School Administrative District #4

Unity of purpose

K-12 READING PROGRAM

Developed: Summer, 1997

Revised: Summer, 1998

Curriculum Team:

Elementary Schools:

Abbie Fowler, Cambridge, Guilford Primary, McKusick, Wellington

David Pratt

Cindy Quimby (1998)

Melissa Stearns

Margaret Templet

Rachel Ulman (1998)

Piscataquis Community Middle School

Peggy Cleaves (1997)

Ellen Haley (1997)

Brenda Monahan (1997)

Thelma Regan

Robyn Rich (1998)

Piscataquis Community High School

Jody DiFrederico

Sue Stewart

Donna Vigue

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School Administrative District #4

Unity of purpose

Department: English Language Arts

THE READING PROGRAM

Of all the skills the average person learns in a lifetime, the ability to read is the most useful. "In order to become fluent, students must read often, read widely, and find meaning in what they read."* Therefore, the S.A.D. #4 English language-arts reading program attempts to encourage students to read and provides a variety of situations in which they can acquire and make use of reading skills at ever-increasing levels of competence.

Reading is popularly divided into three phases of instruction: developmental (process reading), functional, and recreational. In cases where developmental reading skills are not evident, the program attempts to provide opportunities through which such skills can be acquired. Students whose reading deficiencies extend beyond the ability of the classroom teacher to remediate are referred to Chapter I or to the special-education program, depending upon the severity of the deficiency. Where development of effective reading skills is evident, functional reading skills are stressed. Recreational reading is stressed in all classes for all students. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to determine the emphasis given to each type of reading so that individual and group needs are met.

In making choices, reading teachers must consider not only the reading levels of their students, but the maturity of experience which particular anthologies and individual works demand. Teachers must not reject a book, however, solely because of the second consideration, for they can often help students gain vicariously the experience they need to understand it. Collectively, the works to which students are exposed are designed to help students expand their limited range of thought and experiences and to come to a broader acquaintance with the ideas and feelings of mankind as they are expressed in writing.

The S.A.D. #4 English language-arts reading program emphasizes, but is not limited to, classical literature because such literature represents universal experiences of mankind and illuminates universal values and because many colleges expect students to have read certain classics, e.g., Charlotte's Webb, Where the Red Fern Grows, or Grapes of Wrath. These experiences and values provide students with a framework for confronting their own complex and changing society and for understanding their own relationship to it. In exposing students to these universal experiences and values, literature teachers must provide the historical and cultural basis for truly understanding and appreciating good literature, but they must not insist that students adopt any particular position regarding that literature. The evidence presented in defense of a position is to be given pre-eminence over the position, per se. Students are permitted to view a book as boring, immoral, or insignificant, for example, as long as they can defend that view with factual, authoritative, or experiential evidence. Increasingly, the program seeks to prepare students for the world community by including as much multi-cultural literature as possible.

In addition to increasing students' depth of understanding, the reading program leads students to develop analytical skills. It helps them to cultivate critical and creative appreciation of structure and meaning in works of literature. For this reason, it is considered desirable for students to have common experiences in reading. Teachers can then give instruction concerning how to appreciate a literary work. They can show, for instance, that a book is great because the author uses techniques which make it so. Formal analysis of literature allows students to recognize those elements which separate literary genres and to evaluate a writer's craft.

Reading is related to every other phase of the total program in English language arts. The reading program encourages teachers to read to their students regularly. By doing so, teachers not only enrich their students' background in literature, but help students develop listening skills. Some students will actually become better readers and speakers by listening to their teachers' oral interpretation and by viewing the elements of their delivery, e.g., eye contact, body language, facial expressions, etc. Good books provide both topics and models for writing. Learning logs and reader-response journals are used to personalize this reading-writing connection. Good books also provide topics for classroom discussion, and such discussion aims to foster the connection between "literacy, the discipline of words," and "literature, the art of words."*

NOTE: Occasionally, a student and/or his or her parent(s) will object to some assigned book. When such an objection is raised, the student is encouraged to consider the merits of completing the assignment; but if the objection persists, alternative reading is provided. The curriculum guide includes forms for this purpose (See Request for Alternative Reading). Similarly, permission slips go home to be signed by parents if a potentially objectionable film version of a book is to be viewed in the classroom (See Parental Permission to View Slip). Students whose parents object to such viewing are excused and provided alternative work.

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*Adapted from A FRAMEWORK FOR CURRICULUM DESIGN, Maine Department of Education, 1987.

