English/Language Arts (Reading and Writing) Curriculum and Course Descriptions

KINDERGARTEN READING and WRITING

Getting Ready to Read

• Name the capital letters in alphabetical and random order
• Name the lower-case letters in alphabetical and random order
• Know consonant sounds
• Use basic phonetic principles
• Name a word which rhymes with a clue word
• Name words that start with a specific sound
• Know to read from left to right, top to bottom, and from front to back
• Name colors, body parts, and shapes

Reading Listening Skills

• Listen to nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and short stories for important details
• Predict story endings
• Recite a rhyme with a group or by themselves
• Talk about rhymes, fairy tales, and stories
• Identify what parts of a fairy tale could not really happen
• Tell a story from a picture
• Read their own first and last names

Handwriting

• Print from left to right and top to bottom
• Print capital letters using correct letter formation
• Print lower-case letters using correct letter formation
• Write numbers 0-20
• Print first and last name clearly using correct letter formation, spacing between first and last name

Draw and Tell to Show Ideas

• Know what sequencing is
• Draw a picture which shows the sequence of a story and other things
• Tell a story or an idea in sequence by drawing
• Tell what your drawings are about and know when you are done talking

Be a Good Listener

• Look at the speaker
• Be quiet when someone is speaking
• Keep hands and feet to oneself and not bother others
• Avoid interrupting
• Ask and answer questions about important details in complete thoughts

Group Discussion

• Share ideas and feeling
• Answer and ask question in complete thoughts
• Tell ideas in sequence and know when you are done
• Speak loud enough to be heard, but not too loud
• Wait your turn to talk, not distract others, and look at others when they talk

FIRST GRADE READING and WRITING

Read and Understand the Meaning of Simple Words

• Apply basic phonetic analysis (initial and final consonants, initial diagraphs, two-letter blends, CVC word patterns)
• Read words with long and short vowel patterns
• Read and comprehend word endings/suffixes(-possessives, -ed, -ing, plurals)
• Read and use sight words
• Name words with opposite meanings (antonyms), words that rhyme, simple compound words, and synonyms
• Distinguish between naming and action words (nouns and verbs)
• Use picture clues to read and understand words
• Put words in alphabetical order

Read for Meaning (Main Idea, Sequence) and Read Aloud Smoothly

• Read left to right, top to bottom, and front to back
• Choose books of interest that they can read
• Tell fiction from nonfiction (real and make-believe stories)
• Tell the main idea and sequence
• Predict what will happen next
• Tell about the setting and plot (main characters, events, theme, cause and effect, conclusion)
• Read aloud smoothly

Communicate through Writing

• Know when a group of words is a sentence
• Print using the correct form and neatly so others can read their printing (appropriate spacing of letters and words)
• Write sentences that begin with a capital letter and end with a period
• Keep a journal using words, sentences, drawings, and invented spelling
• Write about personal experiences using proper sentences
• Use sight words in sentence
• Develop and write a story including illustrations
• Identify the purpose of capital letters, periods, question marks, and exclamation points

Discussions

• Discuss what they read
• Tell the main idea and show something (photograph, object, drawing) to make their idea clearer
• Use a sequence when speaking
• Use correct loudness when speaking and stand still when speaking
• Tell ideas about what you read or heard in a discussion or a large group
• Tell a personal experience and retell stories in sequence and know when what you tell is complete
• During a discussion wait your turn to talk, listen to others while you wait, and stay on the topic

Listening

• Sit quietly without disturbing others and show the speaker you are listening
• Listen for main ideas and recall sequences
• Ask appropriate questions
• Follow one and two step directions

SECOND GRADE READING and WRITING

Read and Understand the Meaning of Simple Words

• Apply common nonexceptional phonetic analysis (blends, medial consonants, final digraphs, r-controlled vowels, silent e, and double vowels/dipthongs)
• Identify and know meanings of compound words, contractions, root words, prefixes (un-, dis-) suffixes (-ly, -ful) and word ending (-er, -est)
• Read and use sight words
• Identify and correctly use nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns
• Identify and use opposites (antonyms), rhyming words, synonyms, homonyms
• Alphabetize words to the second letter

Read for Meaning and Demonstrate Oral Reading Skills

• Choose books of interest that they can read
• Distinguish between and talk about fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, and nonficiton
• Identify and describe the main idea, important details, sequence, setting (time and place), plot, characters, problem, and solution to the problem
• Predict outcomes and draw conclusions
• Summarize a story using main idea, supporting details, cause and effect, time periods, facts and sequence
• Read aloud smoothly and expressively with proper phrasing
• Use a variety of comprehension strategies (rereading, predicting, questioning)
• Distinguish between poetry, riddles, plays, everyday print (e.g. recipes, simple schedules)
• Use a dictionary and glossary of a book to locate information
• Read and follow multi-step directions
• Make connections between a text and personal experience
• Express own opinions about text

