Standard Course of Study and
Grade Level Competencies
ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
ARTS
K-12
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA
State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Howard N. Lee, Chairman
Raleigh
Jane P. Norwood, Vice Chair
Charlotte
Kathy A. Taft
Greenville
Michelle Howard-Vital
Wilmington
Edgar D. Murphy
Durham
Evelyn B. Monroe
West End
Maria T. Palmer
Chapel Hill
Robert “Tom” Speed
Boone
Wayne McDevitt
Asheville
John Tate III
Charlotte
Beverly Perdue, Lieutenant Governor
New Bern
Richard Moore, State Treasurer
Kittrell
NC DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Patricia N. Willoughby, State Superintendent
301 N. Wilmington Street • Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-2825 • www.ncpublicschools.org
In compliance with federal law, including the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,
NC Public Schools administers all state-operated educational programs, employment activities, and
admissions without discrimination because of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, color, age, military
service, disability, or gender, except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law.
Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Office of Curriculum and School Reform Services,
6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-6307. Telephone (919) 807-3761; Fax (919) 807-3767
i
NORTH CAROLINA
STANDARD COURSE
OF STUDY
ii
BLANK
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FOREWORD
North Carolina has had a Standard Course of Study since 1898. Since that time, the curriculum has been
revised periodically to reflect the changing needs of students and society. The most recent total revision of
the state curriculum occured in 1985. The 1985 Standard Course of Study reflected the knowledge, skills,
and attitudes needed to function effectively in an industrial age. It also included efforts to develop mature
thinkers and problem solvers.
In the years since 1985, we have witnessed a dramatic shift in the needs of business and industry, and
society in general. These changes have been collectively heralded as the information age. The 21st century
will bring new challenges in preparing students for the demands of an information age. While students must
attain enabling skills such as reading, writing, and computing, they must also attain the new basics which
include creative thinking and problem solving, interpersonal skills, negotiation and teamwork. Also since
1985, all the major content areas have developed National Standards which guide curriculum revisions.
Major recent school reform efforts such as the ABC Plan with strong accountability components have
necessitated an even more clearly defined state curriculum.
These changes, coupled with more in-depth learning at a much higher level, provide the foundation for
current revisions to the Standard Course of Study. The revisions are futuristic in outlook. They look at what
students will need to know and be able to do to be successful in the 21st century.
Howard N. Lee
Chairman, State Board of Education
iv
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Department of Public Instruction gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and assistance received
from individuals and groups throughout the State in this current revision process. Without such cooperation,
the revisions and printing of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study would not have been possible.
We wish to express a special thanks to:
• the Division of Instructional Services for providing the leadership and vision that guided the develop-ment
of these documents. The untiring efforts of this staff contributed greatly to the completion of this
task,
• office support staff in instructional services who, in addition to their on-going responsibilities, word
processed the revised documents,
• the many local educators, parents, and business people who participated in the current revision process
by serving on curriculum committees and reacting to draft documents,
• faculty from the institutions of higher education who advised the staff and assisted in the revision of the
curriculum,
• the Communications and Information Division for technical assistance in the publication of the docu-ments,
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) for allowing its Dimensions of
Thinking to serve as a framework for this revision process,
The curriculum will continue to be revised and improved to meet the needs of the children of North Carolina.
vi
Standard Course of Study and
Grade Level Competencies
INTRODUCTION
K-12
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA
State Board of Education | Department of Public Instruction
ix
INTRODUCTION
Background and Overview
History North Carolina has maintained a Standard Course of Study since the
1890’s. That document was a brief, simple guide which outlined the
curriculum for the public schools. Every five to seven years since that
time, the Standard Course of Study has been revised to reflect the
needs of North Carolina students.
Following the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Reform Act in
June of 1984, the area of Instructional Services within the North
Carolina Department of Public Instruction began a revision of the
Standard Course of Study. These efforts to define a basic education
program for the State resulted in two publications:
• The Basic Education Program for North Carolina’s Public
Schools (Adopted by State Board of Education in response to a
legislative mandate) - outlines the curriculum, programs not
confined to subject areas, general standards, material support, and
staffing which should be provided in all schools throughout the
state.
• The North Carolina Standard Course of Study (Adopted as
policy by the State Board of Education) - sets content standards
and describes the curriculum which should be made available to
every child in North Carolina’s public schools. It includes the
subject or skills areas of arts education, English language arts,
guidance, healthful living, information/computer skills, math-ematics,
science, second language studies, social studies, and
workforce development education. Also included are the philoso-phy
and rationale underlying the curriculum frameworks and
considerations for developing a thinking framework, aligning
curriculum and assessment, and providing for the needs of excep-tional
children.
Standard The revised Standard Course of Study has moved from a
Course detailed, prescriptive curriculum guide to a more flexible guide to
of Study instruction, emphasizing what students should know and be able to do
as they progress through various levels of proficiency and ultimately
x
exit from high school. The revised curriculum focuses on themes and
concepts rather than isolated facts. It emphasizes thinking skills and
problem solving more than the memorization and recall of informa-tion.
The revised Standard Course of Study is based on recent research on
how students learn. It is a curriculum that promotes integration
through the identification of common skills and processes.
The Standard Course of Study includes the curriculum that should be
made available to every child in North Carolina’s public schools. Many
public schools in the state presently offer an even more comprehensive
curriculum. Therefore, in some curriculum areas, electives were also
included. The Standard Course of Study is part of the Department of
Public Education’s continual improvement efforts. The curriculum will be
revised on a regular basis to remain consistent with the changing needs of
our nation, state, and local communities.
Philosophy and Education has long served as the key to equal opportunity for
Rationale American citizens. We should be proud of our schools. Historically,
American schools have prepared students to join an industrialized
economy and become contributing citizens in their communities.
Today, however, the challenge of education is to prepare students for a
rapidly changing world. Students in modern society must be prepared to:
• compete in a global economy,
• understand and operate complex communication and information
systems, and
• apply higher level thinking skills to make decisions and solve
problems. American businesses seek students with the knowledge
and skills to succeed in the international marketplace of today’s
information-based society. Whether at work or in post-secondary
study, students must be able to apply what they’ve learned from
their years of public schooling.
The purpose of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study is to guaran-tee
that all students have equal access to the same basic curriculum. If
public education is an avenue to equal opportunity, high standards must be
set for all students. The Standard Course of Study does not seek to
prescribe how schools should organize themselves or how teachers should
instruct. Rather, the curriculum sets standards against which schools and
teachers may judge their success.
xi
Curriculum The Department of Public Instruction views integration as a curriculum
Integration implementation strategy which links the content and skills from various
disciplines. There are various models of integration which seek to achieve
an acceptable degree of interdisciplinary learning. Generally, these mod-els
use the language and methodology from more than one discipline and
focus on unifying themes, issues, problems, concepts, and experiences.
These models help the learner make connections among the individual
disciplines and are based upon the following beliefs.
Integration:
• Mirrors the real world in which we live.
• Motivates students by making learning relevant to their personal
lives.
• Adds coherence to vast amounts of information by making
connections among disciplines.
• Addresses the overcrowded curriculum by viewing content as a
“means” not an “end.”
• Acknowledges reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and
the use of numbers as enabling skills within thinking processes.
• Fosters collaboration among students and teachers.
Although the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction strongly
endorses the concept of integration among various disciplines, local school
districts, schools, and classroom teachers are best able to develop curricu-lar
units which will be meaningful to the teachers and students at the
classroom level. It is the responsibility of the State to set quality curricu-lum
and performance standards and to develop models of integration
which link curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Thinking and To become productive, responsible citizens and to achieve a sense of
Reasoning Skills personal fulfillment, students must develop their ability to think and
reason. It is no longer adequate for students to simply memorize informa-tion
for recall. If graduates are to function effectively now and in the 21st
century, they must be able to acquire and integrate new information, make
judgments, apply information, and reflect on learning.
Research during the 1960’s in cognitive psychology has led to the study of
the processes that underlie learning. Although there are numerous models
of intelligence and learning, the following guiding assumptions serve as
the foundation for a thinking framework for North Carolina’s public
schools.
xii
• All students can become better thinkers.
• Thinking is content dependent and influenced by the learner’s prior
knowledge of that content.
• The teaching of thinking should be deliberate and explicit with an
emphasis on the transfer and application of thinking processes and
skills.
• Thinking is improved when the learner takes control of his/her
thinking processes and skills.
• Curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be aligned to
enhance the teaching of thinking.
• Improving student thinking will require fundamental changes in
the school culture, including lesson design, student assessment,
classroom organization, and school governance.
• Over-emphasis on factual recall inhibits the development of
thinking.
• Schools must model thoughtful behavior-decision making,
problem solving and other thinking processes.
• Efforts to improve thinking within a school or school system
should be guided by a conceptual framework and comprehensive
plan.
• There is no single best program for the teaching of thinking.
Dimensions of The Department of Public Instruction has adopted Dimensions of
Thinking Thinking* (1988) as the framework for the revised curriculum. The more
recent work, Dimensions of Learning (1994), builds on the theory and
research from Dimensions of Thinking and provides direction from a
practitioner’s perspective.
• Thinking Skills: These are specific cognitive operations--the
building blocks of thinking. Examples are observing, recalling
comparing, and ordering.
• Thinking Processes: These are complex sequences of thinking
skills. Different processes involve variable sequences of thinking
skills. They occur over time.
• Creative Thinking: This is the ability to form new combinations of
ideas to fulfill needs. It is generative in nature and is usually
judged by outputs.
• Critical Thinking: This is reasonable, reflective thinking--deciding
what to believe. It is evaluative in nature and helps one not to be
blinded by his/her own point of view.
• Metacognition: This is the awareness of one’s own self as a
thinker.
* Marzano, R.J. et.al. (1988). Dimensions of Thinking, Alexandria,
Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum.
xiii
The North Carolina Standard Course of Study sets content standards for
what students should know and be able to do. The North Carolina ABCs
Accountability Plan establishes performance standards which specify the
level of proficiency a student must reach in order to have met specific
content standards in specified subject areas. These performance standards
are indicators of proficiency for those content areas that are tested.
A balanced assessment program for North Carolina schools, teachers, and
students serves multiple purposes. Classroom assessment informs instruc-tion
and monitors students’ progress, while statewide testing focuses on
accountability for student achievement and quality programs. Accountabil-ity
measures are the means of checking broadly to determine what has
been learned within the school. These assessments allow for corrections in
instructional focus at a program level and are important indicators of the
degree to which all students are learning the Standard Course of Study.
These data also help teachers determine students’ progress from year to
year. Results from accountability measures provide one source of informa-tion
for parents and the public in a timely and accurate manner.
Ongoing classroom assessments are multifaceted and document students’
progress over time. They are planned and administered by the classroom
teacher and are focused on improving learning, readjusting instruction, and
promoting quality, in-depth student work. These assessments make use of
various strategies such as observations and open-ended questions and
resources such as instructional management systems (test item banks) and
portfolios. They encourage the observation of processes and the collection
of student products. These assessments inform instructional planning and
student, teacher, and parent conferences where individual student progress
and future goals are discussed.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction believes that a
balanced assessment program supports implementation of the Standard
Course of Study. Balanced assessment includes testing for accountability
purposes and the continual development of quality classroom assessment
as vehicles to prepare students to master high content and performance
standards. The strategies most likely to result in long-term growth and
learning of high quality will result from effective use of classroom assess-ments
as an integral part of instruction. Additionally, strong classroom
assessment engages students in self-assessment and greater ownership for
their own learning. Quality classroom assessment is essential to the goals
of high student achievement and the continuous improvement of schools.