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School Administrative District #4

Unity of purpose

CORE CURRICULUM: SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Department: English Language Arts

CONTENT STANDARD: DEVELOPMENTAL (PROCESS) READING

Performance Indicators: The learner will·

Kindergarten

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Seek out and enjoy experiences with books (AK-2)-1

3.        Demonstrate an understanding of how print is organized and read by

á         Holding print materials in the correct position

á         Identifying upper- and lower-case letters

á         Following words from left to right and top to bottom on a printed page

4.        Demonstrate an understanding that print makes sense by

á         Identifying common signs and symbols in his/her everyday environment (C 3-4)-4

á         Explaining his/her own drawings/writing

5.        Demonstrate an understanding of basic phonetic principles

á         Recognize characteristic sounds and rhythms of language, including the relationship between sounds and letters (CK-2)-2

á         Identify beginning and ending consonants in monosyllabic words

á         Recognize high-frequency words at grade-level

á         Recognize rhyming words

6.        Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a gradual process of constructing meaning and revising initial understandings through (AK-2)-2

á         Pre-reading

Grade 1

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Seek out and enjoy experiences with a variety of print resources

3.        Apply knowledge of how print is organized and read by

á         Reading words from left to right and top to bottom on a printed page

á         Matching voice with print÷associating oral phonemes, syllables, and words with their written forms

á         Discriminating between words and sentences

4.        Apply phonetic principles when reading by

á         Using beginning and ending consonants in decoding monosyllabic words

á         Using vowels sounds in decoding monosyllabic words

á         Blending beginning, middle, and ending sounds to recognize and read words

á         Using word patterns

5.        Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a gradual process of constructing meaning and revising initial understandings through (AK-2)-3), (AH)-1

á         Reading complete texts

6.        Figure out unknown words using a variety of strategies including re-reading, context clues, and knowledge of word structures and letter-sound relationships (AK-2)-5, (AK-2)-6, (AK-2)-6

7.        Recognize and use clues within the text (sentence structure, word meanings, pictures, diagrams, titles, sub-titles), re-reading, and other strategies as aids in developing fluency and comprehension (AK-2)-5, (AK-2)-6, (AK-2)-6

8.        Read for a variety of purposes (D 3-4)-3

á         To receive one- or two-step instructions

á         To gain information

á         To obtain pleasure

Grade 2

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Apply phonetic principles when reading by

á         Using knowledge of consonants and consonant blends in multi-syllabic words

á         Using knowledge of common vowel patterns in multi-syllabic words

Grade 3

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Select texts for enjoyment (A 3-4)-4

3.        Apply word-analysis strategies to read a variety of printed materials by

á         Using knowledge of less common vowel patterns

á         Using knowledge of homophones

4.        Determine the meaning of unknown words by using a dictionary, glossary, or other reference source (A 3-4)-1

5.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to adjust reading speed to suit purpose and difficulty of material (A 3-4)-2

á         Skimming (AM)-4

á         Scanning (AM)-4

á         Reading intensively

Grade 4

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a gradual process of constructing meaning and revising initial understandings through (AK-2)-4

á         Rereading

á         Post-reading

3.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of the distinction between literal and figurative language

4.        Demonstrate an understanding of specialized vocabularies used in instructional texts (D 3-4)-6

5.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words by (D 3-4)-2

á         Using knowledge of word origins, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and multiple meanings of words

á         Using word-reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, electronic resources)

6.        Read cursive writing

Grade 5

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words by

á         Using knowledge of root words, prefixes, and suffixes

3.        Reflect on what has been discovered and learned while reading and formulate additional questions (AM)-1, (AM)-2

Grade 6

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Adjust reading speed to suit purpose and difficulty of material (AM)-4

á         Skimming

á         Scanning

á         Reading intensively

3.        Read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words by

á         Using knowledge of word origins, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and multiple meanings of words

á         Using word-reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, electronic resources)

Grade 7

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Distinguish between denotative and connotative meanings of words

3.        Use effective strategies to discover a word's meaning from context

á         Association with known words

á         Comparison (synonyms)

á         Contrast (antonyms)

á         Definition (appositive)

á         Elaborating details

á         Examples

4.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to use context clues to determine the meaning of certain terms encountered in literary and informational texts

á         Figurative terms

á         Idiomatic terms

á         Specialized vocabularies

á         Abbreviations

á         Acronyms

Grade 8

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of various literary terms used in conjunction with the discussion of literature