Communicate through Writing

• Print using the correct form and neatly so others can read their printing (appropriate spacing of letters and words)
• Use pre-writing strategies (drawing, fast writing, mapping, and clustering)
• Use editing marks
• Revise writing-Final draft will contain proper spelling, capital letters at the beginning of sentences and periods, question marks, and exclamation points at the end
• Write a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end
• Write a paragraph, stories, biographies, articles, poems, journals, letters, and books
• Write a friendly letter and address an envelope
• Stay on topic in writing

Discussions and Oral Presentations

• Demonstrate oral reading skills and make a brief oral presentation
• Keep feet still, speak clearly, and use correct loudness when speaking to small and large groups
• Make your idea clear
• Sequence when speaking
• Tell a personal experience and retell something they have read and know what they tell is complete
• Tell facts from opinions and tell facts and opinions in a clear and logical order
• Add good ideas in small and large group discussions when it is their turn
• Answer questions briefly and clearly

Listening Skills

• Sit quietly without disturbing others and show the speaker you are listening
• Listen for main ideas, recall sequences, and important details
• Ask appropriate questions
• Follow multi-step directions

THIRD GRADE READING and WRITING

Benchmark Level 1
Given During the Spring

Increasing Vocabulary

• Use sounds and patterns as tools to decode words
• Use contextual and semantic cues to decode unfamiliar words
• Break words into syllables
• Use antonyms (opposites), rhyming words, synonyms, compound words, and common homonyms
• Identify and understand root words, prefixes, suffixes, singular/plural, (possessives)
• Forms new words using knowledge of root words and affixes
• Alphabetize to the third letter and find words in a dictionary
• Begin to identify and use parts of speech and appropriate sentence structure (noun, verb, complete sentence, compound sentence, noun/verb agreement, proper tense, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, and prepositions

Read for Meaning and Demonstrate Oral Reading Skills

• Use comprehension strategies before, during and after reading a text:
• Before reading: preview text, link to prior knowledge, set purposes
• During reading: paraphrase text, monitor comprehension, integrate ideas, adjust purposes
• After reading: summarize text, evaluate ideas, apply ideas
• Choose reading selections for a particular purpose (pleasure, information, research) and at correct reading level
• Read a variety of forms of text (e.g. stories, informational texts, poetry, lists, letters, biographies, recipes)
• Distinguish between, talk and write about fiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry, short story, drama, legends, fairy tales, novel, realistic fiction
• Follow multi-step directions(written and oral), predict next step and outcome, and draw conclusions
• Tell about story elements (setting, plot, characters, problem, resolution)
• Identify topic, events in a sequence, important details, use picture clues and meaning clues, and write summaries
• Reread to search for more information and/or confirm ideas
• Develop critical thinking by differentiating between fact and opinion, distinguish cause and effect
• Identify point of view (e.g. speaker, character, author, reader)
• Use text structures such as table of contents, keywords, index, and glossary to support purpose of reading
• Recognize and self-correct errors that affect meaning while reading
• Read fluently with appropriate expression
• Reads for specific information and writes nonfiction text based on information obtained from nonfiction sources

Communicate through Writing

• Plan, draft, revise, and edit stories, simple explanations, and short reports
• Write legibly in cursive
• Write complete sentences with a subject and a predicate
• Writes a story that addresses the topic of a prompt and includes a beginning, middle and end
• Clearly communicate a main idea and proper/correct sequence (eliminating sentences that do not belong or adding sentences)
• Writes a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting details
• Identifies correct subject/verb agreement
• Writes an imaginative story
• Writes a clear, organized, and brief summary
• Demonstrates prewriting strategies (fast writing, brainstorming, mapping, clustering, etc.) and writing processes when writing narratives, retellings, and simple explanations
• Write for a specific audience while consistently using: voice, organization, correct conventions, specific and vivid word choice, and sentence fluency
• Write descriptive paragraphs: develop a plan for writing, focus on a central idea, group related ideas, include a topic sentence and supporting details, revise writing for clarity, and edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
• Identifies the use and purpose of exclamation points and quotation marks in dialogue
• Identifies and uses apostrophes, periods, commas, question mark, exclamation points, and quotation marks
• Identifies and corrects basic mistakes in: high-frequency spelling words, including high-frequency homophones, capitalization (including book titles), and ending punctuation
• Combines related sentences for purposes of clarity without changing their meaning (combines and punctuates two sentences, with and without conjunctions)
• Revises and writes for detail and clarity

