English Language Arts

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The fundamental need for an exchange of meaning and the sharing of human experience is a special province of the English language arts. All students share this need. They learn best when it is frequently addressed in their schooling and when they are invited to explore it effectively through literature.

The English language arts form the foundation for effective communication which depends upon a person's ability to construct meaning through reading, listening, and viewing and to present ideas through writing, speaking, and visual media. These skills, essential to the health of our democracy and the quality of our culture, have become ever more important since the modern explosion of communications media. Devices that allow us to communicate more quickly over distances can be used effectively only to the extent that we are skilled in basic language arts.

The study of language helps students to control their lives and become more effective thinkers--through communication, reflection, and understanding. To develop good thinking strategies, students must become engaged as active learners. To help them improve, students need to practice English language skills and receive frequent feedback across all areas of study. Parents, teachers, and other adults must encourage the interest in language that students bring with them when they first enter school. Students need to make the experience and enjoyment of English language arts a central part of their lives.

Collectively, the English language arts - writing, reading, speaking, and listening - constitute both a discipline in its own right, like mathematics or science, and a means of communicating about all other disciplines. Without a command of these arts it is impossible to think about, understand, or explain other disciplines.

A. PROCESS OF READING

Students will use the skills and strategies of the reading process to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate what they have read. Readers apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on prior experience, interactions with others, knowledge of word meaning and knowledge of other texts, word identification strategies, and understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

B. LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Students will use reading, listening, and viewing strategies to experience, understand, and appreciate literature and culture. Literary texts that are rich in quality, add to the understanding of history and various cultures and build an appreciation of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

C. LANGUAGE AND IMAGES

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how words and images communicate. Language and images enable people to get things done, to take charge of their lives, to express opinions and feelings, to experience emotions, and to function as productive citizens. Students will consider such things as the relationship between thought and language, the ways people use language and other symbol systems to communicate, the history and structure of English, and the similarities and differences in the ways various social, occupational, and cultural groups use language.

D. INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

Students will apply reading, listening, and viewing strategies to informational texts across all areas of curriculum. When reading, listening, and viewing critically, students will ask pertinent questions, recognize assumptions and implications, and evaluate information and ideas. In a world that surrounds them with information, they have to be able to connect with this information and make sense of it.

E. PROCESSES OF WRITING AND SPEAKING

Students will demonstrate the ability to use the skills and strategies of the writing process. Effective communication can improve the work of writers and speakers. Students will use a wide range of strategies to address different audiences for a variety of purposes. Students will write or speak for reflective, creative and informational purposes.

F. STANDARD ENGLISH CONVENTIONS

Students will write and speak correctly, using conventions of standard written and spoken English. Knowledge of language structure and conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, level of formality) is used to create, critique, discuss, and present print and nonprint texts.

G. STYLISTIC AND RHETORICAL ASPECTS OF WRITING AND SPEAKING

Students will use stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing and speaking to explore ideas, to present lines of thought, to represent and reflect on human experience, and to communicate feelings, knowledge, and opinions. Spoken, written, and non-verbal visual language (e.g., facial expressions, styles of clothing) accomplish many purposes (e.g., enjoyment, learning, persuasion, and the exchange of information). Writing and speaking for various purposes and for different audiences requires rhetorical skill and stylistic competence.

H. RESEARCH-RELATED WRITING AND SPEAKING

Students will work, write, and speak effectively in connection with research in all content areas. Research involves generating ideas and posing questions. It includes gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing data from a variety of sources (e.g., print, nonprint, and electronic texts, examination of artifacts, interviews with people). Researching and reporting use a variety of informational and technological resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

A. PROCESS OF READING

Students will use the skills and strategies of the reading process to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate what they have read. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Seek out and enjoy experiences with books and other print materials.
Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a way to gain information about the world.
Make and confirm predictions about what will be found in a text.
Recognize and use rereading as an aid to developing fluency and to understanding appropriate material.
Figure out unknown words using a variety of strategies including rereading, context clues, and knowledge of word structures and letter-sound relationships.
Recognize and use clues within the text (sentence structure, word meanings), rereading, and other strategies as aids in developing fluency and comprehension.
Ask questions and give other responses after listening to presentations by the teacher or classmates.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Determine the meaning of unknown words by using a dictionary, glossary, or other reference sources.
Adjust reading speed to suit purpose and difficulty of the material.
Recognize when a text is primarily intended to persuade.
Select texts for enjoyment.
Read a variety of narrative and informational texts independently and fluently.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Formulate questions to be answered while reading.
Reflect on what has been discovered and learned while reading, and formulate additional questions.
Identify specific devices an author uses to involve readers.
Use specific strategies (e.g., rereading, consultation) to clear up confusing parts of a text.
Understand stories and expository texts from the perspective of the social and cultural context in which they were created.
Identify accurately both the author's purpose and the author's point of view.
Summarize whole texts by selecting and summarizing important and representative passages.
Read for a wide variety of purposes (e.g., to gain knowledge, to aid in making decisions, to receive instructions, to follow an argument, to enjoy).
Explain orally and defend opinions formed while reading and viewing.
Adjust viewing and listening strategies in order to comprehend materials viewed and heard.
Generate and evaluate the notes they have taken from course-related reading, listening, and viewing.

