Language Arts Curriculum Overview

Students will:

Junior Kindergarten

• Develop concepts of print
•  Develop association between spoken and written words
• Use phonological awareness (the sounds of language) by playing oral games,  singing songs, and identifying and manipulating words in a sentence
• Identify 17 or more printed alphabet letters
• Begin to connect letters with letter sounds
• Begin to identify high-frequency written words
• Attempt to read and write using known letters and approximations of letters to represent written language
• Use drawing and other mediums to express ideas as a stepping-stone to self-directed writing
• Become engaged in stories and can identify details, characters, and sequence of events
• Demonstrate comprehension ability by predicting events and explaining plot
• Share stories, opinions, and questions relating to real life experience

Kindergarten

• Develop concepts of print
• Use phonological and phonemic awareness skills (sounds of language) in games and songs
• Identify rhymes, alliteration, compound words, syllables and individual sounds in words
• Develop phonics by relating written letters to their spoken sounds
• Use phonetic spelling in writing
• Read decodable texts
• Build sight word recognition
• Become engaged in stories and identify details, characters, and sequences of events
• Demonstrate comprehension ability by predicting events and explaining plot
• Begin to distinguish between different genres
• Use drawing, movement, and other mediums to express ideas
• Share stories, opinions, and questions related to school experience and personal life
• Attempt to communicate at their level, borrowing and extending words to create meaning
• Use Handwriting Without Tears handwriting method

First Grade

• Continue to use and strengthen phonemic awareness sounds in individual words and to develop phonics skills and relating written letters with spoken sounds in a logical sequence
• Read sight words and recognize common word patterns
• Read phonetic stories, decodable texts and stories
• Use phonetic spelling patterns
• Use thematic reading for applying word recognition, for developing spelling and vocabulary, and for comprehension
• Make sense of text using mental imagery
• Continue to distinguish between different genres
• Practice repeated and oral reading on a regular basis to increase fluency
• Use spelling approximations in independent writing situations
• Develop mechanics of writing by addressing capitalization and punctuation
• Begin to use and recognize appropriate grammar in writing and speaking
• Use writer’s workshop, personal journals, writing sentences, lists to record, letters to invite or thank, stories, and poems to publish
• Integrate reading with writing
• Share experiences and work
• Use Handwriting Without Tears handwriting method

Second Grade

• Continue to use phonics skills and decoding strategies to pronounce and spell words
• Continue to build sight word recognition
• Use decoding and comprehension strategies to make sense of text; respond to text both orally and in writing
• Practice repeated and monitored oral reading to increase fluency
• Read and distinguish between different genres and non-fiction texts
• Use writer’s notebooks and write in variety of genres using writing process
• Publish and celebrate writing
• Share experiences and work
• Use mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, and grammar)
• Use spelling and high-frequency lists, dictionary skills, and Handwriting Without Tears handwriting method

Third Grade 

• Apply phonics skills and extend word knowledge by analyzing structure of words including common prefixes, suffixes and inflectional endings
• Demonstrate understanding of and apply spelling patterns
• Practice repeated and monitored oral reading for fluency
• Build and apply vocabulary both orally and in written work
• Read and demonstrate comprehension of grade level appropriate fiction and non-fiction including fables, poetry and biographies, with emphasis on story elements
• Use comprehension strategies to make sense of what is read
• Participate in literature circles
• Use writing process and writing mechanics  to create and complete pieces of writing.
• Apply knowledge of grammar and usage in both everyday writing and in verbal language.
• Write for a variety of purposes and authentic audiences
• Use reference tools
• Begin cursive handwriting

Fourth Grade

• Continue to analyze word structure and build word recognition through introduction to simple Greek and Latin roots
• Apply and demonstrate understanding of spelling patterns
• Practice repeated and monitored oral reading for fluency as needed
• Build and apply vocabulary both orally and in written work
• Read and comprehend grade level appropriate fiction and non-fiction including folk tales, biographies, mysteries, historical fiction, poetry; independent reading with emphasis on genre and literary elements
• Use comprehension strategies to make sense of what is read
• Participate in literature circles to question the text, identify important parts of the story as well as challenging vocabulary, and make connections between life and literature
• Use writing process
• Write stories, reports, letters, and journals
• Use writing mechanics (grammar, word usage, paragraph structure, outlining,  parts of speech)
• Use reference tools
• Master cursive handwriting

Fifth Grade

• Practice oral reading for fluency as needed
• Continue independent reading
• Read literature from Newbery winners’ list
• Participate in literature circles to question the text, identify important parts of the story as well as challenging vocabulary, and make connections between life and literature
• Use components of writing (parts of speech, punctuation, spelling with affixes, vocabulary, grammar) and the writing process (plan, draft, revise, proof/edit, polish, publish/ present)
• Participate in writing workshop (journals, book reviews, memoirs, short stories, poetry, essays, research process)
• Participate in class and small group discussions
• Give oral presentations

Sixth Grade

• Practice repeated oral reading as needed for fluency
• Read aloud from student work and published work
• Read books integrated with social studies topic as well as other various genres
• Choose various genres for independent reading
• Analyze literature by identifying such elements as character, setting, plot, mood, and theme
• Interpret and use figurative language in texts
• Participate in skills lessons to develop a deeper understanding of the writing process
• Participate in literature circles to question the text, identify important parts of the story as well as challenging vocabulary, and make connections between life and literature
• Use writings and visuals in diverse response modes; graphic organizers
• Write, edit and revise using standard elements of form and structure in both fiction and non-fiction compositions
• Write in a variety of genres, both fiction and non fiction
• Give oral presentations of individual as well as group projects
• Perform public speaking.

Seventh Grade

• Practice repeated oral reading as needed for fluency
• Read aloud from student work and published work
• Read widely in an increasingly sophisticated selection of fiction and non-fiction texts
• Participate in literature circles to question the text, identify important parts of the story as well as challenging vocabulary, and make connections between life and literature
• Read independently in a wide range of texts
• Identify how style, tone, and mood contribute to the effect of a text
• Identify and analyze organizing principles underlying fiction and non-fiction genre forms
• Interpret and use figurative language in texts
• Identify thematic elements of literature
• Write and use different writing process elements to communicate with an audience for a specific purpose
• Write using standard elements of form and structure in both fiction and non-fiction compositions
• Compose multi-paragraph pieces with varied sentence structure
• Edit and revise based on the conventions of Standard English (grammar, spelling, usage, punctuation, etc.) 
• Produce error-free compositions on a regular basis
• Create reports and projects based on data drawn from primary and secondary sources 

Eighth Grade

• Practice repeated oral reading as needed for fluency
• Read aloud from student work and published work
• Read widely in classic and contemporary literature in fiction and non-fiction texts
• Participate in literature circles to question the text, identify important parts of the story as well as challenging vocabulary, and make connections between life and literature
• Identify and analyze organizing principles underlying fiction and non-fiction genre forms
• Read independently in a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction
• Discuss literature using self-generated questions
• Write to effectively communicate meaning to a specific audience and purpose
• Use writing to inform, persuade, and/or entertain
• Compose multi-paragraph pieces with varied sentence structure
• Edit writing based on knowledge of grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and other conventions of Standard English to produce final, error-free compositions on a regular basis
• Draw data from multiple primary and secondary sources for use in research reports and projects

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