Discussions and Oral Presentations

• Organize thoughts before speaking or discussing, use visual supports, and speak in complete sentences
• Stand straight, face group, keep feet still, make eye contact, speak clearly
• Add good ideas in small and large group discussions when it is their turn
• Briefly and clearly answer questions

Listening Skills

• Listen attentively by looking at the speaker, asking questions, and paraphrasing what is said
• Use active listening to summarize, respond, recall main ideas, sequences, and important details
• Express and support an opinion about what they hear and view
• Use appropriate vocabulary with different audiences
• Understand and follow directions

FOURTH GRADE READING and WRITING

Increasing Vocabulary

• Use context to determine word meaning
• Identify the meaning that applies to the context when a word has multiple meanings
• Alphabetize to the fourth letter
• Find specific words in the dictionary and use the dictionary to understand words
• Identify, understand and use synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms

Use Reading Strategies

• Use context, sentence structure, and structural analysis as clues to word identification and meaning
• Meaning (context)
• Structure analysis (contractions, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, root words, and plurals)
• Use auditory discrimination, visual discrimination, and phonics to determine word pronunciation
• Use a variety of reading strategies to comprehend informational text (e.g. skimming, scanning and locating specific information to support opinion)
• Use organizers of text (e.g. examples, graphs, pictures, summaries, Italics, margin notes, tables, definitions, and bold print)
• Use knowledge of figurative language (e.g., simile, personification, metaphor)
• Recognize and use expository writing elements (e.g. comparison, and contrast, cause and effect, and chronological order)

Increase Comprehension

• Make and confirm predictions by using prior knowledge, illustrations, titles, topic sentences, key words, and foreshadowing
• Recognize and recall the order of story events
• Compare and contrast information on a single topic in relation to several sources
• Use facts to draw conclusions and support position and opinion
• Classify and summarize major events
• Differentiate fact from opinion
• Consider and discuss author’s purpose(s)
• Infer meaning from text
• Read and follow multi-step directions to complete a task
• Comprehend at the literal, factual, inferential, evaluative and multiple meaning levels
• Higher thinking skills (analyze, evaluate, classify, predict, generalize, solve, relate, interpret, simplify)
• Adjust reading speed to reader purpose

Communicate through Writing

• Use legible cursive writing
• Use prewriting strategies: brainstorming, mapping, clustering, graphic organizers, fast writing, simple note-taking skills, interviewing, make lists
• Write complete sentences with a purpose, theme, idea
• Identify and use parts of speech and appropriate sentence structure when writing including: noun, verb, complete sentence, compound sentence, noun/verb agreement, proper tense, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, possessive nouns, punctuation(period, question mar, exclamation mark, apostrophe, commas in a series for combining sentences, and quotations),
• State the main idea of the paragraph in one sentence
• Fully explain the main idea with a logical sequence of ideas and supportive and relevant details
• Use cause and effect as an organizational pattern and write fact and opinion paragraphs
• Use elements of style, including word choice, tone, voice, and sentence variation
• Paraphrase or summarize information
• Use encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspapers, and other texts to gather information for research projects
• List titles and authors of materials used as sources and references
• Publish a variety of types of writing: journals, letters, learning logs, nonfiction reports, poetry, fiction
• Final draft uses correct usage, spelling capital letters, end punctuation, format (indentation, heading, margin) sentences, and words which communicate clearly

DISCUSSIONS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

• Prepare and use brief notes which guide the presentation, which are not read to the class
• Speak clearly at an understandable rate and volume
• State the main idea and fully explain it in an organized manner
• Answer questions from peers and ask questions of peers
• Give a brief oral report (e.g. book report, current event, demonstration)

LISTENING SKILLS

• Listen and contribute to small-group discussions; respond specifically to questions
• Use active listening to summarize, respond, recall main ideas, sequences, and important details
• Understand and follow directions

FIFTH GRADE READING and WRITING

INCREASING VOCABULARY

• Use visual clues, word form, context clues, knowledge or word origins, roots, structure, dictionaries and glossaries, to comprehend new words in text
• Identify the contextual meaning of a word that has multiple meanings
• Identify, understand, and use synonyms, antonyms (opposites), and homonyms
• Alphabetize quickly and use the dictionary for a variety of purposes
• Continually expand vocabulary and concept knowledge through reading and listening

