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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Identify the properties and functions of the eight parts of speech
á Nouns and pronouns
á Properties
á Person
á Verbs
á Properties
á Number
á Adjectives
á Properties
á Attributive/appositive
á Adverbs
á Properties
á Mobility
3. Avoid fragments and run-ons
4. Demonstrate an initial understanding of how to use commas correctly to set off
á Appositives
á Parenthetical expressions
5. Consult pertinent information sources on language (e.g., a dictionary, a thesaurus, a handbook on style)
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·
|
Grades 5-8 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Listen to and follow multi-step and sometimes complex directions
3. Demonstrate the ability to listen and view
á Critically
4. Adjust listening and viewing strategies in order to comprehend material heard and viewed
5. Generate and evaluate the notes taken from course-related listening and viewing
6. Demonstrate an understanding of how situation may dictate language usage
7. Use verbal communication skills effectively
á Word choice
á Voice control
á Projection
á Pace
á Tone
á Inflection
á Pronunciation
á Articulation
8. Use non-verbal communication skills effectively
á Poise
á Posture
á Hand control
á Facial expression
á Body language
á Eye contact
á Appearance
9. Compare and contrast a speaker's verbal and non-verbal messages
10. Speak effectively in a variety of contexts
á Impromptu
á Extemporaneous
á Role-playing (individually and as part of a group)
á Dramatic skits
11. Compare and contrast ideas shared orally and visually
12. Value the right of others to express a point of view without fear of being criticized personally
13. Ask questions and apply personal interpretations in class discussions after reading, listening, and/or viewing
14. Give and seek information in group discussions
15. Use discussions with peers as a way of understanding information presented orally and/or visually
16. Use interviewing techniques to gain information, compile the information gained from the interview, and evaluate the effectiveness of the interview
17. Deliver oral presentations that
á Effectively use descriptive language to clarify, enhance, and develop ideas
á Effectively use inflection and body language to convey meaning
á Include a variety of sentence structures and lengths
á Are targeted for various audiences
á Achieve distinct purposes (e.g., to persuade, evaluate, analyze, defend)
á Effectively employ explicit transitional devices in order to organize ideas sequentially, change a situation, or move the listener
á Effectively engage peers during presentation and field responses afterward
á Incorporate appropriate visual aids
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Use the writing process to complete written work
á Editing
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Write original poems based on appropriate models from literature
á Clerihew
á Limerick
á Parody of a nursery rhyme
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Write a variety of business letters, using the appropriate format
3. Create and print a computer-generated classroom newspaper and/or literary magazine
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Write three-paragraph essays (or other pieces) that
á Use a variety of sentence lengths to aid fluency
3. Develop a search strategy which makes use of appropriate and available resources
4. Formulate and record questions to ask when gathering information
5. Select the best sources for a given research purpose
6. Use search engines and other Internet resources to collect information for research topics
7. Record and share information gleaned from a variety of sources
8. Collect and synthesize data for research topics from interviews and field work, using note-taking and other appropriate strategies
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Adjust reading speed to suit purpose and difficulty of material
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)
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 6 |
1. Review and extend prior learning
2. Summarize whole text (fiction and nonfiction) by selecting and summarizing important and representative passages
á Book talks
á Book reports
á Chapter summaries
3. Read for a variety of purposes
á To aid in making decisions
á To follow multi-step instructions
á To follow an argument
4. Read and comprehend a variety of fiction and non-fiction selections in order to
á Use knowledge of literary forms to aid comprehension and to predict outcomes
á Explain how new information from a text changes personal knowledge
á Distinguish between the purpose of a literary work and the personal response of the individual reader
á Identify the simple actions and interactions involving main and subordinate characters in a work
á Identify the author's purpose and the author's point of view in informational texts
á Identify different ways informational texts are organized
á Compare and contrast information found in one text with information found in another
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