SECONDARY GRADES

Demonstrate an understanding that reading is a gradual process of constructing meaning and revising initial understandings.
Demonstrate an understanding that a single text will elicit a wide variety of responses, each of which may be the point of view of the individual reader or listener.
Identify the author's purpose and analyze the effects of that purpose on the text.
Identify the author's point of view and analyze the effects of that point of view on the text.
Identify the devices an author uses to persuade readers and critique the effectiveness of the use of those devices.
Use the context of a work to determine the figurative, idiomatic, and technical meanings of terms.
Use the context of a work to determine the meanings of abbreviations and acronyms.
Find the meaning of relatively uncommon technical terms used in informational texts.
Identify the philosophical assumptions and basic beliefs underlying a particular text.
Analyze how the cultural context of a literary work is evident in the text.
Represent key ideas and supporting details in various written forms (e.g., outline, paraphrase, concise summary).

B. LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Students will use reading, listening, and viewing strategies to experience, understand, and appreciate literature and culture. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Understand the basic plot of simple stories.
Draw logical conclusions about what will happen next or how things might have turned out differently in a story.
Identify differences and similarities in story elements (e.g., plot, setting, characters, conflict resolution) in works from various cultures.
Distinguish between fiction and nonfiction.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Demonstrate awareness of the culture and geography pertinent to the texts they read.
Use literary pieces to better understand and appreciate the actions of others.
Respond to speakers in a variety of ways (e.g., listening attentively, responding politely).
Share responses to quality literature with peers, citing reasons and making comparisons to other reading, or viewing, or to life experiences.
Identify important characters in quality works containing several characters.
Make and justify conclusions about the motives of characters and the consequences of their actions.
Identify and explain how characters and situations found in various materials are like people or events in their own lives or in other works.
Understand how dialogue relates and contributes to a story or text.
Recognize basic elements of plot and recount events, ideas, and important details from material read, heard, or viewed.
Apply effective strategies to the reading and interpretation of fiction (e.g., fantasies, fables, myths, mysteries, realistic and historical fiction, adventures, and humorous tales) that is appropriately complex in terms of character, plot, theme, and dialogue and appropriately sophisticated in style, point of view, and use of literary devices.
Apply effective strategies to the reading and use of nonfiction (e.g., reference sources, articles, histories, biographies, autobiographies, diaries, and letters) using texts with an appropriate complexity of content and sophistication of style.
Demonstrate understanding of enduring themes of literature (e.g., themes of coming of age, love and duty, heroism, and appearance versus reality).

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Demonstrate an understanding that people respond to literature in different and individual ways.
Identify specific interests and questions and pursue them by identifying pertinent literature and media.
Identify the main and subordinate characters in literary works.
Explain how the motives of characters or the causes of complex events in texts are similar to and distinct from those in their own experience.
Demonstrate an understanding of lengthy, complex dialogues and how they relate to a story.
Recognize the use of specific literary devices (e.g., foreshadowing, flashback, different time frames such as the future or the past).
Recognize complex elements of plot (e.g., setting, major events, problems, conflicts, resolutions).
Apply effective strategies to the reading and interpretation of fiction (e.g., science fiction, myths, mysteries, realistic and historical fiction, poems, adventure stories, and humorous tales), using texts that are appropriately complex in terms of character, plot, theme, structure, and dialogue and appropriately sophisticated in style, point of view, and use of literary devices.
Apply effective strategies to the reading and use of moderately long nonfiction texts (e.g., reference sources, articles, editorials, histories, biographies, autobiographies, diaries, letters, and commentaries) which have an appropriate complexity of content and sophistication of style.