USING READING STRATEGIES

• Locate and choose reading selections for a particular purpose (pleasure, information, and research)
  Use organizers of text (e.g., examples, graphs, summaries, Italics, margin notes, tables, definitions and bold print)
• Recognize and self-correct errors that affect meaning while reading
• Demonstrate understanding of literal and figurative use of words in context
• Use context, sentence structure, and structural analysis as clues to word identification and meaning
• Independently integrate word analysis skills in reading: meaning (context), structure (language), visual (phonetic cues), own background knowledge
• Independently integrate structural analysis skills (apply rules) in reading: contractions, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and plurals
• Skim, scan, and read for meaning and for inference
• Skim, scan, and identify topic, events in sequence, and specific details
• Take notes on nonfiction reading, summarize reading, and use reading as a basis for speaking and writing
• Construct meaning from print, based on prior knowledge, past experiences, and purpose
• Reread for understanding
• Use different reading strategies from reading fiction and nonfiction

INCREASE COMPREHENSION

• Explain and summarize setting, plot, characters, problem, solution, and main event
• Identify and explain cause/effect and comparison/contrast and use them to explain poetry and narrative and justify predictions
• Draw and justify inferences
• Distinguish, talk, and write about poetry, fiction and nonfiction narratives and relate them to student’s life
• Explain and analyze text using literary devices (e.g., imagery and symbolism)
• Demonstrate critical analysis by drawing inferences, conclusions, or generalizations
• Support opinions/positions by using text evidence
• Identify and analyze the characteristics of nonfiction, fiction, drama, poetry, prose, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, schedules, menus
• Recall important details and events when retelling a story
• Compare and contrast plots, settings, theme, and characters in a variety of works by a variety of writers
• Read and follow multi-step directions to complete a task
• Develop an understanding of purpose in nonfiction materials
• Recognize elements of fiction, including character, plot, setting, time, and point of view
• Write meaningful responses to poetry and narratives
• Comprehend by summarizing major events, restating and sequencing events, predicting, drawing conclusions, making inferences, form opinions, ask critical questions

COMMUNICATE THROUGH WRITING

• Use legible cursive writing
• Use prewriting strategies for various writing purposes and audiences: brainstorming, mapping, clustering, graphic organizers, fast writing, simple note-taking skills, interviewing, making lists, conducting interviews
• Write complete sentences with a purpose/theme/idea, with a clear beginning/ middle/end, with a unique voice/personality, and with supportive and relevant details
• Use vocabulary effectively (interesting, precise words)
• Vary sentence structure, length and types (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative)
• State the main idea of the paragraph in one sentence and fully develop the idea in a logical sequence
• Use cause/effect and comparison/contrast as organizational patterns
• Paraphrase or summarize what is heard or read
• Hypothesize
• Connect knowledge within and across content areas
• Synthesize information to construct new concepts
• Edit copies for grammar (correct usage), capitalization, spelling, punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark, apostrophe, comas in a series for combining sentences, quotations, colon, semicolon, and, format (indentation, heading, margin), and best word choice
• Know the parts of business and personal letters and be able to write letters in proper form
• Communicate ideas and feelings in poems with sensory or imaginative details and poetic form
• Write structured multi-paragraph narratives with descriptive elements (biographies and original stories) and good transition
• Use an analytic rubric to guide personal writing
• Publish a variety of types of writing: journals, letters, learning logs, nonfiction reports, poetry, fiction

DISCUSSIONS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

• Determine appropriate content for audience
• Prepare and use brief notes which guide the presentation, that are not read to the class
• Organize content sequentially or around major ideas
• Summarize main points before or after presentation
• Express ideas orally in a variety of situations, including small and large groups
• Use facial expression to support or dramatize verbal message

LISTENING SKILLS

• Listen to and follow multiple-step oral directions in small and large groups
• Listen without interrupting
• Listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject related group learning activities across content areas
• Demonstrate active listening skills in discussions to synthesize, evaluate, and apply ideas and information
• Recognize and respond appropriately to questions

SIXTH GRADE READING and WRITING

BENCHMARK LEVEL2
Given During the Spring

INCREASING VOCABULARY

• Use knowledge of phonetic skills, visual clues, word form, context clues, knowledge or word origins, roots, structure, dictionaries and glossaries, to comprehend new words in text
• Identify the contextual meaning of a word that has multiple meanings
• Identify, understand, and use synonyms, antonyms (opposites), homonyms, and all common suffixes and prefixes
• Alphabetize quickly and use the dictionary for a variety of purposes
• Readily use textbooks, dictionary, atlas, encyclopedia, and thesaurus to understand unknown words
• Continually expand vocabulary and concept knowledge through reading and listening

