School Administrative District #4
Unity of purpose
CORE CURRICULUM: SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
Department: English Language Arts
CONTENT STANDARD: LANGUAGE STUDY
Language study is understood to include grammar, usage, and the mechanics of writing; as well as the history and sociology of language itself. All students are expected to use the conventions of standard written and spoken English to write and to speak correctly.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Differentiate between
á Singular and plural possessive nouns
á Concrete, abstract, and collective nouns
3. Demonstrate an initial understanding that some verbs do not show action
á Linking verbs
á Helping verbs
4. Know that words that tell how, when, or where something is done are called adverbs and use and recognize them with increasing sophistication
5. Know that words that connect are called conjunctions and use and recognize them with increasing sophistication
6. Know that words that express strong feeling are called interjections and use and recognize them with increasing sophistication
7. Demonstrate an initial understanding of prepositions as words that show a relationship between one word and another
8. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to use commas correctly to set off a/an
á Introductory word
á Direct address noun or pronoun
9. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to use other internal marks of punctuation correctly
á Quotation marks
á Apostrophes
10. Vary sentence beginnings
11. Demonstrate an initial understanding of the concept of propaganda
CONTENT STANDARD: ORAL AND VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Oral communication includes skills traditionally referred to as speaking and listening. All students are expected to demonstrate the ability to speak and to listen in order to explore ideas; to present lines of thought; to represent and reflect upon human experience; and to communicate feelings, knowledge, and opinions. Visual communication includes critical viewing skills needed to make sense of the information presented in the media. All students are expected to demonstrate the ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate what they see and hear in the media.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Kindergarten-Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Listen courteously when others are reading or speaking
3. Listen to and follow one- and two-step directions
4. Demonstrate the ability to listen and view
á Appreciatively
á Attentively
á Marginally
5. Demonstrate an initial understanding of critical listening and viewing
6. Listen to and record information
7. Orally identify and manipulate phonemes in syllables and multi-syllabic words
8. Initiate and maintain appropriate conversations with peers and adults
9. Use oral language appropriate to the level of formality required
10. Use increasingly complex sentence structures and vocabulary in oral communication
11. Use oral language for diverse purposes (e.g., to inform, to persuade, to entertain)
12. Participate in choral speaking and recite short poems, rhymes, songs, and stories with repeated patterns
13. Participate in creative dramatics
14. Contribute to group discussions
15. Seek the ideas and opinions of others
16. Begin to use evidence to support opinions
17. Report orally and summarize personal discoveries he/she has made as a result of reading, listening, and viewing
18. Summarize/paraphrase central concepts from oral and visual presentations
19. Ask and seek answers to questions
20. Demonstrate an initial understanding of verbal communication skills
á Word choice
á Voice control
á Projection
á Pace
á Tone
á Inflection
á Pronunciation
á Articulation
21. Demonstrate an initial understanding of non-verbal communication skills
á Poise
á Posture
á Hand control
á Facial expression
á Body language
á Eye contact
á Appearance
22. Use a variety of media and technological resources to make creative and expository oral presentations
CONTENT STANDARD: PROCESS WRITING
Process writing includes those steps through which writers move regardless of audience, purpose, focus, or particular mode of writing. All students are expected to use the skills and strategies of the writing process to explore ideas; to present lines of thought; to represent and reflect on human experience; and to communicate feelings, knowledge, and opinions.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to edit written work for spelling, mechanics, and usage
3. Identify strengths and weaknesses in his/her own writing and seek help from others
4. In an on-demand, age-appropriate writing situation, plan, draft, and revise a well-developed, organized piece that demonstrates effective use of language, voice, and command of mechanics
CONTENT STANDARD: CREATIVE WRITING
Creative writing is expressive and imaginative writing. All students are expected to use the techniques of creative writing to explore ideas; to represent and reflect on human experience; and to communicate feelings.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Demonstrate an initial understanding of the elements of a short story and develop stories reflecting that understanding
CONTENT STANDARD: PRACTICAL WRITING
Practical writing is formulaic writing. All students are expected to be able to use writing skills to conduct personal and career-related business .
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Write legibly in cursive
3. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to create and print a computer-generated classroom newspaper and/or literary magazine
4. Use the computer to send and receive messages
CONTENT STANDARD: EXPOSITORY WRITING
Expository writing includes informative and persuasive writing. All students are expected to use the techniques of exposition to explore ideas; to present lines of thought; to represent and reflect on human experience; to communicate feelings, knowledge, and opinions; and to present information gleaned from research.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Grade 4 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the well-structured paragraph
á Topic sentence
á Supporting sentences
á Clincher sentence
3. Write one-paragraph essays (or other pieces) that
á Include topic sentences, supporting sentences, and clincher sentences
á Show awareness of a variety of intended audiences and identifiable purposes
4. Demonstrate an initial understanding that the printed word is not necessarily based on fact
5. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to summarize and paraphrase reference material without plagiarizing
6. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to cite sources
CONTENT STANDARD: DEVELOPMENTAL (PROCESS) READING
Just as there are stages through which all effective writers pass to one degree or another, there are stages through which all effective readers pass. Developmental reading is characterized by the reader tackling the written language in order to differentiate among letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs. The reader learns decoding skills for recognizing and determining the meaning of unfamiliar words and learns to recognize various text structures and the organization of informational books. All students are expected to use the reading process to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate what they have read.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
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
á Revising
á Post-reading
3. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to adjust reading speed to suit purpose and difficulty of material
á Skimming
á Scanning
á Reading intensively
4. Demonstrate an initial understanding of the distinction between literal and figurative language
5. Demonstrate an understanding of specialized vocabularies used in instructional texts
6. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to 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)
7. Read cursive writing
CONTENT STANDARD: FUNCTIONAL READING
Functional reading is characterized by the reader tackling diverse texts and purposes for reading. The reader learns to use background knowledge to aid comprehension and to apply some general strategies for remembering information. All students are expected to use reading strategies (1) to experience, understand, and appreciate literature and culture and (2) to extract meaning from, recognize assumptions and implications within, and evaluate ideas presented in informational texts.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
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
á Begin to demonstrate awareness of the culture and geography pertinent to the texts read
á Use literary pieces to understand and appreciate the actions of others
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
á Recognize when a text is primarily intended to persuade
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
á Recognize when and how information in a text connects to prior knowledge
3. Share responses to quality literature with peers, citing reasons and making comparisons to other reading or viewing or to life experiences
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
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
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
CONTENT STANDARD: RECREATIONAL READING
Recreational reading is characterized by the reader reading for pleasure or for personal purposes, not for purposes prescribed by a course of study or a career. All students are expected to use reading to fulfill personal and social needs.
Performance Indicators: The learner will·
|
Kindergarten-Grade 12 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Read for pleasure
3. Read for personal purposes
4. Listen as literature is read aloud
5. Read to others, especially to children
6. Select, abandon, and re-read texts according to personal needs and interests