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MIDDLE GRADES 5-8 continuation from previous page

Demonstrate an understanding of the defining features and structure of literary texts encountered at this level.
Read literature and view films which illustrate distinct cultures in various types of works and formulate and defend opinions gathered from the experience.
Identify the universality of themes and examine the connections among various expressive forms (e.g., films, fiction, drama) by drawing on their broad base of prior knowledge.
Demonstrate understanding of enduring themes of literature by differentiating between main ideas and themes after they study story elements.

SECONDARY GRADES

Distinguish between the purpose of a literary work and the personal response of an individual reader.
Identify the simple and complex actions and interactions involving main and subordinate characters in a work.
Make abstract connections (e.g., connections about thoughts, ideas, values) between their own lives and the characters, events, and circumstances represented in various works.
Demonstrate an understanding of the stylistic effect of dialogues on the style of a work.
Identify and analyze the details and effects of complex literary devices on the overall quality of a work (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks, time frames in the future or past).
Identify and analyze how complex elements of plot (e.g., setting, major events, problems, conflicts, resolutions) effect the overall quality of a work.
Apply mature strategies to the reading and interpretation of lengthy adult level fiction, (e.g., satires, parodies, plays, poems, novels) using texts that are complex in terms of character, plot, theme, structure, and dialogue and sophisticated in style, point of view, and use of literary devices.
Apply mature strategies to the reading and interpretation of lengthy adult level nonfiction texts with appropriate complexity of content and sophistication of style.
Demonstrate an understanding of the defining features and structure of literary texts encountered at this level.
Draw from a broad base of knowledge about literature of the United States and the world to examine and critique how print and visual texts explore the human experience and condition.
Examine, evaluate, and elaborate on universal themes in literature, using reading and viewing to explain how themes are developed and achieved.

C. LANGUAGE AND IMAGES

Students will demonstrate an understanding of how words and images communicate. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Distinguish between and make observations about formal and informal uses of English.
Recognize characteristic sounds and rhythms of language, including the relationship between sounds and letters.
Make valid observations about the use of words and visual symbols.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Identify and evaluate how language use varies according to personal situations and settings (e.g., school, home, and community).
Identify the social context of conversations and its effect on how language is used.
Identify the use of nonverbal cues in conversations.
Make observations about the use of language and graphic symbols encountered in various real-life situations.
Investigate the languages of other cultures and compare/contrast them to English.
Make observations about specific uses and idioms of language.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Form conclusions regarding formal, informal, and other varieties of language use, based upon experience.
Understand factors that commonly affect language change and use.
Consult pertinent information sources on language use (e.g., a dictionary, a thesaurus, a handbook on style).
Use knowledge of the fundamental parts of speech when writing and speaking.
Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of propaganda.

SECONDARY GRADES

Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship among perception, thought, and language.
Demonstrate an understanding of how language considerations and representations involving gender affect communication.
Compare the ways various social, occupational, and cultural groups use language, and comment on the impact of language use on the way people are viewed and treated.
Compare form, meaning, and value of different kinds of symbol systems (e.g., religious symbols, holiday symbols, the symbolism of particular types of architecture).
Demonstrate understanding of the history of and changes in the English language by explaining examples.
Use dictionaries, handbooks, and other language-related resources to evaluate the accuracy of their use of English.
Demonstrate an understanding of the political implications of different forms of language.
Identify propaganda techniques used by writers and speakers.

D. INFORMATIONAL TEXTS

Students will apply reading, listening, and viewing strategies to informational texts across all areas of curriculum. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Understand the main idea of simple expository information.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Use information contained in chapter and section headings, topic sentences, and summary sentences to construct the main ideas.
Use various informational parts of a text (e.g., index, table of contents, glossary, appendices).
Read for a variety of purposes (e.g., to answer specific questions, to form an opinion, to skim for information).
Summarize informational texts (e.g., identify the main idea or concept and the supporting detail).
Recognize when a text is primarily intended to instruct or to persuade.
Understand common technical terms used in instructional and informational texts.
Recognize when and how new information in a text connects to prior knowledge.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Seek appropriate assistance when attempting to comprehend challenging text.
Identify useful information organizing strategies.
Identify both the author's purpose and the author's point of view when reading expository information.
Identify different ways in which informational texts are organized.
Produce and support generalizations acquired from informational text.
Describe new knowledge presented in informational texts and how it can be used.
Identify common technical terms used in informational texts.
Use the various parts of a text (index, table of contents, glossary) to locate specific information.