USING READING STRATEGIES

• Skim, scan, study, take notes, and summarize
• Reread for understanding
• Uses word origins to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and identifies multiple synonyms of a word
• Use organizers of text (e.g., examples, graphs, pictures, summaries, Italics, margin notes, tables, definitions, and bold print)
• Locate and choose reading selections for a particular purpose (pleasure, information, and research)
• Recognize and self-correct errors that affect meaning while reading
• Demonstrate understanding of literal and figurative use of words in context
• Apply previously learned strategies:
• Structural analysis skills (apply rules):contractions, compound words, prefixes, suffixes, root words, and plurals
• Use context, sentence structure, structural analysis as clues to word identification and meaning
• Use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus) when appropriate while reading and writing
• Take notes on nonfiction reading, summarize reading, and use reading as a basis for speaking and writing
• Construct meaning from print, based on prior knowledge, past experiences, and reader’s and author’s purpose.
  

INCREASE COMPREHENSION

• Demonstrate critical analysis by comparing and contrasting information drawn from a variety of texts
• Support opinion/position using text evidence and evidence found in related sources
• Identify and analyze the characteristic of nonfiction, fiction, drama, and poetry
• Predicts story outcomes based on knowledge of types of literature, and explains the difference between fiction and nonfiction
• Read a variety of text types: informational, literature, newspaper/magazine, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, science fiction
• Identify and analyze the characteristics of nonfiction, fiction, drama, poetry, prose, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, schedules, menus
• Explore a variety of literary forms: short story, novel
• Identify the series or event which led to the main problem or conflict of the plot and how it is or is not resolved
• Discriminates between main plot and subplots, main and minor characters, and elements of a setting in a written selection
• Demonstrate understanding by drawing conclusions and making inferences based on explicit and implied information
• Retell stories with accuracy for details while critically choosing important events
• Distinguish between first and third persons points of view
• Read and follow multi-step directions to complete a task
• Interprets and applies information from a key
• Interprets complex directions to understand and solve problems
• Compare and contrast authors’ styles
• Explains and infers the author’s meaning from the text
• Makes connections between the main ideas and concepts in one passage to related topics and provides supporting details
• Identify, summarize, and evaluate literary elements in novels (character, setting, plot, conflict, time, point of view, theme)
• Define imagery, identify examples of imagery, and explain the impact of examples of imagery
• Comprehend by summarizing major events, restating and sequencing events, predicting, drawing conclusions, making inferences, forming opinions, asking critical questions

COMMUNICATE THROUGH WRITING

• Use legible cursive writing
• Use prewriting strategies for various purposes and audiences: brainstorming, mapping, clustering, graphic organizers, fast writing, simple note-taking skills, interviewing, making lists, conducting interviews
• Write complete sentences with a purpose/theme/idea, with a clear beginning/middle/end, with a unique voice/personality, and with supportive and relevant details
• Paraphrase or summarize what is heard or read
• Synthesize information to construct new concepts
• Use the comparison and contrast of ides as a writing/thinking strategy
• Cites titles and authors of sources used as references
• Organize information from a variety of sources in different ways
• Write on a topic with broad development
• Develops the topic in an organized manner (a logical, sequential way)
• Uses a variety of sentence lengths, structures, and types (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative)
• State the main idea of the paragraph in one sentence and fully develop the idea in a logical sequence
• Chooses words that are accurate and colorful (interesting, precise words), including some figurative language
• Locate and corrects errors in: spelling, punctuation, verb, pronoun, homonym usage, punctuation of contractions, subject/verb agreement, comparative adjectives, and sentence fragments
• Correctly uses adverbs of comparison, appropriate verb tense, and pronouns referring to antecedents
• Combines sentences using conjunctions to make writing concise
• Improves paragraph structure by adding supporting details
• Edit copies for grammar (correct usage), capitalization, spelling, punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation mark, apostrophe, comas in a series for combining sentences, quotations, colon, semicolon, and format (indentation, heading, margin) and best word choice
• Write structure multi-paragraph narratives with descriptive elements and good transition
• Use an analytical rubric to guide personal writing
• Publish a variety of types of writing: journals, letters, learning logs, nonfiction reports, poetry, fiction
• Use library: use electronic card catalog (title, author, subject searches), locate information using (call number on spine, table of contents, glossary, publisher, place of publication, copyright date)

DISCUSSIONS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

• Determine appropriate content for different audiences and purposes
• Communicate as leaders and contributors
• Prepare and use brief notes which guide the presentation, which are not read to the class
• Organize content around major ideas or sequentially (introduction, body, review)
• Summarize main points before and after presentation
• Select, develop, and use a variety of visual aids
• Present justified evaluations and interpretations of novels , other fiction, and nonfiction
• Orally read imagery with dramatic impact (rhythm, flow, expression, knowledge of punctuation)
• Evaluate the student’s own contributions to discussions