Alignment of
Curriculum and
Assessment
Balanced
Assessment
Program
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Decisions
& Actions
A strong model for teaching and learning includes classroom assessment as an
integral part of a balanced assessment program. In an instruction-assessment
cycle assessment methods are tied to learning targets and then to decisions
about instruction. (See Figure 1 on page xiv.) In the initial part of the cycle,
learning targets (goals) are clarified and students know in advance what they
are expected to learn. Teachers use their in-depth understanding of the curricu-lum
to identify the most important learning goals and establish priorities for
instruction in order to build on students’ prior understandings. They consider
multiple targets – factual information, concepts, processes, reasoning, appli-cations,
and attitudes. They establish high expectations for all students for all
important learning targets. Most importantly, they are able to clarify for
themselves and their students what those targets are and what mastery of them
will look like.
Since the primary users of classroom assessment are teachers and students, the
most important purpose is to direct and inform student learning. Teachers and
students need multiple evidences about each student’s understandings and
performances to diagnose, monitor progress, evaluate achievement, and plan
for future instruction. Teachers use a variety of assessment methods, both
formal and informal, to gather evidence of student learning. They match the
type of assessment method to the learning target they want to measure and use
stategies that ask students to demonstrate their thinking and reasoning.
Through an ongoing process teachers may use classroom activities both to
instruct and assess at the same time. What is important is that evidence of
student learning is gathered with a variety of assessment methods, in multiple
contexts, and over an extended period of time.
As they gather the evidence about students’ learning through classroom assess-ment,
teachers make sense of assessment information. They ask themselves
reflective questions. For example, they may ask:
• What do these errors actually tell me about the students’ thinking and
understanding?
• Do I have sufficient evidence to know how well the students really
understand?
• How well can I generalize about how much students know and can do?
• What other evidence may I need?
Reflection helps teachers decide what information and feedback can be ex-tracted
from student assessment data and what inferences and interpretations
can be made about student learning.
Learning
Targets
Assessment
Methods
xv
Learning
Targets
Feedback
Inferences
Purposes of Assessment
Information Needed
Communication
Documentation
Assessment Cycle:
A Model for Teaching and Learning
Assessment
Methods
Decisions
& Actions
In the last part of the model, teachers document, act on, and communicate
information from the assessments. By taking action based upon what the
students understand and can do, teachers are likely to be more effective in
their decisions. They may decide to reteach key concepts, to move to the next
unit of instruction, to regroup students for further instruction, or to allow more
practice and application time. Documentation of student learning occurs
throughout the teaching and learning model and will include diverse formats:
checklists, anecdotal records, observations, grades, portfolios. Communication
can provide clear, precise, useable feedback to students, parents, administra-tors,
or other interested adults. This communication can be formal (a report
card or scheduled conference) or informal (a telephone conversation, note, or
conversation). The cycle of teaching and learning will repeat again and again
throughout the year, with the teacher’s identifying and clarifying the next
learning targets.
Both classroom assessment and statewide testing focus on the learning targets
that are described in the Standard Course of Study, albeit for different pur-poses.
Future changes in the scope and form of statewide assessments will
therefore be based on the Standard Course of Study.
Communication
Documentation
Figure 1
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Learning
Outcomes
Programs for Children With Special Needs
The Purpose The main purpose of exceptional children’s programs is to ensure that
of Programs for students with disabilities develop mentally, physically and
Exceptional emotionally to the fullest extent possible through an appropriate,
Children individualized education in the least restrictive environment.
Children with special needs are students who because of permanent or
temporary mental, physical, or emotional disabilities need special educa-tion
and are unable to have all their educational needs met in a regular
class without special education or related services. Children with special
needs include those who are autistic, hearing impaired (deaf and hard of
hearing), mentally handicapped (educable, trainable, or severely/pro-foundly),
multi-handicapped, orthopedically impaired, other health im-paired,
pregnant, behaviorally-emotionally handicapped, specific learning
disabled, speech-language impaired, traumatic brain injured, and visually
impaired (blind or partially sighted). See Section .1501 or Procedures
Governing Programs and Services for Children with Special Needs for
definitions of these classifications.
Programs and services for children with special needs may be classified as
both instructional programs and instructional support services, depending
on the educational need of an individual student.
Content Sequence Curricula for most children with special needs follow the curricula
for students in general education. Emphasis must be given to
instruction in English language arts, arts education, social studies, health-ful
living, mathematics, science, career and vocational education, depend-ing
on the needs of the individual student. Attention must focus upon
cognitive, affective, motor and vocational development within the curricu-lar
areas. The Individualized Education Program for students with dis-abilities
is based on a comprehensive assessment, and states in writing the
special education offerings to be provided to each student with a disability.
Learning outcomes - knowledge, skills, concepts, understandings, and
attitudes - for students with disabilities will differ from student to student.
For many exceptional students, the same learning outcomes developed for
students in general education will be appropriate. Some exceptional
students will meet the learning outcomes at a different time and in a
different manner than students in general education. Some students with
severely limiting disabilities might not meet these outcomes in general
education and will need a totally different curriculum.
xvii
The purpose for adapting or changing curricula and teaching and learning
strategies for students with disabilities is to help them achieve at their
highest level, and to prepare them to function as independently as possible.
Completion of school experience by students with disabilities is deter-mined
by meeting the requirements for graduation or by attaining the goals
in the Individualized Education Program, or both. To graduate with a
diploma, an exceptional student must earn the State mandated units of
credit based on successful completion of course work, and acceptable
scores on tests adopted by the State. Exceptional students who do not
meet the State and local requirements for a diploma, but meet other re-quirements
for graduation, will be eligible to participate in graduation
exercises and receive a certificate of achievement.
Although course requirements are the same for exceptional students and
non-exceptional students, the instruction must be tailored to meet each
student’s individual needs. Instruction is based on the curricula needs
(academic, affective, motor, and vocational) of each student with a disabil-ity.
Instruction varies from student to student so curricula may vary also.
The key to all education for students with disabilities is the Individualized
Education Plan.
Curriculum
Adaptation
xviii
SBE Revised April 1999
State of North Carolina Graduation Requirements
North Carolina high school students are expected to meet specific state requirements in order to receive a
high school diploma. These requirements apply to all students across the state and help ensure that all
graduates have met certain standards. These standards for achievement and courses are designed to
prepare students for higher education and for work as adults.
In addition to state standards, local school boards may set other standards to graduate.
Ninth graders entering high school for the first time in 2000-01 also are required to select and complete
one of four courses of study before they graduate. This marks the first time that North Carolina has
required students to meet this standard. Educators hope that this will spur students to consider more
carefully their future opportunities and to plan accordingly.
Graduation Requirements – plan ahead!
There are three types of requirements that students must meet: credits, Course of Study and tests.
Students, with their parents’ input, need to decide if they are planning for a career immediately after high
school graduation, if the student plans to pursue a two-year or community college degree, or if the
student will pursue a four-year college or university degree. If undecided, students should take the most
rigorous course of study in which they can be successful, particularly in mathematics. Students need to
ensure that they understand the education and other preparation required for the career they choose to
pursue as adults.
Students and their parents should review this plan annually to determine any changes needed.
Credits and Courses of Study
Students must select a Course of Study to guide the courses they take during high school. Three of the
four Courses of Study require that students complete 20 course credits as well as the NC High School
Exit Exam. These Courses of Study – Career Prep, College Tech Prep, and College/University Prep – are
designed for students to go directly to work or to a community or technical college or to a four-year
college or university. A fourth Course of Study, the Occupational Course of Study, is designed for
certain students with disabilities who have an Individualized Education Plan. Most students, regardless
of Course of Study, take credits in the same core curricular areas. In fact, the Courses of Study provide
enough flexibility for students to modify their Course if they choose to do so.
The Career Prep, College Tech Prep, and College/University Prep Courses of Study require a minimum
of
4 credits in English 3 credits in science
*3 credits in mathematics 1 credit in Health/Physical Education electives
3 credits in social studies
Please see chart on Page xix for additional information about credit requirements.
* The College/University Prep Courses of Study requires 4 credits in Mathematics for first time ninth
graders beginning in 2002-03.
SBE Revised April 1999
NC COURSE OF STUDY GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS*
Content Area CAREER PREP
Course of Study Requirements
COLLEGE TECH PREP**
Course of Study Requirements
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
PREP
Course of Study
(UNC 4-yr college)
Requirements
OCCUPATIONAL***
Course of Study Requirements
English 4 Credits
I, II, III, IV
4 Credits
I, II, III, IV
4 Credits
I, II, III, IV
4 Credits – Occupational
English I, II, III, IV
Mathematics 3 Credits
Including Algebra I
3 Credits **
Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II,
OR
Algebra I, Technical Math I & II,
OR
Integrated Mathematics I, II, III
4 Credits (4th credit effective
for first time ninth graders in
2002-2003) Algebra I, Algebra
II, Geometry, and higher level
math course with Algebra II as
prerequisite OR Integrated
Mathematics I,II,III and a credit
beyond Integrated Mathematics
III
3 Credits
Occupational mathematics I, II,
III
Science 3 Credits
A Physical Science course,
Biology, Earth/Environmental
Science
3 Credits
A Physical Science course related
to career pathway (CP), Biology,
Earth/Environmental Science
3 Credits
A Physical Science course,
Biology, Earth/Environmental
Science
2 Credits
Life Skills Science I, II
Social Studies 3 Credits
Government/Economics (ELPS),
US History, World Studies
3 Credits
Government/Economics (ELPS),
US History, World Studies
3 Credits
Government/Economics (ELPS),
US History, World Studies (2
courses to meet UNC minimum
admission requirements-US
History & 1 elective)
2 Credits
Social Studies I
(Government/US History)
Social Studies II
(Self-Advocacy/Problem
Solving)
Second
Language
Not required Not required ** 2 Credits
in the same language
Not required
Computer
Skills
No specific course required,
students must demonstrate
proficiency through state testing
(starting with graduating class of
2001)
No specific course required,
students must demonstrate
proficiency through state testing
(starting with graduation class of
2001)
No specific course required,
students must demonstrate
proficiency through state testing
(starting with graduation class of
2001)
Computer proficiency as
specified in IEP
Health and
Physical
Education
1 Credit
Health/Physical Education
1 Credit
Health/Physical Education
1 Credit
Health/Physical Education
1 Credit
Health/Physical Education
Career
Technical
4 Credits in Career/Technical
Select courses appropriate for
career pathway to include a
second level (advanced) course
OR
4 Credits
Select courses appropriate for
career pathway to include a second
level (advanced) course
Not required 4 Credits
Career/Technical Education
electives
Arts Education
(Dance, Music,
Theatre Arts,
Visual Arts)
4 Credits in an Arts Discipline
Select courses appropriate for an
arts education pathway to include
an advanced course
Recommend at least one credit in
an arts discipline and/or
requirement by local decision
Recommend at least one credit
in an arts discipline and/or
requirement by local decision
Recommend at least one credit
in an arts discipline and/or
requirement by local decision
Recommend at least one credit in
an arts discipline and/or
requirement by local decision (for
students not taking an arts
education pathway)
Electives or
other require-ments*****
2 Elective Credits and other
credits designated by LEA
2 Elective Credits and other
credits designated by LEA
3 Elective Credits and other
credits designated by LEA
Occupational Preparation: 6
Credits: Occupational
Preparation I,II,III,IV****
Proficiency on Exit Exam
(Effective for entering ninth
graders 2001-2002)
Proficiency on Exit Exam
(Effective for entering ninth
graders 2001-2002)
Proficiency on Exit Exam
(Effective for entering ninth
graders 2001-2002)
Elective credits/completion of
IEP objectives/Career Portfolio-required/
No Exit Exam
TOTAL 20 Credits plus any local
requirements
20 Credits plus any local
requirements
20 Credits plus any local
requirements
22 Credits plus any local
requirements
*Effective for ninth graders entering for the first time in 2000-01. The additional mathematics credit in college/university prep is for entering ninth graders of
2002-03.