á         Antagonist

á         Autobiography

á         Ballad

á         Biography

á         Caricature

á         Cliché

á         Comedy

á         Diary

á         Dramatic monologue

á         Essay

á         Folk tale

á         Imagery

á         Journal

á         Legend

á         Letter

á         Lyric

á         Pamphlet

á         Periodical

á         Protagonist

á         Soliloquy

á         Stereotypical character

á         Tall tale

á         Tragedy

3.        Demonstrate an initial understanding that seemingly synonymous words can have subtle differences in meaning

Grade 9

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Use context clues to determine the meaning of certain terms encountered in literary and informational texts (AH)-6

á            Figurative terms (AH)-6

á            Idiomatic terms (AH)-6

á            Specialized vocabularies (AH)-6

á            Abbreviations (AH)-7

á            Acronyms (AH)-7

3.        Compare words that are seemingly synonymous to determine subtle differences in meaning

4.        Distinguish between syntactic and semantic clues to meaning

5.        Distinguish among levels of word usage

á         Colloquial

á         Dialect

á         Non-standard

á         Slang

á         Standard

6.        Demonstrate an understanding of the meaning conveyed by specific figurative expressions and use those expressions in discussions of literature

á         Alliteration

á         Allusion

á         Hyperbole

á         Irony

á         Metaphor

á         Onomatopoeia

á         Personification

á         Simile

7.        Recognize examples of various literary terms and use those terms in discussions of literature

á         Antagonist

á         Caricature

á         Cliché

á         Flat character

á         Imagery

á         Protagonist

á         Round character

á         Stereotypical character

8.        Learn standard prefixes and suffixes as part of a regular vocabulary program

9.        Apply word-analysis strategies to acquire reading independence (automaticity)

Grade 10

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Understand the meaning conveyed by specific figurative expressions and use those expressions in discussions of literature

á         Acronym

á         Aphorism

á         Apostrophe

á         Epigram

á         Epitaph

á         Euphemism

á         Satire

3.        Recognize examples of various literary terms and use those terms in discussions of literature

á         Autobiography

á         Biography

á         Diary

á         Essay

á         Folk tale

á         Journal

á         Legend

á         Letter

á         Pamphlet

á         Periodical

á         Rhetorical question

á         Stream of consciousness

á         Tall tale

4.        Learn standard root words as part of a regular vocabulary program

Grade 11

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Understand the meaning conveyed by specific figurative expressions and use those expressions in discussions of literature

á         Allegory

á         Analogy

á         Antithesis

á         Idiom

á         Litotes

á         Malapropism

á         Metonymy

á         Oxymoron

á         Palindrome

á         Paradox

á         Spoonerism

á         Synecdoché

3.        Recognize examples of various literary terms and use those terms in discussions of literature

á         Ballad

á         Bowdlerize

á         Chronicle

á         Comedy

á         Dramatic monologue

á         Elegy

á         Epic

á         Exemplum

á         History play

á         Lyric

á         Metaphysical poem

á         Miracle play

á         Mock epic

á         Morality play

á         Mystery play

á         Pastoral poem

á         Soliloquy

á         Sonnet

á         Tragedy

4.        Learn words frequently found on the SAT and other college-entrance exams as part of a regular vocabulary program

Grade 12

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Recognize examples of various literary terms and use those terms in discussions of literature

á         Antistrophe

á         Burlesque

á         Catharsis

á         Chorus

á         Fable

á         Fairy tale

á         Farce

á         In media res

á         Myth

á         Ode

á         Parable

á         Parody

á         Strophe

3.        Develop a personal system for enriching vocabulary

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School Administrative District #4

Unity of purpose

CORE CURRICULUM: SCOPE AND SEQUENCE

Department: English Language Arts

CONTENT STANDARD: FUNCTIONAL READING

Performance Indicators: The learner will·

Kindergarten

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Demonstrate comprehension of stories read to him/her by

á         Using pictures to make predictions about story content

á         Retelling familiar stories using beginning, middle, and end

á         Talking about characters, settings, and events

á         Identifying what an author does and what an illustrator does

3.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of when and how to memorize age-appropriate material

Grade 1

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Demonstrate comprehension of stories read to him/her by (AK-2)-2

á         Understanding that reading is a way to gain information about the world (AK-2)-2

á         Making and confirming predictions about what will be found in texts (AK-2)-3

3.        Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to

á         Relate previous experiences to what is read

á         Ask and answer questions about what is read (AK-2)-7

á         Identify similarities and differences in story elements in works from various cultures (BK-2)-3