LISTENING SKILLS

• Demonstrate the social skills of audience behavior (eye contact, without interrupting, attentive, supportive)
• Recognize and respond appropriately to questions
• Summarize, take notes on key points, and ask clarifying questions
• Listen to and follow multi-step oral directions in small and large groups
• Listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject related group learning activities across content areas
• Demonstrate active listening skills in discussions to synthesize, evaluate, and apply ideas and information

SEVENTH GRADE READING and WRITING

INCREASING VOCABULARY

• Determine meaning of a word with context and structure clues, reference books (dictionaries and glossaries), and word order/structure (roots and affixes)
• Identify the contextual meaning of a word that has multiple meanings
• Readily use textbooks, dictionary, atlas, encyclopedia, and thesaurus to understand unknown words
• Develop and explain your system for learning vocabulary in all subject areas
• Continually expand vocabulary and concept knowledge through reading and listening

USING READING STRATEGIES

• Demonstrate purpose of reading by explaining, interviewing, conducting research, debating, collaborating, writing, and speaking
• Reread for understanding
• Explain how they have adapted reading strategies to different subjects and for different purposes
• Develop and explain their system for marking written material (underline, highlight, margin notes, stickies)
• Use a variety of note-taking skills: outlining, bubbling, mapping, flow charts, spreadsheets
• Identify and use skim, scan, and study sections, organizational pattern, format, graphic elements, and visual keys for all textbooks
• Identify and practice comprehensive reading strategies: context clues, prefixes, and suffixes
• Use references: alphabetize, use guide words and entry words, pronunciation key, choose appropriate word meaning, note word origin, use information on the spine to locate appropriate volume, use index, use thesaurus, almanac and atlas
• Construct meaning from print, based on prior knowledge, past experiences, and reader’s and author’s purpose

INCREASING COMPREHENSION

• Demonstrate comprehension by main idea, retelling the sequence of events, comparing/contrasting to relate works, etc. and prior knowledge or experiences
• Read for information, appreciation and pleasure by reading poetry, short stories, speeches, novels, nonfiction, newspaper/magazine, biography, autobiography, science fiction, letters, diaries, journals, and drama
• Read and demonstrate understanding of multiple-step directions by completing a project or task
• Participate in small and large group literature study
• Demonstrate knowledge of elements of literature by recognizing character, setting, plot, plot line, point of view (fact and opinion), time, and theme in narratives (determine their importance to the story)
• Demonstrate knowledge of nonfiction by recognizing fact and opinion, bias, purpose, validity, and credibility in a variety of nonfiction sources
• Demonstrate knowledge of author’s work by recognizing and understanding word choice, figurative language, and poetic devices in poetry
• Analyze the basic rules (conventions) of the four genres of fiction (short story, drama, novel, and poetry)
• Discriminates between main plot and subplots, main and minor characters, and elements of a setting in a written selection
• Summarize and discuss plot and subplot including initial incidents, rising actions, climax, resolution, falling action, foreshadowing, and conflict
• Distinguish between first and third persons points of view
• Comprehend by summarizing major events, restating and sequencing events, predicting, drawing conclusions, making inferences, forming opinions, cause/effect, and asking critical questions

COMMUNICATE THROUGH WRITING

• Use legible and cursive writing
• Form and explain own standards for quality writing
• Use an analytical rubric to guide personal writing
• Apply knowledge of prewriting strategies for various purposes and audiences: brainstorming, mapping, clustering, graphic organizers, fast writing, simple note-taking skills, interviewing, making lists, conducting interviews
• Elaborate a central idea, provide supporting evidence, and develop a conclusion
• State the main idea of the paragraph in one sentence and fully develop the idea in a logical sequence
• Choose vocabulary that conveys imagery, tone, voice, and purpose (including some figurative language)
• Revise writing for clarity
• Use appropriate sentence and paragraph structure in an organized manner
• Use a word processor to plan, draft, revise, and publish some writings
• Expand vocabulary and spelling skills
• Demonstrate an understanding of clauses and phrases when writing complex sentences
• Compose and present short stories, poetry, diaries, journals, non-fiction reports, and learning logs with a primary focus upon narrative
• Write, structure multi-paragraph narratives with descriptive elements and good transition
• Combines sentence using conjunctions to make writing concise
• Edit final copies to ensure correct use of grammar (e.g., subject-verb agreement, verb tense consistency, uses adverbs of comparison, pronouns referring to antecedents, and homonyms)
• Use library: use electronic card catalog (title, author, subject searches), locate information using (call number on spine, table of contents, glossary, publisher, place of publication, copyright date)
• Apply research skills including evaluating the validity, objectivity, reliability, and quality of information read, heard and seen
• Document sources