SECONDARY GRADES

Scan a passage to determine whether a text contains relevant information.
Distinguish between apparent fact and opinion in nonfiction texts.
Use discussions with peers as a way of understanding information.
Identify complex structures in informational texts and the relationships between the concepts and details in those structures using texts from various disciplines.
Analyze and synthesize the concepts and details in informational texts.
Explain how new information from a text changes personal knowledge.

E. PROCESSES OF WRITING AND SPEAKING

Students will demonstrate the ability to use the skills and strategies of the writing process. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Tell about experiences and discoveries, both orally and in writing.
Respond to stories orally and in writing.
Respond to remarks or statements orally and in writing.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Identify strengths and weaknesses in their own writing and seek effective help from others.
Improve their finished product by revising content from draft to final piece.
Use planning, drafting, and revising to produce, on-demand, a well-developed, organized piece that demonstrates effective language use, voice, and command of mechanics.
Report orally and summarize personal discoveries they have made as a result of reading and viewing.
Give accurate directions.
Summarize central concepts from oral presentations.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Identify specific personal strategies, strengths, and weaknesses in writing, and use direct feedback from peers and teachers to revise and polish the content of their finished pieces.
Use planning, drafting, and revising to produce, on demand, a well-developed, organized piece that demonstrates effective language use, voice, and command of mechanics.
Ask questions and apply personal interpretations in class discussion following speeches and oral presentations.

SECONDARY GRADES

Ask pertinent questions during writing conferences and when working alone, using knowledge of personal writing strategies, strengths, and weaknesses to improve one's own writing.
Reflect on, evaluate, revise, and edit a sequence of drafts to improve and polish finished work.
Use planning, drafting, and revising to produce, on demand, a well-developed, organized piece that demonstrates effective language use, voice, and command of mechanics.
Evaluate the remarks and oral presentations of others to find the key ideas, and explain the ways in which these ideas were developed.

F. STANDARD ENGLISH CONVENTIONS

Students will write and speak correctly, using conventions of standard written and spoken English. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Edit their own written work for standard English spelling and usage, as evidenced by pieces that show and contain:

complete sentences.

initial understanding of the use of pronouns and adjectives.

evidence of correct spelling of frequently used words.

few significant errors in the capitalization of proper nouns and of the words that begin sentences.

few significant errors in the use of end stop punctuation (e.g., periods, question marks).

Use oral language appropriate to the level of formality required.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Edit written work for standard English spelling and usage, evidenced by pieces that show and contain:
- few significant errors in the use of pronouns and adjectives.
- attention to the proper use of adverbial forms and conjunctions.
- few significant errors in the spelling of frequently used words.
- no significant errors in the capitalization of words that begin sentences and few significant errors in the capitalization of proper nouns and titles.
- no significant errors in the use of ending punctuation marks and an understanding of how to use commas.
Use the level of language formality required in a variety of speaking situations.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Edit written work for standard English spelling and usage, evidenced by pieces that show and contain:
- no significant errors in the use of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.
- few significant errors in the use of adjective forms (e.g., comparative, superlative), adverbial forms, prepositions, and prepositional phrases.
- attention to the proper use of conjunctions.
- no significant errors in the spelling of common, frequently used words, and attention to the correct spelling of commonly misspelled words and less common words.
- no significant errors in the common conventions of capitalization (e.g., proper nouns, names, titles) and attention to the less common capitalization conventions (e.g., capitalizing the names of nationalities).
- no significant errors in the use of ending punctuation marks, few significant errors in the common uses of commas, and attention to the proper use of the colon, semicolon, hyphen, dash, apostrophe, and quotation marks.
- attention to the correct use of commonly confused terms (e.g., affect and effect).
- attention to the proper use of italics, marginal notes, and footnotes.
Demonstrate command of the conventions necessary to make an informal speech or presentation, effectively engaging peers and fielding responses.

SECONDARY GRADES

Edit written work for standard English spelling and usage, evidenced by pieces that show and contain:
- no significant errors in the use of pronouns, nouns, adjectival and adverbial forms
- coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
- no significant errors in the spelling of frequently used words and the correct use of commonly confused terms.
- no significant errors in the common conventions of capitalization and ending punctuation marks and common uses of the comma.
- few significant errors in the spelling of commonly misspelled and rare words, the less common capitalization conventions, the colon, semicolon, hyphen, dash, apostrophe, quotation marks, italics, marginal notes, and footnotes.
Demonstrate how language usage may depend on the situation.
Demonstrate command of the conventions involved in a formal speech, effectively engaging peers during presentation and fielding responses afterwards.

