right directionality
  • Sight Words
  • Fine Motor Skills
    • Hand strength and coordination
    • Bilateral coordination
    • Letter formation
  • Social Skills
    • Social language
    • Being a good friend
    • Understanding personal strengths and weaknesses
  • Gross Motor Skills
    • Body in space perception
    • Motor planning
    • Strength
    • Balance