DISCUSSIONS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

• Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner (prepare and use brief notes, summarize main points before and after presentations, introduction, body, review)
• As probing questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas
• Make supportive statements to communicate agreement, disagreement, or acceptance of others’ ideas
• Develop and articulate personal opinions
• Identify the relationship between a speaker’s verbal and nonverbal messages
• Verbal communication: word choice, pitch, feeling, tone, and voice
• Nonverbal communication: eye contact, posture, and gesture
• Identify persuasive techniques
• Distinguish from fact/opinion (cite information in presentations)
• Use statistics, quotations, examples, stories, analogies and graphics or visual aids as support
• Evaluate student’s own contribution to discussions

LISTENING SKILLS

• Demonstrate the social skills of audience behavior (eye contact, with out interrupting, attentive, supportive)
• Listen with an open mind (wait until all information has been received to form an opinion)
• Listen to learn: develop and explain your own method of taking, keeping, and reviewing notes on key points
• Listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject related group learning activities across content areas
  

EIGHTH GRADE READING and WRITING

BENCHMARK LEVEL 3
Given During the Spring

INCREASING VOCABULARY

• Determine meaning of a word with context and structure clues, reference books (dictionaries and glossaries), and word origins/structure (roots and affixes)
• Uses context clues to determine the meaning of jargon
• Identify the contextual meaning of a word that has multiple meanings
• Readily use textbooks, dictionary, atlas, encyclopedia, and thesaurus to understand unknown words
• Gain an appreciation for connotation and subtlety in language
• Develop and explain your system for learning vocabulary in all subject areas
• Continually expand vocabulary and concept knowledge through reading and listening

USING READING STRATEGIES

• Identify and practice comprehensive reading strategies
• Consulting reference materials
• Alphabetize, use guide words and entry words, pronunciation key, choose appropriate word meaning, note word origin, use information on the spine to locate appropriate volume, use index, use thesaurus, almanac, and atlas
• Heading and subheadings
• Context clues, prefixes, and suffixes
• Develop and explain your system for marking written material (underline, highlight, margin notes, stickies)
• Use a variety of note-taking skills: outlining, bubbling, mapping, flow charts, spreadsheets
• Identify and use skim, scan, and study sections, organizational pattern, format, graphic elements, and visual keys for all textbooks
• Explain how you have adapted reading strategies to different subjects for different purposes
• Demonstrate purpose of reading by explaining, interviewing, conducting research, debating, collaborating, writing, and speaking
• Construct meaning from print, based on prior knowledge, past experiences, and readers’ and authors’ purpose

INCREASING COMPREHENSION

• Summarizing and analyzing materials from the text
• Read and summarize self-selected, group-selected, and teacher-selected materials
• Write and verbalize a summary of information from a variety of reading materials
• Respond to literature through individual and group projects (time writing, playwriting, writer’s notebook, storytelling, dramatic performances, artistic projects)
• Read, understand and apply multi-step directions to complete a project with varying degrees of instruction
• Follows simple directions to determine what information is asked for on a simple form
• Identifies where information belongs on a simple form
• Understands terminology needed to complete an application form
• Analyze and evaluate narrative elements
• Recognize how the elements of literature (character, setting, plot, theme, voice, tone, point of view, and poetic devices) function in written work and determine their importance to the story
• Identify the elements of literature that work to create an author’s style
• Figurative language (simile, metaphor, alliteration)
• Role of characters (protagonist and antagonist)
• Compares characters in a play
• Identify irony in literature
• Retells a story from a different point of view using more than one supporting detail
• Draws a conclusion about a person based on a statement made in an interview
• Demonstrate comprehension by stating main idea, retelling the sequence of events, comparing/contrasting to relate works, etc. and prior knowledge or experiences
• Read for information, appreciation and pleasure by reading poetry, short stories, speeches, novels, nonfiction, newspaper/magazine, biography, autobiography, science fiction, letters, diaries, journals, and drama
• Analyze the basic rules (conventions) of the four genres of fiction (short story, drama, novel, and poetry)
• Demonstrate an understanding of narrative structure in various forms of literature (i.e., exposition, development of conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution)
• Read with the rhythm, punctuation and line breaks in poetry
• Discriminate between main plot and subplots, main and minor characters, and elements of a setting in a written selection
• Understand and express the main idea in an expository text and list supporting details of the main idea
• Use quotations from the text to support their understanding of the text’s message
• Comprehend by summarizing major events, restating and sequencing events, predicating, drawing conclusions, making inferences, forming opinions, cause/effect, and asking critical questions
• Analyze author’s purpose
• Identifies an implied opinion
• Identifies the cause of a change in tone
• Interprets a complex phrase
• Interprets complex sentences to support theme
• Analyzes an author’s technique to determine the author’s purpose