G. STYLISTIC AND RHETORICAL ASPECTS OF WRITING AND SPEAKING

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Dictate or write stories or essays which convey basic ideas, have sequences that make sense, and show evidence of a beginning, middle, and ending.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Write pieces and make remarks that begin to use descriptive language that clarifies, enhances, and develops ideas.
Write stories (or other pieces) that show a definite beginning (introduction), middle (body), and ending (conclusion).
Write essays and make remarks that clearly state or suggest a central idea and provide supporting detail.
Write pieces that show awareness of a variety of intended audiences and identifiable purposes.
Explain the various purposes of spoken communications.
Explain how speakers use physical gestures and eye contact and use this knowledge in their own presentations.
Use a variety of media and technological resources to make creative and expository oral presentations.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Write stories with an identifiable beginning, middle, and ending.
Write stories that include major events, develop settings, and deal with problems and solutions.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that use structures appropriate to audience and purpose.
Write essays and deliver oral presentations which identify a clear topic and reliably support that topic.
Write for both public and private audiences.
Write and deliver oral presentations that achieve distinct purposes (e.g., to summarize, to narrate, to inform, to explain).
Write pieces and make remarks that use descriptive language to clarify, enhance, and develop ideas.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that include a variety of sentence structures appropriate to the purpose.
Write pieces that use a variety of transitional devices (i.e. phrases, sentences, paragraphs).
Deliver oral presentations that use a variety of strategies of address (e.g., eye contact, hand gestures, voice modulation, changes of rhythm).

SECONDARY GRADES

Write stories that effectively develop such elements as setting, major events, problems and solutions.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that effectively use descriptive language to clarify, enhance, and develop ideas.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that include a variety of sentence structures and lengths.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that are targeted for various audiences (e.g., informed or uninformed, sympathetic or hostile).
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that achieve distinct purposes (e.g., to persuade, evaluate, analyze, defend).
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations that effectively employ explicit transitional devices in order to change a situation or to move the reader/listener through the piece.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations in which the organization of the work follows from the purpose.
Write pieces and deliver oral presentations in a personal style, with a discernible voice and effective wording.
Write essays and deliver oral presentations that reliably support and provide details for the explicitly stated generalizations.
Make effective use of a variety of techniques to provide supporting detail (e.g., analogies, anecdotes, illustrations, detailed descriptions, restatements, paraphrases, examples, comparisons) in written work and oral presentations.
Make effective use of a variety of techniques for introducing and representing ideas and insights in written work and oral presentations.

H. RESEARCH-RELATED WRITING AND SPEAKING

Students will work, write, and speak effectively when doing research in all content areas. Students will be able to:

ELEMENTARY GRADES Pre-K-2

Develop a search strategy which uses appropriate and available resources.
Formulate questions to ask when gathering information.
Record and share information gathered.

ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4

Ask and seek answers to questions.
Use print and non-print resources (e.g., encyclopedias, dictionaries, people, indexes) to gather information on research topics.
Present information obtained from research in a way that combines various forms of information (e.g., maps, charts, photos).
Distinguish between facts encountered in documents, narratives, and other sources and the generalizations or interpretations a person draws concerning those facts.
Demonstrate initial understanding of how to cite sources.

MIDDLE GRADES 5-8

Collect and synthesize data for research topics from interviews and field work, using notetaking and other appropriate strategies.
Separate information collected for research topics into major components based on relevant criteria.
Create bibliographies.
Use available catalogs to locate materials for research reports.
Use indexes to periodical literature to locate information for research.
Use magazines, newspapers, dictionaries, journals, and other print sources to gather information for research topics.
Use search engines and other Internet resources to collect information for research topics.
Make limited but effective use of primary sources when researching topics.
Explain the importance of primary sources in evaluating the validity and reliability of collected information.
Demonstrate initial understanding of proper attribution (e.g., footnotes).

SECONDARY GRADES

Develop an appropriate strategy for finding information on a particular topic.
Use referencing while doing research.
Record significant information from events attended and interviews conducted.
Identify and use library information services.
Use government publications, in-depth field studies, and almanacs for research.
Use CD-ROM, microfiche, and similar resource media for research.
Identify and use a variety of news sources (e.g., newspapers, magazines, broadcast and recorded media, artifacts), informants, and other likely sources for research purposes.
Use search engines and other Internet resources to do research.
Make extensive use of primary sources when researching a topic and carefully evaluate the motives and perspectives of the authors.
Analyze the validity and weigh the reliability of primary information sources and make appropriate use of such information for research purposes.
Evaluate information for accuracy, currency, and possible bias.
Report orally, using a variety of technological resources to present the results of a research project.