**A student pursuing a college tech prep course of study may meet the requirements of a college/university course of study by completing 2 credits in the same
second language and one additional unit in mathematics.
***This course of study shall be made available for certain students with disabilities who have an IEP, beginning in 2000-01.
****Completion of 300 hours of school-based training, 240 hours of community-based training, and 360 hours of paid employment.
*****Examples of electives include JROTC and other courses that are of interest to the student.
xix
NORTH CAROLINA
ACADEMIC SCHOLARS PROGRAM
History
In March, 1983, the State Board of Education approved the North Carolina Scholars Program to
begin with the 1983-1984 school year. In March, 1990, the State Board of Education revised the
program and re-designated it the North Carolina Academic Scholars Program. Again, the State
Board of Education revised program requirements in August 2002 to make it more consistent
with graduation requirements and promote rigorous academic study. The current plan will
remain in effect for students who entered ninth grade for the first time in or before 2002-2003.
The revised plan is effective for students who enter the ninth grade for the first time in or after
2003-2004. Students who complete the requirements for an academically challenging high
school program will be named North Carolina Academic Scholars and receive special
recognition.
Recognition
The students who qualify for this special recognition
• will be designated by the State Board of Education as North Carolina Academic Scholars.
• will receive a seal of recognition attached to their diplomas.
• may receive special recognition at graduation exercises and other community events.
• may be considered for scholarships from the local and state business/industrial community.
• may use this special recognition in applying to post-secondary institutions. (Candidates are
identified by the end of grade 11 and their candidacy can be included in application forms
and/or transcripts sent to these institutions.)
NORTH CAROLINA ACADEMIC SCHOLARS PROGRAM (Revised 8/8/02)
This plan is in effect for students who entered the ninth grade for the first time in
or before 2002-2003.
The following revised plan is effective for students who enter the ninth grade for
the first time in or after 2003-2004.
CHANGES
Students must:
• begin planning for the program before entering grade 9 to ensure they obtain
the most flexibility in their courses.
• complete all the requirements of this North Carolina Academic Scholars
Program.
• have an overall four-year grade average of B or its equivalent as determined
by the local board of education.
Students must:
• begin planning for the program before entering grade 9 to ensure they
obtain the most flexibility in their courses.
• complete all the requirements of this North Carolina Academic Scholars
Program.
• have an overall four-year unweighted grade point average of 3.5.
• complete all requirements for a North Carolina high school diploma.
Unweighted grade
point average of 3.5
rather than a B
Completion of all
requirements for a
high school diploma
Credits The following designated number of credits per subject area listed
below must be taken in grades 9-12.
Credits The following designated number of credits per subject area
listed below must be taken in grades 9-12.
4 English I,II,III,IV 4 English Language Arts I,II,III,IV none
3 Mathematics (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II or one unit of advanced
mathematics for which Algebra II is a prerequisite)
4 Mathematics (Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and a higher level
math course with Algebra II as prerequisite OR Integrated
Mathematics I, II, III, and a higher level mathematics course with
Integrated Mathematics III as prerequisite)
One additional credit
required, optional
Integrated Math
sequence
3 Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics or one other advanced science in
lieu of Physics)
3 Science (a Physics or Chemistry course, Biology, and an
Earth/Environmental Science course)
Physics OR
Chemistry, an
Earth/Environmental
Science course
specified
3 Social Studies (Government/Economics, U.S. History, and one world
studies course)
3 Social Studies (World History, Civics/Economics, and U.S. History)
World History
specified
2 Foreign Languages (two levels of the same language)
2 Languages other than English ( two credits of the same language)
none
1 Health/Physical Education 1 Healthful Living none
1 Career and Technical Education
2 Additional units selected from among English, Mathematics, Science,
Social Studies or Foreign Language courses
1 Arts Education (Dance, Music, Theatre Arts or Visual Arts)
A new credit required
in Career/Technical
Education and in Arts
Education
4 Electives 5 Elective credits to include at least two second-level or advanced
courses (Examples of electives include JROTC and other courses
that are of interest to the student.)
Two second-level or
advanced level
courses required
22 Note: Adopted by the State Board of Education on March 8, 1990. The
above is the single plan applicable to graduates effective with the class
of 1994.
24 Note: Adopted by the State Board of Education in August 2002. The
above is the single plan applicable to students who enter the ninth
grade for the first time in or after 2003-2004.
Two additional
credits required
2004
English Language Arts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... ix
Foreword............................................................................................................... 3
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. 4
Preface .................................................................................................................. 5
Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 6
Purpose.................................................................................................................. 7
Philosophy............................................................................................................. 8
Program Description.............................................................................................. 11
Grade Level Curriculum
K-2 Grade-Level Goals and Objectives.................................................................. 14
3-5 Grade-Level Goals and Objectives................................................................... 31
6-8 Grade-Level Goals and Objectives................................................................... 57
9-12 Grade-Level Goals and Objectives................................................................. 83
Advanced Placement (AP) English Goals and Objectives ...................................... 122
Appendices
A – Information on Beginning Reading Instruction................................................ 132
B – Grade Span Continuums
K-2 ............................................................................................................ 160
3-5 ............................................................................................................. 161
6-8 ............................................................................................................. 162
9-12 ........................................................................................................... 163
C – Strand Continuums
Written Language....................................................................................... 164
Oral Language ........................................................................................... 166
Other Media/Technology ........................................................................... 167
D – Content of a Reading and Literature Program K-12......................................... 168
E – Glossary .......................................................................................................... 176
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2004 English Language Arts
FOREWORD
North Carolina has had a Standard Course of Study since 1898. Since that time,
curricula have been revised periodically to reflect the changing needs of students and society.
The most recent revision of the complete K-12 state English Language Arts curriculum occurred
in 1992. That curriculum reflected the shift in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by
business, industry, and society to function in an information-driven world. Current revisions
continue to build upon those efforts.
The revised curriculum is based upon surveys of the effectiveness of the previous
curriculum, current educational research, and input from public school teachers, administrators,
college and university faculties, parents, and business and community leaders. In addition, the
revised curriculum is based on national curriculum standards developed jointly by the National
Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association and on language arts
standards developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
The North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study clearly defines
a curriculum supporting the ABC’s school reform effort as well as the North Carolina Testing
Program. These revisions maintain a forward focus by looking at what students will need to
know and to be able to do as successful and contributing citizens in our state and nation in the
years ahead.
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2004 English Language Arts
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Department of Public Instruction gratefully acknowledges the cooperation and
assistance received from individuals and groups throughout the State in this current revision
process. Without such cooperation, the revisions and printing of the North Carolina Standard
Course of Study would not have been possible.
We wish to express a special thanks to:
• the Office of Instructional Services for providing the leadership and vision that
guided the development of this document;
• the many local educators, parents, and businesspeople who participated in the current
revision process by serving on committees and reacting to draft documents;
• faculty from the institutions of higher education who advised the staff and assisted in
the revision of the curriculum;
• the members of the elementary, middle, and high school curriculum revision
committees who gave their time and expertise; and
• the Department of Public Instruction English Language Arts staff who carried the
primary responsibility for revision and editing the curriculum.
The 1999 revision process involved on some level the entire English Language Arts
community resulting in a document that North Carolina educators find useful. The 2004 process
involved minor clarifications of the goals and objectives to allow more understanding of the
intent of the original document. We will regularly revise the curriculum in order to meet the
needs of the students of North Carolina.
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PREFACE
Intent The intent of the North Carolina English Language Arts Standard
of Course of Study (SCS) is to establish competency goals and objectives
SCS for the teaching and learning of English Language Arts in North
Carolina. The document details the English Language Arts content that
should be taught in all schools. Optional documents are available that
support the SCS. These support documents offer suggestions for
methodology and materials to implement the curriculum.
The primary goal of English Language Arts instruction in North
Carolina is to ensure that all students learn how to use language
effectively in order to function as individuals and as contributing members
of society.
_______________________________________________________
Revisions The entire K-12 North Carolina English Language Arts Standard
of SCS Course of Study was last revised in 1999. The beginning
reading portion was revised in 1997 in response to legislative
mandate to include more emphasis on early and systematic
phonics instruction within a balanced reading program.
The curriculum contains specific goals and objectives for each
grade level. This 2004 curriculum includes clarifications and specificity
designed to make the competency objectives more comprehensible and to
support teachers’ implementation of the standards.
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2004 English Language Arts
OUTCOMES
OF
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STUDY
Outcomes The outcomes of a successful English Language Arts curriculum are that
students can use language effectively.
______________________________________________________
Student Students who successfully complete a balanced and effective
Language English Language Arts program will be able to perform the following
Competencies activities:
Use strategies and processes to improve their language use:
• by planning, adjusting, evaluating, and refining the language they
use for different purposes and audiences.
Use language to acquire, interpret, and apply information:
• by identifying, collecting, or selecting information and ideas;
• by analyzing, synthesizing, and organizing information to discover
related ideas, concepts, or generalizations; and
• by applying, extending, and expanding on information and
concepts.
Use language to critically analyze and evaluate information:
• by assessing the validity and accuracy of information and ideas
determining the value of information and ideas; and
• by developing criteria and evaluating the quality, relevance, and
importance of information and ideas.
Use language to express aesthetic and personal responses:
• by responding to personal situations and events in selections and to
personal situations and events;
• by responding to the personal, social, cultural, and historical
significance of selections or personal experiences; and
• by responding critically and creatively to selections or personal
experience.
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2004 English Language Arts
PURPOSE
OF
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS STUDY
Purpose The ultimate purpose of the English Language Arts curriculum is to teach
students the language abilities they need to communicate effectively as
individuals and as contributing members of society.
____________________________________________________________
Language Students will develop the language skills necessary to function in society
Abilities as the following individuals:
Self-directed learners who possess:
• a desire to learn for a lifetime;
• the competence to learn in real-life situations;
• a knowledge of pragmatics in communication;
• the motivation and ability to produce quality work and products; and
• the disposition to make personal and aesthetic responses.
Collaborative workers who possess:
• the ability to function as both effective receivers and senders of
information;
• leadership and group skills to function effectively within interpersonal
relationships;
• sensitivity to social, historical, and cultural diversity; and
• the desire to contribute to the improvement of society.
Complex thinkers who possess:
• awareness and ownership of their own learning; and
• the ability to reason, make decisions, and solve complex problems in a
variety of contexts.