COMMUNICATE THROUGH WRITING

• Use legible and cursive writing to produce legible documents
• Demonstrate the use of writing strategies and process when writing expressive, informational, persuasive, and research based writing assignments
• Write an effective response to material
• Identify audience in a piece of writing
• Identify purpose in a piece of writing: inform, clarify, question, persuade, or entertain
• Write essay answers, learning logs, letters, descriptions, personal narratives, written responses to literature, short stories, poetry, journals, non-fiction reports, and essays based on supporting evidence
• Write directions or instructions
• Analyze the writing of peers and model the writing of authors
• Use a word processor to plan, draft, revise, and publish writings
• Write compositions with well developed paragraphs and effective transitions between ideas, phrases, and paragraphs
• Apply knowledge of prewriting strategies for various purposes and audiences: brainstorming, mapping, clustering, webbing, bubbling, graphic organizers, fast writing, simple note taking skills, interviewing, making lists, conducting interviews
• Choose vocabulary that conveys imagery, tone, voice, and purpose (including some figurative language)
• Expand vocabulary and spelling skills
• State the main idea of the paragraph in one sentence and fully develop the idea in a logical sequence
• Writes a composition with a clear main idea and well-developed support
• Uses relevant supporting details
• Uses thoughtful transitions to connect ideas
• Logical, sequential organization (beginning, middle, end)
• Chooses the appropriate form of writing (persuasion, information, description) to respond to the prompt
• Organizes the ideas to flow smoothly with an inviting introduction, satisfying conclusion, and appropriate use of occasional moments that surprise, amuse or move the reader
• Displays a keen awareness of audience
• Use the conventions of standard English including grammar, sentence structure, paragraph structure, punctuation, spelling, and usage
• Identifies and corrects errors in
• Punctuation (comma placement, end marks, colons, semi-colons, and parentheses)
• Spelling (contractions, homophones)
• Grammar (e.g. subject/verb agreement, verb tense consistency, uses adverbs of comparison, possession, run-on sentences, transition words, pronouns referring to antecedents, and homonyms)
• Combines sentences using conjunctions to make writing concise
• Identifies and combines complex sentences, simples sentences, and clauses
• Corrects sentence structure errors, including misplaced modifiers and lack of internal consistency
• Use Library: use electronic card catalog(title, author, subject searches), locate information using (call number on spine, table of contents, glossary, publisher, place of publication, copyright date)
• List and document sources using a given format
• Write a bibliography
• Apply research skills evaluating the validity, objectivity, reliability, and quality of information read, heard, and seen
• Revise writing to improve organization, word choice, and paragraph development, voice appropriate to the purpose
• Organizes a paragraph by
• Placing sentences in logical order
• Eliminating sentences that are off-topic
• Combining short, simple sentences into a single sentence to eliminate redundancy and make writing smoother
• Identify the most relevant sentence to add to a paragraph
• Selecting appropriate details to support a topic sentence

DISCUSSION AND ORAL PRESENTATION

• Communicate ideas and information orally in an organized and succinct manner (prepare and use brief notes, summarize main points before and after presentations, introduction, body, review)
• Ask probing questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas
• Make supportive statements to communicate agreement, disagreement, or acceptance of others’ ideas
• Develop and articulate personal opinions
• Demonstrate oral communication skills (e.g. oral interviews, short presentations, or debate)
• Identify the relationship between a speaker’s verbal and nonverbal messages
• Verbal communication: word choice, pitch, feeling, tone, and voice
• Nonverbal communication: eye contact, posture, and gesture
• Identify persuasive techniques
• Distinguish from fact/opinion (cite information in presentations)
• Use statistics, quotations, examples, stories, analogies and graphics, or visual aids as support
• Evaluate student’s own contribution to discussions

LISTENING SKILLS

• Demonstrate the social skills of audience behavior (eye contact, without interrupting, attentive, supportive)
• Listen with an open mind (wait until all information has been received to form an opinion)
• Listen to learn: develop and explain your own method of taking, keeping and reviewing notes on key points
• Listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject related group learning activities across content areas
• Listen to and correctly apply oral instructions