Instruction in composition begins with a consistent and thorough examination of the structure of the complete sentence and progresses to the paragraph. Students throughout the Lower School learn to write using correct style, complete sentences, and proper punctuation and capitalization.
Although students in the first and second grades are instructed in grammatical topics, the formal study of English grammar begins in the third grade with a study of the parts of speech, usage, dictionary skills, syntax of the simple sentence, and related topics. The parsing of sentences and sentence diagramming are important instructional tools in the third grade.