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2004 English Language Arts
PHILOSOPHY
Societal Futurists predict new challenges in preparing students for the demands of
Needs an information age. These visionaries expect the need for an increasingly high
level of literacy. While students continue to need mastery of enabling skills such
as reading, writing, and computing, they must also prepare for the new basics,
which include problem solving, critical and creative thinking, decision making,
flexibility and adaptability, and the ability to work collaboratively. The intent of
the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts is to
equip students with the level of literacy needed to participate as informed citizens
in a democratic society, to function effectively in the world of work, and to realize
personal fulfillment.
Curriculum The first priority of an English Language Arts program is language
Priority development. Use of oral and written language sets human
beings apart from other forms of life and allows for the expression of the human
spirit, the development of ethical responsibility, and the ability to interact with
and influence others. Indeed, it is this use of language which challenges us to
examine and clarify our thinking as we search for the best means to communicate
our thoughts and ideas.
Guiding An effective English Language Arts program must be concerned with
Principles both process and content—with how students learn and what they learn. In such
an environment, teachers and students are guided by the following
principles:
• Learning to communicate through written and oral language and media should
be a rewarding experience.
• Students learn to communicate by using language in natural and purposeful
ways.
• Language skills are interrelated processes utilized by the learner to
comprehend and convey meaning: oral (listening and speaking), written
(reading and writing), and media use.
• Teachers provide many kinds of support including skills emphasis and
meaning emphasis.
• Teachers balance both direct and indirect instruction.
• Students learn to value their own language when it is valued by others who
hold high expectations for all students.
• Learning is enhanced in an environment where students are encouraged to:
think critically and creatively about ideas, relate the content of the message to
personal experiences, understand and use the patterns and structures of
language.
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2004 English Language Arts
• Learners employ three curing systems on an intuitive and conscious or
metacognitive level. Cues used in communication are:
–knowledge of sound-symbol relationships (graphophonic information),
–personal knowledge of language/word order (syntactic information),
–personal knowledge of the student (semantic information).
• Growth in the ability to use language to communicate is an on going and life-long
process. Assessment of a curriculum should be continuous and integrated
with the instructional process.
• Assessment procedures should be balanced to include multiple-choice testing,
open-ended questions, portfolios, demonstrations, debates, reports,
investigations, etc. Generally, assessment should be focused on improving
instruction and should promote quality, depth, and extensions of student work.
• Students should share the responsibility for their learning. They must develop
an increasing awareness of their own thinking, including attitudes, habits, and
dispositions. Student-initiated learning involving choice, collaboration, and
active participation is more likely to produce a high level of interest and
accomplishment than teacher-centered exposition.
• Using oral and written language and media enable learners to clarify their
thinking, to investigate, and to increase knowledge in all subject areas.
Integrating the teaching of English Language Arts with other subjects
enhances the learner’s ability to move from the known to the unknown, to see
relationships, and to make generalizations.
_________________________________________________________________
ELA Language and literature are the content of an integrated English Language Arts
Content program. The study of these areas should include the structure of the English
language, its social and historical perspective, and a respect and appreciation for
the cultural diversity of those who speak English. Essential to this study is the
systematic exploration of literature with a clear emphasis on the comprehension
and response to the beauty and legacy of the English language.
A balanced English Language Arts curriculum focuses on the student as an active
participant in the learning process. Included in the study is the selective and
strategic use of monitoring, self-questioning, and focusing strategies. In a similar
manner, engaged learners explore options in presentation: films or videotapes in
the study of literature and language; audiotapes in the study of oral language; and
word processors and other media in composing, revising, and publishing
compositions.
________________________________________________________________
Summary As local school systems begin the implementation of this curriculum, they
will recognize much information that is familiar and some that is new. It is the
belief of the English Language Arts Section that the information included in this
curriculum reflects current research and best teaching practices. The document
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2004 English Language Arts
has been a collaborative effort among the Department of Public Instruction, local
education agencies, and institutions of higher education. It is intended to assist
educators as they create conditions that enable students to learn and that
encourage their desire to learn.
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2004 English Language Arts
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Spiraling The English Language Arts Curriculum is a spiraling curriculum
Curriculum in the sense that many of the same skills develop over time.
_____________________________________________________
Strands Students at any grade level continue to develop skills in the three
language strands:
• oral language,
• written language, and
• media/technology use.
The specific expectations for what students study at different grade levels
vary. First graders and tenth graders, for example, all read and write and
use technology, but the expectations about what they read and write and
how they use media are different.
(See Strand Continuums, Appendix C.)
______________________________________________________
Common Likewise, at all grades students study some common content:
Content
• language of the discipline (plot, theme, setting, etc.);
• language conventions (sentence structure, mechanics, spelling and
punctuation, etc.); and
• different genre (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama).
This common content study, however, also involves age-appropriate
materials and different grade level expectations.
(See Grade Span Continuums, Appendix B.)
______________________________________________________
Common In order to provide continuity of language study and increasing
K-5 language skill development across grade levels, grades K-5 have
Goals common goals.
These goals are:
• The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to
read and write.
• The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is
read, heard, and viewed.
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2004 English Language Arts
• The learner will make connections through the use of oral language,
written language, and media and technology.
• The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
• The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
Common In order to provide continuity of language study and increasing
6-12 language skill development across grade levels, grades 6-12 also
Goals have common goals.
These goals are:
• The learner will use language to express individual perspectives drawn
from personal or related experience.
• The learner will analyze information from a variety of sources.
• The learner will examine the foundations and use of argument.
• The learner will refine critical thinking skills and create criteria to
evaluate text and multimedia.
• The learner will interpret and evaluate a wide range of literary texts.
• The learner will develop an understanding of the application of
grammar conventions and language usage.
Different The differences in English Language Arts study at each grade
Grade level are reflected in the objectives under each goal at
Level different grade levels. These differences in objectives result in
Objectives different emphases at grade level spans.
Students at a specific grade will continue to show evidence of mastery of
competencies developed at previous grade levels, particularly as they
contribute to mastery of grade-level competencies.
Grades K-2 Emphasis
Students develop and refine oral language skills while learning
basic written language skills and use of media. They develop
understandings, knowledge, strategies, and skills which enable them to
become independent readers and writers who can continue learning
throughout the years to follow.
Grades 3-5 Emphasis
Students continue to develop basic language skills and develop
the use of these skills to learn content in other disciplines such as
science, social studies, and the arts. They use a variety of media
to demonstrate their learning.
Grades 6-8 Emphasis
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2004 English Language Arts
Students in the middle grades continue to refine previously
learned skills in increasingly complex presentations, reading
selections, and written products. They use language to
communicate skillfully and effectively for a variety of purposes,
for different audiences, and within diverse contexts.
Grades 9-12 Emphasis
Students continue to develop language use in different contexts
and for different audiences and purposes. They engage in the
formal study of literature, write more complex compositions,
engage in research, and develop skill in evaluating professional
authors’ as well as their own language use. They develop
sophisticated media productions to showcase their learning.
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2004 English Language Arts
English Language Arts Curriculum Grades K-2
Purpose/
Overview
Children enter school eager to learn and make sense of their world. This
search for meaning and interest in becoming a literate member of a
community should be used to facilitate present and future learning. In
grades K-2 the curriculum provides a framework for planning learning
activities that promote the acquisition of a variety of strategies and skills
that become habitual and automatic.
These children use their language, knowledge, skills, and personal
experiences to comprehend literature and other texts. During these first
years children need to be given many daily opportunities to connect what
they know to new skills and information as they grow cognitively and
socially. Young children are able to be self-directed learners,
collaborative partners in a community of learners, and complex thinkers
when provided experiences with written and oral language that are
relevant and appropriate for them as individual learners.
Wixson and Dutro (CIERA Report #3-001) recommend that the content
of state standards and benchmarks that are a part of a state’s curriculum
should "derive from information based on current research conducted
among linguistically and culturally diverse children." The curriculum for
young children in North Carolina schools is based on the research as
presented in Appendix A. Research has shown that children learn the
foundation skills that enable them to become independent readers
through direct instruction of decoding and comprehension skills and
through strategies appropriate for individual student’s strengths, patterns
of development, rate of learning, and specific learning needs. In addition,
research indicates that children improve their reading skills by reading
self-selected texts daily (Adams, 1990; Allington and Pressley, 1999;
Clay, 1991; and Snow, 1998).
Competency
Goals And
Objectives
The five competency goals and objectives selected to accomplish
program aims are designed to foster the development of strategies and
skills in oral and written language abilities while using media and
technology to learn to communicate. In the early grades students need to
learn to use enabling skills and strategies which help readers to read
(decode) texts in order to understand the message written by another
author. They learn how texts are constructed as they become authors who
compose and convey messages, using the conventions of oral and written
language.
The dominant focus of the curriculum for students in grades K-2 is the
acquisition and development of language abilities while learning how to
learn. When students complete second grade, they need to be able to
apply the enabling strategies and skills to read a new (unseen) text
independently, using appropriate decoding strategies and skills that may
be necessary. These students must also be competent comprehenders who
are able to construct meaning by making connections and applying
comprehension strategies. They can create complete oral, written, and
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2004 English Language Arts
acquisition and development of language abilities while learning how to
learn. When students complete second grade, they need to be able to
apply the enabling strategies and skills to read a new (unseen) text
independently, using appropriate decoding strategies and skills that may
be necessary. These students must also be competent comprehenders who
are able to construct meaning by making connections and applying
comprehension strategies. They can create complete oral, written, and
visual texts which are understood by other listeners/readers because they
use the oral and written language conventions that are appropriate for the
intended purpose and audience.
When students are led to use their own experiences to comprehend and
convey messages, they anchor their learning in what they know and
extend their learning to new behaviors and competencies. When texts
which are read, heard, and/or viewed are used as models of language and
children are led to understand the purposes of authors, how authors select
and use words and language structures, and how authors and speakers use
genres to convey ideas, information, and experiences, they are able to
apply these models to their own efforts to create texts. As children
encounter various models and develop a greater repertoire of strategies
and skills, they also develop their understanding of how to learn. As they
experiment with these understandings and experience the responses of
other readers and writers to their creations, they extend their
understanding of how language is used and learning is constructed.
The goals which address the conventions of oral and written language
development are designed to promote students’ understanding of standard
forms and conventions as aids which allow them to tell and write their
ideas, feelings, experiences, and new learnings in ways others can
understand. Second graders must be able to apply these conventions in
texts and/or products they create using oral and written texts and/or non-print
media.
Building the foundation skills for decoding and comprehending,
connecting prior learning with new learning, and using conventions as
aids to communication enable students to begin their academic careers
with deep understandings, not surface behaviors, which facilitate further
learning. Through school experiences which develop these goals, young
students are provided opportunities to engage in the social and academic
context of learning that facilitates competence in understanding and
being understood while using oral and written language as well as print
and non-print media and technology.
Strands Experiences with written language used in different genres, oral language
used by peers and other more competent language users, and media and
technology use provide the learning contexts in which children can
construct and practice strategies and skills used throughout their
academic careers. The group environment that is provided for young
children enables these learners to benefit from sharing their
comprehension and responses to texts. Within the group children have
opportunities to refine and extend their thinking, to listen to and
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2004 English Language Arts
technology use provide the learning contexts in which children can
construct and practice strategies and skills used throughout their
academic careers. The group environment that is provided for young
children enables these learners to benefit from sharing their
comprehension and responses to texts. Within the group children have
opportunities to refine and extend their thinking, to listen to and
appreciate the viewpoints of others, and to acquire different ways to
communicate. As they experience success in learning and increase their
level of competence, they are able to develop the metacognitive skills and
strategies that enable them to articulate their thinking and discuss the
problem-solving processes they use. These skills and strategies provide a
solid foundation for extending their learning as they use written and oral
language and media and technology to read, comprehend, interpret,
evaluate, generate, and create various kinds of texts.