á         Identify characters and setting (BK-2)-3

á         Distinguish between fiction and non-fiction (BK-2)-4

4.        Seek appropriate assistance when attempting to comprehend challenging text (DM)-1

5.        Read familiar stories, poems, and passages with increasing fluency and expression

6.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of the parts of a book

á         Spine

á         Cover

á         Table of contents

á         Chapters

á         Titles

á         Pictures and captions

7.        Locate resources in a library

á         Books

á         Periodicals

8.        Begin to develop strategies for taking tests about literature

á         Fill in the blanks

á         Matching

á         Multiple choice

á         Short answer

á         True-false

Grade 2

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to (DK-2)

á         Identify simple themes

á         Write about what has been read

á         Identify major events in sequence

á         Understand the main idea in simple expository information (DK-2)-1

3.        Locate resources in a library

á         Reference materials

4.        Extract information from a variety of secondary sources

á         Dictionary

á         Encyclopedia

á         Non-fiction

5.        Develop strategies for memorizing text

6.        Begin to develop strategies for taking tests about literature

á         Essay

Grade 3

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to (DK)-2

á         Begin to use knowledge of language and text structures to aid comprehension

á         KWL method

á         SQ3R method

á         Make, confirm, and revise predictions (AK-2)-3

á         Recognize basic elements of plot and recount events, ideas, and important details from material read, heard, or viewed (B 3-4)-9

á         Identify and explain how characters and situations found in various materials are like people or events in his/her own life or in other works (B 3-4)-7

á         Understand how dialogue relates and contributes to a story or text (B 3-4)-8

á         Begin to identify characteristics of distinct genres

á         Use information contained in chapter and section headings, topic sentences, and summary sentences to construct the main ideas (D 3-4)-1

á         Locate supporting ideas

á         Organize information or events logically

á         Use information to learn about new topics

á         Distinguish between fact and opinion

3.        Use the parts of a book to access information (D 3-4)-2, (DM)-8

á         Spine

á         Cover

á         Table of contents

á         Chapters

á         Titles

á         Pictures and captions

á         Subtitles

á         Glossary

á         Index

4.        Extract information from a variety of secondary sources

á         Atlas

Grade 4

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to

á         Develop fluency and the ability to read independently (A 3-4)-5

á         Begin to demonstrate awareness of the culture and geography pertinent to the texts read (B 3-4)-1

á         Use literary pieces to understand and appreciate the actions of others (B 3-4)-2

á         Make and justify conclusions about the motives of characters and the consequences of their actions

á         Demonstrate an understanding of enduring themes of literature (B 3-4)-12

á         Recognize when a text is primarily intended to persuade (A 3-4)-3

á         Draw conclusions and make inferences based on explicit and implicit information from short passages

á         Practical

á         Content-area

á         Literary

á         Summarize given sections of informational texts (D 3-4)-4, (AM)-7

á         Recognize when and how information in a text connects to prior knowledge (D 3-4)-7

3.        Share responses to quality literature with peers, citing reasons and making comparisons to other reading or viewing or to life experiences (B 3-4)-4

4.        Apply effective strategies to the reading and interpretation of short-to-medium-length fiction that is appropriately complex in terms of character, plot, theme, and dialogue and appropriately sophisticated in style, point of view, and the use of literary devices (B 3-4)-10

5.        Apply effective strategies to the reading of short-to-medium-length non-fiction, using texts with an appropriate complexity of content and sophistication of style (B 3-4)-11

6.        Use the parts of a book to access information

á         Subtitles

á         Title page

á         Copyright page

á         Acknowledgments

á         Preface

á         Foreword (Introduction)

á         Afterword

7.        Extract information from a variety of secondary sources

á         Electronic media

8.        Demonstrate an initial understanding of when and how to take notes

á         Listing

Grade 5

1.        Review and extend prior learning

2.        Demonstrate an understanding that people respond to literature in different and individual ways (BM)-1

3.        Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to (BM)-9

á         Apply background information to understanding the text

á         Biographical/autobiographical information about the author

á         Historical/cultural information about the time period

á         Use knowledge of language and text structures to aid comprehension

á         KWL method

á         SQ3R method

á         Identify main and subordinate characters in quality literature and explain their relative importance to the plot and theme(s) of the story (BM)-3, (BH)-2

á         Describe how a character develops in a story

á         Explain how the motives of characters or the causes of complex events in texts are similar to and distinct from those is his/her own experience (BM)-4

á