Teaching children how to use written and oral language in conventional
forms that are appropriate to accomplish purposes they establish and
purposes assigned to them facilitates later opportunities that are not
limited because of inadequate language usage. Using media and
technology as tools for thinking and communicating is intended to enable
children to experience learning and sharing ideas through different
models adapted for different purposes and contexts.
The curriculum provides learning opportunities for children to interact
with various kinds of texts for various purposes. Children who learn to
listen to and read fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry and who can
engage in self-selected reading extend their understanding of the many
forms of communication. These children can also learn about the world
and the diversity of the people in the world. Discussions with peers and
more knowledgeable readers and writers facilitate children’s
understanding of vocabulary and the conventions of written and oral
language. From these experiences children develop a store of words,
literary forms, and rules which they can use to understand more
sophisticated texts and to construct their own texts.
Connections Emergent readers and writers learn the regularities and irregularities of
the English language as they listen to, interact with, read, and write
literary, informational, and practical texts at increasing levels of
sophistication. These students also learn to use media and technology to
experience texts (fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry) and share ideas and
information as they interact with and create texts. During these early
experiences children link their previous life experiences and literacy
experiences to their current understanding of how readers read and
writers write. Meeting the competency goals in oral language, written
language, and media and technology use will create a firm foundation for
further learning that is not constrained by inept use of language and
thinking skills. Rather, it is a foundation built on deep understanding that
facilitates application of knowledge and skills, analysis of tasks,
generation of strategies for problem solving, and motivation to persevere
and succeed.
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2004 English Language Arts
further learning that is not constrained by inept use of language and
thinking skills. Rather, it is a foundation built on deep understanding that
facilitates application of knowledge and skills, analysis of tasks,
generation of strategies for problem solving, and motivation to persevere
and succeed.
Students in grades K-2 will continue to show evidence of mastery of
competencies developed at previous grade levels, particularly as they
contribute to mastery of grade-level competencies.
Adams, M. Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print.
Cambridge, MAS: MIT Press, 1991.
Allington, R. and M. Pressley. "The Nature of Effective First-Grade
Literacy Instruction." National Research Center on English Learning and
Achievement. Albany, NY: University of Albany, SUNY, 1991.
Clay, Marie. Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1991.
Wixson, K. and E. Dutro. "Standards for Primary-Grade Reading: An
Analysis of State Frameworks." Center for the Improvement of Early
Reading achievement. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1999.
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KINDERGARTEN
During the kindergarten year, students need to experience the enjoyment of reading while they
learn the foundational strategies and skills that will enable them to read independently. Students
learn these enabling skills of phonemic awareness, letter names, sound-letter correspondences,
decoding skills, high frequency vocabulary, and comprehension skills as they listen and respond
to a variety of texts. They enjoy listening to stories, relating characters and events to their own
life experiences, dramatizing stories, and responding to stories through art and writing activities.
They can extend their oral language skills when given opportunities to express themselves, and
they can learn how oral language is recorded to convey experiences and ideas as they observe
their experiences and ideas being written. Kindergarten students will:
• Engage in word play.
• Listen and respond to children’s literature.
• Build reading and writing concepts, skills, and strategies.
Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology
Competency
Goal 1
The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read
and write.
1.01 Develop book and print awareness:
• identify the parts of books and function of each part.
• demonstrate an understanding of directionality and voice-print match
by following print word for word when listening to familiar text read
aloud.
• demonstrate an understanding of letters, words, sentence and story.
• identify the title, name of the author and the name of the illustrator.
1.02 Develop phonemic awareness and knowledge of alphabetic principle:
• demonstrate understanding that spoken language is a sequence of
identifiable speech sounds.
• demonstrate understanding that the sequence of letters in the written
word represents the sequence of sounds in the spoken word.
• demonstrate understanding of the sounds of letters and understanding
that words begin and end alike (onsets and rimes).
1.03 Demonstrate decoding and word recognition strategies and skills:
• recognize and name upper and lower case letters of the alphabet.
• recognize some words by sight including a few common words, own
name, and environmental print such as signs, labels, and trademarks.
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name, and environmental print such as signs, labels, and trademarks.
• recognize most beginning consonant letter-sound associations in one-syllable
words.
1.04 Read or begin to read:
• read or attempt to read own dictated story.
• attempt to read/reads simple patterned text, decodable text, and/or
predictable texts using letter-sound knowledge and pictures to
construct meaning.
1.05 Interact for at least 10 minutes daily with self-selected texts that are
consistent with the student’s independent reading level.
Competency
Goal 2
The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend
text that is read, heard, and viewed.
2.01 Demonstrate sense of story (e.g., beginning, middle, end, characters,
details and setting).
2.02 Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of types of books and selections
(e.g., picture books, caption books, short informational texts, nursery
rhymes, word plays/finger plays, puppet plays, reenactments of familiar
stories).
2.03 Use preparation strategies to activate prior knowledge and experience
before and during the reading of a text.
2.04 Formulate questions that a text might answer before beginning to read
(e.g., what will happen in this story, who might this be, where do you think
this happens).
2.05 Predict possible events in texts before and during reading.
2.06 Understand and follow oral-graphic directions.
2.07 Demonstrate understanding of literary language; e.g., "once upon a
time" and other vocabulary specific to a genre.
2.08 Distinguish fantasy from reality when reading text.
2.09 Identify the sequence of events in a story.
Competency
Goal 3
The learner will make connections through the use of oral language,
written language, and media and technology.
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3.01 Connect information and events in text to experience.
3.02 Discuss concepts and information in a text to clarify and extend
knowledge.
3.03 Associate target words with prior knowledge and explore an author’s
choice of words.
3.04 Use speaking and listening skills and media to connect experiences and
text:
• listening to and re-visiting stories.
• discussing, illustrating, and dramatizing stories.
• discovering relationships.
Competency
Goal 4
The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
4.01 Use new vocabulary in own speech and writing.
4.02 Use words that name and words that tell action in a variety of simple
texts (e.g., oral retelling, written stories, lists, journal entries of personal
experiences).
4.03 Use words that describe color, size, and location in a variety of texts:
e.g., oral retelling, written stories, lists, journal entries of personal
experiences.
4.04 Maintain conversation and discussions:
• attending to oral presentations.
• taking turns expressing ideas and asking questions.
4.05 Use a variety of sentence patterns such as interrogative requests (Can
you go with me?) and sentence fragments that convey emotion (Me, too!).
• write from left to right and from top to bottom.
• write most letters and some words when dictated.
4.06 Write and/or participate in writing behaviors by using authors’ models
of language.
Competency
Goal 5
The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
5.01 Develop spelling strategies and skills by:
• representing spoken language with temporary and/or conventional
spelling.
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spelling.
• writing most letters of the alphabet.
• analyzing sounds in a word and writing dominant consonant letters.
5.02 Use capital letters to write the word I and the first letter in own name.
5.03 Use legible manuscript handwriting.
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FIRST GRADE
First grade students extend their understanding of the enabling skills of phonemic awareness and
decoding and word recognition while they extend their comprehension and use of conventions
for written language. They read a variety of texts, listen to literature, and respond to books,
poetry, plays, age-appropriate expository texts, environmental print, and self-selected reading
materials. They expand their oral language skills and their knowledge about recording oral
language to express themselves clearly. As they participate in discussing texts and constructing
texts, they expand their store of words. They begin to use new vocabulary and formats for their
written products as a result of their examination of models of speaking and writing.
First grade students will:
• Read a variety of texts in different settings.
• Respond to texts in different ways.
• Use conversational and literary language to express themselves.
• Begin to develop effective listening and speaking skills.
Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology
Competency
Goal 1
The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read
and write.
1.01 Develop phonemic awareness and demonstrate knowledge of alphabetic
principle:
• count syllables in a word.
• blend the phonemes of one-syllable words.
• segment the phonemes of one-syllable words.
• change the beginning, middle, and ending sounds to produce new
words.
• create and state a series of rhyming words that may include consonant
blends (e.g., flag, brag).
1.02 Demonstrate decoding and word recognition strategies and skills:
• generate the sounds from all the letters and appropriate letter patterns
which should include consonant blends and long and short vowel
patterns.
• use phonics knowledge of sound-letter relationships to decode regular
one-syllable words when reading words and text.
• recognize many high frequency and/or common irregularly spelled
words in text (e.g., have said, where, two).
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words in text (e.g., have said, where, two).
• read compound words and contractions.
• read inflectional forms (e.g., -s, -ed, -ing) and root words (e.g., looks,
looked, looking).
• read appropriate word families.
1.03 Use pronunciation, sentence meaning, story meaning, and syntax to
confirm accurate decoding or to self-correct errors.
1.04 Self-monitor decoding by using one or two decoding strategies (e.g.,
beginning letters, rimes, length of word, ending letters).
1.05 Increase vocabulary, concepts, and reading stamina by reading self-selected
texts independently for 15 minutes daily. Self-selected texts should
be consistent with the student’s independent reading level.
Competency
Goal 2
The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend
text that is read, heard, and viewed.
2.01 Read aloud independently with fluency and comprehension any text that
is appropriately designed for emergent readers.
2.02 Demonstrate familiarity with a variety of texts (storybooks, short
chapter books, newspapers, telephone books, and everyday print such as
signs and labels, poems, word plays using alliteration and rhyme, skits and
short plays).
2.03 Read and comprehend both fiction and nonfiction text appropriate for
grade one using:
• prior knowledge.
• summary.
• questions.
• graphic organizers.
2.04 Use preparation strategies to anticipate vocabulary of a text and to
connect prior knowledge and experiences to a new text.
2.05 Predict and explain what will happen next in stories.
2.06 Self-monitor comprehension by using one or two strategies (questions,
retelling, summarizing).
2.07 Respond and elaborate in answering what, when, where, and how
questions.
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questions.
2.08 Discuss and explain response to how, why, and what if questions in
sharing narrative and expository texts.
2.09 Read and understand simple written instructions.
Competency
Goal 3
The learner will make connections through the use of oral language,
written language, and media and technology.
3.01 Elaborate on how information and events connect to life experiences.
3.02 Recognize and relate similar vocabulary use and concepts across
experiences with texts.
3.03 Discuss unfamiliar oral and/or written vocabulary after listening to or
reading texts.
3.04 Share personal experiences and responses to experiences with text:
• publishing non-print texts.
• discussing interpretations.
• recording personal responses.
3.05 Recognize how particular authors use vocabulary and language to
develop an individual, recognizable voice.
3.06 Discuss authors’/speakers’ use of different kinds of sentences to interest
a reader/listener and communicate a message.
3.07 Compare authors’ uses of conventions of language that aid readers
including:
• kinds of sentences.
• capitalization of first word in a sentence and proper names.
• punctuation to end a declarative and interrogative sentence.
Competency
Goal 4
The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
4.01 Select and use new vocabulary and language structures in both speech
and writing contexts (e.g., oral retelling using exclamatory phrases to accent
an idea or event).
4.02 Use words that describe, name characters and settings (who, where),
and tell action and events (what happened, what did ___ do) in simple texts.
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4.03 Use specific words to name and tell action in oral and written language
(e.g., using words such as frog and toad when discussing a nonfiction text).
4.04 Extend skills in using oral and written language:
• clarifying purposes for engaging in communication.
• using clear and precise language to paraphrase messages.
• engaging in more extended oral discussions.
• producing written products
• completing graphic organizers.
4.05 Write and/or participate in writing by using an author’s model of
language and extending the model (e.g., writing different ending for a story,
composing an innovation of a poem).
4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters,
response logs, simple poems, oral retellings) using a writing process.
Competency
Goal 5
The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
5.01 Use phonic knowledge and basic patterns (e.g., an, ee, ake) to spell
correctly three-and four-letter words.
5.02 Apply phonics to write independently, using temporary and/or
conventional spelling.
5.03 Write all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, using correct
letter formation.
5.04 Use complete sentences to write simple texts.
5.05 Use basic capitalization and punctuation:
• first word in a sentence.
• proper names.
• period to end declarative sentence.
• question mark to end interrogative sentence.
5.06 Self-monitor composition by using one or two strategies (e.g.,
rereading, peer conferences).
5.07 Use legible manuscript handwriting.
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SECOND GRADE
Second grade students use the listening, speaking, and reading foundational skills they have
developed to extend their understanding of written language and their skills in using written
language. They need to read a wider variety of texts that require strategies and skills with more
complex vocabulary and ideas. These students need to be able to write sentences to express
multiple ideas about a topic. Second grade students will:
• Use acquired concepts and metacognitive skills to read and write more independently.
• Comprehend and respond to texts using multiple skills and strategies.
• Extend vocabulary skills to use oral and written communication effectively.
• Use reading and listening, speaking and writing, and media and technology resources to
accomplish a purpose.
Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology
Competency
Goal 1
The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read
and write.
1.01 Use phonics knowledge and structural analysis (e.g., knowledge of
syllables, suffixes, prefixes, root words) to decode regular multi-syllable
words when reading text.
1.02 Read most high frequency and many irregularly spelled words
accurately in text.
1.03 Self-monitor decoding by using letter-sound knowledge of all
consonants and vowels.
1.04 Apply knowledge of all sources of information (meaning, language,
graphophonics) to read a new text silently and independently.
1.05 Use a variety of strategies and skills to read self-selected texts
independently for 20 minutes daily. Self-selected texts should be consistent
with the student’s independent reading level.
Competency
Goal 2
The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend
text that is read, heard, and viewed.
2.01 Read and comprehend text (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama)
appropriate for grade two by:
• determining purpose (reader’s and author’s).
• making predictions.
• asking questions.
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• locating information for specific reasons/purposes.
• recognizing and appl text structure.
• comprehending and examin author’s decisions and word choice.
• determining fact and opinion.
• recognizing and comprehend figurative language.
• making inferences and draw conclusions.
2.02 Use text for a variety of functions, including literary, informational, and
practical.
2.03 Read expository materials for answers to specific questions.
2.04 Pose possible how, why, and what if questions to understand and/or
interpret text.
2.05 Self-monitor own difficulties in comprehending independently using
several strategies.
2.06 Recall main idea, facts and details from a text.
2.07 Discuss similarities and differences in events, characters and concepts
within and across texts.
2.08 Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and maps.
Competency
Goal 3
The learner will make connections through the use of oral language,
written language, and media and technology.
3.01 Use personal experiences and knowledge to interpret written and oral
messages.
3.02 Connect and compare information within and across selections (fiction,
nonfiction, poetry, and drama) to experience and knowledge.
3.03 Explain and describe new concepts and information in own words (e.g.,
plot, setting, major events, characters, author’s message, connections, topic,
key vocabulary, key concepts, text features).
3.04 Increase oral and written vocabulary by listening, discussing, and
composing texts when responding to literature that is read and heard. (e.g.,
read aloud by teacher, literature circles, interest groups, book clubs).
3.05 Locate and discuss examples of an author’s use of:
• kinds of sentences (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory).
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2004 English Language Arts
• capitalization (titles, dates and days, names of countries).
• punctuation (exclamation marks, commas in dates, and to introduce
dialogue and quotations).
• use of paragraphs in texts and their effects on the reader.
• genre(s) and specific word choice(s).
3.06 Discuss the effect of an author’s choices for nouns, verbs, modifiers and
specific vocabulary which help the reader comprehend a narrative or
expository text.
Competency
Goal 4
The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
4.01 Begin to use formal language and/or literary language in place of oral
language patterns, as appropriate.
4.02 Use expanded vocabulary to generate synonyms for commonly over
used words to increase clarity of written and oral communication.
4.03 Read aloud with fluency and expression any text appropriate for early
independent readers.
4.04 Use oral communication to identify, organize, and analyze information.
4.05 Respond appropriately when participating in group discourse by
adapting language and communication behaviors to the situation to
accomplish a specific purpose.
4.06 Plan and make judgments about what to include in written products
(e.g., narratives of personal experiences, creative stories, skits based on
familiar stories and/or experiences).
4.07 Compose first drafts using an appropriate writing process:
• planning and drafting.
• rereading for meaning.
• revising to clarify and refine writing with guided discussion.
4.08 Write structured, informative presentations and narratives when given
help with organization.
4.09 Use media and technology to enhance the presentation of information to
an audience for a specific purpose.
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Competency
Goal 5
The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
5.01 Spell correctly using:
• previously studied words.
• spelling patterns.
• analysis of sounds to represent all the sounds in a word in one’s own
writing.
5.02 Attend to spelling, mechanics, and format for final products in one’s
own writing.
5.03 Use capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphs in own writing.
5.04 Use the following parts of the sentence:
• subject.
• predicate.
• modifier.
5.05 Use editing to check and confirm correct use of conventions:
• complete sentences.
• correct word order in sentences.
5.06 Use correctly in written products:
• letter formation, lines, and spaces to create readable documents.
• plural forms of commonly used nouns.
• common, age - appropriate contractions.
5.07 Use legible manuscript handwriting.
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS GRADES 3-5
Purpose/
Overview
The English Language Arts curriculum for grades 3-5 is designed to
sustain and expand growth of the foundational skills that students
acquire in the primary grades as well as promote growth of strategies,
skills, and conceptual understandings. The priority of the English
Language Arts curriculum is oral and written language development
and use. A primary focus is using language to obtain and communicate
information, for literary response and expression, for reflection and
self-evaluation, and for problem solving and application. In this way,
students will be able to function effectively in their world of home,
school, and community and realize personal learning and fulfillment.
The expectation in our society today is for one hundred percent
literacy. Literacy requires the ability to think and reason as a literate
person with a focus on thinking critically and creatively using oral
language, written language, and other media and technology as tools.
The goal in grades 3-5 is to move students toward increasing
independence in the use of communication skills and strategies. In this
grade span, students become independent readers and writers and
continue to expand their literacy proficiency. They learn to apply their
foundational skills automatically and flexibly to reading and writing
fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. If students are not independent
readers by the end of third grade, they tend not to become proficient
enough in their reading and writing to graduate from high school
(Snow, et al., 1998). However, it is a reasonable expectation that with
appropriate instruction all students can become independent readers by
the end of third grade (Stahl, June, 1999).
It is desirable that students enter third grade reading simple chapter
books and other texts with comfort and understanding. In third grade,
students build their capacity to comprehend more difficult and varied
texts and continue to develop proficiency as readers throughout their
school careers. Therefore, it is imperative that lower level skills be
automatic so that students’ attention is focused on the active processing
of text. By fourth grade, students read sufficiently well to comprehend,
analyze, criticize, abstract, respond, and reflect on text. By using
literacy as a tool, students profit from the learning opportunities ahead
(Snow, et al., 1998).
Competency
Goals And
Objectives
The English Language Arts competency goals and objectives are
intended to capture the essentials of oral and written communication at
these grade levels. They reflect what students should know and be able
to do in order to communicate critically, creatively, and effectively.
The competency goals and objectives reflect interrelated aspects of the
dynamic process of communication.
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The competency goals and objectives reflect interrelated aspects of the
dynamic process of communication.
The curriculum identifies specific competency goals and objectives that
are crucial for continued success in subsequent years of students’
public school careers and beyond. While the curriculum identifies
specific goals and objectives, a major consideration also includes
making connections between the school setting, personal experience,
and real world application. The grade level competencies lay the
groundwork for shaping a knowledgeable, literate, and responsible
citizenry.
Word Recognition Strategies and Skills and Vocabulary
The word recognition strategies and skills goal refines and builds upon
the foundational skills of decoding so that students are able to develop
word recognition automatically. Readers extend their knowledge of
prefixes, suffixes, and root words and apply their phonics knowledge to
manipulate increasingly larger parts of words to identify unfamiliar
words quickly and efficiently. Students increase their repertoire of sight
words through wide reading, involvement in writing process elements,
discussion, vocabulary study, and the repeated use of high frequency
words. Their vocabularies expand quickly as they read widely and
engage in content area study, discussion and word study, and explore
word origins related to a range of topics.
Strategic Comprehension
Strategic comprehension focuses on reading, listening, and viewing for
a variety of purposes: for literary experience, to inform, and to perform
a task. It deals with the acquisition, interpretation, and application of
information and ideas. Readers develop an initial understanding by
identifying, collecting, and selecting information and ideas. They
develop a more complete understanding by organizing and using
information and ideas. They learn to establish a critical stance to form
opinions, make judgments, and evaluate the quality and usefulness of
information and ideas. Readers stand apart from the selection(s),
information, idea(s), or experience(s) and consider it/them objectively.
This goal involves readers’ ability to assess validity and accuracy,
determine value, and judge relevance and importance of information
and ideas. Students learn the strategies proficient readers apply before,
during, and after reading a text. They learn to use metacognitive
strategies as they read.
Metacognition involves the awareness of, manipulation of, and control
over one’s thinking processes including perseverance, attitudes, and
attention. Readers are aware of their own thinking, learn strategies, and
apply the strategies in preparation, engagement, and response to text(s).
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attention. Readers are aware of their own thinking, learn strategies, and
apply the strategies in preparation, engagement, and response to text(s).
Making Connections
The English language arts program for grades 3-5 is a spiraling
program with strong connections among the goals, objectives, and
strands. The interrelationships include:
• the study and use of the functions of oral and written language.
• the study of language and the conventions of grammar.
• vocabulary development and word study.
• reading broadly and deeply from a variety of genres.
• writing for a variety of purposes and audiences in a variety of
forms.
• comprehending literally, critically, strategically, and creatively.
• awareness of thinking and understanding through self-monitoring
and reflection.
• connections between personal experiences and text(s).
• expanding literacy through research and inquiry.
Teachers will want to note and build upon the connections and the
overlapping areas of the curriculum asking students to note and find
connections, revisit significant concepts, participate in meaningful
dialogue and develop knowledge and skills within the context of
appropriate use. In this way we will develop students who can read and
compose. When students are successful and realize the usefulness of
what they are doing they become competent and confident readers and
writers and effective communicators. They use oral language, written
language, and media and technology to communicate effectively and as
tools for learning and personal fulfillment for a lifetime.
Students learn to clarify meaning and respond critically and creatively
to texts, situations, and events. Responding and making connections
involves comprehending, formulating personal reactions, predicting,
summarizing, supporting, justifying, assessing other points of view, and
evaluating. Readers make connections by reflecting upon and reacting
to selections, situations, and events. They respond and reflect from a
personal perspective as they connect background knowledge and
experiences.
Effective Communication
Effective oral and written communication requires keen awareness of
the purpose, message, audience, and contexts for communication.
Students learn to use language clearly, strategically, critically, and
creatively. This goal focuses on using language for a variety of
functions:
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creatively. This goal focuses on using language for a variety of
functions:
• instructional (to get what we want).
• regulatory (to control others and the world around us).
• interactional (to establish and maintain relationships with
others).
• personal (to develop and maintain one’s own unique identity).
• informative (to represent the world to others and to impart what
one knows).
• heuristic (to speculate and predict what will happen).
• aesthetic (to express imagination, to entertain, and to use
language for its own sake).
This goal teaches students to use writing, speaking, and viewing as
thinking processes and as tools for learning. Students learn and develop
proficiency with a number of variables: mode, tone, form, purpose, and
audience. While writing, speaking, and viewing students select from
and combine these variables as appropriate to the task. While writing to
learn, students discover connections, describe processes, express
emerging understandings, raise questions, and find answers. Thinking,
speaking, and writing are recursive processes.
Grammar and Language Conventions
Grammar and language conventions focus on students’ increasing
proficiency in the understanding of and control of their language.
Language use includes vocabulary development, word choice, and
syntax in both oral and written communication. Students learn how to
use effective and increasingly sophisticated language:
• standard English for clarity.
• technical language for specificity.
• informal usage for effect.
Students continue to develop increasing control over grammatical
conventions including sentence formation, conventional usage,
punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
Literature
The study of literature is crucially important in grades 3-5. It offers
countless opportunities for students to make connections between
language and their own personal experiences. Literature describes the
human experience and involves an interaction with and conversation
between the reader and the text. Students need to develop some
understanding of the distinguishing features and structures of texts and
of the visual and linguistic systems out of which texts are created.
Language learning involves the exploration and careful study of a wide
array of texts, both print and non-print. Students need to hear and read
literature from the classics to contemporary selections. When students
read texts that reflect the diversity of our culture in terms of gender,
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understanding of the distinguishing features and structures of texts and
of the visual and linguistic systems out of which texts are created.
Language learning involves the exploration and careful study of a wide
array of texts, both print and non-print. Students need to hear and read
literature from the classics to contemporary selections. When students
read texts that reflect the diversity of our culture in terms of gender,
age, social class, religion, and ethnicity among individuals, they deepen
their personal learning. They grow in their ability to understand our
society, its history, and the contributions made by all people.
Read-aloud settings provide a functional context for engaging students
in and developing their listening comprehension, critical thinking,
critical questioning, word choice, and authors’ craft. Reading aloud
from a variety of books and genres as well as multiple readings of the
same book promote the art of listening, alert students to the rhythms
and patterns of language, enhance their experiences, stimulate their
discussions, and provide models for oral reading.
It is imperative that students regularly share what they think, know, and
feel about literature through response logs, dialogue journals, book
talks, conferences, role play, artistic extensions of literature, and other
mediums.
Equally important is the study of some texts in detail. Another major
goal is for students to read broadly with the benefit of exposure to the
defining features of a variety of genres. Literature study provides many
benefits to readers:
• knowledge of the world and human experiences.
• awareness of self and others.
• appreciation of diversity among peoples and cultures.
• an understanding of societies and their histories.
• the development of an ethical and moral sense.
• understanding of what it means to be human.
• development of an understanding of other perspectives.
• connections to people in our time and other times and places.
• perspective on one’s experience within the contexts of others’
experiences.
• appreciation of the richness and complexity of human nature.
• experience with different text structures and the defining
features of various genres.
Strands Oral language, written language, and media and technology permeate
all communication. Oral language is the foundation on which all
communication is based. It is now—and is even more likely to be—a
primary means of acquiring and transmitting information in the future.
Oral language proficiency continues to develop in grades three to five
and can be improved upon with instruction and guidance. Students who
experience positive feedback to their efforts to use language and have
opportunities to hear language used in a variety of social contexts have
a broader base for their reading and writing development.
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2004 English Language Arts
primary means of acquiring and transmitting information in the future.
Oral language proficiency continues to develop in grades three to five
and can be improved upon with instruction and guidance. Students who
experience positive feedback to their efforts to use language and have
opportunities to hear language used in a variety of social contexts have
a broader base for their reading and writing development.
Listening and speaking skills develop as students use them for
meaningful purposes and with varied audiences. Opportunities to speak
for different purposes to different audiences assist students in becoming
more efficient in their application of oral language. They can use oral
language to relate experiences; to explain processes; to support
opinions; to describe experiences, information, and ideas; and to
converse with others. Through discussion of texts and content area
study, students build upon, expand, and refine their vocabularies and
concept knowledge. Through group work opportunities students gain
information, ideas, and in-depth understanding and share with others.
Competent communicators are sensitive to the needs of different
audiences and the ways in which the purpose of a communication
shapes the kinds of ideas and information selected and the way in
which they are presented. Depending on whether they are explaining
something, arguing, persuading, or telling a story, good communicators
have learned how to vary their organizational strategies. They adapt the
level of detail they provide and the language they use according to the
context of the communication.
Throughout the school years, oral language is both a means whereby
students learn about reading and a goal of reading. Listening and
speaking aid reading comprehension whether the teacher is sharing a
book aloud with students or students are discussing a text they have
read. Discussions guide students to respond to the meanings and
interpretations of texts they read. Students make predictions as they
read and either confirm or adjust those predictions based on verbal
interactions with others. Discussions can reveal differences in
interpretation, support for or evidence against a particular
interpretation, and lead to shared meaning and deeper understanding.
Listening and speaking permit students to respond to text and make
connections before, during, and after reading.
To ensure that they can communicate effectively with a wide range of
audiences, all students need to learn standard English. As students
adapt and modify their language to suit different purposes, they become
more proficient and efficient communicators.
Oral language sophistication pays dividends as students develop in their
reading and writing. Background knowledge, vocabulary knowledge,
and listening comprehension are the cornerstones of written language
development in third, fourth,3 a6nd fifth grades.
2004 English Language Arts
reading and writing. Background knowledge, vocabulary knowledge,
and listening comprehension are the cornerstones of written language
development in third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Students need an array of strategies for comprehending, interpreting,
evaluating, and appreciating texts they read and texts they compose.
Good readers and writers demonstrate: a sense of purpose, an ability to
frame expectations of a task by drawing on prior reading and writing
experiences, a knowledge of various approaches and how to apply
them, and the capacity to reflect on written language processes. In order
to learn these skills, students need frequent opportunities to read and
write about different topics for varying audiences and purposes.
Personal experiences, readings, and discussions provide the raw
material for writing. Students need direct instruction, guidance, and
practice to develop effective reading and writing skills. Also, students
need to understand the varying demands of different kinds of reading
and writing tasks and how to adjust their efforts accordingly.
To become confident and effective readers and writers, students need to
learn how to use various elements of writing and various reading
strategies flexibly and adaptively. Students develop their knowledge of
form and convention as they create their own texts and critique those of
others. Students who can draw on a deep knowledge of language
structure as they read and compose communicate more effectively.
When students connect the study of grammar and language patterns to
the wider purposes of communication and artistic development, they
are more likely to incorporate the models they encounter into their
spoken and written language.
Oral and written language are valuable research tools. The ability to
formulate questions, plan, predict, investigate, analyze, hypothesize,
and speculate provides students a way to frame and address issues in
their studies and everyday life. The application of oral and written
language to problem solving and negotiation is pervasive and effective
in the everyday life of students. These experiences provide the context
for developing students’ research and inquiry skills. The ability to
identify good topics, to gather information, and evaluate, assemble, and
interpret findings from among many sources is a critical skill for
students to learn.
Media and technology offer many resources that students can use to
access information. In order to take advantage of the resources that are
available, students need to learn how to use an array of technologies.
Media and technology resources such as databases, bibliographies,
other data resources, and human resources give students information,
ideas, and images for their exploration and incorporation into daily
classroom and personal inquiry. Students need instruction in accessing
these resources, gathering information, synthesizing, and evaluating the
information and ideas. By using media and technology as a tool,
students are able to create, enhance, critique, select, and modify
products, information, and ideas. Therefore, critical analysis and
evaluation is one of the most useful and necessary skills students in
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2004 English Language Arts
classroom and personal inquiry. Students need instruction in accessing
these resources, gathering information, synthesizing, and evaluating the
information and ideas. By using media and technology as a tool,
students are able to create, enhance, critique, select, and modify
products, information, and ideas. Therefore, critical analysis and
evaluation is one of the most useful and necessary skills students in
grades 3-5 can develop and apply.
Students in grades 3-5 will continue to show evidence of mastery of
competencies developed at previous grade levels, particularly as they
contribute to mastery of grade-level competencies.
International Reading Association. Standards for The English
Language Arts. Newark, Delaware, 1996.
National Center on Education and the Economy. Performance
Standards: Elementary School. Vol. 1. New Standards Project, 1997.
Snow, Catherine, et. al. (eds.). Prevention of Reading Difficulties in
Young Children. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998.
Stahl, Steven. Four Questions about Assessment. K-2 Literacy
Assessment Training. Greenville, North Carolina, June, 1999.
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THIRD GRADE
Students in third grade apply the foundational skills learned earlier automatically and flexibly to
decode and comprehend fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. They use critical thinking skills
which they apply strategically across the disciplines to comprehend and clarify information and
ideas. They compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama for a variety of purposes and
audiences. Third graders become increasingly independent and flexible in their use of
communication skills and strategies. The learner will:
• Read with fluency and comprehension fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
• Apply strategies flexibly and strategically for recognizing words, learning new words,
and constructing meaning from text(s).
• Expand vocabulary through wide reading, word study, and discussion.
• Write for a variety of audiences and purposes using appropriate formats.
• Use active listening and effective oral communication.
• Use media, a variety of information sources, and technological resources as tools for
learning.
• Apply grammar and language conventions to access and communicate information and
ideas.
• Reflect upon and make connections among language, texts, and personal experience.
• Apply comprehension strategies and skills to a wide variety of genres.
Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology
Competency
Goal 1
The learner will apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
1.01 Apply phonics and structural analysis to decode words (e.g., roots,
suffixes, prefixes, less common vowel patterns, syllable breaks).
1.02 Apply meanings of common prefixes and suffixes to decode words in
text to assist comprehension.
1.03 Integrate prior experiences and all sources of information in the text
(graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic) when reading orally and silently.
1.04 Increase sight vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and writing vocabulary
through:
• wide reading.
• word study.
• listening.
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• discussion.
• book talks.
• book clubs.
• seminars.
• viewing.
• role play.
• studying author’s craft.
1.05 Use word reference materials (e.g., dictionary, glossary) to confirm
decoding skills, verify spelling, and extend meanings of words.
1.06 Read independently daily from self-selected materials (consistent with
the student’s independent reading level) to:
• increase fluency.
• build background knowledge.
• extend vocabulary.
Competency
Goal 2
The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is
read, heard, and viewed.
2.01 Use metacognitive strategies to comprehend text (e.g., reread, read
ahead, ask for help, adjust reading speed, question, paraphrase, retell).
2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, or
viewing by:
• setting a purpose.
• previewing the text.
• making predictions.
• asking questions.
• locating information for specific purposes.
• making connections.
• using story structure and text organization to comprehend.
2.03 Read a variety of texts, including:
• fiction (short stories, novels, fantasies, fairy tales, fables).
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• nonfiction (biographies, letters, articles, procedures and instructions,
charts, maps).
• poetry (proverbs, riddles, limericks, simple poems).
• drama (skits, plays).
2.04 Identify and interpret elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by
referencing the text to determine the:
• author’s purpose.
• plot.
• conflict.
• sequence.
• resolution.
• lesson and/or message.
• main idea and supporting details.
• cause and effect.
• fact and opinion.
• point of view (author and character).
• author’s use of figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, imagery).
2.05 Draw conclusions, make generalizations, and gather support by
referencing the text.
2.06 Summarize main idea(s) from written or spoken texts using succinct
language.
2.07 Explain choice of reading materials congruent with purposes (e.g.,
solving problems, making decisions).
2.08 Listen actively by:
• facing the speaker.
• making eye contact.
• asking questions to clarify the message.
• asking questions to gain additional information and ideas.
Competency
Goal 3
The learner will make connections through the use of oral language,
written language, and media and technology.
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Goal 3 written language, and media and technology.
3.01 Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive,
critical, and evaluative processes by:
• considering the differences among genres.
• relating plot, setting, and characters to own experiences and ideas.
• considering main character’s point of view.
• participating in creative interpretations.
• making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters and
events.
• reflecting on learning, gaining new insights, and identifying areas for
further study.
3.02 Identify and discuss similarities and differences in events, characters,
concepts and ideas within and across selections and support them by
referencing the text.
3.03 Use text and own experiences to verify facts, concepts, and ideas.
3.04 Make informed judgments about television productions.
3.05 Analyze, compare and contrast printed and visual information (e.g.,
graphs, charts, maps).
3.06 Conduct research for assigned and self-selected projects (with
assistance) from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts,
people, libraries, databases, computer networks).
Competency
Goal 4
The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
4.01 Read aloud grade-appropriate text with fluency, comprehension, and
expression.
4.02 Use oral and written language to:
• present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
• discuss.
• sustain conversation on a topic.
• share information and ideas.
• recount or narrate.
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• answer open-ended questions.
• report information on a topic.
• explain own learning.
4.03 Share written and oral products in a variety of ways (e.g., author’s chair,
book making, publications, discussions, presentations).
4.04 Use planning strategies (with assistance) to generate topics and to
organize ideas (e.g., drawing, mapping, discussing, listing).
4.05 Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate
form for the oral or written task.
4.06 Compose a draft that conveys major ideas and maintains focus on the
topic by using preliminary plans.
4.07 Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama selections
using self-selected topics and forms (e.g., poems, simple narratives, short
reports, learning logs, letters, notes, directions, instructions).
4.08 Focus reflection and revision (with assistance) on target elements by:
• clarifying ideas.
• adding descriptive words and phrases.
• sequencing events and ideas.
• combining short, related sentences.
• strengthening word choice.
4.09 Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g.,
personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).
4.10 Explore technology as a tool to create a written product.
Competency
Goal 5
The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
5.01 Use correct capitalization (e.g., geographical place names, holidays,
special events, titles) and punctuation (e.g., commas in greetings, dates, city
and state; underlining book titles; periods after initials and abbreviated titles;
apostrophes in contractions).
5.02 Use correct subject/verb agreement.
5.03 Demonstrate understanding by using a variety of complete sentences
(declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) in writing and
speaking.
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(declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) in writing and
speaking.
5.04 Compose two or more paragraphs with:
• topic sentences.
• supporting details.
• appropriate, logical sequence.
• sufficient elaboration.
5.05 Use a number of strategies for spelling (e.g., sound patterns, visual
patterns, silent letters, less common letter groupings).
5.06 Proofread own writing for spelling and correct most misspellings
independently with reference to resources (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, word
walls).
5.07 Edit (with assistance) to use conventions of written language and
format.
5.08 Create readable documents with legible handwriting (manuscript and
cursive).
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FOURTH GRADE
Students in fourth grade apply reading strategies and skills automatically, flexibly, and
strategically to comprehend fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. They read for literary
experience, to gain information, and to perform a task. They use a variety of strategies and
writing process elements to compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. They become
increasingly proficient in active listening, speaking, and using media and technology. They
deepen and extend their understanding and use of English language conventions in oral
presentations and written products. The learner will:
• Explore a wide range of texts and their distinguishing features.
• Expand vocabulary through wide reading, word study, exposure to content area words,
and discussion.
• Routinely spell high frequency words and use resources to check spelling.
• Write for a variety of purposes and audiences and use writing as a tool for learning.
• Communicate effectively with different audiences through spoken, written, and visual
formats.
• Use media and technological resources for research and as tools for learning.
• Use increasingly sophisticated knowledge of grammar and language conventions in oral
and written products and presentations.
• Apply comprehension strategies critically, creatively, and strategically.
Strands: Oral Language, Written Language, and Other Media/Technology
Competency
Goal 1
The learner will apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
1.01 Use word identification strategies appropriately and automatically when
encountering unknown words (graphophonic, syntactic, semantic).
1.02 Infer word meanings from taught roots, prefixes, and suffixes to decode
words in text to assist comprehension.
1.03 Identify key words and discover their meanings and relationships
through a variety of strategies.
1.04 Increase reading and writing vocabulary through:
• wide reading.
• word study.
• knowledge of homophones, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms.
• knowledge of multiple meanings of words.
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• writing process elements.
• writing as a tool for learning.
• seminars.
• book clubs.
• discussions.
• examining the author’s craft.
1.05 Use word reference materials (e.g., glossary, dictionary, thesaurus) to
identify and comprehend unknown words.
1.06 Read independently daily from self-selected materials (consistent with
the student’s independent reading level) to:
• increase fluency.
• build background knowledge.
• expand vocabulary.
Competency
Goal 2
The learner will apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is
read, heard, and viewed.
2.01 Use metacognitive strategies to comprehend text and to clarify meaning
of vocabulary (e.g., reread the text, consult other sources, ask for help,
paraphrase, question).
2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and
viewing by:
• setting a purpose using prior knowledge and text information.
• making predictions.
• formulating questions.
• locating relevant information.
• making connections with previous experiences, information, and
ideas.
2.03 Read a variety of texts, including:
• fiction (legends, novels, folklore, science fiction).
• nonfiction (autobiographies, informational books, diaries, journals).
• poetry (concrete, haiku).
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• drama (skits, plays).
2.04 Identify and interpret elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by
referencing the text to determine the:
• plot.
• theme.
• main idea and supporting details.
• author’s choice of words.
• mood.
• author’s use of figurative language.
2.05 Make inferences, draw conclusions, make generalizations, and support
by referencing the text.
2.06 Summarize major points from fiction and nonfiction text(s) to clarify
and retain information and ideas.
2.07 Determine usefulness of information and ideas consistent with purpose.
2.08 Verify the meaning or accuracy of the author’s statement(s) by
referencing the text or other resources.
2.09 Listen actively by:
• asking questions.
• paraphrasing what was said.
• interpreting speaker’s verbal and non-verbal messages.
• interpreting speaker’s purposes and/or intent.
Competency
Goal 3
The learner will make connections with text through the use of oral
language, written language, and media and technology.
3.01 Respond to fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using interpretive,
critical, and evaluative processes by:
• analyzing the impact of authors’ word choice and context.
• examining the reasons for characters’ actions.
• identifying and examining characters’ motives.
• considering a situation or problem from different characters’ points of
view.
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• analyzing differences among genres.
• making inferences and drawing conclusions about characters, events
and themes.
3.02 Analyze characters, events, and plots within and between selections and
cite supporting evidence.
3.03 Consider the ways language and visuals bring characters to life, enhance
plot development, and produce a response.
3.04 Make informed judgments about television and film/video productions.
3.05 Analyze and integrate information from one or more sources to expand
understanding of text including graphs, charts, and/or maps.
3.06 Conduct research for assigned projects or self-selected projects (with
assistance) from a variety of sources through the use of technological and
informal tools (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people, libraries,
databases, computer networks).
Competency
Goal 4
The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and
visual texts.
4.01 Read aloud grade-appropriate text with fluency, comprehension, and
expression demonstrating an awareness of volume and pace.
4.02 Use oral and written language to:
• present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.
• discuss.
• interview.
• solve problems.
• make decisions.
4.03 Make oral and written presentations using visual aids with an awareness
of purpose and audience.
4.04 Share self-selected texts from a variety of genres (e.g., poetry, letters,
narratives, essays, presentations).
4.05 Use planning strategies to generate topics and organize ideas (e.g.,
brainstorming, mapping, webbing, reading, discussion).
4.06 Compose a draft that conveys major ideas and maintains focus on the
topic with specific, relevant, supporting details by using preliminary plans.
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2004 English Language Arts
topic with specific, relevant, supporting details by using preliminary plans.
4.07 Compose fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using self-selected and
assigned topics and forms (e.g., personal and imaginative narratives, research
reports, diaries, journals, logs, rules, instructions).
4.08 Focus revision on a specific element such as:
• word choice.
• sequence of events and ideas.
• transitional words.
• sentence patterns.
4.09 Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g.,
personal and imaginative narrative, research reports, learning logs, letters of
request, letters of complaint).
4.10 Use technology as a tool to gather, organize, and present information.
Competency
Goal 5
The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to
communicate effectively.
5.01 Use correct capitalization (e.g., names of languages, nationalities,
musical compositions) and punctuation (e.g., commas in a series, commas in
direct address, commas and quotation marks in dialogue, apostrophes in
possessives).
5.02 Demonstrate understanding in speaking and writing by appropriate
usage of:
• pronouns.
• subject/verb agreement.
• verb tense consistency.
• subject consistency.
5.03 Elaborate information and ideas in writing and speaking by using:
• simple and compound sentences.
• regular and irregular verbs.
• adverbs.
• prepositions.
• coordinating conjunctions.
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5.04 Compose multiple paragraphs with:
• topic sentences.
• specific, relevant details.
• logical progression and movement of ideas.
• coherence.
• elaboration.
• concluding statement related to the topic.
5.05 Use visual (orthography) and meaning-based strategies as primary
sources for correct spelling.
5.06 Proofread and correct most misspellings independently with reference to
resources (e.g., dictionaries, thesauri, glossaries, computer spell-checks, and
other classroom sources).
5.07 Use established criteria to edit for language conventions and format.
5.08 Demonstrate evidence of language cohesion by:
• logical sequence of fiction and nonfiction retells.
• time order sequence of events.
• sustaining conversations on a topic.
5.09 Create readable documents through legible handwriting (cursive) and/or
word processing.
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FIFTH GRADE
Students in fifth grade expand and deepen concepts, skills, and strategies learned at earlier
grades. They make new connections as they experience more sophisticated ideas and begin to
study subjects in more formal ways. They read and write a variety of texts with greater breadth
and depth, critically analyzing and evaluating information and ideas. Fifth graders revisit and
refine concepts and their knowledge of English Language Arts conventions as they become more
sophisticated, independent learners.